Following a public consultation in February 2020, Ofcom released a statement in October 2020 which is set to require UK radio amateurs to complete risk assessments on their transmissions regarding exposure to electromagnetic fields.
Here is the decision, released by Ofcom on the 5th of October 2020 (source: Ofcom EMF Statement)
“We will include a specific condition in Wireless Telegraphy Act licences requiring licensees to comply with the ICNIRP general public limits on EMF exposure. This condition will apply to all licence classes which authorise equipment to transmit at powers higher than 10 Watts EIRP (including, for example, the licences of mobile phone companies, TV and radio broadcasters and most point-to-point microwave links).
We intend to apply a similar approach for equipment that is exempt from the requirement to have a licence and that is authorised to transmit at powers higher than 10 Watts EIRP, such as certain types of satellite terminals. We intend to amend relevant licence exemption regulations as considered appropriate on a case-by-case basis in line with our policy decision.
In addition, we will require spectrum licensees to keep records (including the results of any measurements, tests and calculations) that demonstrate how they have complied with the ICNIRP general public limits.
We have listened to the concerns of some licensees about the potential administrative burden of demonstrating compliance. To help ease this, we have developed a simple online EMF calculator, so they can assess their compliance more easily. We have also made changes to our proposed licence Condition and to our ‘Guidance on EMF Compliance and Enforcement’.”
How does this affect amateur radio, and what will we need to do?
To find out more, we spoke to Leslie Butterfields G0CIB, who has been looking into Ofcom’s proposals in detail:
| Ofcom EMF Changes – Leslie G0CIB Interview |
EMF Calculator
Ofcom has released a test version of the EMF calculator – Ofcom EMF Calculator (Excel Spreadsheet)
A note on Logging
Several people have commented on Leslie’s comments about logging during an interference dispute. This is good practice during any interference dispute, and is something we teach new amateurs (See parts 1D2, 6G2 and 7A5 of the RSGB syllabus). Although logging isn’t mandatory, for interference issues, it’s recommended practice. Also note that on cases of interference where Ofcom gets involved, it may well be mandatory. See what Section 12(1) of the amateur radio licence has to say regarding logging for the purposes of interference investigation.
Regardless, the point that Leslie was making is that in the case of an interference dispute where, say, a neighbour has got Ofcom involved, your position will be stronger if you have kept a log, have records of your station tests, and have complied with the requirement to check ICNIRP limits, you’ll be in a stronger position than if you’ve done nothing.
Related links
- Ofcom EMF Licence Conditions Changes – More advice and handy links
- Ofcom Statement (05 October 2020)
- Ofcom EMF Calculator (Excel Spreadsheet)
Do I smell a political sop to the 5G mast burner crowd?
Nope will mit be doing myninstallation is before
Telphpne lines have to be done not tested ,
The alculations can be done but im sorry the field strength , plus the gain of antennas , do nlt do it . We were told 5m 400w safe amd its not mamdatory ofcom ignored us as hams failed to stop spectrum interference from ethernet over mains , like said earlier my local telephone exchages absoulute block all rf going near it non compliance, 14.197 rpughly usb unknown constant data signal not ham , mains wiring in house goves emf , if youbhavec21 rlement beam amd it was ok before it may not be now , nope breach of freedoms. I am not happy plus inhave had no letters or emails issued ny ofcom about this, i requirement fur consultstion we have complied with licence but this is wrong can we use more power than 400w nooe us europe countries get more . Us get 1500w all licences . Thats whyvthe have to comply.
