H&S Issues with NTL Distribution Box!!!???

[Benade70]

Hi All...

New to the Forum; Not sure if this is the right place to put this BUT...

I have had a spate of headaches over the years and countless visits and tests did not come up with anything! A friend recently suggested I look around my flat if there is any major wiring, junction boxes etc!

Lo and behold there is a couple of NTL boxes where the Phone/TV feed comes into the building and is subsequently distributed into the flats. These boxes are directly on the other side where my bed headboard is in my room and separated by just a wall...!!! This initially freaked me out and the question now is, are these things known to emit any radiation or high level of RF that should be of immediate health and safety concerns??? :confused: If so, or even maybe, which government or H&S body do I contact to register my concerns immediately?

Thanks...

Regards
Benade70

[Kymmy]

Do you use a mobile/DECT phone at all during the day? If so then that's more than likely to give you a higher dosage of electro-magnetic radiation during the day.

Other than that try sleeping in one of these
http://eclectech.co.uk/mindcontrol.php

[Benade70]

Thx Kymmy for your reply and tin hat humour, to think I actually clicked on the link :)

Yes l use both Mobile/Dect phones, don't we all, joys of modern day living...I guess it does not appear as bad as it felt at first notice then...

[Kymmy]

If you are truly concerned then the tin foil hat song is more relevant than you think..

Just tape a piece of tin foil over the wall behind the bed and see if it helps.. It'll probably be more of a psychosomatic response but if it helps it helps.. If it does then you can always paste a layer of foil under wallpaper..

[Pauls9]

Can you try sleeping elsewhere in your flat for a few days to see if it makes a difference?

[weesteev]

Those lockboxes will contain Telephone Krone strips for terminating phone cables and also coaxial tap ports for connecting coax cable. There is nothing in the network that broadcasts a signal even remotely close to a DECT phone signal, let alone something that can give you a headache. On the contrary, if the networks emits or retains noise then it causes serious issues with service. The signal carried over the coaxial cables is RF which is essentially noise, this cant possibly cause the issues you are having with your health.

[qasdfdsaq]

To be fair DECT phones broadcast around 10-50mW and a cable modem can transmit at up to 13mW so a hundred of them together would be far in excess of a DECT phone rather than not even remotely close. However that said the cables are shielded to keep the signal in, rather than designed to radiate it out as effectively as possible so the actual RF output is far far lower.

There may be more leakage coming from the 100v signals used in the phone lines and some people are far more sensitive to others so I wouldn't discount it having an effect.

[Nedkelly]

The network is monitored for rf leakage .Some of the vans have leakage detection kits on them .Which reports back to a data base which will send a Network engineer out to locate the leak .VM has to keep levels low to conform with goverment safe levels .
As this is on a roof is there any mobile phone masts or microwave dishes near by ?

[weesteev]

To be fair DECT phones broadcast around 10-50mW and a cable modem can transmit at up to 13mW so a hundred of them together would be far in excess of a DECT phone rather than not even remotely close. However that said the cables are shielded to keep the signal in, rather than designed to radiate it out as effectively as possible so the actual RF output is far far lower.

There may be more leakage coming from the 100v signals used in the phone lines and some people are far more sensitive to others so I wouldn't discount it having an effect.

100v in a phone line??

Also when did you find 100 cable modems inside a lockbox, let alone 1? All network equipment is shielded, the only area you may see egress is at a tap port but thats not going to emit enough energy to move oxygen... let alone fry your brain cells.

Also, a cable modem may transmit at up to 13mW, but it doesnt broadcast, so your theory isnt valid.

[Never say never]

To be fair DECT phones broadcast around 10-50mW and a cable modem can transmit at up to 13mW so a hundred of them together would be far in excess of a DECT phone rather than not even remotely close. However that said the cables are shielded to keep the signal in, rather than designed to radiate it out as effectively as possible so the actual RF output is far far lower.

There may be more leakage coming from the 100v signals used in the phone lines and some people are far more sensitive to others so I wouldn't discount it having an effect.

OHH DEAR,

You just lost all credibility, cable modems arent wireless so don't broadcast and the cable is shielded.

The only way you wouldn't know this is if you don't know anything. An has been mentioned ...When you say 100v in a phoneline what do you mean lol?

[Kymmy]

OHH DEAR,

You just lost all credibility, cable modems arent wireless so don't broadcast and the cable is shielded.

The only way you wouldn't know this is if you don't know anything. An has been mentioned ...When you say 100v in a phoneline what do you mean lol?

Who exactly failed??

Most electronic circuitry (anything with an oscillator) have some leakage in the form of radio broadcasts.. Try putting a shortwave radio next to your computer and tune through the bands with it both on and off..

As for 100v.. It's actually 90v AC on the ring circuit in the UK.. Close enough for me and either way I wouldn't recommend putting an open ended telephone lead in your mouth and dialling the number :rolleyes:

[Never say never]

Who exactly failed??

Most electronic circuitry (anything with an oscillator) have some leakage in the form of radio broadcasts.. Try putting a shortwave radio next to your computer and tune through the bands with it both on and off..

