Quick EMF Detectors—And A DIY EMF Detector
As long as you are living in a modern society, using electricity and the Internet, and you are exposed to the invisible cloud of energy called the artificial electromagnetic field, or EMF.
In Europe this invisible pollution has been termed “electrosmog” to describe the pervasive electrical pollution that many of us live in, and may be entirely unaware of.
It’s not visible like air or water pollution. Yet its effects are proving extremely costly, especially amongst the most vulnerable including our children.
Click here to learn more about the danger and harm that long-term exposure to EMF radiation causes
Hidden Electrosmog Dangers at Home
Electrosmog can be generated by many sources in your own living space:
Your neighbour’s refrigerator behind the wall you sleep against
Wi-Fi laptops in the living room programmed to download movies (public domain, of course) during the night
Your electric comforter keeping your warm and toasty
Your air-conditioning keeping you cool
Any cellular phone or Wi-Fi provider for a transmission mast on your roof
The induction appliances and stove that you use for cooking
Your mobile phone alarm set for the morning and positioned strategically within arm's reach on the night table
Click here to read more about the four types of electromagnetic fields most commonly found at home and how they impact health.
The Bioinitiative Report is a 650+ report documenting adverse health effects of artificial electromagnetic fields. Since 2007, it has chronicled over 2,000 scientific studies and reviews on EMFs.
Quick DIY EMF detectors
You can Make A DIY EMF Meter (Detector)
It is easy to simply detect artificial EMFs.
This is one great idea that I saw going around on videos on YouTube. It wasn’t until I saw my children playing around with their mini compasses that I realised it could work as a very basic EMF detector.
Briefly: You just need a simple compass. (See Lazada)
This DIY EMF detector simply makes us aware of the presence of an electromagnetic field. Note that this is not an EMF meter in the traditional sense. It does not give a reading of how much, or which type(s) of EMF radiation is being detected.
Using a compass to detect EMFs will only detect electric and magnetic fields. It will not detect radio frequencies, or wireless radiation, which can be damaging.
What this DIY emf detector will be great is a quick determination of whether there are EMFs in your area, and which direction they are coming from. This is helpful as you are moving around your home and trying to find out where there is strong EMF radiation.
Do “EMF detector apps” work?
The principle of the compass is similar to how EMF detector apps do “work”. Some phones and apps are capable of harnessing the magnetometers on the phone to give you a magnetic field radiation reading.
However, these magnetometers will often pick up on the earth’s magnetic field, as well as the phones, so again the reading is unlikely to be accurate.
As phones communicate using radio frequency, an app can harness this to know when it is picking up other radio frequencies foreign from its own communications and display a reading.
The app thus shows a spike in the reading when you approach something such as your WiFi router, or a cell phone that is making a phone call, or even your laptop.
Given we want to reduce any artificial EMFs, I do not recommend using your wireless device to try to detect EMFs.
For those who want to tackle a more complex DIY project to detect EMFs, coolmagnetman has an enormous guide on the details of how to do this. You can check out his instructions for building a DIY gauss meter here.
The DIY guide at https://www.coolmagnetman.com/magmeter.htm
What To Get If You Don’t Want To Make a Do It Yourself EMF Meter
Now you know EMF may be a real threat in your space and you are serious about wanting to reduce dangerous EMF radiation in your home or office.
I always recommend a quality EMF meter for anyone.
I like the TriField TF2 if you can afford it, as it’s simple to use, lasts forever, is extremely accurate, and measures all three types of EMF radiation (electric, radio, and magnetic).
I also like the Acoustimeter which measures radio frequency / microwave radiation (200 MHz – 8.0 GHz).
It is lightweight, yet a sturdy and versatile meter. Mine has served me well for almost a decade now.
I always take this along with me on trips to quickly assess hotel rooms and areas where my family are spending a lot of time in. It gives discreet colour indications and clear audio feedback based on which frequencies it is picking up.
For a not-always-hands free mother juggling a bunch of things, has been highly fun and education for the children to learn too. They get to do EMF sleuthing with this meter, during interminable airport queues, waiting areas, around hotel rooms, etc…
If you’re looking for a low cost digital meter the Erickhill EMF Meter is a new addition to the market, and at a good price. As concern and demand grow, I’m confident we will see more and better EMF detectors and measuring tools for consumers on the market.
See my quick guide to popular EMF meters here.
If you want to eliminate wireless frequencies at home completely, take the #greatwiredchallenge
