Multimeter
Locked
 
|
I want to get a body voltage meter and am wondering if a multimeter
reading up to 2 volts is high enough to see what is going on? Thanks, Aline |
|
|
I don't have much experience with measuring body voltage, but
I think if you're in a normal environment you'll be measuring less than a volt (AC). You probably want to get to where it's less than 0.1 volt, or ideally perhaps 0.01 volt. Bill On 8/16/07, Aline <[hidden email]> wrote: > > I want to get a body voltage meter and am wondering if a multimeter > reading up to 2 volts is high enough to see what is going on? > > Thanks, > Aline > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
|
|
In reply to this post by alinepapille
Aline wrote:
> I want to get a body voltage meter and am wondering if a multimeter > reading up to 2 volts is high enough to see what is going on? > > Thanks, > Aline > Hi Aline, Good idea. Any basic multimeter will do. They are cheap now-a-days, and are easy to come by. Borrow your neighbors or husbands. ;-) I measured up to 3V AC, when standing under distribution lines. (The smaller voltage one step above entering your home) I can only wonder what voltage would be measured under the Big ones, or along the highway. Back on Dec.26, Stewart wrote: multimeters are a way to directly measure the effect the 120V AC has on any of us. Start with any basic multimeter. Set it to AC Voltage Set the range to 2 V AC, or 20 V AC if in an extreme environment. It is easier with a banana jack and wall plug, available at lessemf.com, but I was surprised for the money, there was nothing special about the hardware sold. But then, I have a technical background, and so can make my own cords and plugs, and already have some outlet ground cords around for other shielding solutions. The Common or Negative/Black jack goes to Ground. The Positive/Red jack goes to your skin. Thumb squeezing when holding meter is good. Then walk around, sit down, stand up. See how the voltage changes with activity, position, and location. Then hold still so the meter settles, to get a useful number. Also, to take outdoor measurements, I used a long metal rod, (meat or compost thermometer), to stick in the ground like a ground rod. Then an alligator clip from the rod to the black multimeter probe. I've noticed the resulting voltage is directly related to the distance to power lines. When I walked into the woods, and reached a distance of 1000 feet, the voltage went to zero. Stewart |
|
|
Hi Stewart,
Thanks for resending that info. I have been corresponding with Michael Neuert and he says the ground lead needs to be connected to something that sticks into the earth (which means getting a long wire as we are upstairs. Is this what you mean when you say 'goes to ground'? Thanks, Aline Stewart wrote: Any basic multimeter will do. They are cheap now-a-days, and are easy to come by. I measured up to 3V AC, when standing under distribution lines. (The smaller voltage one step above entering your home) I can only wonder what voltage would be measured under the Big ones, or along the highway. Back on Dec.26, Stewart wrote: multimeters are a way to directly measure the effect the 120V AC has on any of us. Start with any basic multimeter. Set it to AC Voltage Set the range to 2 V AC, or 20 V AC if in an extreme environment. It is easier with a banana jack and wall plug, available at lessemf.com, but I was surprised for the money, there was nothing special about the hardware sold. But then, I have a technical background, and so can make my own cords and plugs, and already have some outlet ground cords around for other shielding solutions. The Common or Negative/Black jack goes to Ground. The Positive/Red jack goes to your skin. Thumb squeezing when holding meter is good. Then walk around, sit down, stand up. See how the voltage changes with activity, position, and location. Then hold still so the meter settles, to get a useful number. Also, to take outdoor measurements, I used a long metal rod, (meat or compost thermometer), to stick in the ground like a ground rod. Then an alligator clip from the rod to the black multimeter probe. I've noticed the resulting voltage is directly related to the distance to power lines. When I walked into the woods, and reached a distance of 1000 feet, the voltage went to zero. Stewart |
|
|
I know a lot of people do measurements the way Stewart describes, and
