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M**Y
Literally stunned at the constant spiking on cell phone and my mobile microwave oven (2013 Ford Explorer)
I avoided the EMF issue for a while, but after reading/listenting to books, lectures and websites on the topic, now was the time to assimilate and mitigate. I was surprised that my cordless phone didn't register much at all, even when calling. My FioS Quantum dual-band 5ghz router didn't register much either. Microwave, yes... very high inside 8-10'. Power strips were really high. A/V system for TV was high when turned on. My CAR? I'm literally driving around in a microwave oven. Readings near the front, particularly floorboard areas were very high. The whole car was fairly high, even without bluetooth or anything running. But, the real kicker was the cell phone. It's right at danger level inactive without bluetooth or wifi turned on. Every 8-10 seconds, rapid spiking to the top of the meter for 2-3 seconds. Send or receive a text, spike for 3 sec. Initiate or receive call, spiking for a LONG time. I tested Samsung Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5 and 6. All pretty much the same. OMG, cell phones are out of control dangerous if this meter means anything. I'm looking at Cruz Cases, but it looks like you have to buy directly from them. As far as mitigating the car, I don't know... RF fabric under the floor mats?
S**T
A GREAT INVESTMENT IN YOUR HEALTH
As a former engineer, I was hesitant to buy this meter because of its relatively low price, and I almost purchased the higher priced Trifield made by the same company that has wider ranges of frequencies of the different fields covered. But some wise consultants at a company called LessEMF talked me into this one and a separate RF meter. I bought this one from Amazon because it was about $25 cheaper, and I bought the RF meter from LessEMF since it was not available from Amazon. The service and integrity of both companies are superb, and so are the products. This meter has been everything we needed to try to help my beloved wife with her Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS). You can measure both AC electric and magnetic fields in a wide range of strengths, and you can measure RF radiation from a microwave. But you CANNOT measure RF from other common devices like wireless devices (phones, computer routers, mice and keyboards, baby monitors, etc.). For those, you need a specialty RF meter.My wife's EHS has virtually derailed our lives for the last three months, and I honestly do not know what we would do without this meter at this point. With it, we can detect problem areas in our own home and in the public places she frequents. So far, we have discovered we needed to eliminate all compact fluorescent bulbs even though I love the quality of light they produce. We have replaced them with bulb-shaped halogens that emit very low magnetic and electric fields. We determined that the microwave and oven had to be either unplugged or switched off at the breaker panel to keep the magnetic fields low enough in the kitchen for her to be safe. Simply having them off was not enough. I was able to measure the electric field strength of the full spectrum fluorescent tubes (twelve bulbs in three ceiling fixtures) in my studio where I make my living as a painter and sculptor: the fields were astoundingly strong. I then built shields using hardware cloth covering the entire bottom of the metal fixtures, ensuring these shields were grounded to the light fixture housing, and this reduced the electric fields to zero. I would never have been able to tell if I was successful had I not had a meter to measure the electric fields before and after. I have also used it to see how close to a floor lamp my wife can safely sit and keep the fields immeasurably small. And I have determined where in our Dodge van the magnetic fields are the lowest so she can sit in relative safety. I had not suspected those fields in a vehicle could be so strong...in some places pegging the meter on the high setting.One of the best uses of this small meter is to take with me to places she goes regularly, like the gym. She is a workoutaholic, and such exercise is a real benefit to people suffering with EHS. But without a way to ensure her safety at the gym, workouts have been problematic. Some of the cardio machines emit almost no fields, some produce medium magnetic fields, and one an astoundingly strong magnetic field (the Fit Stride 95xi by Life Fitness). The earlier versions of this elliptical cross trainer are fine (the 9500 HR) for her to use, but she dares not get on the newer version. The magnetic field in the rear is astoundingly strong, especially when you are actually on the machine. Also at the gym, I was able to find out why she suffered a serious EMF hit several days ago. She