November 13, 2009 01:24PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
So lately, if possible, I try to catch the doctor Oz show. I like this guy and the things you can learn!
Monday he's going to have cell phones as a topic, I'd be interested what you guys think. It's a channel five (uck***spit) show so it should be able to be accessed on the net if 3 in the afternoon isn't a good time for you. I try not to use these damned things but they're so handy its hard not to- does anybody know if there is a cell phone that isn't dangerous, or ones that particularly are? Ever on the path to truth and justice, Rick |
November 13, 2009 01:43PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 797 : Ottawa |
Don't be talking on your cellphone, or trying to dial a number, while riding your motorcycle. That would fall into the "particularly dangerous" category. |
November 13, 2009 03:16PM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
November 13, 2009 07:27PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Any cellphone you have to hold near your head is potentially dangerous. I was working at Motorola back when all those cases of brain cancer hit the media...you wouldn't believe the amount of money that was spent to dispel/cover up/make it go away Nothing has really changed; teens are now the hardest hit group with brain cancers from cell phone use/abuse. If Oz spills the beans, he's telling the truth; if he tows the corporate line, he's lying and becomes nothing more than Oprah's latest toy |
November 13, 2009 07:30PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
To a certain degree you are right but the real danger is the antenna being in close proximity to your head. All the crap that the phone manufacturers have sold the public and the media is a crock of guano. You would have to holds the cell phone at arms length from your head before the affects are reduced enough for the signals to become nothing more than back ground noise |
November 13, 2009 08:16PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
I've heard, from an engineer, that cell phones in a car (being metal) is like a microwave oven for your brain; the waves keep going around and round... We'll see what hes got to say, should be interesting |
November 14, 2009 06:17AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 670 |
November 14, 2009 06:52AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
That's partially true but the strength of the signals is vastly reduced the farther it gets from the antenna. The real danger is from the close proximity of the antenna to the head. Using a cell phone on the top of a mountain has just about the same potential to cause brain cancer |
November 15, 2009 09:56AM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
well i'm screwed, then. |
November 15, 2009 10:42AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,538 |
Just beware of the potential and try to limit the length of time you spend on calls. The type of phone you have can also make a small bit of difference. If you remember back when this was all big news and the makers were scrambling to do damage control; Motorola came out with the flip phone which pointed the antenna away from the side of the head somewhat and they claimed that the problem was solved. Well not really but it did get rid of all the media interest. Antenna technology has come a long way since then and many of the newer phones have designed radiation patterns which reduce the exposure to the head. This is good but we still need to be aware of the consequences of too much exposure. If you are really concerned then use Text Messaging more often, it gets the antenna well away from your head. Let us know what Dr Oz has to say |
November 16, 2009 04:58AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 280 : NW of Boston, MA |
I'm taking a class on Wireless Communications right now, and this is one of the topics we have discussed. Especially with the advent of "smartphones" like Blackberrys and iPhones, we are exposed to more and more radiation. Smartphones have to put out significantly higher power levels to deal with the increased bandwidth required for the high speed data transfer as well as voice.
Cell phone companies even work in a factor called "head loss" into their link budget analysis when designing networks. Roughly half of the transmit power your phone puts out is absorbed by your head. Yes, phone antennae could be designed to radiate most of the power out of the back of the phone in a very tight "pencil" beam, away from your head, but then the problem becomes one of your signal not being aimed towards the nearest tower. There would still be some radiation into your head anyway, but not nearly as much. Since a user is always on the move (it is a "mobile" phone, after all), if the radiation pattern was directed outward from the back of the phone so that it didn't go into your head, the chances are good that it would just shoot off harmlessly, missing the receive antenna of the base station, and then people would complain about having poor coverage. I think the general public is more concerned about poor cell coverage than brain cancer. Hands free devices like Bluetooth headsets are perhaps even worse, since people leave them on their heads constantly, and they're always radiating to some extent to keep in contact with the mobile. My professor recently did an interview with a local newspaper on the topic of a new wireless system being deployed up here, and the constant worries people have about cell towers being put near their homes. His opinion is that if one wants to say that the towers are ugly, you're completely entitled to that argument. However, a quick analysis shows that if you look at three scenarios - 1) a cell tower a couple of hundred meters from your house, 2) putting your face 2 inches away from your microwave oven, or 3) having a wireless router sitting on your desk in your home office, by far the worst radiation exposure is from the router. Most people don't even think twice about having a router, Bluetooth headset, or smartphone pressed against their head for hours every day, but want to put a tower a 1/4 mile from their house, and they'll start screaming about their kids getting cancer. Be smart, don't put the radiating mobile unit against your head more than you need to, and don't let your young kids talk on the cell very much, as developing brains seem to be more susceptible than adults. But don't worry too much about it, besides, we're all going to die from cell phone/texting related car accidents long before the brain cancer can get us. Cab 1990 325i(s) 2004 325XiT |
November 16, 2009 10:31AM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
There's some truth in that last little tidbit Cab; I almost got pasted this summer by a young lady on a cell phone as she running a stop sign right in front of me! thank goodness for good handling motorcycles and luck. It'll be interesting to see what Oz has to say too. Thanks for all the info, you're really learning a lot, school can be a pisser! Rick |
November 17, 2009 02:42PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
Okay, today was the show on cell phones, very interesting. This Oz guy is Not a sellout. If you have a cell phone, you should watch the show
[www.doctoroz.com] You should be able to watch the show on the net somewhere.... but that link above had some pointers |
November 17, 2009 03:23PM
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Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 600 : Portland, OR |
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November 18, 2009 02:34PM
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Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 1,869 : Amagansett, New York |
And last night at poker my brother was saying the phones in Europe (where the in depth studies took place) are more powerful but still, cell phones have not been in use for as long as everybody else (European countries) so caution should be used, because even though ours are less powerful there's still damage done. I'm always using speaker phone, it sounds like you're in a tin can anyway (well, most of the time). I was so impressed by Oz's show; he even had a letter from the cell phone company (which was total crap), but he tried to have them on the show and he Did have many experts in the field that did speak up about the dangers.... Good man this Oz fellow Rick |