it has the advantage of being accurate and reproducible. But, theoretically, the number it gives is not relevant, because it measure the change in AC potential (voltage), not the electric field. And theoretically the field can be very weak even if the potential is large. I have done interesting measurements with the same kind of meter and the same settings, but without a ground wire. Just hold one lead in the hand, making good contact, and extend the other out away from your body towards the electric source. The trick is to extend that lead without holding your hand around it, because that will shield the field. Ideally it should extend far so there's no effect of your body. In practice make sure it's a least a few inches. You could put the lead inside a cardboard tube for example. Or tape it to a chopstick. You'll find that the reading varies with body stance, etc, but you will be able to detect AC electric fields more sensitively than with the basic Trifield meter (which also measures magnetic fields). Bill On 8/17/07, Aline <[hidden email]> wrote: > > Hi Stewart, > > Thanks for resending that info. I have been corresponding with > Michael Neuert and he says the ground lead needs to be connected to > something that sticks into the earth (which means getting a long wire > as we are upstairs. Is this what you mean when you say 'goes to > ground'? > > Thanks, > Aline > > Stewart wrote: > > Any basic multimeter will do. They are cheap now-a-days, and are easy > to come by. > > I measured up to 3V AC, when standing under distribution lines. (The > smaller voltage one step above entering your home) > I can only wonder what voltage would be measured under the Big ones, > or along the highway. > > Back on Dec.26, Stewart wrote: > > multimeters are a way to directly measure the effect the 120V AC has > on any of us. > > Start with any basic multimeter. > Set it to AC Voltage > Set the range to 2 V AC, or 20 V AC if in an extreme environment. > > It is easier with a banana jack and wall plug, available at > lessemf.com, but I was surprised for the money, there was nothing > special about the hardware sold. But then, I have a technical > background, and so can make my own cords and plugs, and already have > some outlet ground cords around for other shielding solutions. > > The Common or Negative/Black jack goes to Ground. > The Positive/Red jack goes to your skin. Thumb squeezing when holding > meter is good. > > Then walk around, sit down, stand up. See how the voltage changes with > activity, position, and location. Then hold still so the meter > settles, to get a useful number. > > Also, to take outdoor measurements, I used a long metal rod, (meat or > compost thermometer), to stick in the ground like a ground rod. Then > an alligator clip from the rod to the black multimeter probe. > > I've noticed the resulting voltage is directly related to the distance > to power lines. When I walked into the woods, and reached a distance > of 1000 feet, the voltage went to zero. > > Stewart > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
Re: Grounding body voltage meter
|
|
Hi Bruno,
It sounds like the 'Body Voltage Meter' measures how electric fields are impacting you rather than the electric field strength itself. Is this correct? Aline --- In [hidden email], "Bill Bruno" <wbruno@...> wrote: I know a lot of people do measurements the way Stewart describes, and it has the advantage of being accurate and reproducible. But, theoretically, the number it gives is not relevant, because it measure the change in AC potential (voltage), not the electric field. And theoretically the field can be very weak even if the potential is large. I have done interesting measurements with the same kind of meter and the same settings, but without a ground wire. Just hold one lead in the hand, making good contact, and extend the other out away from your body towards the electric source. The trick is to extend that lead without holding your hand around it, because that will shield the field. Ideally it should extend far so there's no effect of your body. In practice make sure it's a least a few inches. You could put the lead inside a cardboard tube for example. Or tape it to a chopstick. You'll find that the reading varies with body stance, etc, but you will be able to detect AC electric fields more sensitively than with the basic Trifield meter (which also measures magnetic fields). |
|
|
In reply to this post by alinepapille
Aline wrote:
> Hi Stewart, > > Thanks for resending that info. I have been corresponding with > Michael Neuert and he says the ground lead needs to be connected to > something that sticks into the earth (which means getting a long wire > as we are upstairs. Is this what you mean when you say 'goes to > ground'? > > Basically, yes. If the house IS Grounded correctly, then the plug in with only ground wire would work, but a long wire clipped to a ground stake is probably best. I think you have just suggested another test I could try. Stewart |
