Several years ago when I was first researching into radiation dangers in our homes, I saw some information on the internet talking about a way to “wire” your baby monitor so that it did not emit RF Radiation. It involved using D-Link power line internet ports to run internet signal over the AC electrical wiring in a home. At first I was so excited because baby monitors emit so much RF Radiation. Then I did my research.
A Wired Baby Monitor can be very safe, or not at all safe, depending on how it is “wired”. If the internet signal is sent over the AC wiring in a building, it causes extremely unsafe levels of dirty electricity. It trades RF Radiation for dirty electricity. If the building is hard-wired with fiber optic or Ethernet cables in the walls, and the internet is run over them, then a wired baby monitor is extremely safe.
In the below video I test a D-Link baby monitor system set up with the “power-line internet ports” that run the internet signal over AC electrical wiring. What I find is that although it does not emit the Bluetooth or wireless signal (which is RF Radiation), it does produce extreme levels of dirty electricity. And putting filters in the circuits did not reduce the dirty electricity down to safe levels. I highly recommend watching the video and see the test for yourself.
As I mention in the above video, in doing the test I was very much hoping that putting filters in the circuits would reduce the dirty electricity this system causes down to safe levels. Most homes are not hard-wired with fiber optic or Ethernet cables. This would have been a wonderful solution for them if it didn’t cause such extreme levels of dirty electricity.
Table Of Contents
Each of the below topics are the title of the sections throughout the rest of this article. I turned them into links so that you can click the ones that you want to read first, in case you do not want to read the whole article in order. After clicking on a link, to get back to this table of contents all you need to do is hit your browser back button.
- Safe Wired Baby Monitors
- What Is A D-Link Power Line Port
- Why Power Line Ports Are Unsafe
- Other Baby Monitor Options
- Motion & Sound Activated Baby Monitors
- Baby Monitor RF Radiation
- Steel Mesh Baskets
- Final Thoughts
Safe Wired Baby Monitors
The main thing to make sure of when hard-wiring a baby monitor is to make sure that its wireless or Bluetooth capabilities are turned off. The D-Link camera I show in the above video (and to the left) automatically turns off its WiFi as soon as a Ethernet cable live with internet is plugged into its port. Here is a link to where you can check out the price for the D-Link DCS 5030L Camera in case your house is hard-wired with internet.
From my research of D-Link products it looks to me like not all of their baby monitors and cameras have the Ethernet ports. Before you buy one, no matter what brand, you will want to be sure that the WiFi or Bluetooth can be turned off and that it has an Ethernet port so that it can be hard-wired.
Here is a wired camera that also offers two-way audio and even night vision. It is called the Arlo Q – Wired, 1080p HD Security Camera and looks like it would make a great wired baby monitor. In reading about this camera it sounds like it does not have a wireless feature, so you don’t have to worry about turning its WiFi or Bluetooth off. And it has a cell phone app that allows you to hear what is in the room and even a speaker so you can talk to your baby from anywhere in the world.
The camera also has motion sensors that will alert you on your app so that you can check and see what motion it is detecting. Again as with any electronic device they give off magnetic and electric field EMF radiation, so do not keep any electronic device right next to your baby. I like to keep mine at least 5 feet away from where people are sleeping.
Pretty much any camera that you can wire with an Ethernet computer cable will work, so long as you can turn off all of its wireless and Bluetooth features. If you have your home hard wired with internet you can have a smart home with all kinds of cool features without having to worry about wireless or Bluetooth RF Radiation being emitted.
What Is A D-Link Power Line Port
By “power line ports” I am talking about D-Link type power line internet ports like I show in the picture to the left of this paragraph. Here is a link to these if you want to check them out D-Link Powerline 1000 Mbps, but please don’t buy these. When I tested them they worked great functionality wise. They just caused crazy high dirty electricity levels on that circuit. It read at over 1,500 on the Graham-Stetzer dirty electricity meter.
