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Instrument Comparison Page

» Measuring Equipment » [Overview] [Acoustimeter] [Pro] [ELF 3030B] [Dirty Electricity]

It's not always easy to work out which of our instruments you need. As our instrument range expands, we thought it would be good to have a checklist so you can easily compare what each instrument does.

	Radiofrequency (microwave)	Powerfrequency
	Acoustimeter	PRO	ELF3030B
Digital Display
Lights (LEDs)
Sound
Shows average & peak
Detects TV & radio mast signals
Detects microwave fields (radiofrequency)
Detects electric & magnetic fields (powerfrequency)
Technical knowledge NOT required
Available to hire (when in stock)
Available to buy (when in stock)
Measurement range	200-8000 MHz	7-2000 Hz	16-2000 Hz
Sensitivity	0.02 V/m 1 µW/m²	0.01 µT 1 V/m	0.001 µT 1 V/m
Maximum sensitivity	6 V/m 100,000 µW/m²	19.99 µT 1999 V/m	1.99 µT 1999 V/m

Differences between the ELF3030B and the EMFields PRO meter

The EMFields PRO and the Gigahertz 3030B can give different electric field readings, with the 3030B often presenting a figure around twice that of the EMFields PRO. This is not a calibration error or inaccuracy, but is instead due to a different method of assessing the electric field.

The 3030B is designed and calibrated to measure the electric field at the end of the instrument in direct relation to ground. This is why they recommend using the earthing lead they provide with the instrument, and using this lead is required for your measurement of the electric field relative to ground to be accurate with respect to the ground. This will always give a considerably higher measurement reading, unless you are standing with bare feet on an earthed conductive surface.

The EMFields PRO is designed to measure the electric field level which your body is experiencing, so it is relative to your body, instead of to ground. This was intentional as we believe that it is the actual fields that your body is experiencing that matters most.

An example of the difference is that birds can perch on very high-voltage powerlines without being injured. This is because they only have a low number of volts actually across their body. However, they are technically sitting at hundreds of thousands of volts relative to the Earth. In this situation, the 3030B would read hundreds of thousands of volts (way over scale and it would be permanently damaged), but the PRO would read only a few hundred or less.

The 3030B can be used like the PRO (without the earthing lead), but if used this way it still gives higher readings. If held in the same manner as the PRO (at the bottom, around the battery compartment) then it reads roughly twice as high as the EMFields PRO.