Radio Safety
While working on communication electronics, there are some very important safety measurements that have to be taken care of. These are important not only for personal safety, but also for ensuring that the devices do not get damaged because of not following some rules for handling it. The safety rules can be broadly classified into 2 parts:
- Electrical Safety
- Radio Safety
Both are important while working with communication circuits and devices and become more crucial when the transmission frequency is high, in the order of MHz, which is generally the case of amateur radio satellites. We will now look into each one by one.
Electrical Safety [1]
The following are some rules that are to be followed to ensure a quality and safe working:
- Ensure all the equipment are grounded: This is done to ensure that there is no development of static charges or development of any other charges which might lead to harming the device or giving an electric shock.
- Ensure that antennas which require grounding are properly grounded: This ensures a better reception of radio signals as well as electric safety when one comes in direct contact of the antenna.
- A master switch should exist to switch off all your wiring connections and everyone should know about it: This is essential for the ground station as it might have many high power devices which are potential sources of electric shocks. Switching off all wire connections when one is suffering from electric shock will help in instant removal of contact with the entity which led to the electric shock.
- Prevent any bodily contact with earthed object: A shorter resistance contact path may generate from you to the ground and circuit might get completed leading to electric shock.
- RF devices that are static sensitive should be handled with ESD straps: ESD straps are straps which keep your hand shorted to the ground, hence preventing any development of static charges. There are many communication devices that are static-sensitive which might get harmed when they come in contact with any static charge source, chief among which would be human hand which would be used for handling the circuits. Thus ESD proof clothing is necessary for handling all the ESD sensitive devices.
- Avoid all metal jewelry
Radio Safety [1]
RF safety is one of the most important yet one of the most neglected safety protocols. Negligence of this form of safety measures can lead to radiation burns harming personal health at a level equivalent to fire burns when it comes to working at the ground station. Some of the safety measures suggested are as follows:
- No person should be in the near field region when antenna is transmitting: There are 2 major reasons for this. First, being in that region during high power transmission can cause severe radio burns. Second, presence of anyone close to the antenna can affect the radiation pattern of the transmitting antenna.
- Use of mike and speaker is better over direct use of handheld transceiver: This is another preventive measure to prevent RF burns.
The above 2 forms of safety are essential for anyone who will work in the field of communications. The above list may not be sufficient but covers all the major things necessary to keep in mind before working with relevant electronics.
When working with satellite electronics, it important is to work in a clean room. A clean room is a place which provides the best quality environment where one can work with satellite electronics, build circuit with minimal damage due to dust and other unknown disturbances. The specifications of the clean room can vary as per the requirement of the electronics of the design.
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