I just picked up my new 2004 Prius today. It has the smart entry system..
My wife wonders how the system works (I assume it's with a radio frequency)
and if there is any potential health risks, ala cell phones possibly causing
brain cancer. Is she the only person in the world to come up with this one
or what?
Mike Rosenberg - 22 Sep 2004 23:47 GMT
> I just picked up my new 2004 Prius today. It has the smart entry
> system.. My wife wonders how the system works (I assume it's with a
> radio frequency) and if there is any potential health risks, ala cell
> phones possibly causing brain cancer. Is she the only person in the
> world to come up with this one or what?
She definitely worries too much! Someone will correct me if I'm wrong,
but I believe it on infrared frequencies just like all of your remote
controls. Please don't tell us she also worries about remote
controls... ;-)

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Mike Rosenberg
<http://www.macconsult.com> Macintosh consulting services for NE Florida
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Michelle Steiner - 23 Sep 2004 01:05 GMT
> She definitely worries too much! Someone will correct me if I'm
> wrong, but I believe it on infrared frequencies just like all of your
> remote controls. Please don't tell us she also worries about remote
> controls... ;-)
No, it's definitely RF. If it were infrared, it would have to be line
of sight. Ditto for fobs where you push buttons.

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Mike Rosenberg - 23 Sep 2004 13:08 GMT
> No, it's definitely RF. If it were infrared, it would have to be line
> of sight. Ditto for fobs where you push buttons.
Yeah, silly me. I realized several hours later that I had to have been
wrong when it hit me that IR couldn't work when it's in my belt pouch or
pocket. Then I read in the manual that it's electro magnetic.