Re: Grounding body voltage meter
|
|
Hi again,
I am still not understanding the alternative to sticking something in the earth outside. How do I ground the 2nd wire without taking it downstairs to the garden? I'm sure this is really basic but I'm a girl and I have no idea what that means! Aline In [hidden email], "Stewart A." <sandreas41@...> wrote: > > Aline wrote: > > Hi Stewart, > > > > Thanks for resending that info. I have been corresponding with > > Michael Neuert and he says the ground lead needs to be connected to > > something that sticks into the earth (which means getting a long wire > > as we are upstairs. Is this what you mean when you say 'goes to > > ground'? > > > > > Basically, yes. > > If the house IS Grounded correctly, then the plug in with only ground > wire would work, but a long wire clipped to a ground stake is probably best. > I think you have just suggested another test I could try. > > Stewart > |
|
|
Hi Aline,
If the electric wiring of your house is O.K., all your wall outlets have 3 openings, 2 for power, 230 V AC and one for ground ( in some country's it is not a third hole but 2 small bars at the side for ground) The wire from that 3° hole runs to a combined naked copper bar besides the switchboard and from their with a bigger wire outside the house into the ground. Standard in Europe the groundwire is green and yellow on the outside. So when you use a multimeter on DC or AC voltage and you want to measure if an object, or your body is loaded with an electric tension, you run the common of your meter with the black wire to that third hole of a wall outlet, and touch the red wire to that object or hold it firm between to fingers. To be very save, you mite like to first test with holding the pin of thr red wire to a large metal object like a blank metal spot on the radiator. If the voltage is real zero or low ( a few volt ), you can start measuring your self or other objects. You will further notice differences when standing barefoot on a stone floor compared to carpet, and with or without shoes on. and also between dry cold winter weather and humid summer weather. Grts Bruno M. ================================================================== --- In [hidden email], "Aline" <haikuron@...> wrote: > > Hi again, > > I am still not understanding the alternative to sticking something in the earth outside. How do I ground the 2nd wire without taking it > downstairs to the garden? > > I'm sure this is really basic but I'm a girl and I have no idea what > that means! > > Aline > -------------------------------------------------------------- > In [hidden email], "Stewart A." <sandreas41@> wrote: > > > > Aline wrote: > > > Hi Stewart, > > > > > > Thanks for resending that info. I have been corresponding with > > > Michael Neuert and he says the ground lead needs to be connected > > > to something that sticks into the earth (which means getting a > > > long wire as we are upstairs. Is this what you mean when you say > > > 'goes to ground'? > > Basically, yes. > > If the house IS Grounded correctly, then the plug in with only > > ground wire would work, but a long wire clipped to a ground stake > > is probably best. > > I think you have just suggested another test I could try. > > > > Stewart |
Re: Grounding body voltage meter
|
|
Thanks, Bruno. That makes sense now.
My husband thinks attaching the long wire to the grounding rod of the house would be better than attaching to a rod stuck in the ground. I imagine both would be equally good. ?? |
|
|
This post was updated on .
CONTENTS DELETED
The author has deleted this message.
|
|
|
In reply to this post by alinepapille
Aline wrote:
> Thanks, Bruno. That makes sense now. > > My husband thinks attaching the long wire to the grounding rod of the > house would be better than attaching to a rod stuck in the ground. > > I imagine both would be equally good. > > > Hi Aline, The concern is if there are stray signals on the house wiring. Since you are getting wierd numbers on the GS meter, I would be testing both. If you can, try both. See if there is a difference (while not changing your location or posture). > Michael Neuert says the red wire of the multimeter should be cut to a > length of 8". Is this really necessary? Since the "real equipment" for body voltage has no red wire, but just a stub on the "banana jack" to press your thumb on, this might be true. Stewart It might act like an antenna and give unanticipated effects. |
|
|
This post was updated on .
