7
Why does this matter?
Since wireless communications were first developed on a large scale, the
scientific community held the opinion that “
if it does not heat you it will not
hurt you
”, as 30 years ago these were the only effects that were
acknowledged... The obvious thing to measure was the average heating
effect. The metric typically used now for measuring the averaged power of
microwave frequency EMFs is microwatts of power arriving per square
metre (µW/m
2
), and we have used this for the Acoustimeter’s average
power measurement.
There have now been hundreds of studies finding non-thermal effects
from modern wireless communication signals, which means that the
measurement system needs to be re-addressed to suit much lower signal
levels and very different characteristics. We believe that peak signal
strength is the most appropriate way to measure complex digitally
modulated, often non-continuous, signals in a meaningful manner. Signal
strength is measured in volts per metre (V/m). Many electrosensitive
individuals report adverse health effects in areas that have quite high peak
levels but have average field strengths below the more precautionary
average power guidelines.
You can mathematically convert between V/m and µW/m
2
, but this is
only accurate if you have a continuous waveform (CW) carrier signal. See
Appendix C for further details.
What do the different LED colours mean?
Our peak signal strength scale is based on personal experience of what
electrosensitive individuals have reported as adversely affecting their
health.
Below 0.05 volts per metre (V/m), few people report ill-effects, so these are
green. Between 0.05 and 0.5 V/m, some individuals report ill-effects, so
these are yellow. Above 0.5 V/m, nearly all electrosensitive individuals
report experiencing some adverse health effects, so these are red.
The average power density scale LEDs are all orange in colour.
1 W/m
2
= 1,000,000 µW/m
2
= 100 µW/cm
2
= 0.1 mW/cm
2
The LED points on each of the scales approximately match for continuous
wave (CW) signals. The more pulsatile the signal is the higher the peak
scale will read in comparison to the average power scale.
The LED scales are shown on the next page.
Summary of Contents for AM-10
Page 1: ...Acoustimeter User Manual ...
Page 8: ...8 ...
