[Hidden-tech] Any RF experts out there?

[Tom Novelli]

I've used Sprint (CDMA) and AT&T (GSM) within the last few years, and
I've noticed that the GSM phones cause tons of interference with other
electronics, while the CDMA phones caused none.  Also, earlier this
year I read a good technical article comparing GSM and CDMA: bottom
line, CDMA's spread-spectrum technology is more efficient, and it's
noticeably less prone to cutouts and dropped calls.  So regardless of
health effects, that a pretty good reason to use Sprint or Verizon.

My understanding is that all G3/G4/LTE *internet* traffic is sent
using a CDMA-like protocol even on GSM carriers, but they still use
GSM for voice calls.  That should be changing within, oh, the next
decade or two.

-Tom

On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 4:52 AM, Tom Kopec <tek at acm.org> wrote:
>   ** Be sure to fill out the survey/skills inventory in the member's area.
>   ** If you did, we all thank you.
>
>
> Why don't you post the question on the sites you quoted and see what
> they have to say? They seem to have and army of "experts". They kind of
> lost credibility with me when I got to the quote :
> "Even if you don't use a cell phone and your home is wireless-free, you
> can be exposed to microwave radiation from your neighbor's wireless
> devices.."
>
> That's just plain sensationalism.
>
> The quote:
> ".. because the SAR rating has nothing to do with the non-ionizing
> radiation emitted.." is flat wrong. I have serious problems with the use
> of SAR in rating phone safety (see below), but SAR most certainly deals
> with non-ionizing radiation - that's what RF is.
>
> So, unless you already wear a tinfoil hat, I'd take these articles with
> a large grain of sea salt. Just don't keep your cellphone glued to your
> ear (or hand, in the case of a smartphone) all day, and if you've
> decided to replace your landline with cell, get a wired headset. Simple
> precautions such as this will have a far greater impact.
>
> That said, you'll probably end up with less harmful cellphone exposure
> if you are using a carrier that has good coverage where you will be
> using your phone. All cellular technologies (as far as I'm aware) adjust
> their power output based on need.
>
> (my background: in 1980, my assigned final paper topic in Microwave
> Engineering II was "Microwave Radiation Hazards". In researching it I
> found that, even then, the use of SAR-like metrics was considered by
> many to be an inappropriate measure of hazard even for some
> continuous-wave emissions.)
>
> ...tom