Shopsmith Forums

Does anyone on the site use a Power Pro and also have a pacemaker? I know that the PP (mine does ) throw some Radio Frequency pulses because I can hear them on the AM radio in my car.
So my question is; Has anyone had a problem with a pacemaker when operating in the RF field?
I may have to have a pacemaker installed due to a slow heart beat and am just trying to do some research.
I know that some Ham Radio operators had problems in the past.
Bill V

wa2crk wrote:Does anyone on the site use a Power Pro and also have a pacemaker? I know that the PP (mine does ) throw some Radio Frequency pulses because I can hear them on the AM radio in my car.
So my question is; Has anyone had a problem with a pacemaker when operating in the RF field?
I may have to have a pacemaker installed due to a slow heart beat and am just trying to do some research.
I know that some Ham Radio operators had problems in the past.
Bill V

I don't have a PowerPro so I can not answer your question directly. I do, however, have a pacemaker with a defibrillator. The only incident that Have experienced that involved my pacemaker has been getting too close to a magnetic field. I hasten to say that the magnetic is not one typically found around the house or shop. I HAD a magnetic that came from a height finder radar where I was stationed early in my military career. It was a magnetron magnet (very strong permanent field).

Getting too close (within a couple feet) of that magnetic set off an alarm in my pacemaker. Getting away from the magnetic field allowed the pacemaker to return to normal. Needless to say, I no longer have the magnetron magnet.

I am no exert ,,,,,but my father in law had one of very first pacemakers ,,,,, he is now on his 4th or 5th one , he gave up the wood shop when they put him on 02 a few years back, his shop eq was all diy ,,,,, including his band saw and his multi seed lathe,,auto feed drum sander , he had issues with his box and no one cold figure out why ,,,, then they put the new one in and found out it was the electric motors he had running..the new one some how documented the rf ,,,.his new {ER} heart monitor solved the problem , they said it was some how shielded against RF.

I had a very good friend,,,, ham operator,,,,, who had a heart defib and said his radio didnt cause him any issues and he was running several thousand watts of power ,

Sorry for the long winded story ,,,, however,,,,, I think it depends on the box and how it is set up ,, best advice is to consult with your medical provider ,,, there may be a adjustment on the thing , maybe not I dont know .

I do know my father in law has a box that can be monitored now with out him even leaving he house ,,his computer stand is right beside his window air conditioner .

Yes, the pacemaker of today is quite different than those of years gone by. My father had a pace maker for about half of his life time. The only problem he had was keeping a battery. He had five or six surgeries just to install a new battery.

I have a standing appointment to have my pacemaker checked every three months. On alternate appointments I go to a clinic to have it checked. Takes about 10 minutes. In between those checks, the clinic calls mine up on a computer system via WiFi and runs a similar check. In addition to that, my system will, on its own with NO action on my part, notify the doctor if anything goes wrong.

When I hugged the magnet, I got a call.

I have a pacemaker and Power Pro, and I am also a Ham Radio operator. I have had no problems.











Ron K6VPV