Price: £5.50 free shipping
Manufacturer: Unknown
Model: DT-1130
Type: E.M.F. Meter (Electro-magnetic field) Single Axis meter
Measurements: Milligauss?
Run By: 1x 9V battery
Description:
Features: LCD display, Data hold button.
What's in the packet?: Meter and instructions (limited info)
Inside the meter - Everything run By the Chip
First Impressions
This cheap and cheerful EMF Meter is a remarkable bit of kit! Not only is it the cheapest EMF Meter on the planet (probably) but it can also measure other things?! but more on that later..
After using an EMF countless times over the years I felt it was only fair that I bought my own and not always borrow someone elses. These meters can be quite expensive especially if you opt for a tri-axis model. As I don't need to use one all that often I thought I would try and get a cheap one. It turns out that this particular model is the cheapest on ebay costing around £5-£6 shipped. This is a fraction of the cost of a better known make and so I decided to buy it without question.
Delivery was in the region of about three weeks from Kowloon which is a little longer than usual but OK.
The packet contained the meter in a bubble wrap bag and a flimsy instruction sheet. It turns out that this instruction sheet is far from informative. The reverse side was in Chinese and the English side was not much better. The biggest issue was the lack of explanation regarding which unit of measurement the meter would be using. I can only assume that the display is giving Milligauss readings? Who knows? This small omission to the manual is not a good start.
The build quality of this meter is understandably crap. It's built to a price and it's the innards which get the most attention here and rightly so. Without the battery the unit weighs badically nothing.
Testing
Baofeng radio on transmit
The Kettle
WTF! Electro-Static Readings???
Usually it's quite common to find that Chinese manufacturers will overstate their products power or functionality and generally bullshit a bit.
In a strange twist on convention we find that this manufacturer has this time understated their handy work.
It would appear that this seemingly conventional EMF Meter can actually measure static too! It's a little strange.
This fact came to light when I was going round the house pointing the meter at various mains sockets and at some poiny I accidentally metered the Cat! Suffice to say he measured 867 Milligauss!? What! My Cat was not hooked up to the mains so how can this be?
In a crude experiment I rubbed his fur much like you would to generate static with balloon. The figure rose and the buzzer went off!?
Thinking I was dreaming or something I set up a separate test with a bubble wrap bag.
I measured the bag straight off the shelf then vigorously rubbed it along my sleeve and measured again. Ha!
Polythene Bag
Polythene Bag with some friction
Bit of a coincidence? So it measures static too... which unit of measurement is the device using now? How does it switch modes?
I'm sure this is not an Electrostatic Voltmeter. What on earth is going on?
The perceived inability to differentiate between EMF and static readings might compromise any testing? I'm not sure.
Doubt has crept in....
Rating: ✅✅✅ 3 out of 5
If you don't mind spurious readings and not knowing which unit of measurement is being used go ahead and pay the man.