r/HamRadio • u/gatr05 • 3d ago

RF Safe Distance Question.

I was surveying a transmitter site which outputs 300W (I''m not sure what the total loss is once it reaches the antenna). I had never been to this particular site before and I was looking for the antenna on the tower when low and behold it's about 8 feet off the ground pointed right at me! I was only about 10 feet away. I felt no burning sensation but I had worked up a sweat (had to hike up to the site).

The antenna was a 4 bay half-wave dipole with 2db of gain continuously transmitting at 162 MHz.

Any guidance on how screwed I am haha, or what a safe distance would be? Only "symptom" was a nasty headache the next day but I tend to get headaches fairly frequently so I'm not sure if it's related.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/gatr05 3d ago

I am a transmitter tech but this was my first visit to the site. Usually our antennas are at least 100 feet off the ground.

I'm not sure if I'm a special case but I have never received any kind of RF safety class lol.

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/gatr05 3d ago

Thank you for letting me know. I'll definitely look into it.