As for 100v.. It's actually 90v AC on the ring circuit in the UK.. Close enough for me and either way I wouldn't recommend putting an open ended telephone lead in your mouth and dialling the number :rolleyes:

So you have chosen to completely ignore the shielded bit and have used the example of someone shoving a open ended telephone lead in there mouth?

[Kymmy]

Shielding will attenuate a signal but is not 100% effective.. Are you saying that the metal case on your PC isn't classified as shielding? Yet you seem to have ignored that example :rofl: Also how many cable modems do you know that are metal cased :rolleyes:

Even a coaxial cable which has it's own shielding will broadcast a small signal along it's length...

[jb66]

Who exactly failed??

Most electronic circuitry (anything with an oscillator) have some leakage in the form of radio broadcasts.. Try putting a shortwave radio next to your computer and tune through the bands with it both on and off..

As for 100v.. It's actually 90v AC on the ring circuit in the UK.. Close enough for me and either way I wouldn't recommend putting an open ended telephone lead in your mouth and dialling the number :rolleyes:

Dialing would be not that bad, 4voltsdc on leg a and 45dc on leg B.

Ringing it on the other hand would give you 75voltsAC, had a few shocks myself when trying to fix a telephone in the snow.

[Kymmy]

The AC ring voltage does change from country to country, Germany is as low as 60v, UK and US use 90v.. Most people don't realise and as skin resistance is negated above roughly 50v it means a shocking time :D I was though suggesting dialing the number of the phoneline in question :D:D

[The Installer]

Sorry Kymmy but as jb66 says the telco line voltage is 40-45 volts and 75volts when ringing. None of the Telewest kit i have ever come into contact with has been 90 volts.

As for cable modems broadcasting RF, yeah maybe they do but at such a small level it will be irrelevant.

To the OP, if you use a mobile phone a lot, there is your problem. I would strongly suggest you use the loudspeaker on your phone all the time instead of clamping it to the side of your head. Also use a handsfree car kit if you use your phone on the move.

If any RF leakage is coming from a cable box, it will be too small to cause you any headaches and going through a wall just makes it even more unlikely.

The other thing you might want to look at/for is do you live right by a mobile phone base station? If there is one less than 100meters from your place, this would be a much more realistic thing to look at/investigate.

HTH

[Kymmy]

Sorry Kymmy but as jb66 says the telco line voltage is 40-45 volts and 75volts when ringing. None of the Telewest kit i have ever come into contact with has been 90 volts.

I'm probably thinking of BT lines then.. ;)

Getting back on topic though myself and a lot of people have stated that the OP is more than likely to get more radiated energy from mobile/dect or other devices.. It is though probably going to be more of a "worrying too far" approach and although it's very unlikely that the radiated energy will cause issues you'll always get people who will worry about such things.. (a bit like those living near power lines, mobile phone masts..etc.. even where the field strength in minimal ;) )

[jb66]

Does radiation even cause headaches?

[Kymmy]

Does radiation even cause headaches?

Open for debate as to the effects, some research points towards effects by low doses of EMR where others state that even high doses is safe.. We've all been told in the past that mobile phones may or may not cause brain cancer..

I think that study is limited and in this case it might just be worry more than anything that's causing the symptoms..

[qasdfdsaq]

I never said anything about broadcast. Or wireless. Or putting 100 cable modems in a lockbox. You're both making stuff up?

Ringing voltage may be 75-90v AC depending on country. 75v RMS is about 105v peak to peak, 90v would be about 130v peak so again, where am I wrong?

---------- Post added at 23:55 ---------- Previous post was at 23:44 ----------

Does radiation even cause headaches?
It can for some people. Just like noise or computer screens can cause headaches for some people and not others.

---------- Post added 23-07-2011 at 00:00 ---------- Previous post was 22-07-2011 at 23:55 ----------

Sorry Kymmy but as jb66 says the telco line voltage is 40-45 volts and 75volts when ringing. None of the Telewest kit i have ever come into contact with has been 90 volts.
75v AC is still >100v peak-to-peak.

As for cable modems broadcasting RF, yeah maybe they do but at such a small level it will be irrelevant. You can't say that for everyone. Things that are so "irrelevant" to have no effect on one person can kill another. Everyone responds differently.

The other thing you might want to look at/for is do you live right by a mobile phone base station? If there is one less than 100meters from your place, this would be a much more realistic thing to look at/investigate.
Again more misdirected paranoia about mobile phone masts. Your neighbour across the street using their mobile phone will expose you to more radiation than a base station 100m away. As would someone's wireless network through on the other side of a wall.

[Benade70]

Hi All,

Wao, all gone over my level of intellect/humour from Tin foil jokes to some serious RF/Wiring tech discuss! :erm: Appears there are different schools of thoughts on this issue and academic research is not conclusive. As one has only one life and these big organisations :batty: sometime suppress the truth from their R&D due to financial reasons I will take "Pauls9" advise as the real life sensible approach :D and actually use the room as a study & storage and move sitting far from that wall as sensible, that way common sense will prevail and miss out use of one room kind-off :banghead:, better than being boxed up :sleep:...joys of modern living I'd say...

Thx all....:tu: