Buy the EMF Ghost Meter for ghost hunting

[Questioninggeller]

Edmund Scientific, a legitimate scientific supply company, is selling a bunch of non-legitimate items:

The EMF Ghost Meter for $89.95:

Quote:

Detect Paranormal Presences

The preferred unit of paranormal investigators, this Ghost Meter can be used by laymen with professional results. ...

The 3-in-1 Paranormal Research Instrument for $129 (with Red Flashlight for $149.00):

Quote:

Essential Ghost-Hunting Tool

Measure EMF, measure ambient temperature, and provide a source of light all with one advanced instrument. Designed exclusively for paranormal investigators, this incredible tool has everything you need to track and detect the presence of ghosts. ...

I wonder if there is a money back guarantee or if they want to apply for the JREF million dollar challenge...

[Cainkane1]

I wonder what these devices actually do? They don't locate ghosts so exactly what do they do?

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Originally Posted by Cainkane1

I wonder what these devices actually do? They don't locate ghosts so exactly what do they do?

Oh ye of little faith. Of course they locate ghosts. Invisible ones that can be detected in no other way.

The ether is full of electromagnetic radiation. Much of it at 60Hz (in NoAm) that can be "detected" by any (and every) AC voltmeter. If you watch the "ghost hunting" shows, they note this (and differences of temperature of fractions of a degree) and then run around in the dark scaring themselves silly. Very sad.

[Denver]

Originally Posted by Gord_in_Toronto

Oh ye of little faith. Of course they locate ghosts. Invisible ones that can be detected in no other way.

The ether is full of electromagnetic radiation. Much of it at 60Hz (in NoAm) that can be "detected" by any (and every) AC voltmeter. If you watch the "ghost hunting" shows, they note this (and differences of temperature of fractions of a degree) and then run around in the dark scaring themselves silly. Very sad.

Ghosts no longer have access to proper washers or dryers or fabric softeners. It's all the static from their sheets.

[Miss_Kitt]

I like the utterly truthful sales pitch, "can be used by laymen with professional results." After all, convincing yourself you have detected something that doesn't exist recognizes no level of professionalism...

Do they also sell tinfoil helmets?

MK

[MysteryMammal]

For that same $90 I could get a good bottle of scotch. I think the bottle of scotch would give me a much better chance of seeing a ghost... or UFO... or a leprechaun riding a unicorn.

[Ernie M]

I wonder if Edmund Scientific will hire a ghostwriter to re-write some of their non-provable statements, including "Detect Paranormal Presences" for their EMF Ghost Meter.

[Stray Cat]

Originally Posted by MysteryMammal

For that same $90 I could get a good bottle of scotch. I think the bottle of scotch would give me a much better chance of seeing a ghost... or UFO... or a leprechaun riding a unicorn.

Then you would need the more specific "Spirit Tester" which is a device you blow into at the side of the road.

[Whiplash]

$90 for a bottle of scotch?!

I'm not a drinker, so I'm not aware of what these things cost. I'd think you could get several bottles for that cost.. but then, maybe it's a quality issue of some kind

[David Wong]

I bought this thing and I think it works great. It didn't go off and sure enough, I saw no ghosts. A remarkable piece of hardware.

[MattusMaximus]

As a physics teacher, I find it appalling that Edmund Scientific is selling this kind of stupid woo. I know the economy is tough, but come on!

The truly sad thing I saw when viewing that link is the message at the bottom: This item is temporarily out of stock

In any case, I will be getting together with a bunch of other physics teachers in a few weeks, and I'll tell them about this nonsense. Perhaps we could draft a letter to the company voicing our displeasure.

[arthwollipot]

Originally Posted by Whiplash

$90 for a bottle of scotch?!

I'm not a drinker, so I'm not aware of what these things cost. I'd think you could get several bottles for that cost.. but then, maybe it's a quality issue of some kind

A really good single malt will easily set you back that much - one with an Irish name that's impossible to pronounce will cost you even more.

[leon_heller]

I see it is calibrated in milliGauss units (electric flux). Perhaps that should be Ghost units.

