Opinions on RF meters? (Not happy with my GQ EMF-380)

I wanted to buy an RF meter but all I could afford was the GQ EMF-380 V2. Does anyone have an opinion on this device?

I like the screen, and the graphs it shows, but I have a number of major problems with it...

1. It has a slow digital readout which doesn't update in real-time. I find this very frustrating!

2. It doesn't have any kind of 'probe' or 'point', so you can never be sure which part of the meter is taking the reading.

3. The meter only scans certain RF bands instead of the full spectrum. (For example, you can't scan between 1040 MHz - 2.4 Ghz, or between 108 and 240 MHz). Makes me wonder if someone is trying to hide certain frequencies from the public?

4. The controls are horrible and glitchy. To switch it on or off, you have to forcefully hold the button in for ages. Getting it to turn off often takes forever as you end up going into the volume menu a few times before it will finally turn off.

5. I'm a little confused about the terms 'EMF' and 'EF'. I have an EMF meter which finds EMFs all over the home, but this meter calls these fields 'EF's. Meanwhile, the 'EMF' reading is ALWAYS "0.0" and never seems to change!

6. I'm not sure if it's a problem with the meter, but the RF level doesn't go down when I wrap foil around it, or surround it with metal. It's like the microwaves can always reach it. I find this really strange.

7. A minor annoyance, but I hate the gravity sensor which filps the screen depending on which way you're holding it. It behaves in a totally stupid way, flipping the screen almost randomly when you don't want it.

I wrote to the manufacturer asking about some of these issues but got no response.

Hi John
I have the GQ EMF 390 and have been very happy with it.
Not sure how much of a difference it is from the 380 off the top of my head, but they sound similar.  


I recently got it not too long ago after years of using the Cornet meter.  
At first I was frustrated as well about the new EF detection but I once I made sense of it it clicks.  Yes, for the powerlines, outlets, plugged-in-to-power items, it separates it into EF volts.
I like how it can detect and call out 'powerline', AC, wifi, etc, by name.

Once I was used to the button interface for toggling and function/graph selection I had no problem.
I personally like it better than the cornet.

There are others I would like to try out myself but am not willing to spend $$$ to compare.
I would like to try the Trifield meter out.  That seems to be a standard go-to for most like the Cornet.

I guess no matter what meter you get, the purpose is that it can give you a general idea of what is going on around you.
But I think without spending tens of thousands of dollars on some real equipment or hiring EMF technical specialists we are left up to those generalizations IMO.

ES Forum user, Merializer, has plenty of videos on his Youtube Channel comparing/presenting various Meters which may help guide you alot.

 https://www.youtube.com/@Merializer/videos

 > like how it can detect and call out 'powerline', AC, wifi, etc, by name.

I've seen someone on Facebook confused by these labels, as it can misidentify wi-fi as "5G".  

So of course the meter is just guessing as what the frequency/waveform might be.  Personally I'd just like to see what the primary frequency is, like you get on the Cornet.