Cbers get 12w pep so thats still greater than guidelines and its licence free therefore its not being complied with as its not a requitement for them
We went through this a few years ago in NZ , fears of” iradiating ” neighbours cats or kids when cell towers first appeared It was expected of us Hams to measure and so declare we wouldn’t do those nasty things. Problem was no one had anything to measure the “Radiation” with, nearest source was National Radiation Lab in Wellington who really hadn”t time of equipment to do the job. Some of us started building kits to measure the RF fields, mine never got finished as “IT” disappeared cellphone towers became the norm no cats or kids were knowingly zapped. 73 de Pete zl2aub /g3tuw
Where do I print my assignment sheet from
You can check distance here – https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/file/0022/204529/emf-calculator-v0.1.1.xlsx – This is only at the consultation stage at the moment, so you don;t have to comply yet
calculator is here https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/file/0022/204529/emf-calculator-v0.1.1.xlsx very basic, stick power and frequency in, HF bands 20w you have to be about a metre away
hmm, so what to do with my stealth antenna clipped to my fence with nieghbour?
How does it apply for equipment like handhelds that, while “authorised to operate at 10W” are not themselves capable?
The “Safe Range” for my VX7 with a decent antenna on top is about 20cm if I run at full power. That’s 20cm into public space. Maybe it’s the new Social Distance – “Step away or I transmit!!”
what about peoplw with small back yards I don’t have the space to ensure my antenna is 3.19 m away from the public in all directions…. does that mean I will have to sell up???
I think I’ll stick to my 5W QRP (8.2W EIRP), although I still need 1m separation on 2M – if I’ve read it right…
Hi Steve, No need to do anything, its less than 10W EIRP. It only applies if it above that level.
Leslie G0CIB
What aboutbyagis on mast but roof space protectrd due to tilrss etc plus how do.younknow what field strrength is of non.inisingbradaition , sorrybthat nuckear phyics there no mention of measureing limits whats the safe values .
Hi Andrew,
If you’re looking for the detail, and the safe values, you’ll find them in the ICNIRP Guidelines document, here: https://www.icnirp.org/cms/upload/publications/ICNIRPrfgdl2020.pdf
In the details on the bottom of the calculator it mentions the distance from the equipment. Do they mean from the radio or the antenna or both?
Same as the amateur radio licence, “Radio Equipment” is a generic term used by Ofcom. So I’d take that to be “distance from whatever part or parts of the setup are radiating over 10 watts EIRP”
It’s actually “are licensed to radiate more than 10 W EIRP”, not actually radiating, and the distance has to be several wavelengths before the calculator is valid, as it is only valid when the inverse square law applies, i.e. in the far field. As such, the total size of the source will be small compared with the distance.
For typical amateur HF stations, it will underestimate, although for high gain microwave situations, it will overestimate.
It was probably designed for mobile phone type installations, where wavelengths are short and clearance distances large.
http://rsgb.org/main/files/2020/06/200605_Ofcom-EMF-Consultation_RSGB-Response.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjS-uSj57zsAhUGVRUIHXUuCukQFjABegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1HOShXGhxD5-qgR4QD7-1u
RSGB RESPONSE
Above is the rsgb to ofcom its not lsw yet but has raised questions from what i can see there tryingbto set limits , amd its comercial only amateur radio should the inc.. guidelines are technical jargon butbtgecresponse is interesting read . The test hear beed to check i stallations is expensive amd not rated forvpower levels we will need
Its not doablexas the nz ham explained. Amd o evthing aboutvsvience if your paid to find fault youvwill find fault , dontvfirhet that look atvthe scientific advice fir covid you cam mix at home but you can talk in street covidgoes bed 10pm lol . Ofcom are looking fir another source i revenue by looks.
Its not accurate thers walls etc roofs involed type of antenna ca t be done accurately
I’m guessing the calculations are for the worst case: i.e. open air. They are also for the “public” e.g. your neighbour sunbathing in the back garden.
Hi Andy, I believe there is a detailed Ofcom document on the very subject of building materials and RF ! Essentially the building materials attenuate the signal (depending upon type, distance etc). Thus the actual field strength will be lower than the calculated value. If the calculated value is within limits then fine.
When I applied for planning permission for my mast a few years ago the local council (Arun, West Sussex) asked for this information. I used the ARRL calculator to provide the information (and told the council it wasn’t a legal requirement for Amateur Radio yet). The form they sent me was aimed at cellphone operators.