Leon

[Beanbag]

I can sell you an elephant repeller for $20 (plus S/H). I know it works, because for as long as I first built it, I haven't seen a single elephant in the neighborhood.

YMMV

Beanbag

[bryan]

This is more of the nonsense that we discuss in our letcures.

Thanks to shows like Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State we now have thousands (yes I said thousands) of TV trained wanna-be ghost hunters that are buying anything that they are told will find a "Ghost".

The majority of the EMF detectors that are being sold are great if you want to find bad wiring, major apliances, etc... but these people are looking for what could be assumed as something natural with a device that finds manmade EMF.
(There is a bit of research on the effects of high EMF and it's impact on sensory function. But that is not the reason that they usually use this type of meter)

The KII meter that is featured from Edmund Scientific is the latest of the "must have" devices. Not only will people wander around using it to find ghosts, they will use it as a communications device and ask questions expecting some type of yes/no answers from the lights on it.

This is just one of many different woo devices that are being used.
Look for yourself:
Telephone to the Dead
Franks Box
Ghost Radar
Thermal Cameras
I/R Cameras
Dowsing Rods
Pendulums
Spirit (Ouija) Boards
ITC Equipment
Orgone Energy devices
and that is just a small percentage of the "ghost detecting equipment" that is being sold.

[Stray Cat]

I always rely on my old dog Scoobie Doo to find the ghosts, then I run in mid air because I set off at such a speed to get away from them.

Though admittedly I haven't encountered any ghosts since I moved away from the abandoned fairground.

[Questioninggeller]

Originally Posted by MattusMaximus

The truly sad thing I saw when viewing that link is the message at the bottom: This item is temporarily out of stock

Here's an item "In stock and ships immediately":

Remote Viewing DVD for $49.95:

Quote:

Learn the Intuitive Science of ESP

In 1995, the CIA admitted to sponsoring a highly classified government program called STARGATE where “psychic spies” to remotely view people, places, and events. Similar to clairvoyance or ESP, remote viewing is a natural ability everyone posesses. Since the RV program is no longer classified, Lyn Buchanan now shares the techniques he independently developed for remote influencing and reveals the secrets of his research for the first time. ...

Learn the basics from the best and progress into advanced remote viewing all with one DVD.

[Olowkow]

http://www.lessemf.com/gauss.html
Bargain priced at $60!!!

[MattusMaximus]

Originally Posted by Questioninggeller

Here's an item "In stock and ships immediately":

Remote Viewing DVD for $49.95:

Urge to kill... rising!

Oh yeah, ES is going to get an earful from large number of very pissed off physics teachers. I'm even considering starting a boycott, because this is the physics equivalent of selling creationist material in the biology section of the catalog.

[Ernie M]

Originally Posted by Olowkow

http://www.lessemf.com/gauss.html
Bargain priced at $60!!!

Oh, Olowkow, you started it...

QUESTION:
What do you get when you combine the "Director" of a paranormal group that appears on TV, with it's "Tech Specialist," "Electrical Engineer," and crowbar-wielding "Occult Specialist;" and have them in a bathroom with a TriField® Meter to find the source of an EMF spike?

ANSWER:
The statements: "There's no way that it could be coming from the pipe" because the pipes have no electrical current "Because they're copper."

The group was left feeling "frustrated," and the "client/homeowner" had a big hole in the wall.

I'll add a post here later this week with a link to my Web site when I have the episode review uploaded.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Originally Posted by Ernie M

Oh, Olowkow, you started it...

QUESTION:
What do you get when you combine the "Director" of a paranormal group that appears on TV, with it's "Tech Specialist," "Electrical Engineer," and crowbar-wielding "Occult Specialist;" and have them in a bathroom with a TriField® Meter to find the source of an EMF spike?

ANSWER:
The statements: "There's no way that it could be coming from the pipe" because the pipes have no electrical current "Because they're copper."

The group was left feeling "frustrated," and the "client/homeowner" had a big hole in the wall.

I'll add a post here later this week with a link to my Web site when I have the episode review uploaded.

