15 ways you can reduce cell phone radiation (#15 added March 2011)
The following list is sorted from lowest cost/easiest solution to the highest cost /hardest solution.
You should try to achieve at least a 10X reduction in cell phone Radio Frequency Radiation.
The solutions multiply, so a 2X and 5X would be reduce RF by
10X
- Use a speaker phone. Many speakerphones now sound pretty good. 5X-100X
The use of a speakerphone keeps the cell phone a long way from your brain and body
Note: sometimes use of a speakerphone will bother those around you.
- Alternate which ear you listen to the cell phone with.
This, by itself, will reduce the radiation to each side of your head by 2X
- Reduce the total amount of time using the cell phone.
Use wired or cordless phone for long conversations. 2X – 20X
Note: Cordless phones made since about 2001 put out much less radiation
Note: Can use call forward on virtually all cell phones:*72NumberToCall to
start forwarding, *73 to stop forwarding
- Minimize use of your cell phone where you have weak signals: possible
areas include: rural, in house, in car,….
Cell Phone power level/radiation level can be 100X stronger when you have weak
signals (one bar or no bar) – the cell phone has to shout!. 2X-10X
Very important - You should consider several of these
solutions if you must use the cell phone a lot while far from base antenna
- Change network/provider if you can determine that the new provider has a
much stronger cell signal in your house -so that the cell phone will no longer
have to shout.
3X? - 100X? Also reduces dropouts and dropped calls. Note: The new
provider may require a different cell phone.
http://www.wirelessadvisor.com/
quick way to find providers in your area code
Use a headset. 5X – 20X cost $10 to $50
Some headsets claim noise rejection. They cost $30 – $100
you may want to use a clamp-on RF choke/ferrite bead clamped around the wire
such as at
http://www.mercola.com/forms/ferrite_beads.htm
Buy a cell phone with a very low SAR rating 2X – 10X cost $0 to
$100
A cell phone with a SAR of 0.5 has 2X less RF than a SAR of 1.0.
http://www.sarvalues.com/usa-complete.html
SAR info – US and UK
http://stanford.wellsphere.com/wellmix360/cell-phone-sar
SAR info US
Use cell phone with an external antenna connector to reduce dropouts and
dropped calls. 30X. Cost $20 -$300.
Note: This external connection tethers you to a wire while in your home.
Wear a Bluetooth device on your ear or over your head. 5X-20X Cost $50 to $200
Provides hands-free (but not distraction-free) driving, which is now required in most states.
Bluetooth with noise rejection also greatly reduces background noise for your listener.
Top noise canceling models (fall 2008) Motopure and Jawbone II both cost about $100.
Note1: Some BlueTooth devices cannot be put on quickly enough to answer an incoming call.
Note2: Bluetooth conversations are not as private as with cell, but Bluetooth
conversations are probably more private than those using speakerphones.
Buy a new product called a femtocell for your home. 20X? Cost approx. $100 + $4 per month
This greatly increases the cell signal strength in your home so your cell phone does not have to shout..
Shares DSL internet connection with WiFi.
This solution assumes that most of your cell phone usage is in your home.
Femtocell will eliminate dropouts/dropped calls around the house.
May produce RF all of the time – I do not know - but any RF will be far from
your head
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10077463-94.html
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Verizon-Wireless-Ponders-Femtocells/
http://www.thinkfemtocell.com/
added June 2009
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/New-Verizon-Femtocell-Service-Is-A-Bad-Joke-100473 added
June 2009
$250 Verizon - uses DSL and phone must be within 15
feet when initializing a call - a big restriction
http://3ginthehome.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/femtocell-market-update-for-week-of-1-june-2009/
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/09/21/att_3g_microcell_to_cost_150_require_no_monthly_fees.html
update. many providers Sept 21 2009
Buy a cell phone signal amplifier or repeater. 20X? Cost $100-$400
This wireless solution which assumes that you have good cell signal
outside of your house.
Nextivity is one that may be available to buy through your provider in 2009
This assumes that the majority of your cell phone hours are in your home.