The problem I have with the current OFCOM calculator is it needs Excel (open source equivalent doesn’t work) and it is not accurate it you have bits of wire strung around the boundary of your house on HF as I suspect it assumes a point source. To get a more accurate figure something like MMANA-Gal would be needed to model the geometry of the wire antenna.
As the licencee the exposure limts don’t apply to yourself but I assume they do to any family members.
Hi.
Just tried the Ofcom spreadsheet in LibreOffice 6.0.7.3 on Linux (Mint 19.3)
I can’t (yet) vouch for the accuracy (or otherwise) of the figures, but the sheet seems to load and operate without obvious error or other “upset” (warnings etc.)
I’ll have to try it at work on current Windows 10 + O365 etc, to see if the same figures result.
73.
Dave G0WBX(G8KBV)
I only tried it with OpenOffice 4.1.6 on a Windows machine and couldn’t get it to run.
Hi again.
I’ve just checked between LibreOffice on Linux (as above) and O365 Excel on Win10.
Other than a minor cosmetic change for the border surounding the block of text below the actual calculator, it all works the same on both systems, with the same numbers falling out the bottom.
73.
Dave G0WBX(G8KBV)
Haha try and work that one out for mobile units!
If anything, it may be easier to calculate for a mobile setup, where the antennas (especially at VHF/UHF) are much more predictabl, than random wire antennas at HF.
But may not result in a particularly good result (in our terms) where it may be relatively easy to exceed the field levels for the general public walking past your car. (I have NOT done any “measurements”. Yet…)
73
Dave G0WBX(G8KBV)
Hi Pete,
I have just viewed the Interview video on the Ofcom EMF amateur radio Licence changes, very interesting, However, if we are to undertake a risk assessment on our equipment (ie, operating at 10 watts) , etc, Is there to be provided by OFCOM or the RSGB a general risk assessment for each individual operator needs that can be checked or be a type of tick box check against the risk assessment requirements.
I would appreciate your response and comments to the above.
Regards
Steve
M7 SWS
Hi Steve,
You can check using the Ofcom EMF calculator – https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/file/0022/204529/emf-calculator-v0.1.1.xlsx
I suspect that once this gets finalised and the licence gets amended, guidance will be available on how best to document the results.
Great interveiw Pete, This is going to be an interesting year or so.
Thanks Brian – Agreed. Let’s see what happens after the consultation.
An interesting video – thanks. A few comments though. Ofcom are consulting about implementation so are open to feedback.
They have defined family and friends as part of the ‘general public’ so you need to start thinking about fields in the garden and home, particularly if you are using a vertical or inverted L HF antenna, an antenna that comes within 3m of your home or, God forbid, comes into your home to an ATU.
Also the Annex sheet of the Ofcom spreadsheet calculator make clear you’re supposed to use the EIRP and disregard the antenna pattern. This means a VHF/UHF beam may appear to have an inconveniently large safety distance despite signals at nearby ground level being in or close to a null. ITU document K.70 has advice on reducing exposure levels which suggests antennas with higher gain as one option. Ofcom’s calculator would make exposures look worse whereas in reality they would be better!
73
Mike
G4RAA
Surly if this ever get off the ground it is open to all kinds of abuse, who is going to police it, certainly not ofcom. I can`t see this being aken up by any other country i am sure of that, so us radio hame in the UK be will be down trodden even more. If it does become an ofcom ruling then perhap it will help put a stop to all the big arrays and high gain yagis that are around so we all can use Amature radio on an even playing field for all. regards Brian.
This is going to mess up so much. Remember this is 10W EIRP not the power into the antenna but the power radiated by the antenna. Even QRPers using gain antennas will have to be careful. Mobile operation will be tricky as will casual /P activity such as SOTA which may even be impossible in many cases.
Looking at the Ofcom spreadsheet transmit time and duty factor over a 6 minute period should also be taken into account meaning that for example, FM safe distances are different from SSB safe distances.
