Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

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.