XPost: rec.radio.amateur.policy

amateur radio - Hackaday

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The Curious Case Of The Radio Amateur And The Insulin Pump

Posted: 29 Aug 2021 04:01 AM PDT https://hackaday.com/2021/08/29/the-curious-case-of-the-radio-amateur-and-the-insulin-pump/


A substantial part of gaining and holding an amateur radio licence relates
to the prevention of radio interference. In days past this meant
interference to analogue television broadcasts, but with ever more complex devices becoming commonplace in homes it applies to much more. This has hit
the news in Marion County Florida, where a radio amateur in a seniors
community has shut down his radio station after a potential link emerged between it and another residents insulin pump. There is a legal challenge ongoing that relates to the complexs rules over transmitting antennas.

Its obviously a serious occurrence for an insulin pump to be affected by anything, and it sounds as though the radio amateur concerned has done the right thing. But its clear that something has gone badly wrong in this case whether its due to the amateur radio transmissions or not, because for a manufacturer to produce a medical device so easily affected by RF fields
should be of concern to everyone. Wed hope that the FCC might take an
interest in this story and get to the bottom of it in an impartial manner, because whether its the radio amateur at fault, the insulin pump, or
something else entirely, it presents a risk to anyone dependent upon such a device.

Perhaps this might also be a case for the ARRL, as weve reported before
they have some form when it comes to radio investigations.

[Main image source: MailariX, CC-BY-SA 4.0]

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