What you saw was the result of careful design and attention to customer requirements. Our environment today contains thousands of devices which emit signals which can potentially interfere with electronic devices. And our environment also contains many electronic devices which would be sensitive to such signals if not for proper design.
Some years ago a team from my company was on a trip to evaluate safety sensors for use in our lab. I included the guidance that they should take their handheld radios and check for sensitivity to these signals.
The report I received back was hilarious. The team asked the vendor if they could key their radios while in the control room to check for sensitivity to radio signals. The vendor rep assured them that there would be no problem and gave them the go-ahead.
Seconds later THEIR lab was in full evacuation mode with multiple alarms going off. Needless to say, we had to make significant modifications before making use of their products.
The radiated power difference between a cellphone (handheld unit maximum is 0.6 watt) and a typical walkie-talkie (3 watts minimum) would have been a HUGE contributor to the RF interference experienced.
EyeGuy: I was referencing a typical MD practice, not your speciality of optometry. Normally I wait no more than 15 minutes once every 2 years at *my* eyeguy’s office, which I think is reasonable. Things can happen.