Can someone please confirm whether I am correct or not by stating that 50W into a 0.0dBi ground mounted vertical antenna on 29.5MHz FM would need to be at least 2.26m away from a member of the public.
Can someone also ensure that each and every microwave oven has an adequate seal and people using mobile phones keep their distance?
I am not qualified to write a meaningful response to the RSGB but I hope someone on here (maybe Essex Ham) will be contributing.
The other thing I wonder about, you log in with your details use the calculator and fail to meet the required parameters it is no doubt recorded will that generate a visit from Ofcom??
Will this be dealt with by Ofcom? Hopefully not a council jobs worth in traffic warden style.
Ofcom’s calculator is a basic Excel spreadsheet – no personal details are entered either when downloading or putting in data.
Hi John, Have a look at the Ofcom notes marked * under instructions for use. You may use duty factors which will significantly reduce the separation distance. Hope this helps. Leslie G0CIB
Hi John, Have a look at the Ofcom notes marked * under instructions for use. You may use duty factors which significantly reduce the separation distance. Hope this helps. Leslie G0CIB
Assuming you used the spreadsheet, you are not correct. In particular, the answer will depend on the length of the radiating element and details of loading coils and any capacitative loading. I don’t think a 0.0dBi ground mounted antenna is physically possible, unless you are including resistive losses. One would need a physically possible antenna to either run NEC to calculate it, or to actually measure it.
Hi David, Have a look at the Ofcom calculator Annex Tab, Technical notes : limitations of the calculator, bullet point 3. It covers the issues you have raised. 73 Leslie G0CIB
so what about the satellite comms guys who hold a dual band antenna to track a stellite?
like https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/1317838914439307268
(Hello from WA8NVW, from the west shore of the big pond) : I would suggest that if your handheld station is only receiving but not tramsmitting on the second radio and antenna, you obviously have zero ERP on that side, therefore also zero possibillity of creating a hazardous exposure zone for that receive-only frequency band. Our regulatory agency (FCC) does accept that logic, and hopefully Ofcom will as well.
I haven’t read all your comments to see if this has already been suggested, but:
http://hintlink.com/power_density_uk.htm
Will provide a very easy method of working out the problem to see if you are safe or not. Be sure to choose
UK pages at the top of the screen and recheck if it still says that if you need to do more than one calculation. Easy!
Regardless of the difficulty actually complying with the regs, I don’t think we can legitimately claim that EMF exposure is not a concern: it’s just that the UK hasn’t taken it seriously in the past. I’ll have a go at my own “Use Cases” to get a feel for whether there are likely to be any issues; but I doubt it.
Agreed Gareth. Very concerning to see some amateurs commenting that they will simply ignore this – what kind of message does that send… that amateurs feel they are exempt from complying with safety guidelines?
What an oversimplification. It is the total exposure including adjacent transmitters. If a phone company puts up a mast near you then they need to add their calculations to yours. The rule is that the last user at the site must do the calcs or measurements. I guess that if a fire engine draws up near your house it will have to do an assesment including your station before they can use their radios. If there is a concealed mobile base station near you you may have to demand their information. Will they be obliged to label their equipment so you can contact them for information? With the new steerable antennas for the new mobile phone systems I guess they may not comply with the 10W EIRP.
I did some calculations for an amateur rig with 500mW PA output and the EIRP was 50KW.