In reply to this post by m.a.norman
I have been experimenting with the Barefoot Grounding pad as well as my
home made ones over the past 6 months or so. Yes I have been able to reduce my body voltage to anywhere from 8 to 2 millivolts. After sleep with the Barefoot pad, plugged into the wall with their adapter, I felt weak in the chest. As time went on, I felt worse, had stinging shocks in my toes, etc. Using it on my couch I felt even more energy crawling on my face. The upshot is I don't feel better when I use a grounding cord. Maybe there is a better way to filter the energy coming from the ground but until that happens, I am not going to touch grounding cords directly any more. I am going to continue working on my wiring and replacing it with Metal Clad wire where necessary. Doesn't the bird on the wire analogy work here? The bird is ok because it is not grounded but if it were to touch the ground while also touching the wire it would be fried. Maybe the experts can enlighten me on this. This is my experience. Andrew > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Aline" <haikuron@aol.com> > To: <eSens@yahoogroups.com> > Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 9:54 PM > Subject: [eSens] Re: Grounding body voltage meter > > >> Thanks, Bruno. That makes sense now. >> >> My husband thinks attaching the long wire to the grounding rod of the >> house would be better than attaching to a rod stuck in the ground. >> >> I imagine both would be equally good. >> >> ?? |
|
|
In reply to this post by Stewart A.
The "real equipment" for body voltage does have a red wire, with a small
handelectrode. See cover *het bitje* April 2002 http://www.milieuziektes.nl/Pagina26.html and also page 9. Today, there is a newer type from Peak Tech: See www.priggen.com, in english Body Voltage Instrument Peak Tech 1045, incl. Accessories For the measurement of body voltage, according to Erich W. Fischer, using a suitable multimeter. The instrument is shipped with the suitable accessories: Hand electrode with 1m red measuring lead for connection to the multimeter plus 5m black measuring lead and a big gator clamp for the connection from multimeter to ground wire or other grounded parts like heating radiators or water pipes. For measurements of the body voltage, the instrument must be switched to ACV measuring range. Price 65 Euro, incl VAT. Greetings, Charles Claessens member Verband Baubiologie www.milieuziektes.nl www.milieuziektes.be www.hetbitje.nl checked by Bitdefender > Since the "real equipment" for body voltage has no red wire, but just a > stub on the "banana jack" to press your thumb on, this might be true. > > Stewart > It might act like an antenna and give unanticipated effects. > > |
Re: Grounding body voltage meter
|
|
In reply to this post by Stewart A.
Thanks Stewart, that is very helpful.
Aline In [hidden email], "Stewart A." <sandreas41@...> wrote: > > Aline wrote: > > Thanks, Bruno. That makes sense now. > > > > My husband thinks attaching the long wire to the grounding rod of the > > house would be better than attaching to a rod stuck in the ground. > > > > I imagine both would be equally good. > > > > > > > Hi Aline, > > The concern is if there are stray signals on the house wiring. > Since you are getting wierd numbers on the GS meter, I would be > both. > If you can, try both. See if there is a difference (while not changing > your location or posture). > > > > Michael Neuert says the red wire of the multimeter should be cut to a > > length of 8". Is this really necessary? > > > > Since the "real equipment" for body voltage has no red wire, but just a > stub on the "banana jack" to press your thumb on, this might be true. > > Stewart > It might act like an antenna and give unanticipated effects. > |
|
|
In reply to this post by alinepapille
Theoretically the potential has no biological effects; only the field
strength can. For instance, if you wear a fully shielded suit you can climb from a helicopter that has made contact with a high voltage line, and climb onto the line. Your potential would be many thousands of volts. But field strength inside the suit is near zero and the people who do this don't die. On the other hand, if your bed is midway between two outlets wired on opposite phases, the potential in the middle of the be will be zero but the field strength will be enough to cause some people problems. These are two extreme cases. In most normal cases, reducing potential will reduce the field too, and it is much easier to get a reliable measurement of potential. Still I am not inclined to recommend potential measurements. Bill On 8/17/07, Aline <[hidden email]> wrote: > > Hi Bruno, > > It sounds like the 'Body Voltage Meter' measures how electric fields > are impacting you rather than the electric field strength itself. > > Is this correct? > > Aline > > --- In [hidden email] <eSens%40yahoogroups.com>, "Bill Bruno" > <wbruno@...