Extech 480836 RF EMF Strength Meter High Frequency measurement for EMF (50MHz to 3.5GHz)

This is a good quality tool. It is not a "cheapo China tool" for it is made in Taiwan (not Red China) and it shows real quality. The functions are very good, it is rather easy to use, and the manufacturer gives it a good one year warrantee. I have found it particularly useful in locating radiating power spiking areas in my home of recent. Much of the spiking, as it turns out, originated from my new wireless modem. It does not radiate like one would expect either. I have some selective areas that were very "hot" with nearly 1000 mico-watts pulses and others very close by with only 300 to 400 micro-watts by comparisons. The goal was to see if I could effect a change to reduce any area in the home, except right close to the modem itself, to levels below 200 micro watts/sq meter. I finally achieved that through experimentation for most areas, and I particularly focused on bedroom areas since we were all having some trouble with sleep patterns and repeated wake-ups in the night more than it should be..... or like it used to be previously. As I looked back, after using this instrument, I realized that it all seemed to get gradually worse when I setup the original wireless network in our home, but it got a lot worse when I bought the newer ActionTech GT784WN which has a VERY strong excellent wifi strength signal! What I did once I recognized this potential source of trouble was to get into the software setup program for the wifi and reset it to 80% power and see how it all worked. At 100% I was getting signal strength levels up in the 800's to 900's micro watts in several areas where it was NOT expected at all. At 80% it reduced the overall "hot" exposure levels to approximately 550 micro-watts,.... and when I reduced it to 60%, it lowered the general levels when tested in various previously "hot areas" to around 390 micro-watts / sq. meter. We still have a functional wifi signal within our home, the computers on wifi still say it is a good signal and perform flawlessly, and more importantly, I am not awaking so often as I did! (Regularly 6 or 7 times per night!) That correction is a VERY good thing for me personally. I am a Licenced Master Journeyman Electrician and an electronics techie.... yet, I had NO IDEA that these things could effect a person so profoundly!!! I will use this tool a lot more in the future. This tool seems to be functioning or aiming more at the higher end of the spectrum of frequencies than the lower, so for cell phones and microwave ovens and lower frequencies below, a person may wish to buy one of the cheaper low fequency type of detectors to marry this up with as a pair.... just a thought. (Thinking of something along the Tri-Meter type of tool.) Buy with confidence and I hope this helps you make up your mind, at least a little bit. Enjoy! UPDATE 21 March 2014: All the above has proven true since that was written. I thought to add to this accounting of events that I put the power on the wifi down to 25% and it took the signal strength down to more minimum levels around the bedrooms, yet, all of our wifi equipment works perfectly. So this is good to know. Be aware also that we receive a LOT of "stuff" from places unknown coming into our environment..... radio station signals, TV, etc. etc. so we do need to exercise care at least on our own end as to just how much we add to this cumulative amount of radiation that we have to live in. I found that our GE microwave emitted a large amount of wicrowave energy out of the lower bottom area of our unit just below and behind the door opening. It is a high end over-the-counter type of unit. Not much I can do about that except do stand close up to it while it is cooking something, ha ha! I just thought this might be of interest to you. The one draw back to any quality unit is that once you have used it and corrected the problems, you may not need it again for a long time, so it just sits unused and wasting your money. But, it just may be worth it anyway! Be wise, Gary