All this for something where no harm has been shown. This is not about safety. It is about politics.
i was in the fire service – they love risk assessments – and I’m sure that if you approach the officer in charge of the machine ( usually identifiable by a large white surcoat saying ” incident commander ” or some such – he or she will drop everything to furnish you with the relevant information and a copy of the risk assessment they did before leaving station ( or at change of watch ) – and is the reason the house is now ” well alight ” because they took so long to decide how much power the radio system is running
actually it was risk assessments and other PC nonsense that caused me to walk after 23 years in the job …………… and that was 20 years ago so gawd knows what its like now .lol
Lots of views in here guys , i am wondering if they ever come to my house will they measure the ammount of vdsl crap i get from my phone lines and wipe out alot of my hf bands? Ofcom didnt seem interested at all in that
Well I have heard this before. Ofcom stated that there have been only three complaints to them ! The RSGB disagreed and at the time pointed out six. If there is no direct “in writing” complaints to Ofcom then then on the basis of three complaints (or even six) the issue is minimal. Hence why Ofcom don’t appear to be interested.
interesting , well as others have observed , “who ” exactly is going to enforce this ?? – they ( ofcom ) don’t enforce their own laws as it is ( vdsl et al ) and any law that cant or wont be enforced is a bad law – its like all these cv19 rules – more by breach than observance .lol
any hoo – g6urm – who only runs qrp these days has a solution – i shall make a large sign saying ” danger RF hazard – keep 10 yards away at all times ” this will stop the public putting themselves in any danger ( they have a duty of care too ) but also stop them asking annoying questions like ” what you doing mate ?? ” and ” is that like CB ?? ” – and my risk assessment will reflect this by reading ” i put up a sign – not my fault if they a: ignored it , or b: they are too stupid to read the sign ………… having said that most folks keep well clear anyway as they don’t like the look of weird old guys doing …… well whatever it is we are doing – and tell their children either to ” come away dear ” – or ” don’t stare ” – as to my existing neighbours – well most of them think I’m weird anyway and keep well clear – and the others some of whom peddle illegal substances are too bombed out to care anyway – soooo – sorted so far as i go .
but seriously : how do you measure the radiation from a kite bourn antenna that’s dancing around 60 meters up ?? – if anyone knows – i love them to tell me as most of my few forays out these days involve kites ….. or balloons – or both ( i kid you not !! – last time was in feb – just before this cv stuff started when we worked 6000 miles to cape town on 6 w ssb – on Dartmoor – 1500 ft asl in the fog with maybe sheep and a pony as the only living things within 5 miles of us ) – why they cant just let us use COMMON SENSE ” I DONT KNOW ??? – anyway thanks Essex ham – as it was only reading your site that i even knew of all this – regards to all – de G6URM Plymouth
( usual disclaimer : all viewpoints are personal opinion and mainly tounge in cheek in nature – so please feel free to ignore me )
You raise interesting questions. Some off-the-cuff answers…
Who will enforce this? They won’t unless there’s a complaint. We all know that there’s no-one to enforce many of the conditions. We are required to test our stations “from time to time” – who enforces that? An who ensures a Foundation licencee doesn’t stay over the 10 watts limit. This will be another requirement that’s unlikely to be checked until a problem occurs.
Kite antennas – We can use the Ofcom calculator to do the numbers. Assuming 50 watts EIRP on 80m with the transmitter only on for 50% of the time, the safe distance is 0.9 meters (3f) – as long as no member comes within 0.9 meters of the radiating bit of the antenna – all is good. Of course, you can use factors like co-ax loss and the fact that when using SSB, you’re not always at 100% power, reducing the “danger zone” even further!
From a safety point of view – should you be flying a kite that close to a member of the public anyway? (trip hazard, garotting, etc)
You mention 6 watts to cape town – that’s below the 10 watts for this new ruling, so nothing to worry about if that QRP!