had leaned against a wall to stretch and then got on the Life Fitness 9500 HR I mentioned above, which is near several TVs. She thought the hit was from the TVs or the elliptical machine, and so did I; but measurements yesterday determined that the TVs and the elliptical trainer were fine and that the problem was a set of three dimmer switches on the back side of the wall where she was leaning to stretch. Again, the magnetic field was pegged on the highest setting of the meter. So far, the dimmer switches have been the most dangerous thing we have yet encountered.I have much mitigation work yet to do in our home to make it safe, and also many stores and other locations to investigate to keep her safe out of the house. This meter will be getting a lot of work, and so far it has been a real--literal--lifesaver. One of my wife's chief EMF symptoms is heart problems, and some people have actually died from such problems when they are left untreated. Part of the knowledge required to treat them is only obtainable with a meter to measure the fields in real time. So if you have any reasons to avoid EMF, I would suggest this meter as a prime purchase. One thing I have learned in measuring various fields is that, even for an engineer (biomedical engineering with a bunch of EE courses), much of this field strength measurement and detection is somewhat counter-intuitive. You need a good meter.Two more things. First, as the description of this product mentions, it is capable of measuring magnetic fields in any plane because it has three separate antennae inside. Thus, it is much simpler to use than one requiring a particular orientation to be effective. Most meters in this price range cannot do that. Second, I honestly believe that given the proliferation of RF energy for everything from wireless networks to cell phones to garage door openers, more and more people are going to develop EHS over the next decade. My suggestion? Start reducing your exposure now by making changes in your own home. This meter will help. But you will also need an RF meter for all the devices mentioned above. My wife just had a serious hit from the WiFi network (both for customers and for the store's computers) at a local Whole Foods Market. She will no longer be able to shop there. But you need an RF meter to measure that field. The one I own is a Cornet Electrosmog Meter, the one with the extended range to reach fields of 6 GHz.
D**.
Reads EMF at least 2X higher than flat EMF meters due to frequency weighting
I purchased this device in hopes that it would help me pinpoint the source(s) of electrical hum that had been bothering me inside my house, but it didn't work out as well as I'd wished. In fact, it made my life more stressful for the several weeks I used it.The two main problems: (1) in most places in my house, it reads twice as high for EMF versus a higher-end digital EMF meter owned by my power company, thus making it look like my house's EMF problem is much worse than it is and (2) it doesn't seem to discriminate between different frequencies of EMF so it registers high EMF both for 60 Hz hum and for higher frequency electrical hash that doesn't seem to bother me. During evening hours, it typically shows high EMF readings throughout the house making it essentially useless for pinpointing particular trouble spots. I suppose if I were take this meter's readings at face value, I could rewire my house, install EMF shields, apply EMF paint, and install plug-in EMF filters in an effort to resolve an EMF problem that really isn't a problem, so I'm glad I had the chance to see another EMF meter in action as a sanity check.In the end, I've ended up identifying my worst EMF sources with a portable AM radio tuned off channel; this cheap and simple approach lets me distinguish between hum and hash and gives me a good idea of how far a given EMF source radiates. With this means, I've been successful in identifying several trouble spots involving parallel power and low-voltage cables, ground loops, etc., that were causing 60 Hz hum. (The meter does read high EMF in those areas, but it also reads high EMF most everywhere else too.) This has made my in-house EMF problem much more bearable without much expense.As for this meter, it pretty much just sits on a shelf to remind me of the needless anxiety it caused me for the several weeks I took its high EMF readings to heart. Not recommended.UPDATE #1: after posting my original review, I discovered an actual EMF issue in my house that had an actual effect on my health. It came to my attention while I was troubleshooting an issue with a strong humming noise in the background of some AM radio stations (e.g., 720 kHz). The noise was much worse when the overhead flourescent light fixture in my bedroom was turned OFF. Yes, you read that right! Many flourescent fixtures are