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KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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ARRL weighs in on insulin pump story

Posted: 03 Sep 2021 11:28 AM PDT http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu/tVpu/~3/vHIwKNhvrqM/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email

The infamous insulin pump.

About a week and a half ago, I blogged about a Florida TV news report that took to task a radio amateur living a  few doors down from a woman using an insulin pump. She claimed that his operation caused the pump to
malfunction, putting her health at risk.

After hiring a consultant to look into the matter, the homeowners
association ordered the ham to cease operation, even though the consultants findings were inconclusive. The report from Sublight Engineering, PLLC, of Arlington, VA, states, It is possible that HF amateur radio operations described herein could create fields that exceed manufacturers (sic)
limits. (Italics are mine.)

In my original post, I wrote, This report is troubling for many reasons. I
hope that the ARRL is aware of this, and is looking into it. Well, they did
and reported on their findings. As expected, they wrote, It also became apparent that there is no actual evidence connecting the amateur’s transmissions to operation of the insulin pump.

Ria, N2RJ, the ARRL Hudson Division director, also produced a video on this situation:


What I dont understand is why no one contacted the manufacturer, Medtronic. Wouldnt they want to know if one of their devices was faulty, or if their manufacturing and testing procedures were faulty?

With no real conclusion to this story, its bound to pop up again. You know
that someone somewhere is going to claim that a ham is interfering with his
or her insulin pump and a Google search is going to turn up this story on
the Florida TV stations website. I think it would have been a good idea to completely debunk this story, so that when it does come up again, we can
just point to this case and blow off the complainer. As it stands, however,
we really cant do that.

The post ARRL weighs in on insulin pump story appeared first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.

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