POWER DENSITY MEASUREMENTS NEAR GTE (MICROWAVE) TRANSMITTING FACILITIES IN FLORIDA
D. Davidson, J. M. Musser, O. G. Nackoney, D. L. Swank · 1979
Early 1979 field measurements documented microwave power density levels around Florida telecommunications facilities, establishing baseline exposure data.
Plain English Summary
This 1979 technical report documented power density measurements around GTE microwave transmitting facilities in Florida. The research measured electromagnetic field levels near telecommunications infrastructure to assess potential exposure levels. This type of field measurement work provided early baseline data for understanding microwave exposure from commercial transmission systems.
Why This Matters
This 1979 field measurement study represents an important early effort to quantify microwave power density levels around commercial telecommunications infrastructure. What makes this research significant is its timing - it captured exposure levels from microwave transmission systems before the explosive growth of wireless technology that would follow in subsequent decades. The reality is that microwave power density measurements from facilities like GTE's Florida operations provided baseline data that helped establish our understanding of RF exposure patterns around transmission sites.
What this means for you today is that such foundational measurement work laid the groundwork for current exposure standards and monitoring protocols. While we don't have the specific findings from this report, field measurements from this era typically found elevated power densities in the immediate vicinity of transmitting facilities, with levels dropping significantly with distance. You don't have to live near major transmission facilities to be concerned about EMF exposure, but understanding how power density varies with proximity to sources remains crucial for assessing your daily exposure profile.
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagrams extracted from the original research document.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
To measure power density levels near GTE microwave transmitting facilities in Florida and compare them with existing U.S. guidelines for maximum permissible exposure levels (MPEL).
GTE Labs employed special instrumentation comprising directional antennas, filters and very sensitiv...
Over 250 measurements were made at 63 different locations within line-of-sight and in the radio room...
The power density levels found were always less than 30 nanowatts/cm² (3 x 10⁻⁸ W/cm²) in any area accessible to the general public. This level is 1/333,000 that of the present U.S. guideline for maximum permissible exposure level (MPEL), 10 milliwatts/cm² (1 x 10⁻² W/cm²). Calculations show that anticipated growth of GTE's transmission facilities or increases in link cross section will not significantly alter the maximum levels found. Further, this report shows that computations using standard electromagnetic methods allow reliable upper-bound predictions to be made of the levels likely to be encountered. The methods used are applicable to antennas of any type or vintage. The highest power density always occurs at ground locations not too far from a microwave relay tower, near the point where the edge of the antenna pattern's main lobe begins to come close to the earth's surface, irrespective of antenna sidelobe properties.
Show BibTeX
@article{power_density_measurements_near_gte_microwave_transmitting_facilities_in_florida_g4676,
author = {D. Davidson and J. M. Musser and O. G. Nackoney and D. L. Swank},
title = {POWER DENSITY MEASUREMENTS NEAR GTE (MICROWAVE) TRANSMITTING FACILITIES IN FLORIDA},
year = {1979},
}