Hot Zone
Get to the work point without walking through a field you can’t see.
How it plays
The field is invisible
You see a roof or a tower face and the panels on it. The field is not drawn. The monitor on your chest beeps faster as it rises; the signs tell you what to expect past them.
The limit is an average
The bar is your 6-minute average. Walk through a beam and it moves a little; stop in front of the panels and it climbs fast. At 100% the level ends with the rule.
Do what a tech does
Read the sign, walk behind the panels, use the one-time survey, and get the carrier to power down before you work in front. Finish all six for the crew leaderboard — a fresh round every two weeks.
Questions crews ask
Why does the bar only fill slowly when I walk through a field?
Because the FCC limits are time-averaged. For trained workers (occupational/controlled exposure) the maximum permissible exposure in 47 CFR 1.1310 is averaged over any 6 minutes. A short pass through a strong field adds a little to the average; standing in it adds a lot. The game’s bar is that 6-minute average, and 100% ends the level.
Why is it safer behind a panel antenna than in front of it?
A sector panel sends its energy forward in a beam. Behind the panel the field is a small fraction of the front — typically 20 dB or more lower — and it also falls off quickly with distance. That is why the right route passes behind the panels, and why the climbing path on a monopole runs up the pole, not out on the arms.
What do the blue, yellow, orange and red signs mean?
Blue NOTICE: beyond this point the field may exceed the general population limit. Yellow CAUTION: it may exceed the occupational limit. Orange WARNING: it exceeds the occupational limit by ten times or more. Red DANGER: the field can cause serious injury — do not enter while transmitting. The colours follow FCC guidance and ANSI Z535 sign practice.
When do I need a power-down?
Before any work in front of an active antenna where the field can exceed the occupational limit. You request it from the carrier’s network operations center, wait for confirmation, and the sector is locked and tagged out. Request it from a spot out of the beam: while you wait, the time on site still counts.
Does a personal RF monitor protect me?
It warns you — it doesn’t shield you. It reads the field where you stand as a percent of the limit, beeps faster as the field rises and alarms over 100%. It is the one tool that works at night and where signs are missing, which is why every level starts with the monitor on your chest.
Does finishing the game make me RF trained?
No — it is practice. RF awareness training covers exposure limits, sign categories, monitors, controls and power-down procedures. Our RF Awareness & Safety course covers it and issues a certificate the same day.
Take it past the game
A game, not a site survey. Fields here follow the right shape — strongest in front of the panels, falling with distance, far lower behind — and the limit is the 6-minute average from 47 CFR 1.1310, but the numbers are illustrative: safe distance depends on the power and characteristics of each antenna. Work to the site’s RF documentation, the posted signs, your personal RF monitor and the carrier’s power-down procedure.