Mobile Phone : SAR

[petemcewan 27]

What is the SAR rating of the most popular Mobile Phones ?

Who sets the standards ?

Does the current “ Sam Head Phantom “ model for arriving at SAR ratings, result in setting a standard of protection for adults and children ? It’s estimated that children get a mobile phone at around 8yrs old.

 

Any experts please ?

[ShefStealth 10]

All devices sold in the E.U are supposed to conform to E.U regulations that are deemed a 'safe' SAR level. SAR means Specific absorption rate, and it is purely a measure of how much energy the human body will absorb at a given distance from the device. All mobile phones will have different SAR values depending on model and manufacturer. They'll also have differing values depending on if certain features are enabled or disabled. For instance, if you have a smartphone with Wifi and Bluetooth enabled then this will put out a higher amount of EMR (Electro-Magnetic Radiation) than if you turn off Bluetooth and WiFi whilst making/receiving a phone call.

 

I understand that the way that SAR is measured is on a 'dummy head' that is the same size as an average sized male's head over a set duration of time. They measure the 'standard operation' of the phone i.e 3G/4G enabled for smartphones. I believe that they have to have all other EMR device options enabled at the time of the testing too, to derive a maximum SAR value that is then quoted.

 

I believe the standard is that mobile devices have to have a maximum SAR value of less than 5. Older non-smart devices typically had values up to about 2, a lot were less than 1. There have been arguments made that children having smaller skulls and less tissue density than adults means that quoted SAR ratings aren't valid for children's use of mobile devices. However, it is argued that it is not feasible for manufacturers to try to measure an absolute worst-case scenario (newborn's aren't liable to use mobile phones anyway) and parental caution should be exercised wherever appropriate.

 

Ultimately I wouldn't worry too much about it. All electronic devices (not just mobile phones) give off some EMR, and the human body is being bombarded with signals from all angles at all times. TV and Radio have been giving us doses of RF for years. You can get too hooked up on a subject and become paranoid, but there's no point in turning off your WiFi and living in a Faraday cage

[petemcewan 27]

Shefstealth,

 

Thank you very much for that informative a comprehensive reply.