Pete
thanks for working the figures Pete – so no problems with my 6 w then .lol – but i do have a portable with a WHOLE QRO 20 w – will have to re risk assess .lol
as to flying kites near the public ?? – nope keep as far away from them as i can – most annoying creatures – who have no sense of THEIR duty of care – not to get tangled up in my kite line and cause themselves ” life changing ” injuries as they call it these days – still plenty of room up on’t moors to bury the evidence ( nah – did not see anyone officer – bar a few sheep )
the ssb to cape town caught both myself and my co conspirator / driver / kite pilot DVE 2E0DTC by surprise – it was on 18 mhz too – as there was a contest on 14 that day – Dave helps me out with trips as I’m disabled and don’t drive now – so we go out playing radio when we can – as its a tad difficult to fly kites in the middle of Plymouth …………….. well you can but …………….. and the police take an interest in the mobility scooter / trailer combo at times – but with all this cv 19 going on – i rarely get out these days – so like to cause maximum havoc / public outrage when i do
regards
brett
Ofcom can’t even police CB, there are lots of CB mobile stations running 100 watts, plus novice licence holders who run 100 watt transceiver at full power. Are the also they are also including marine band VHF, most hand held run 1/5 watts, and fixed set 1/25 watts. I know of two licenced operators who have around fifteen antennas only feet from their neighbours, and run full legal limit, on all bands, I cannot see them turning down the wick.
It sounds like another lot of rubbish from Ofcom run by people who are pen pushers.
The government have just about wrecked the model aircraft hobby, so now they are starting on the radio hams.
I don’t think anyone actually thinks Ofcom will be out in force policing this. Does Ofcom police the rule that we must all check our stations “from time to time”? No. Similarly, they don’t actively police power limits if someone creeps a watt over the limit.
This will become another licence clause that we will be required to complete in case of a subsequent complaint to show that we understand and comply with WTA.
As it only takes a few minutes to comply, it’s hardly an ordeal.
As my neighbours think I am into CB radio so maybe I will not have to bother with all this. hihi M0SSK
Very interesting:”…. licensees to comply with the ICNIRP general public limits on EMF exposure…”. As an observer of this article, I am surprised about the word ‘comply’, which implies a huge amount of testing and conditions here: Perhaps accredited EMC laboratories might carry out compliance testing, using state of the art EM fully-calibrated and certified equipment and instruments within controlled environments i.e. EMC chambers, or OATS, but for a ham radio hobbyist to report a ‘compliant’ condition goes too far away for the purpose of a non-profitable activity, actually it is impossible, considering the cost of declaring compliance with a standard’s limit, as this is an engineering process carried out by qualified personnel using specialized test facilities!
Hi Kostas, The proposals by Ofcom indicate that the values can either be measured or calculated. I do take your point about calibrated equipment, state of the art equipment and calibration can be very very expensive ! However it is quite straight forward to calculate the electric field strength and from that the magnetic field strength and power density can be derived. It need not be a precise figure !!! For example one calculation I did indicated a field strength of 4 V/m. The question therefore did this value exceed 28 V/m….. ? I’m quite happy to show how it can be done. Leslie G0CIB
My take on the subject.
A typical 5g mobile phone
0.9GHz @ 200mW = 0.1m
source https://www.grandmetric.com/2019/03/26/5g-health-issues-explained/
5g urban network proposals
0.9GHz @ 40W = 1.35m Macro base station
3.5GHz @ 20W = 0.64m Micro base station
source – https://www.ericsson.com/en/blog/2019/9/energy-consumption-5g-nr
Ham
160m (3.5MHz) @ 20W = 0.84m
80m (7MHz) @ 20W = 1.19m
40m (14MHz) @ 20W = 1.43m
10m (28MHz) @ 20W = 1.43m
2m (144MHz) @ 20W = 1.43m
70cm (430MHz) @ 20W = 1.32m
Using quite low power output and are likely to be an issue if a RF radiator is close to co-household boundary or antenna and feed suffer from high RFI. Higher wattage transmission will need more separation distance.
x10 metrics
100Khz @ 20W = 0.45m
1MHz @ 20W = 0.45m
10Mhz @ 20W = 1.42m
100Mhz @ 20W = 1.43m 500MHz @20W = 1.28m
1GHz @ 20W = 0.9m
10GHz @ 20W = 0.64m
100GHz @ 20W = 0.45m
why are HF and UHF values high and microwave values lower the higher the frequency?
Automotive radar
75 to 110 GHz @ 10W = 1.1m. Zapped before you get run over……nice.
