Less Radiation

Low Radiation Eco DECT cordless phones have been available in Germany for a couple of years, but are only now becoming widely available in the UK. (Up to now the only Low Radiation model for sale in the UK was the Orchid @ £80)

A normal Dect phone’s Base Station emits a constant RF pulse 24/7. The newer Eco Dect phones are supposed to at least stop emitting RF when the Handset is docked in the Base. Good ones should also reduce their power output when closer to the base station, in the same way regular mobiles do.

If you spend hours sat in front of a PC with your Dect phone in its cradle two feet away from your head, then obviously having a cordless phone that only transmits when you’re actually talking on it could be quite beneficial!

Here’s a short video that makes our point.

The phone shown is a Siemens Gigaset C385 Dect Phone. It currently sells at Argos in the UK for about £35. If you can’t live without a cordless phone, but want to reduce electrosmog exposure in your home, then one of these units is the way to go. The important thing is to go into the setup menu and put the phone in Eco+ mode, as this is the no-emission-unless-talking mode.

So, the latest Siemens Gigaset cordless Dect phones have lower radiation output & properly encrypt your conversation, protecting you from eavesdroppers & potential identity theft. A real Eco Dect phone and a bargain at less than £40.

In ECO+ mode the Siemens C385 handset & base stop emitting radiation within 35 seconds of you ending a call, regardless of whether you place the handset back in the base or not. Fact.

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However, not all phones that claim Eco credentials are so good. Take the Sagem D16T for instance – it proudly boasts that it’s an ‘Eco Model’ Dect phone. Has an Eco sticker over the display when you unbox it. Even the box has the word Eco emblazoned upon it!

This phone costs less than £20 from Staples.co.uk in the UK – so it appears to be a bargain. Sadly though, it doesn’t live up to its Eco promises. For a start it seems that the only thing Eco about it is that the manual is printed on recycled paper. I think Sagem have missed the point that Siemens have grasped. Don’t buy this phone if you want lower exposure to RF, it’s just a complete con :  The base station transmits constantly & the handset doesn’t adjust its power output.

Potentially far worse though, we tested it with the Com-On-Air type II card and Dect_cli software (see our posts about Dect being hacked & insecure) & we were able to retrieve an unencrypted conversation from the RFPI_01_14_71_59_e0.pcap file. For fans of hardware porn, we present: naked FP & naked PP.

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Here’s a report published in The Independent that conclusively linked electrosmog exposure an hour before bedtime to poor sleep quality.

Some more Dect articles – Sunday Herald Scotland Jan 1 2006

Our advice is not to use any kind of cordless Dect phone. If possible, please choose a regular wired model instead.