This EMF meter is better/more sensitive than the TriField Meter 100XE that I purchased prior to this one. I like the digital output compared to the Trifield's analog output. And I also like that there are four different units of measure, as well as avg, max, and avg max reading indicators. The output can be a little confusing at first. In some modes, readings under 1000 are displayed to the tenth. For example a reading of 120.2. But once the reading exceeds 1000, they are displayed in decimal notation, for example a reading of 1200 displays as 1.2. The only way you can discern that a reading is 1200 versus 1.2 is to watch the meter values climb or drop sequentially. From what I read EMF sources emit at different frequencies: AM Towers - 540-1600kHz FM Towers - 88-108MHz TV Towers - 180-220MHz Cell Towers - 800 - 1800 MHz Cell Phones - 800MHz - 3GHz WiFi - 2.4 - 2.5 GHz This meter measures anything between 50MHz - 3.5GHz. The output displays is a combination of all EM frequencies around you - cordless phone, wireless router, cell phone, electrical lines, nearby cell towers, etc. So even if you are next to an EMF source, the meter is likely picking up other EMF emissions. And according to some, the purported safety/danger level of EMFs depends on the frequency. It'd be better if this meter had a frequency setting, where you could taking readings for specific frequency ranges. It's still useful around the house. Through a process of elimination I found the biggest offenders in my house are my router, cordless phone and base, and my Roku. The readings are off the charts. The router is in a back room and that emission doesn't seem to impact the main living areas of the house. I will no longer be using a cordless phone. (I shudder when I think of all the years I've been using one and the hours upon hours I've talked on one.) And I also shudder when I think of the hours I've spent sitting in front of my Roku. I've now put up an aluminum foil barrier in front of the Roku when I'm using it. It still broadcasts, but the remote doesn't work and to change a channel I have to get up and remove the foil. (It reminds me of a character on Better Call Saul... and to think I thought that guy was crazy....). This review is just my opinion. I'm not an expert and I apologize for any errors.

Happy with it so far, used it to eliminate radiation hot spot at home! On the first day it arrived, we used it to check around our home to see if there is any high microwave radiation. It detected extremely high radiation from the router installed by AT&T for our U-verse high-speed internet. It is found that AT&T set the U-verse router's wireless network transmitter at full power, which is 400,000 uW/m2!!! even at 3 meter away from the router, the radiation detected by the device is as high as 4000 uW/m2. According the Bau-Biologie exposure standards, safe RF radiation for human in sleep should be below 1 uW/m2 (microWatts per square meter) and below 0.1 uW/m2 for digital pulsed radiation signals.

yeah, now we no longer use the microwave to boil potatoes or cook. Just reheating. The microwave is truly remarkable source of radiation and the power reduces exponentially with the distance, meaning never stand next to it once you turn it on. WiFi radiation measurement is also ver educative. I immediately set my Wifi to the lowest signal strength without noticing any difference in my Internet performance but a significant drop in radiation. the product works great and will help you reduce your radiation exposure. In this day and age of high-tech wireless gadgets, and increasing incidence of related health issues, this is a necessary equipment not a nice to have for the curious. Strongly consider buying this. If you are moving or buying a place take it with you, yeah you will look weird but I'll take that to moving into a high radiation environment.

ELECTROSMOG21 and EMFWATCH on YOUTUBE I bought this meter after noticing a cell tower in the middle of my childs baseball park and wondering what levels were being emitted from it. I had started researching cell phones after realizing that my arm, face, head, shoulder, and neck pains were caused by my own cell phone use and the wireless phone in my office. I had still not made the connection of my physical problems to ES until I bought this device and discovered just how many sources of Microwave radiation that I had been getting exposed to throughout the past 15 years culminating in my current deplorable state of health. Upon identifying, eleminating, and avoiding as much radiation as I can I have since begun to recover to something resembling better health. I have since been doing what I can to show people the levels present in my life so that others can question whether their health problems may be exacerbated by levels in their own surroundings. I have my videos posted at ELECTROSMOG21 and EMFWATCH on YOUTUBE. Protect yourself and your family and get one of these. I have found no better type of health care ( three years of getting the run around by doctors and dentists ) than that started by the use of this device. It is well worth the price.

I get random readings. The average mode makes the reading go essentially to zero. Doesn't seem to work at all, or I don't understand how to use it, and I'm a very tech savvy person.

accurate device

Looks like a great device, but emf reading is not my thing. I was hoping for the instruction manual to shed some light into its use. Trying to get some info on what value goes with what type of device. Like what unit do I set it to read the microwave oven or the wireless device for my home alarm system. I'll get to it, but it'll take some more time than expected. So, avg Joe, be warned you'll have to look and read for clearer instructions and safe EMF guidelines so you know what's safe and whatnot. Just sayin'