The moral of the story is, keep your mobile phone 4″ away from yours and everyone else’s body. 5g masts and technology are safe (it is the phone that is more of a risk). As cars get smarter it will be time to wear your tinfoil hat. MF, HF and UHF frequencies are seemingly bad and we will be swamped with EHF and SHF radiation whether we like it or not.
Disputes on Ham antenna placement will become an issue as the general public become more aware and the media kick up a frenzy.
The spreadsheet does seem to give separation distance values that are favorable to microwave transmissions.
UHF, EHF and SHF limits are lower which is quite interesting as that is where all the money is in spectrum franchising and licencing!
I did contact the RSGB regarding the fact that an old kitchen microwave could be more dangerous than any amateur transmission but I received no reply. I later sent them another e-mail which included my view that CB is licence exempt therefore Ofcom do not know who is active on CB meaning that these rules would not be enforceable as far as CB is concerned. The RSGB responded with “that’s Ofcom’s problem”. It is Ofcom’s problem but it is also ham radio’s problem.
Why have a licence to operate a radio and be subjected to a rule that if broken could lead to 51 weeks in prison when one could just buy a CB transceiver and put up a type approved vertical without scrutiny or enforcement?
I think the RSGB fail to see the whole picture and fail to understand how this will affect many radio amateurs. Instead of counter-arguing Ofcom’s (and Public Health England’s) proposals with scientific evidence the RSGB have pretty much sat back and accepted what Ofcom have proposed.
Not representing radio amateurs, not protecting amateur radio and not arguing a strong case demonstrates how weak the RSGB is in its approach. If the proposed rules come into effect many radio hams might have to leave the hobby altogether meaning the RSGB will have a smaller membership and possibly even less clout in the future.
One positive of all this is that those who decide to leave amateur radio will have more time to pursue other hobbies, that re not made difficult by local planning law and illegal interference. The latter not being addressed by RSGB or Ofcom in an effective way
Another positive is that the few who have an acre of garden which is roughly square, can keep their effective ham radio antennas and buy lots of cheap equipment off those who are quitting radio for good.
This is a sorry time for amateur radio and those who should represent radio hams and the authorities are to blame.
Totally agree with you on this,our national body who are supposed to fight our corner seem to have sold us down the river.I operate 2 metre MS 240 watts and 7 element antenna at 9m on the back of my house,this would need a separation of 15m i live in a terraced house so end of story for me.
This is getting too Politically Correct now, we are running almost a quarter of the power of most other countries.
Where do we draw the line? I can see the need for business users and large corporations to take measurements and comply with the regulations, but hobbyists in theyre own homes really? We would not want to fry the TV license inspector walking down our driveway would we? God forbid the postman!
We need to act and challenge this, we should be able to use common sense when it comes to portable operation and things, maybe go into further detail with the exam syllabus to cover this… I know EMF is allready deep rooted into the syllabus.
Seems like this hobby will not be here in years to come, seems they will be making it more difficult with every consultation, Thanks Ofcom.
hi good afternoon to everyone,i find it difficult to understand why they limit intermidiate licence holders
to 50 watts ,when most set are capable of 100watts .The foundation is 10watts ,full licence 400watts,how does 50 watts fit in .regards AJ.73s
This is the nail in the hobby of Amateur radio , I am glad I am 80 yrs old , It is the death nell for us all…
I shall be donating my radio equipment as soon as possible..
Feb 2 nd 2021, M1EDF, This is the nail in the coffin / hobby of Amateur radio , I am glad I am 80 yrs old , It is the death nell for us all…
I shall be donating my radio equipment as soon as possible.. it is to much of a worry that senior citizens can do without, The legislation is being implimented by Whiz kids who have no life time experience under there belt…Goodbye Amateur radio…
There is now an android APP for doing the calculations, it is here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.savill.emfcalculator
Having been employed by a company that made radio’s , they don’t care about compliant tests, i retired now and glad, they still radiating rf 2mtrs/ 4mtrs 5wtts that if you own a keyless entry car you don’t get back in it.Ofcom don’t care.
looks like my radio days will be over as i live i a terraced house with small garden
Will the RSGB be fighting this proposal ?