well-known causes of RF noise, so it would be understandable if turning the fixture ON caused noise, but in my case I heard the reverse behavior.It turned out that the problem was caused by incorrect wiring at the light fixture: reversed hot and neutral wires. Apparently the low current that's present on the circuit's neutral wiring was enough to keep the ballast transformer alive enough to generate EMF and RF interference. Since the neutral isn't controlled by a light switch, the current was present at all times. Thus, for the 10+ years that this wiring problem had been present, I'd been subjected to an elevated EMF field that interfered with my body's ability to sleep deeply. Ever since I corrected this wiring error, I've been sleeping much more soundly.What does this have to do with the Trifield 100XE EMF Meter? Just this: the meter's poor accuracy for detecting EMF fields prevented it from showing a stronger EMF field in the vicinity of the miswired light fixture versus other areas of the house. Some time ago, when I had a rep from my electrical utility do an EMF scan using a higher-end meter, he DID detect a higher EMF reading in the vicinity of the light fixture, whereas the Trifield meter showed no difference in reading whether it was near the light fixture or in an entirely different room. At every other location in my house, my Trifield meter read at least 2X higher than the utility rep's meter. Unfortunately, I didn't yet have a good understanding of EMF, electrical wiring, etc., so I had to wait a couple of years before my AM radio noise issue led me to this smoking gun.What good is it to know that your house has an EMF issue without giving any clue of the exact location of the issue? Moreover, what good is it to have the meter read 2X or more higher than is warranted by the actual EMF field, thus leading one to believe that one's home is unhealthy when in fact it is safe? Therefore, I have downgraded my rating of the Trifield meter from 2 stars to 1 star. One is far better off to use an AM radio to sniff out EMF/RFI or contact one's utility company or a home environment professional to get an accurate EMF reading than to invest in this product.UPDATE # 2: I've learned that the Trifield EMF meter sold at this page reads high for EMF because of a feature called "frequency weighting." (There is another version of the Trifield EMF meter that is _not_ frequency weighted. You can find it here: Trifield Flat Version for 50hz and 60hz - Model 100xe With Aluminium Case. My criticisms do not apply to that model.) As I understand it, this causes the EMF reading to be multiplied or "weighted" if higher-frequency EMF supposedly associated with "dirty electricity" is detected. The reading might be multiplied by as much as 4. This is distinct from the behavior of a "flat" EMF meter which does not do any weighting/multiplication. Thus, a flat EMF meter might display a much lower reading than this model of the Trifield.Since writing the original review and update #1, I've obtained a flat EMF meter (EMI Magnetic field gauss Meter detector MG-2000T Triple Axis Professional use Magnetic Interference from MRI Machines Industrial and Medical Equipment Power Lines Appliances EMF inspections) so I've been comparing it with the Trifield in many areas of my house. Without fail, the Trifield's EMF reading is 2X that of the flat meter. Even in the evening, when I get somewhat higher EMF readings than in the daytime, the flat meter reads 1.5 - 2.0 mG which looks a lot better than the 3-4 mG presented by the Trifield. What's more, the flat meter seems to be better able to identify strong EMF fields such as when it's placed within 2' of a transformer, and it consistently shows that the reading falls back to more normal values when it's moved away from the strong field. Thus, unlike the Trifield, the flat meter is actually useful for pinpointing specific EMF sources such as the wall wart transformer I had plugged in within a few feet of my bed.My advice: if you're going to get an EMF meter, steer clear of the frequency-weighted Trifield and invest in a flat EMF meter instead. You'll have a much better chance of pinpointing specific EMF sources and won't get unnecessarily worried by artificially high readings.
G**S
Not good for modern day RF
Purchased this primarily to measure RF 'pollution' in my house and with my various devices (cell phone, tablet, Wireless Router, etc.). On some units, such as iPads it seemed to measure no Wi-Fi transmission at all. On others (cell phone) it would give moderate readings. Finally figured out the iPads are working at 5Ghz and the cell phone at 2.4Ghz and evidently the meter only goes to the old normal of 3.5Ghz. Returned unit for a full refund and purchased an Acoustimeter RF Meter Model AM-10 which covers the RF spectrum up to 8Ghz.
Trustpilot
1 month ago
1 week ago