Measuring up for a healthy workplace

The system can measure electromagnetic field levels generated by any source within the frequency range of the probe attached to the system. It is suitable for monitoring fields generated by different sources such as mobile telephone base stations, radio and television transmitters and repeaters, TETRA systems and wireless LANS.

The SMP checks compliance with all recognised national and international standards related to monitoring human exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields (up to 3GHz). It will find immediate applications where the user needs to establish compliance with standards.

Howard Venning, managing director of Aspen Electronics commented: “New legislation is expected to be effective in the UK in early 2012. Every employer will have a duty to ensure their employees are not subjected to excessive levels of RF radiation in the workplace from equipment both in their control and outside their control. The Wavecontrol field strength meter will play a major role in testing and monitoring work place environments.”

With the SMP, measurements can be made anywhere, quickly and easily because the device is portable, easy to handle and intuitive to use. The system can sample the field level continuously and store that data automatically in internal memory at user-configurable intervals, (one sample per 1s to 5min intervals) with a capacity of up to 32,000 samples. This data can be easily downloaded to a computer via a USB port for later processing.

There are two basic functions: instant and averaged field measurements. An integrated multi-measurement system allows instant measurements of the total field level, Ex, Ey and Ez measurements separately, continuous measurements, arithmetic averaging (selectable over a range from 10s to 30mins), minimum and maximum values, and normative measurements.

The internal configurable alarm generates an audible signal (warning) when the measured level exceeds the adjustable threshold. For field applications, when fitted with the optional internal GPS module, measured data can be related to its geographical position and displayed on a variety of mapping applications.

A range of field probes are available, which are easily changed, and the SMP features an automatic probe recognition system. A rechargeable Li-ion battery provides more than 10 hours operation between charges.