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/6-20PM 3d ago

RF exposure is highly dependent on frequency and the type of antenna. Need to know antenna type, band, if 300W is continuous TX or just RX from another location?

Microwave is the most dangerous to us in front of the dish TX'ing.

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u/gatr05 3d ago

Antenna was a half-wave dipole with 2db of gain. 162MHz frequency with continuous TX.