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Mike Rosenberg
<http://www.macconsult.com> Macintosh consulting services for NE Florida
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Jay Hennigan - 28 Sep 2004 01:16 GMT
> I just picked up my new 2004 Prius today. It has the smart entry system..
> My wife wonders how the system works (I assume it's with a radio frequency)
> and if there is any potential health risks, ala cell phones possibly causing
> brain cancer. Is she the only person in the world to come up with this one
> or what?
It's a radio frequency transmitter, but a very low-powered one.
The thing lasts for over a year on a watch battery. There are
thousands of low-level radio sources in today's world that are
more powerful. The keyfob has a range of a couple of feet, far
less than a garage door opener, cordless phone, walkie-talkie,
baby monitor, etc. Shorter range than bluetooth even.
And it hasn't been proven that radio-frequency energy causes
cancer anyway. Ask the 88-year-old ham operator that lived on
top of Mt. Wilson for 35 years as the engineer who kept KTLA-TV
and several 50-KW radio stations on the air, retiring at 74. He
even climbed the towers live to change the bulbs. Healthy and
sharp as a tack.
Larry Morphew - 28 Sep 2004 06:24 GMT
Well, silledad, I have to confess I got a good chuckle from your post.
I thought that only my wife came up with questions like that!
Fact is, Toy wants nothing more than success for the Prius and it
would be unlikely that they'd have anything very dangerous in the
package!
Cordially,
Larry Morphew
Proudly driving an '04 Prius
> I just picked up my new 2004 Prius today. It has the smart entry system..
> My wife wonders how the system works (I assume it's with a radio frequency)
> and if there is any potential health risks, ala cell phones possibly causing
> brain cancer. Is she the only person in the world to come up with this one
> or what?
Michael Pardee - 31 Oct 2004 05:46 GMT
>I just picked up my new 2004 Prius today. It has the smart entry system..
>My wife wonders how the system works (I assume it's with a radio frequency)
>and if there is any potential health risks, ala cell phones possibly
>causing brain cancer. Is she the only person in the world to come up with
>this one or what?
There is no epidemiological evidence for cell phone - brain cancer risk, and
there would be far less exposure for the smart entry system than for a cell
phone. The concern with cell phones mainly sprang from the position of the
antenna, right beside the head. Some people have brains there, but not all
of us ;-) Anyway... the very low on-time of the entry system means
essentially no risk.
I took RF safety training last year at work, and the instructor explained
the only recognized risks associated with RF are from internal heating.
Mike
RZ - 27 Nov 2004 01:58 GMT
Ha, consider the 1 Megawatt (That's right, one million watts) being
transmitted from the top of Queen Ann Hill in Seattle. Or the RF
from all of those sats above. Or any other TV transmitter.
Tell her not to worry, the RF output is very low.
>I just picked up my new 2004 Prius today. It has the smart entry system..
>My wife wonders how the system works (I assume it's with a radio frequency)
>and if there is any potential health risks, ala cell phones possibly
>causing brain cancer. Is she the only person in the world to come up with
>this one or what?
NoSpamForMe - 27 Nov 2004 03:18 GMT
> Ha, consider the 1 Megawatt (That's right, one million watts) being
> transmitted from the top of Queen Ann Hill in Seattle. Or the RF
> from all of those sats above. Or any other TV transmitter.
>
> Tell her not to worry, the RF output is very low.
Consider the inverse square law.
Now what's your point ?
RZ - 28 Nov 2004 02:10 GMT
>> Ha, consider the 1 Megawatt (That's right, one million watts) being
>> transmitted from the top of Queen Ann Hill in Seattle. Or the RF
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>
> Now what's your point ?
Ah, a smart guy..
I understand the relationship between radiated power and distance,
as we are in the embedded wireless business.
Given a megawatt omnidirectional transmitter that is 1000' away
vs. another that is one inch away, the equiv. energy would be
about 7 mW. Since the duty cycle of a keyfob is perhaps .01, then
the megawatt transmitter has the equiv. output of .7 watts.
My original point is clear to most, I would think:
If those that are not living near megawatt transmitters for 20
years or more aren't showing signs of illnet, then a 10 milliwatt
keyfob shouldn't be of concern.
Michael Pardee - 28 Nov 2004 13:45 GMT
>>> Ha, consider the 1 Megawatt (That's right, one million watts) being
>>> transmitted from the top of Queen Ann Hill in Seattle. Or the RF
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
> years or more aren't showing signs of illnet, then a 10 milliwatt
> keyfob shouldn't be of concern.
In fact, the FCC has a chart for permissible field strengths for public
exposure, with a separate curve for trained worker exposure. The trained
worker exposure is 5 times higher across the spectrum as it is assumed the
worker will take steps to manage the risk and minimize exposure, while the
public may sit in the field and have a picnic. The chart is fairly simple,
with only a few bends in the "curve" to take into account the wavelength in
comparison to the size of body parts. Again, the only recognized risk is
from heating, and the power levels are balanced against the body's ability
to regulate its blood temperature. In addition, the exposure can be averaged
over a 30 minute period for public settings, so the total energy from a
keyfob averaged over half an hour is miniscule indeed.
More info is available at
http://www.arrl.org/news/rfsafety/exposure_regs.html - one of the best
non-subscription online sources.
My father was a radar tech in WW II (he had a Marine with a .45 assigned to
him to protect our country's secrets in the event of imminent capture). He
told me of warming himself in front of radar dishes, and that the Army told
him he would be sterile as a result. My four brothers and I were born after
that, so I guess he wasn't all that sterile.
Mike (Sr. Communication Field Engineer for an electric utility)
RZ - 03 Dec 2004 22:17 GMT
<deleted stuff...>
> My father was a radar tech in WW II (he had a Marine with a .45 assigned
> to him to protect our country's secrets in the event of imminent capture).
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Mike (Sr. Communication Field Engineer for an electric utility)
Reminds me of when I was in high school. I built a huge Tesla coil using
radio
station transmitter tubes and a 3KV / 1A transformer. It would light up a
fluorescent
lamp tube in my hand in the next room! Sometimes I'd have to leave my
favorite
gadget, like to go to the shoe store and wiggle my toes in the x-ray
machine.
richard schumacher - 27 Nov 2004 03:57 GMT
> >I just picked up my new 2004 Prius today. It has the smart entry system..
> >My wife wonders how the system works (I assume it's with a radio frequency)
> >and if there is any potential health risks, ala cell phones possibly
> >causing brain cancer. Is she the only person in the world to come up with
> >this one or what?
Much less threat than a cell phone:
1. Almost certainly the fob is not next to her head.
2. The fob transmits only for a very short time, one burst when it gets
within range of the car (which transmits a burst every 10 seconds or so
calling to the fob).
3. the fob and car transmit much less power than a cell phone. Their
ranges are only a few feet.
Anyone concerned about the dangers of cell phones and the like should
stop smoking, exercise, lose weight, never drive, not fly long
distances, and not live at an altitude above 2000 feet or so.