Want to buy a Gauss Meter

Leonedes

Guys where can I buy a cheap but working Gauss Meter ? I need it to check for EMF levels near big power lines, totally for curiosity purposes and uni project, would i be able to find one for around 50 $ or abit more ?

Padre

EKT has one for like 100$

mesa177

You can check Katranji (ask for a chinese model) using their website www.ekt2.com. Right now I can't search for it, but once I get home I'll do a nice reseach and a couple of calls.

Leonedes

thanks mesa, waiting on hearing from you :)

btw is it just me or is there really not a single price listed on their website ?
http://www.ekt2.com/ekt/prodList.asp?idCategory=419

mesa177

@mark.assad: LOL, what price list?! :D No Katranji deems it not necessary (Maher told me honestly that if people want to know the price, they can call or drop in). You can call them at 01-820020, ask for the hardware electronics section and namely Hajj Haitham if you can (if he's not on duty, ask for Alaa Kassem). I'll be going tomorrow afternoon, so if you can wait that long, I can ask them directly. However, according to the specifications, your best option is the EMF-824 if you have a good multimeter (reliable and measure true RMS values) or EMF-822A if not cause they work on ISO standards (necessary for university projects cause otherwise you won't be able to verify that your results are accurate). If it's just a hobbyist thing, go for the cheapest which I believe is the ELV E/H-field meter.

J4D

If you are handy, you can just build one :)

EDIT: for hobby use of course !

Xsever

Jad doesn't buy. He BUILDS!

What voltage are the lines you want to investigate running at?

Leonedes

I dont have a single idea, its those lines in el Metn - Mansourieh, the one thats been making the news lately, those have not been up yet, but there are two other lines above them like a 100 m I want to check out. I'm fairly new at this btw, only used a gauss meter once at uni to measure magnetic fields of helmetz coils! But i suppose its really not a complicated process right ?

J4D

I wish i had a house under a major power line :D I'd build a HUGE coil just under the power lines and bingo, free electricity 24/7.

Any how, its all political bullshit, EMF from the power lines causes nothing. Microwaves emit more EMF, cell phones emit more EMF, an RC toy emits more emf. A handy phone emits more emf when you are not even using it. These people should get their facts straight.

Xsever

Well said Jad. Especially since we do not have very high voltage transmission lines in Lebanon. (220 kv max)

We have 230 kv power lines here in Canada next to houses, but the structures holding them are tall enough that you don't feel anything.

All this EMF bullshit is like you said political crap!

Leonedes

Guys besides the political crap, the lines are 10m away from a couple of houses, and remember that those EMF are being emitted 24/7 unlike exposure to EMF from microwaves and cellphones ... It must have some sort of effect ?!

Xsever

I worked at a Wind Farm for 8 months and our offices were right next to the substation. The voltage there was 230kV and I never felt anything weird health-wise except for the nice "zzzz" sound of the corona discharge where the potential difference is so high the ions in the air become conductors.

Other than that, it was music to my ears. Nothing non-health as far as I am concerned.

It's still a nice experiment to conduct and I think you should go for it and report the results back. Can't you borrow the University's one for one day?

Leonedes

Well Xsever, according to the fallacy of composition, what is true for one isn't always true for all ;) We can't really conclude EMF exposure is harmless because you spent 8 month, which isnt a long duration to cause any serious medical condition, exposed to EMF. But anyway, regardless I want to check out the EMF levels there and I'll pay 100$ or so, im sure it would come in handy as a computer engineer one day :P But which one should I choose and why ? I read somewhere that for an acurate reading, especially for studying the effect of EMF on humans, the meter should be frequency sensitive or something like that, but i have no idea what that means.

Leonedes

And I checked with the university, too many procedures, heck id rather pay than deal with stuborness.

Xsever

High Voltage lines are all over the world and very close to houses in a lot of locations. Not only in Lebanon.

We never hear about it being a health risk as much as a garbage dump is for example. I am not saying my experience is all it takes to prove it's not harming, but it's definitely something.

I also worked with an electrical distribution company and there were a lot of linemen aged 50+ that had perfect health.

Health-wise, I'd be concerned more about Microwaves, but again, it's still a good experiment.

Xsever

Here are some graphs to show the levels in uT for various voltages overhead and underground.

http://www.emfs.info/Sources+of+EMFs/Underground/

mesa177

Xserver wroteWe never hear about it being a health risk as much as a garbage dump is for example.

I beg to differ, several lawsuits have been issued against state electricity companies (I only heard of those in the states) who built their high voltage towers near residences, playgrounds, and schools seeing that long term exposure to EMF can induce leukemia for children. Alot of debate has been triggered as to whether they do or don't induce leukemia, but seeing that most have been won, and even the EPA recommends "prudent avoidance", we're safe to believe that long term exposure to EMF fields is a health risk. Mentioning the EPA just reminded me of the Simpsons movie ;)

On a more serious side:
@mark.assad: After looking at the datasheets of the EMF meters offered by Katranji, and after getting a price quote, I recommend the Lutron EMF822A meter (cost: 100$ including VAT) for the following reasons:
1) Good bandwidth (30 to 300 Hz) + follows ISO standards => can be used to measure EMF fields of different home appliances, industrial devices, and power lines => good investment for both hobbyist and professional use
2) The ELV E/H field meter is more expensive (cost: 200$ including VAT) while being of same accuracy (the only additive features is indicating whether the source of EMF interference is low or high and the hold function to save the display readings => not worth the additional cost for a hobbyist).
3) The LUTRON EMF824 cannot operate without a multimeter seeing that it is an add-on device => you have to have a good, reliable true RMS multimeter to work with it. It has the exact same bandwidth testing range and measuring range. It's cost is not worth getting to be honest (about 70$ including VAT).
4) The LUTRON EMF828 is a 3D EMF meter but otherwise identical to the LUTRON EMF822A => not worth the cost (didn't even ask about it).

Xsever

Here are more numbers:

http://www.emwatch.com/Typical_mG.htm

Leonedes

Thanks ALOT mesa :) Lutron EMF822A meter it is! Ill try to go and pick one up this weekend, will get back to you guys with results.

Leonedes

Guys it seems that EKT is out of Gauss Meters for about 20 days ! The only model they have is a very expensive one (over 1000$). Does anyone know another Store that might have one ?