[Tyler]

Wi-fi health fears are 'unproven'

Scientists say there is no evidence to suggest a link between the use of wi-fi and damage to health.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/technology/6676129.stm

[Freddy]

Does anyone on the forum use wireless at home?  I was thinking about getting a wireless router as they are quite cheap now and was just wondering if anyone else has any experience of wireless..

[Maviarab]

No personal experience no, but I'm an old fashioned kinda guy, hate wireless mice and keyboards lol...so umm...I'd not be the best person to advise hehe.

As for the heath fears, give it 6 months and it be perfectly fine...another 6 months will give you brain cancer....a further 6 months all be fine again, then it be a drain on the nhs, then it wont cause any helth issued...then it will...then it wont....then they be telling you it makes your nose hairs grow faster...

As for technology...prolly good...as for heath worries...I really wouldnt worry about it

[GamerThom]

I have a wi-fi setup for my home network. My 2 main PC's are hard wired together on a
dual router using RJ45 cables which then pass into my dsl modem, but my laptop is hooked
into the network using wireless 10/100 ethernet, plus I have two security camera's that are
on wireless connections to the one desktop PC. I've had this setup for about 6 months like
this and haven't had any probs. Except for the one camera, it's on the same channel and
frequency as my one cordless phone. So when I want to use that phone I have to turn off
the one camera. As for health probs stemming from the wi-fi signals, all I can say is "HOGWASH!"
 

Just make sure that when you are configuring the wi-fi connection to have it setup as
a closed, secure connection using a WEP code to keep people in the surrounding area from
accessing and using your internet connection. It's not 100 percent secure, but then very
few things are these days. 

However, I do stay away from wireless keyboards, mice and headsets.
The batteries tend to drain very quickly and need replacing quite often.

[Freddy]

Thanks for the advice.  I have a wireless mouse, for me it's one of the best things I bought for my PC and I can't stand the way the lead drags around on a regular mouse.  The solution to the battery problem is solved really simply with my model - it just has a battery charger incorparated into the receiver/usb connection, all I have to do is swap battery sets maybe twice a week with heavy use but often only once a week or less.

[dan]

That's what I do for a living is test these things and other wireless dodads, but I don't do the SAR we farm that out, but the health risks must be very small since the power and duty cycle is so low, but you gotta wonder about that laptop issue, I think the heat build up has more of an effect though

 I use a residential gateway which assigns an IP for 5 sites around the house with no problems except through to the other side of the house, I can even take the laptop out to the far end of the property and get on the net.  i don't worry about security since I'm in hicksville and it assigns an IP for security to the net side for that extra plus. 

I tested one of the first microsoft RF mice and swore I'd get one, but found it went through batteries too fast, but I still use it on one of the desktops.  They've improved at least a magnitude since then, and I thought for sure it would all pick up faster than it has, but I guess it's not that easy to accurately predict the future.  I still think it would be cool to have 3d moving holograms and voice for an interface instead of a keyboard or mouse, give it another 5-10 years

But I remember one study years ago out in California that said that the body itself has the ability to produce enough RF energy to cause damage.  Which is curious, because to me it means we have the ability to cause our own demise.   It's an issue I've tried to follow for years, and there's no doubt that certain levels can cause damage, but non-ionizing radiation is quite less damaging and low levels like those in todays digital cell phones and 802.11 devices are pretty minimal compared to the heat from higher powered analog devices in the past.  The RF escaping from a microwave oven is much higher (I've accidentally measured it while making lunch and doing measurements, it interfered to much for the measurements).  I think most of the confusion is due to the emotion arising from lawsuits of RF exposure to head from cell phones in the past.  Ah the greed of it all.

[Freddy]

Yeah I think greed could be part of the answer...I reckon a fair number of claims are just gold diggers hoping to make easy money by blaming equipment without much proof.  I noted with some disgust that recently (might have be US or UK) that some lawyer is trying to sue a dry cleaning firm for millions over what is otherwise a simple and understandable problem with their service.  I mean things should have some sort of perspective shouldn't they.?

I think the RF issue will probably go on and on for a few years yet.  On a similar theme I heard on the news that there is no conclusive proof that sunscreening lotions have any beneficial effect at all.  I'm not the kind of person who is afraid to walk down the street so I doubt I will loose much sleep, hopefully I will get most of my three score and ten out of all this...or is it more these days...