How can you make sure your station stays in compliance with RF safety regulations?

Your station's RF exposure footprint depends heavily on variables like transmitter output power, feedline loss, antenna gain, and antenna placement. Any time you alter these variables, your radiated field strength changes. To ensure you remain within the FCC's maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limits, you must perform a new RF exposure evaluation whenever you make a change to your transmitter or antenna system that could increase your radiated power or alter its pattern. You do not need to proactively notify the FCC of routine equipment changes, nor does Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approval dictate RF exposure limits. Furthermore, while low SWR is good for station efficiency, it does not guarantee compliance with human RF safety regulations.