Quality Problems with Low-Cost Test Meters

From our extensive experience testing many different meters over the years, we are concerned about the accuracy and reliability of most of the cheaper (less than $200 in cost) test meters on the market, especially the multi-purpose types of test meters like the Cornet brand, which try to measure all three kinds of EMFs with one instrument.  They tend to have substantial accuracy and quality issues, and are notorious for sometimes reading too high and making people worry needlessly, or measuring too low and not alerting the user to the appropriate concern level.

The TriField 100XE

This older version of the TriField was actually one of my favorite meters, but only for certain purposes — when measuring magnetic fields.  The 100XE tends to read high.  For example, it might read 10 milligauss when the actual magnetic field level is 2 milligauss.  This is because the 100XE measurements are “frequency weighted” — and thus the numbers get bigger if the magnetic fields are “dirty”.  And when the 100XE is used in conjunction with an accurate gaussmeter, the difference between the two meters can show you how “dirty” the magnetic fields are.  (Watch video above for details.)  This is something that standard dirty electricity meters and accurate gaussmeters both do not detect.  This “weighted” measurement can actually be very helpful for highly sensitive individuals. 

Dirty Electricity (Dirty Magnetic Fields)

Most people do not realize that DE (dirty electricity) filters themselves can actually create strong dirty “magnetic” fields, both where the filters are plugged in, and throughout the wiring system.  But standard DE test meters only measure the dirty “electric” part of DE, and they completely ignore the dirty “magnetic” part!  Thus the 100XE is quite useful, because it detects dirty “magnetic” fields, which is a huge health concern for many highly sensitive individuals.  (The newer model TF2 does an even better job of this.)

Electric Fields

The 100XE also detects electric fields, but only at relatively strong levels, and thus it is not sensitive enough for most purposes.  Also, electric field detectors like this, that test electric fields with an antenna inside the meter, tend to cause great inaccuracies.  Therefore I generally recommend using a body volt meter instead to measure electric fields, and not a TriField or Cornet.

RF/Microwaves

Years ago, the 100XE was great for detecting radio frequency fields — but only the older technology analog RF signals that were common then.  However, as digital wireless technologies advanced, the 100XE was never designed to detect the newer modern digital signals.  Thus the 100XE tends to greatly under-measure the peak RF levels emitted from modern digital wireless devices like cell phones and Wi-Fi routers.

A New Model is Available: The TriField TF2

The newest version of the TriField is the Model TF2.  It’s performance and quality is greatly improved over the older version in several ways.  For example, when measuring magnetic fields, the TF2 allows you to measure in both a “weighted” mode (like the older version), and in a “standard” mode (like an accurate gaussmeter).  Thus the TF2 allows you to asses dirty magnetic fields with one instrument.  Our tests have shown that when used in “standard” mode, the TF2 measures magnetic fields accurately.  Also, the RF test mode has been redesigned for modern digital signals, and so it picks up digital RF fields much better than the older model.