Why Power Line Ports Are Unsafe
To explain why these are unsafe it would help if you first understood a bit more about exactly what the electromagnetic spectrum is, which will help you understand what RF Radiation, EMF Radiation and Dirty Electricity is. (By the way as you will see there is some overlapping in the meaning of those three terms.) Okay so let’s get started.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
In the below image is an illustration of the electromagnetic spectrum. Electromagnetic waves (or radiation) are basically electric and magnetic fields, electricity, that is of a high enough frequency that they become airborne. See the image below:
As you can see above as electric fields and magnetic fields become high enough in frequency that they become airborne, they become radio waves. As they become higher in frequency then next they are microwaves. Higher yet is infrared and visible light. And the highest frequency electromagnetic waves we have on our chart is things like X-rays and Gama-rays.
If you think of a radio wave as a ripple in a pond when you throw a rock in. They measure the length of the wave from the top of one to the top of the next one. The longer the wave, the shorter the frequency they are said to have. The shorter the wave length, the higher the frequency.
What Is RF Radiation?
Radio Frequency (or RF) Radiation includes both the “Radio waves” and “Microwaves” sections on the above chart. Regular radio waves go from the bottom of the electromagnetic spectrum, where electricity first becomes airborne, up to about 1 GHz frequency. Microwave waves go from about 1 GHz frequency up to about 300 GHz frequency. Within this part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the higher the frequency, the more dangerous it is to living organisms.
What Is EMF Radiation?
The acronym “EMF” stands for the term “Electromagnetic Fields”. It encompasses electric fields, magnetic fields and radio frequency waves. All of these forms of electromagnetic radiation have been linked to things like cancer, DNA damage, and male infertility in hundreds of peer reviewed scientific studies. If you wish to study these scientific studies you will find links to many of them on the scientific studies page of this website. There are also links to many letters from 180 scientists from over 50 countries to various governments calling for a stop to the roll out of the new 5G technology.
What Is Dirty Electricity?
Dirty electricity is often also called “electromagnetic smog” which helps us realize that it is also a form of electromagnetic radiation. Dirty electricity is erratic surges and spikes of higher frequency electric energy moving along power lines in buildings where only the normal 60 Hz frequency of AC electricity should be.
These erratic spikes and surges of high frequency electricity is normally caused whenever any device is plugged into a circuit that manipulates the normal AC current in any way. An example is when a electronic device changes AC electricity to DC electricity. These erratic high frequency spikes and surges become airborne and radiate through the walls and into the room. To check out a great book explaining the dangers of dirty electricity, click on this link: Dirty Electricity Book.
How Power Line Ports Cause Dirty Electricity
When plugged into an electrical circuit, a D-Link type power line port puts the internet signal into the electrical wiring of the home. It is a much higher frequency than the 60 Hz AC electricity that normally flows on electrical wiring. It is by its very nature electromagnetic smog or dirty electricity. These high frequencies radiate through the walls and into the room.
So when I first saw this on the internet being offered as a RF Radiation solution, my first thought was that this has to cause dirty electricity. But I was so excited by a simple way to wire a baby monitor that I really was hopeful that it didn’t. Now in hind site I realize that there really is no way it could not cause dirty electricity. It is a device that does nothing but put dirty electricity on the line on purpose. That is what the internet signal is to normal electrical wiring. I hope that makes sense.
Other Baby Monitor Options
The Safety 1st Crystal Clear Audio Monitor does not have a video feature. It is strictly audio. (See its image on the right of this paragraph.) But this is a baby monitor that is as safe as an FM radio. Seriously, it uses a 49 MHz frequency which is a lower frequency than an FM radio uses. It has about a 600 foot range. There are other brands that make 49 MHz baby monitors, but they are getting harder and harder to find. Since Safety First is all about safe things for babies it seems to me like as long as they sell them there is a good chance they will offer them into the future.
If your goal is just to be able to hear your baby when they stir, then this will be a great option. It is not going to be as clear sounding as digital models, but it is a whole lot safer. When I looked over the reviews on this product for the most part they were very good. Of course there were some very unhappy ones as well, as it is with most products. I recommend you review the reviews and make your own decision in that regard. In my mind the safety of this frequency is a huge plus for a baby monitor. I would have no problem having my child in the same room as this baby monitor.
There are “analog” baby monitors that market themselves as “low EMF” simply because they are analog. The Safety First baby monitor above is an analog baby monitor, but it is only a 49 MHz frequency. The frequency is more important that whether or not something is analog or not. Most analog baby monitors nowadays are around 900 MHz. Microwave radiation starts at 1000 MHz which is the same thing as 1 GHz. So while these baby monitors technically are still in the analog range, they are almost in the digital microwave range.