Also reduces dropouts and dropped calls. May produce RF all of the time – I do
not know.
update Aug 2009 we tried a $300 Zboost for cell phone
and air card (internet) but found that it did not help our reception over that
of an external antenna.
Change the relationship between your cell phone and your head occasionally
(angle, height, tilt, rotation, etc.) 2X – 5X
You want to reduce the amount of RF to specific parts of your body. RF is
not like nuclear radiation where you are concerned about total body dose.
It appears that many SmartPhones, Touchscreen phones, and some recent cell
phones use broadband EVDO for voice calls, not just data. 2X - 10X –
where EVDO is available .
Cost $100 to $500. EVDO tends to need less RF as it uses more efficient
modulation (weaker signal can be used).
Should reduce dropouts and dropped calls. Provider may charge extra per month
for its use.
Some Cell Phone and RF hazard links include
http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/
Cell phone, WiFi, Power Lines, etc,
http://www.radiationresearch.org/
http://www.acrbr.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_radiation_and_health
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/sar/
FCC
http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/Get-a-Safer-Phone?allavailable=1
Environmental Working Group: lots of data, including on
individual phones, and 8 simple tips to reduce RF
http://www.bluetruth.com/
one of many suppliers of bluetooth devices: over-ear and over-head
http://www.cellreception.com/towers/
Map of cell phone towers near you (US)
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/finder.php
Can select between 93 features.
You can edit your search, so do not need to re-enter the
features wanted each time.
Does not have reception quality – I do not know of any web
site which does, either.
http://www.repeaterstore.com/index.html
Cell phone repeater store with variety of products
Cell phone bars are very misleading, vary between cell phones, and the
display is typically infrequently updated.
I suggest that you make a dummy/free call every time you want to get an updated
view of the cell phone signal level.
More on cell bars:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cell-bars-reception.ars
Update Sept 09
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_radiation_and_health
Wikipedia
http://www.radiationresearch.org/pdfs/15reasons.asp of Sept 09 has a 43 page
report "Cell Phones and Brain Tumors -15 reasons for Concern"
on preliminary results of the Interphone Study which had so many design
flows that the Study concluded that the use of cell phones actually DECREASED
the the chance of brain tumors.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/03/Brain-Damage-From-Mobile-Phone-Radiation.aspx
Mercola Sept 3 2009 which includes the following chart showing the RF
getting thru skull of 5 year old, 10 year old, and adult

Update Dec 2009
Excellent, low cost ($35)
cell phone meter allows you to easily determine the intensity of RF
from your cell phone.
You can check the RF output when used with an external antenna (my favorite),
close/far for cell phone tower, when used as a speaker phone, etc.
Included a separate probe to to check the RF coming from a microwave oven
(most new ovens have very little)
I bought one and really like it. In addition to having a meter it also
blinks and beeps: faster = more RF

Update Feb 2011
Yet another study: Brain near
cell phone antenna shows activation due to 1 hour of cell phone use.
Journal of American Medical Association Feb 23, 2011: Metabolism increased by 7%
on the side of the brain
when the cell phone was in use.
Abstract does not
indicate if they adjusted for cell phone RF amplitude
which varies 100X to 1 with distance to the base station antenna.
Update March 2011 - actual science!
#15 - do not wear cell phone on belt in the same location all of the time
A study in Argentina found that after just 1 year men with cell phones on a
belt
had noticeably different bone mineral density on the bone nearest the cell
phone.
A cell phone puts out much less radiation when it is not being used, but it
appears
that it is a significant amount over the space of a year = 4000+ hours
CLICK HERE for the 5 page paper
Update March 2011
The portion of the brain next to cellphone used more 7%
more glucose.
probably consumes far more than 7% in real use:
1 -
Abstract does not indicate how close the cell phone was to a cell tower -
and that can vary the RF amplitude by 100X
2 - There was no voice - so far less RF
- cell phones conserve power by
transmitting very short bursts when there is no voice.
JAMA March 2011.
This article was commented on in the
New York Times
Update May 2011
WHO report was included in
Wikipedia excellent overview the same day
Started November 2008 updated thru May 2011 jump to home page