> wrote: > I know a lot of people do measurements the way Stewart describes, and > it has the advantage of being accurate and reproducible. But, > theoretically, the number it gives is not relevant, because it > measure the change in AC potential (voltage), not the electric field. > And theoretically the field can be very weak even if the potential is > large. > > I have done interesting measurements with the same kind of meter and > the same settings, but without a ground wire. Just hold one lead in > the hand, making good contact, and extend the other out away from your > body towards the electric source. The trick is to extend that lead > without holding your hand around it, because that will shield the > field. Ideally it should extend far so there's no effect of your > body. In practice make sure it's a least a few inches. You could put > the lead inside a cardboard tube for example. Or tape it to a > chopstick. You'll find that the reading varies with body stance, etc, > but you will be able to detect AC electric fields more sensitively > than with the basic Trifield meter (which also measures magnetic > fields). > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
|
|
In reply to this post by Andrew McAfee
I think you're right that if you touch a ground wire your "body voltage"
will be low but now you've got currents going through your body. I really think one should be thinking about minimizing fields (i.e., the gradient of the potential) not the potential. In the case of gravity, if you're standing on a hill, there's a force pulling you down the hill. If you're at the top of the hill, your potential is higher, but the force sideways is zero. With a conductive mat, the field is very low near the middle, but at the edges can be higher than if there were no mat. Grounding is important if you want to put shielding to block the field caused by a wire, say. But if you're inside a shield you don't need to ground it (although it might be a good idea so charge doesn't build up on it and zap someone outside of it). If you want to do some experiments try putting a ferrite bead on your ground wires. Less EMF has small snap on ones; cheaper bigger ones can be had at newark.com (note some are solid and don't snap on). If the bead is too big you can wrap the wire around once or twice. Let us know if that affects you differently... Bill On 8/20/07, Andrew McAfee <[hidden email]> wrote: > > I have been experimenting with the Barefoot Grounding pad as well as my > home made ones over the past 6 months or so. Yes I have been able to > reduce my body voltage to anywhere from 8 to 2 millivolts. > > After sleep with the Barefoot pad, plugged into the wall with their > adapter, I felt weak in the chest. As time went on, I felt worse, had > stinging shocks in my toes, etc. > Using it on my couch I felt even more energy crawling on my face. > > The upshot is I don't feel better when I use a grounding cord. > > Maybe there is a better way to filter the energy coming from the ground > but until that happens, I am not going to touch grounding cords > directly any more. > > I am going to continue working on my wiring and replacing it with Metal > Clad wire where necessary. > > Doesn't the bird on the wire analogy work here? The bird is ok because > it is not grounded but if it were to touch the ground while also > touching the wire it would be fried. > > Maybe the experts can enlighten me on this. > > This is my experience. > > Andrew > > On Aug 20, 2007, at 7:48 AM, m.a.norman wrote: > > > Does anyone know if work done at a neighbouring house could affect the > > grounding in yours. Work at a neighbouring house first began again > > with > > banging and scraping sounds on the yard.outside, then he started work > > again inside the house that has gone on for over a week. It's been > > mainly > > heavy banging and drilling against the adjoining party wall. There > > was a > > plumbers van on the front at times and the electrician who lives next > > door > > to the house the other side of him has been doing work at times > > there. I > > heard him talking about copper pipes one day outside. > > > > I'm asking this because I've noted a slight vibration in my legs and > > the > > skin on my arms feels sore for no apparent reason and something is > > causing it. > > > > Thanks > > Maureen > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Aline" <[hidden email] <haikuron%40aol.com>> > > To: <[hidden email] <eSens%40yahoogroups.com>> > > Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 9:54 PM > > Subject: [eSens] Re: Grounding body voltage meter > > > > > >> Thanks, Bruno. That makes sense now. > >> > >> My husband thinks attaching the long wire to the grounding rod of the > >> house would be better than attaching to a rod stuck in the ground. > >> > >> I imagine both would be equally good. > >> > >> ?? > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> Yahoo! Groups Links > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> No virus found in this incoming message. > >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. > >> Version: 7.5.484 / Virus Database: 269.12.0/960 - Release Date: > >> 18/08/07 > > 15:48 > >> > >> > > > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
«
Return to ES
|
1 view|%1 views
| Free forum by Nabble | Edit this page |