***** ******* H ******!

[Hamradioguy]

If I remember correctly, Norman Edmund, the founder of Edmund Scientific, was at TAM 5.5 and is apparently a long time friend of Randi's. He's long retired of course and the company was sold some years ago. But I wonder if Randi knows of this sad turn of this company. (Come to think of it I am sure Randi has made mention of Edmund's woo-woo products since Mr. Edmund left the business....)

[LTC8K6]

Scotch for $90...I had better see ghosts...

[MysteryMammal]

Originally Posted by LTC8K6

Scotch for $90...I had better see ghosts...

If you drink the whole bottle in under an hour you could become a ghost.

[wicked_ways]

Originally Posted by Ernie M

Oh, Olowkow, you started it...

QUESTION:
What do you get when you combine the "Director" of a paranormal group that appears on TV, with it's "Tech Specialist," "Electrical Engineer," and crowbar-wielding "Occult Specialist;" and have them in a bathroom with a TriField® Meter to find the source of an EMF spike?

ANSWER:
The statements: "There's no way that it could be coming from the pipe" because the pipes have no electrical current "Because they're copper."

The group was left feeling "frustrated," and the "client/homeowner" had a big hole in the wall.

I'll add a post here later this week with a link to my Web site when I have the episode review uploaded.

Hey Ernie,
I wanted to tell you what a great job you do on your site. I just stopped watching that show, and then they started in on the children. Hysterical parents with serious issues scaring their children to death. Horrible, despicable people. Keep up the good work Ernie.
Thank you

[Quinn]

Oh man, what a huge disappointment. A few years ago I started a (now vanished) appreciation thread about Edmunds, specifically because they had been doing what they do so well for so long without giving an inch to pseudoscience or woo. I see those days are well and truly over. Damn shame.

[jimtron]

Does anyone know where the EMF/ghost connection originated?

[leon_heller]

It could have been Sir Oliver Lodge. He was an eminent Victorian physicist who seems to have believed in an association between electrical and psychic phenomena. Sir William Crookes, another Victorian physicist, might be another guilty party.

Leon

[Zax63]

If anyone wants an alternative to Edmund Scientific try Spectrum Scientifics run by the forum's own kookbreaker.

[MattusMaximus]

Originally Posted by Zax63

If anyone wants an alternative to Edmund Scientific try Spectrum Scientifics run by the forum's own kookbreaker.

As I research this in more detail, I want to make sure that other science supply outlets aren't doing the same thing. If they aren't, then that could give me and other physics teachers (who send a lot of business Edmunds' way) a great deal of leverage in a proposed boycott of their company for promoting pseudoscientific nonsense.

I'm dead serious about this boycott idea. I have a lot of connections, some of them pretty influencial connections, in the physics education community in the U.S.

Grrrrr

[MaryCBW]

Detect Paranormal Presences

The preferred unit of paranormal investigators, this Ghost Meter can be used by laymen with professional results. The unit responds instantaneously to EMF fluctuations and spikes in energy with a detecting range of 50 to 1,000 Hz. The VLF range is 1,000 to 20,000 Hz. An easy-to-read LED display and silent on/off push switch make for seamless, simple operation.

Its switch is rated for over 500,000 on/off cycles. The single axis unit has an accuracy of ±5% at 50-60 Hz. 9 VDC.

Hell has frozen over. I'm coming to the defense of a company.
The gadget does exactly what the company says it does.
It will give professional results. Ghost hunters do use them.
If someone has fallen for the misuse of the EMF detectors,
then "buyer beware" kicks in.
Ghost hunters also use thermal cameras to "find" ghosts
but the cameras only "see" solid objects.

[jimtron]

Originally Posted by MaryCBW

Detect Paranormal Presences

The preferred unit of paranormal investigators, this Ghost Meter can be used by laymen with professional results. The unit responds instantaneously to EMF fluctuations and spikes in energy with a detecting range of 50 to 1,000 Hz. The VLF range is 1,000 to 20,000 Hz. An easy-to-read LED display and silent on/off push switch make for seamless, simple operation.

Its switch is rated for over 500,000 on/off cycles. The single axis unit has an accuracy of ±5% at 50-60 Hz. 9 VDC.