I agree with the comments above. I have a smallish garden and using the calculator means I cannot use a wire or even a vertical with 100W because I just don’t have the space to achieve the desired separation from the neighbours.
I agree that the RSGB do not seem to understand the problems that this will cause for perhaps the majority of UK amateurs. Their answer to the VDSL problem was to develop some sophisticated software , to which OFCOMS response was basically “so what?”
RSGB not protecting amateur radio at all.
Most likely QRT now after 45 years.
Now the calculator is up and running, we can see that any radio amateur operating in an urban environment on HF is stuffed. My inverted L is fed at the bottom of a fiberglass mast so set the feed point to ground level and both my neighbours gardens fall into my exclusion zone of 3.4m for 20m band and 4.7m for 30m band. This includes powers of 40 or 50 watts. Anyone with limited space will find it hard to comply. And what for bands below 10Mhz. There are calculators on line that work at these frequencies and its not good. 12m plus exclusion zone!!!!!!
Goodbye to ha hobby I have enjoyed for over 35 years. I have just retired this month and was going to do so much more radio. I will miss the training of newcomers.
Seems thr RSGB think everyone has land and beams on towers, and forget people with limited space. RSGB will be a £60 saving from my budget at least.
I took my A licence in 1993 so are they going to compensate for moving the goal posts.
I hear everyone saying they won’t police this. They don’t need to. Neighbours will. No Win No Fee parasites will. As we stand our defence is our license allows us to transmit 400 watts. Now we have to prove we don’t radiate a field into people next door or in public. So our biggest defence that the licensing authority say we can has gone. 50 watts and I am not legal. Move my antenna and wiped out with noise and VDSL. Rase my antenna an fit in nothing for bands below 14Mhz.
the point is staying a m3 as I HAVE FOR 14 YRS is that do I need to comply with the new regs>
I seem to recall one radio amateur asking about the gain of long wire antennas ? I believe this is the information you are looking for chapter 7 , 7-1, The ARRL antenna book 1984 ISBN 0-87259-414-9, if you require the graph I can e mail it to you. leslieg0cib@gmail.com 73 Leslie
Ok, I’ve just done my risk assessment calculations; like millions in the UK I live in a typical terraced house, like most its only 3.81m (12.5f) wide including garden, with wattage not exceeding 35.5 Watts I can just comply, but only if I place my antenna directly in the middle point of my property at 12 Watts I would need 1.77m clearance, so if I understand all this correctly I will need imaginary sphere of 3.54m around my antenna. So i could run up to 35.5watts max, but this would be from 26 MHz and above, I cannot comply with any frequency under 26 MHz at any wattage, well apart from 0 watts.
Now none of the above considered reactive near-field zone. So taking my reactive near-field zone would be 1.84m, now that’s a problem for me as we have concrete slotted fence posts and plinths on both sides of my property which contains steel reinforcing, so even at 1 watt i cannot comply (I know under 10watts is exempt) but what this means SSB citizen band radios that are allowed to use 12 Watts on SSB should also come into question.
The thing is it’s not that simple,
I haven’t taken into consideration the height of the antenna, which is a big factor when calculating EMF, EIRP, Frequency and power density. What I’m saying if my antenna is 6m off the ground I easily comply.
That’s my understanding of all this.
the only time ill even consider this is when ofcom get their act together on the amont of nice there is on the hf bands to then ofcom can go and { f} themselves
The rsgb calculator has restrictions it can not be used with antennas longer than one half wavelength
also it can not be used to calculate field strength in the reactive near field , which may extend 30 or 40 mts from the antenna depending on antenna length and operating frequency
so if you use a G5RVon say 10mts you fail on both counts and need to measure both electrical and magnetic fields…………good luck with that.
if you look in the anex sheet in the exel spread sheet all the info is there