Steve, The XM Radio ground repeater is just as dangerous as the FM station. If this equipment is located on a rooftop the property owner as well as the station operator is responsible for the safe operation of the station. Usually there is an RF safety study done for the site. The report will state the safe zones for operation and any measures that need to be performed for the safe operation and working distances from the antennas.
The XM transmitter is probably around 100 watts pumped into an 8 or 10 dB gain antenna and it operates somewhere around 2.33 Ghz. So in theory you are talking 800 watts ERP near the XM antenna in the microwave spectrum. How well would your stuff work if you could generate a 800 watt ERP signal? Turning the transmitter down on the FM station is a good start but if its a 100 kW transmitter and they turn it down to 20 kW (20%) thats still alot of power to be radiating all over the place. http://www.narda-sts.us/products_personal_main.php You need one of these before you need a suit. This goes off, you leave the area and let the appropriate people know there is an issue. I guarantee this sucker will be screaming within 30 feet of the XM antenna. Be safe -B- Steven G McGehee wrote: > Thank you for the response Bob. We never have to work in front of cell > antennas (behind them, but not in front), but one of our locations is on > a colocated rooftop that has an FM station. Any time we go up to that > rooftop though, we turn down the FM's transmitter from 100% to about > 20%, and generally aren't up there for more than an hour at a time. > There's an XM "station" (not sure if station is the right term) up there > as well, and we don't disable that. We also aren't within 10-15ft of it > very often. Is it right to assume that it's a using a very high > frequency and probably has a small beamwidth, so it's safe to be in the > area of it of, or..? > > Thanks again. > > > > > Bob Moldashel wrote: > >> Steve, >> >> There is no reason why someone in this industry should be wearing RF >> suit. A few quick notes: >> >> 1. Stay away from the front of all cell panel antennas and commercial >> microwave dishes. RF fields directly in front of these exceed that >> allowable under the standards. >> >> 2. Stay away from ALL broadcast antennas regardless if they are TV, >> Radio or "low power" educational or non-profit stations. These stations >> usually have RF guidelines for working around their equipment. They >> "should" be posted at the site but in many cases are not. >> >> 3. Keep a few (6) feet between yourself and most two-way radio "whip" >> antennas. If climbing you should be safe passing them. Try not to work >> on the same plane for an extended period of time. And don't use >> antennas for balance or grab points. Especially aluminum antennas. >> >> 4. Anyone working around this equipment should have RF awareness >> training which includes education on RF safety, emergencies, use of a >> PASS alarm system and RF suit usage. >> >> If you think you need to wear a suit you probably should not be near the >> equipment. In the cell industry we have the carrier shut the sector or >> site down when working in front of the antennas. In broadcast the >> transmitters are either shut down or the power is greatly reduced. This >> requires alot of work at night in the dark. >> >> FYI >> >> -B- >> >> >> >> >> >> Steven G McGehee wrote: >> >> >>> Hi all, >>> >>> I was curious if you guys used EMR suits (i.e., suits made with "Nomex" >>> or similar material). If so, under what circumstances, and if not, why >>> not? :-) >>> >>> Basically I'm just wanting to get an idea on people's thoughts on how >>> important these suits are to wear and when, and any other thoughts on >>> the matter. Whether it be around cellular equipment, AM/FM/XM stations, etc. >>> >>> Thanks in advance. >>> >>> >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> WISPA Wants You! 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