Wifi Antennas & Signal Booster Question

[The_Denv]

I thought I better act quick and get a post in this thread before it gets closed and fired to the IC, so please excuse my lack of quotes...

@archangel.amael/Thorn:
I knew radio waves where dangerous but jesus man [amael] you glow in the dark Thats some serious stuff right there. Thorn, you obviously know a lot about radio amplification, my Yagi 19dBi directional antenna actually has a sticker on the underside that reads:

"Note: You can be KILLED if this product comes near electrical power lines"

I have been using this Yagi for nearly 2 years now and my house has one of those huge pylons 500 yards from my house. Actually there are 6 huge pylons within a 1 mile radius from my house, my Yagi can reach 1+ mile[s]. Can you give me any advice? I also think that the Yagi has contributed to my dogs illness, the poor dog is 11yrs old but ever since I have had this antenna she has developed roughly 18 lumps all over her body both internal and external. Do you think 802.11 can do this?

Final note: I have my Yagi antenna mounted on a photography tripod which is pointing to my AP, the Yagi is behind me pointing through my head to my AP as my chair/desk is in an awkward postion, having a 19dBi Yagi pointed to my head for nearly 2 years is worrying me; can you again please advise me? I am not joking, it sounds crazy but the rooms in my house are small and cramped - thus the antenna broadcasting through my head

@streaker69: LOL! I love your sarcasm man

[imported_=Tron=]

Final note: I have my Yagi antenna mounted on a photography tripod which is pointing to my AP, the Yagi is behind me pointing through my head to my AP as my chair/desk is in an awkward postion, having a 19dBi Yagi pointed to my head for nearly 2 years is worrying me; can you again please advise me? I am not joking, it sounds crazy but the rooms in my house are small and cramped - thus the antenna broadcasting through my head

Wow now this setup would worry even me, but at least you keep it warm an cosy for your braincells

[Thorn]

I thought I better act quick and get a post in this thread before it gets closed and fired to the IC, so please excuse my lack of quotes...

@archangel.amael/Thorn:
I knew radio waves where dangerous but jesus man [amael] you glow in the dark Thats some serious stuff right there. Thorn, you obviously know a lot about radio amplification, my Yagi 19dBi directional antenna actually has a sticker on the underside that reads:

"Note: You can be KILLED if this product comes near electrical power lines"

I have been using this Yagi for nearly 2 years now and my house has one of those huge pylons 500 yards from my house. Actually there are 6 huge pylons within a 1 mile radius from my house, my Yagi can reach 1+ mile[s]. Can you give me any advice? I also think that the Yagi has contributed to my dogs illness, the poor dog is 11yrs old but ever since I have had this antenna she has developed roughly 18 lumps all over her body both internal and external. Do you think 802.11 can do this?

Final note: I have my Yagi antenna mounted on a photography tripod which is pointing to my AP, the Yagi is behind me pointing through my head to my AP as my chair/desk is in an awkward postion, having a 19dBi Yagi pointed to my head for nearly 2 years is worrying me; can you again please advise me? I am not joking, it sounds crazy but the rooms in my house are small and cramped - thus the antenna broadcasting through my head

@streaker69: LOL! I love your sarcasm man

I don't know about the dog, as dogs do develop problems as they age, and 11 is about equivalent to a 75 or 80 year old human.

The pylons don't have anything to do with it, and the warning sticker is just to remind you not to touch the overhead mains lines. (What we Americans call the overhead incoming AC lines.) Since the antenna and mast are metal they will conduct electricity, and touching them could lead to a fatal shock.

The potential problems with antennas is due to the RF radiation. The actual numbers depend on the input power going into the antenna, but the "Near Field" of any antenna is considered potentially dangerous to humans and animals. (Google "Near Field" for the math formulas.)

Because of the way RF radiation works, and the nature of the human body, the two areas that are can have the most potential damage done to them from RF are the eyeballs and the testicles. These two pairs of organs have the highest water content, and the least amount of protection by skin and other organs. For those reasons, they have the highest potential for being heated by the RF.

As to your antenna, *I* would NOT use that setup. (As in "NO F*CKING WAY" would I use it.) I value my eyes and balls too much.

[The_Denv]

Wow now this setup would worry even me, but at least you keep it warm an cosy for your braincells

Heh lol, I guess it is kind of worrying when I think about it.

I don't know about the dog, as dogs do develop problems as they age, and 11 is about equivalent to a 75 or 80 year old human.

The pylons don't have anything to do with it, and the warning sticker is just to remind you not to touch the overhead mains lines. (What we Americans call the overhead incoming AC lines.) Since the antenna and mast are metal they will conduct electricity, and touching them could lead to a fatal shock.

The potential problems with antennas is due to the RF radiation. The actual numbers depend on the input power going into the antenna, but the "Near Field" of any antenna is considered potentially dangerous to humans and animals. (Google "Near Field" for the math formulas.)

Because of the way RF radiation works, and the nature of the human body, the two areas that are can have the most potential damage done to them from RF are the eyeballs and the testicles. These two pairs of organs have the highest water content, and the least amount of protection by skin and other organs. For those reasons, they have the highest potential for being heated by the RF.

As to your antenna, *I* would NOT use that setup. (As in "NO F*CKING WAY" would I use it.) I value my eyes and balls too much.

Yeh 75-80 does sound right, they are all over her...I guess it is just old age.

Ahh, so the warning sticker is just to protect the manufacture from being sued if anything did happen? I am reading a few articles on 'Near Field'/'Far Field' as I type this reply out, it seems I have had an electromagnetic field around my brain for 2 years - Holy Shit! Apparently manufacturers state their products performance under the 'Far Field' and not 'Near Field', I think I found out a reason to my 1-mile Yagi not reaching 1 mile. Apparently RF affects you more if your awake because there are no delta waves in your brain while you are awake.

