Reduced operator emission exposure antennas for safer hand-held radios and cellular telephones

An antenna for a personal communication device designed for reducing RF emissions to a user's head and body comprises a single half-wave dipole antenna element mounted on the top of a telescoping rod such that the antenna element is raised above the user's head when the rod is extended. The rod is completely inactive and serves only to elevate the active antenna element above the user's head and away from the body. A built-in switch is provided which reduces the transmission RF power when the rod is retracted to further protect the user. In a second embodiment, a co-linear array of dipole antenna elements is used. The full array is active for reception. However, a proximity detector senses the proximity of a human body, and lowers the RF transmission power to those antenna elements in the array that are closest to the user's head.