EMF Meters, Dead People, and YOU!
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Here's a simple rundown of the various EMF meters on the market, broken down by average cost and functionality. This guide is based on my personal experience, and research I've stumbled across over the years. Like anything in the paranormal realm, however, it's just one person's experience and can be taken with as many or as few grains of salt as the reader wishes.

Remember, like all ghost hunting equipment none of these meters were designed for paranormal research. EMF meters are primarily home-safety products, and all of them are pretty solid in that respect. For the sake of brevity, I have limited my commentary, for the most part, to their reliability in detecting EMF related to paranormal activity.

Also, I've included some links to ghost-mart.com. I've never ordered anything from them, so I can't vouch for their service (though the prices seem a little high and some of their information is inaccurate). The links are included to show you what the unit looks like, and give you some specs on it.

1. Electrosensor (Sonic Technology, $20-40) – From what I've heard, this unit is ok. Its primary drawback is the LED readout, on which one "brick" can represent more than a 1mg (MilliGauss) reading. It can tell you there's EMF, and give you a ball-park idea on just how much of it you're dealing with, but it's not precise by any means. Despite that, it's a solid meter at a good price. For someone just starting out who wouldn't need or want all the bells and whistles, you could do a lot worse.
http://www.ghost-mart.com/product/emf4.html

2 Cell Sensor/Ghost Meter/Etc (Alternate Technologies, $30-50) – This unit is decent in detecting made-made EMF. When it comes to paranormal activity, however, it's a total waste of money. This is unfortunate, as it is frequently labeled and sold as a "ghost detector". It generally will not pick up anything other than man-made EMF. This is fine for sniffing out false positives, but this meter's limited in that it only goes up to 10mg. High EMF caused by unshielded wiring, circuit breakers, et al, can go as high as 80-90mg or higher. For ghost hunters, this is a poor choice all around.
http://www.ghost-mart.com/product/emf2.htm

3. Gauss Master (Unknown, $35-60) -- I've heard good things about this one, though I've never actually used one. Again, though, it only reads 1-10mg, so you would still have issues with the limitations of the unit. I have heard from several different investigators that it can pick up some natural EMF, so in that regard it's definitely better than the Cell Sensor. It's easy to use, and the price is certainly right. Like the ElectroSensor, this would probably be a good choice for someone starting out, or someone wanting a simple no-nonsense device.
http://www.ghoststore.net/gauss_master.html

4. K-II Meter (SafeRange, $50-70) – It would be an understatement to say I am skeptical on this unit. It recently rose to prominence after being featured in the infamous "Manson Murders Investigation", on Ghost Hunters. During the episode, the shady-at-best Chris Flemming (of the show Dead Famous, in which he runs around claiming to be possessed by the spirits of dead celebrities) used this meter to "communicate" with spirits in the house. Of the many problems with this unit, its on/off switch (located on the top center of the unit) must be held down for the unit to continue operating. This is just one of the many ways in which this unit is flawed. Avoid it.
http://www.kiienterprises.com/saferange/

5. Lutron EMF Tester (Lutron, $79-100) – To those that watch "Ghost Hunters" on the Sci-Fi Channel, this will look familiar, as it's the unit they use more than any other. It has a range of 1-199mg, with a clear digital readout. Like any unit that detects both natural and man-made EMF, you will have to poke around when you get a reading to make sure it's not the wiring, etc. While it's still a bit spendy, the cost is substantially less than a TriField and the quality is certainly on-par. If you have room your budget and want to 'go loud' in choosing a meter, this is certainly one to take a serious look at.
http://www.ghost-mart.com/product/emf9.html

6. Standard Trifield Meter (AlphaLabs, Inc. $125-160) – This is the meter Jen and I use. It was certainly expensive, but I can honestly say it was worth it. I have found it to be completely reliable. It is a precise unit, which will pick up even slight fluctuations in the EMF in a location. For example, when we investigated Gaines Point the needle recorded several odd jumps which later turned out to coincide with some of the EVPs we recorded there. Of course, you don't need a meter that sensitive, but as a shameless gadget geek I thought it was terribly cool to have one that could possibly detect that
http://www.vitacost.com/AlphaLab-Trifield-Meter?csrc=GPF-870504029018

7. Natural Trifield Meter (AlphaLabs, Inc. $170-230) – While I was initially fascinated with the idea of a meter that would only detect natural EMF, the research and word-of-mouth on this unit is that it's a bit too much of a good thing. The human body itself generates a healthy amount of EMF, and apparently this unit picks it up. It also picks up ionized air, electrostatic, and many of the other "charged" things in nature. To me, this would make nailing down the cause of the reading too difficult. This one probably isn't worth the money for someone in our field.
http://www.ghost-mart.com/product/emf3.html

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