Motion & Sound Activated Baby Monitors
Now I don’t recommend digital monitors at all. Please understand that I would either have a true hard-wired video monitor or the Safety First analog monitors I show above. However I have learned that some people will still choose the less safe options. So if you must have a digital wireless baby monitor. Then I would recommend that you at least get one that is one that only emits RF Radiation when activated by sound or motion. There are many sound or motion activated baby monitors that always emit RF Radiation. The motion and sound detection only activates the video or audio features. So if you go this route be sure to check them out thoroughly and make sure you get the right kind. I have some examples of models that only emit RF Radiation when activated by motion or sound in my article entitled “7 Examples of Low Emission Baby Monitors“.
Baby Monitor RF Radiation
Should anyone reading this article choose a digital monitor, know that when the baby monitor is emitting RF Radiation, it will be emitting a lot. Again, a voice and motion activated baby monitor is countless times better than one that emits at full bast whenever it is turned on. But nonetheless it is still important (I believe) for us to know how much they are emitting (when they emit radiation). In the video below I test a baby’s room for RF Radiation with a High Frequency Analyzer. This video was one in a series I did where I went room by room through a home testing each for both RF Radiation and dirty electricity.
If it seems a little out of sorts it is only because it is part of a series of videos. The reason I include it here is so that you can see with your own eyes exactly how much, and from how far away, a baby monitor emits RF Radiation. Please take a brief moment and watch the following video. It is short and very much worth watching.
What impressed me the most when I was filming that video was how the baby monitor pegged my meter from the doorway. Their baby monitor pegged my meter from farther away I think even that their WiFi router. It was a very powerful source of RF Radiation.
Steel Mesh Baskets
A metal mesh basket or bucket is something that you can stick your higher frequency baby monitor in to protect yourself and your baby from most of the harmful RF Radiation. As you can see from the various pictures in this sections there are various options available. In the pictures I have cell phones in them, but it will work with a baby monitor just as well.
These are very important to have if you have a higher frequency baby monitor because they emit so much RF Radiation. RF Radiation has a very hard time going through lines of conductive metal. If you get a metal mesh basket made out of conductive metal, and put it higher than your baby’s body and at least 5 to 6 feet away, it will block 90% to 95% of the harmful RF Radiation.
The picture on the left is named a WaveCage, and is exactly what you need for keeping a cell phone in while you sleep. The picture on the right is an image of a Steel Mesh Waste Basket that you can get on Amazon. They are not as aesthetically pleasing an option, but they actually work better than the other types of baskets. Also here is one other option called the Steel Mesh Condiment Caddy also available on Amazon.com.
These metal mesh baskets will also work really well for keeping your cell phones in at night. You can put anything in them that emits RF Radiation. Just remember to keep it about 5 to 6 feet away from you and a bit higher than your body. I keep my cell phone in a WaveCage about 4 feet away from me on top of a printer on my desk when I am working.
If you buy one of the metal mesh baskets I link to above then you can know exactly how well they work because in the below video I test each one with a meter so that you can see for yourself. I recommend taking a moment and watching the following short video. If you buy one that I do not show in the video then you will want to test it with a meter so that you know that the metal is conductive and that it actually works.
Final Thoughts
As you learned in reading this article there are several ways you can have baby monitors that are safe. And if you choose to have a less safe digital baby monitor there are ones that emit RF Radiation less often. And if you choose an audio only digital or high frequency analog model, you can protect your selves and your babies from most of this RF Radiation by sticking the baby monitors in metal mesh baskets. If you put the safety of you and your family first, it is still possible to have gadgets of convenience in our lives.
I sincerely hope that this article was helpful to you. I hope that you got the information that you were looking for, even if it was not necessarily the information you were hoping for. I have always said that my goal in life is to learn truth. And I understand that in order for me to learn actual facts, I cannot be biased or look for what I want to be true. I have to search with an open mind and be willing to follow things where the evidence leads. I don’t really care what the truth is. I just want to know the truth.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Please share this on your social media accounts to help us get the word out. Our mission here more than anything else is to help make people aware of the reality of the electromagnetic dangers and how we can protect ourselves from them. Thank you!