After reading a few webpages on EMF and RF I do not know what to think as a lot of them state there is nothing wrong with it and some of them state differently. Example: http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/20...s-of-wifi.html

LOL@ No F**king way would I use it. Yeh I know what you mean and it does concern me. Even though my rooms are all cramped I am seriously thinking of rearranging my furniture so the antenna is not pointing directly through my head anymore [Its only 6-7cm away from my head, pointing DIRECTLY to my head]. 2 years is a long time of exposure, hopefully it has not done anything. I wear glasses and my balls are working fine ...so maybe I still have a chance.

Thorn, I have been trying my best to find an antenna called a 'rope' antenna that I can just hang out the window of my shed without worrying about heavy/taut cables [coming from my YAGi] bending and breaking my Edimax USB card. Have you heard of such a thing? I have been looking for it for around a year, I remember seeing it on a YouTube video but I lost the URL and now can't seem to find any info. Maybe its my choice of Google keywords I am not sure. Any thoughts?

[Barry]

Thorn, I have been trying my best to find an antenna called a 'rope' antenna that I can just hang out the window of my shed without worrying about heavy/taut cables [coming from my YAGi] bending and breaking my Edimax USB card

That almost sounds like "leaky coax".

[Thorn]

That almost sounds like "leaky coax".

My thought exactly.

As to the issue of Near Field/Far Field and "Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity":
1) The Near Field is the potentially dangerous area, and may be extremely dangerous depending on the frequency.
2) The Far Field is not dangerous in most cases. This is true of 2.4GHz.
3) There are some nut-jobs who think that rays from Mars control their thoughts. There are others who claim they are sensitive to RF waves. I've yet too see any proof of either case. Personally, I would love to see a blind test with one (or more) of these people in a Faraday Cage and have various transmitters and antennas in there with them. I'm betting they could not tell better than 50% of the time (which is the same rate as guessing) as to whether a given antenna was radiating.

[The_Denv]

That almost sounds like "leaky coax".

Thanks Barry, I Google'd it and found out that many companies have been using leaky coax for years, especially in elevator shafts where antennas don't make any sense. I am going to look into this, although at the moment I do not have any spare coax laying around.

As to the issue of Near Field/Far Field and "Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity":
1) The Near Field is the potentially dangerous area, and may be extremely dangerous depending on the frequency.
2) The Far Field is not dangerous in most cases. This is true of 2.4GHz.
3) There are some nut-jobs who think that rays from Mars control their thoughts. There are others who claim they are sensitive to RF waves. I've yet too see any proof of either case. Personally, I would love to see a blind test with one (or more) of these people in a Faraday Cage and have various transmitters and antennas in there with them. I'm betting they could not tell better than 50% of the time (which is the same rate as guessing) as to whether a given antenna was radiating.

I am seriously going to have to look into leaky coax, I am beginning to get a little worried about my setup. I bet my Near Field in my room is beyond highly dangerous lol! Either that or I am going to make my Yagi waterproof (or should I say make sure rain can't dribble down the coax and into my card). Well, it looks like its 'FF' or 'LC' for me.

LOL@Mars, are you referring to the zodiac or some nut-job who thinks there really is RF coming from Mars? Faraday cages have always interested me, that would be a good thing to test out on the paranoid people so they can get a good nights sleep. Come to think of it, after watching an episode of 'Lost' apparently exposure to EMF's allow you to time travel LMAO!

[Thorn]

LOL@Mars, are you referring to the zodiac or some nut-job who thinks there really is RF coming from Mars? Faraday cages have always interested me, that would be a good thing to test out on the paranoid people so they can get a good nights sleep. Come to think of it, after watching an episode of 'Lost' apparently exposure to EMF's allow you to time travel LMAO!

I'd classify anyone who believe in either the Zodiac or that RF comes from Mars as nut jobs, although I was specifically referring to the latter.

EMF exposure allows time travel? Damn, I've been fiddling around with different radios since the 1970's and it hasn't happened yet.

[streaker69]

LOL@Mars, are you referring to the zodiac or some nut-job who thinks there really is RF coming from Mars? Faraday cages have always interested me, that would be a good thing to test out on the paranoid people so they can get a good nights sleep. Come to think of it, after watching an episode of 'Lost' apparently exposure to EMF's allow you to time travel LMAO!

That's odd. I've been exposed to EMF for a long time and I don't recall time travel either.

[Barry]

Thanks Barry, I Google'd it and found out that many companies have been using leaky coax for years, especially in elevator shafts where antennas don't make any sense. I am going to look into this, although at the moment I do not have any spare coax laying around.



I am seriously going to have to look into leaky coax, I am beginning to get a little worried about my setup. I bet my Near Field in my room is beyond highly dangerous lol! Either that or I am going to make my Yagi waterproof (or should I say make sure rain can't dribble down the coax and into my card). Well, it looks like its 'FF' or 'LC' for me.

LOL@Mars, are you referring to the zodiac or some nut-job who thinks there really is RF coming from Mars? Faraday cages have always interested me, that would be a good thing to test out on the paranoid people so they can get a good nights sleep. Come to think of it, after watching an episode of 'Lost' apparently exposure to EMF's allow you to time travel LMAO!

The yagi should already be water resistant. Make sure the weep holes are pointed down. Put a drip loop at each end of your coax run. One before it attaches to the yagi, and one before it comes into your house. Should be fine. Pick up some coax water proofing tape at home depot, or your equivalent store, and tape up the outside connectors.