Hell has frozen over. I'm coming to the defense of a company.
The gadget does exactly what the company says it does.
It will give professional results. Ghost hunters do use them.
If someone has fallen for the misuse of the EMF detectors,
then "buyer beware" kicks in.
Ghost hunters also use thermal cameras to "find" ghosts
but the cameras only "see" solid objects.

What about the headline, "detects paranormal presences?"

[Dr B]

Originally Posted by jimtron

Does anyone know where the EMF/ghost connection originated?

It is a misunderstanding from the laboratory work of people like Michael Persinger. Persinger argues that low-frequency but temporally complex magnetic fields can impact on neuronal processes in vulnerable (i.e., less inhibited) brains - resulting in a magnetically induced hallucination. There is some evidence for this but also some controversy.

So, some science says complex fields might induce anomalous sensations in the brain which basically leads to hallucination - and thus can make one, in the proper context, think thery are experiencing a haunting / ghost / sensed presence - when in fact its nothing of the sort.

The woo woo never bothered to read beyond the abstacts however and merely took the two components of magnetic fields and apparitions and never looked into the suggested link - so they just joined the dots and hey presto.....nonsense...

[MattusMaximus]

Originally Posted by MaryCBW

Detect Paranormal Presences

The preferred unit of paranormal investigators, this Ghost Meter can be used by laymen with professional results. The unit responds instantaneously to EMF fluctuations and spikes in energy with a detecting range of 50 to 1,000 Hz. The VLF range is 1,000 to 20,000 Hz. An easy-to-read LED display and silent on/off push switch make for seamless, simple operation.

Its switch is rated for over 500,000 on/off cycles. The single axis unit has an accuracy of ±5% at 50-60 Hz. 9 VDC.

Hell has frozen over. I'm coming to the defense of a company.
The gadget does exactly what the company says it does.
It will give professional results. Ghost hunters do use them.
If someone has fallen for the misuse of the EMF detectors,
then "buyer beware" kicks in.
Ghost hunters also use thermal cameras to "find" ghosts
but the cameras only "see" solid objects.

I strongly disagree here. If Edmund was simply selling EMF detectors, and some yahoo out there wants to buy one to use in "ghost hunting", that would be one thing.

But Edmund is actively marketing this device - a mere EMF detector - as something that it is not: a ghost detector. THAT is the problem. When they started to endorse pseudoscientific nonsense in the promotion of their product, they crossed the line, especially because they are supposed to be in the business of providing equipment for science education.

Next thing you know, they're going to start putting creationist crap in the biology section of their catalog just because some whackjob creationist decides that they can use actual biology references to "prove" creationism. But I suppose you'd be okay with that, too?

Every physics teacher I've spoken with about this so far is in full agreement with me: Edmund is full of crap on this and should be held accountable.

[jimtron]

I agree. If at the end of the description it said, "this is what so-called ghost hunters use" or something like that, that would be OK. But the friggin' headline is: "detects paranormal presences."

[Quinn]

I sent Edmunds an email respectfully expressing my disappointment that they had chosen to start carrying such items. To my surprise, I received a reply from the general manager saying that due to my feedback and others like it, he was reconsidering carrying these products. And I made it clear in my email that I'm not even a scientist or science teacher. If they received similar feedback from people who actually are part of their target market, it just might have an impact.

[MattusMaximus]

Originally Posted by Quinn

I sent Edmunds an email respectfully expressing my disappointment that they had chosen to start carrying such items. To my surprise, I received a reply from the general manager saying that due to my feedback and others like it, he was reconsidering carrying these products. And I made it clear in my email that I'm not even a scientist or science teacher. If they received similar feedback from people who actually are part of their target market, it just might have an impact.

Thanks for doing this, Quinn. I will likely be sending off my own email in the days to come, as well as encouraging others to do likewise. I suppose we should give them a chance to take this crapola off their website voluntarily before going into a boycott.

[kookbreaker]

Originally Posted by Quinn

I sent Edmunds an email respectfully expressing my disappointment that they had chosen to start carrying such items. To my surprise, I received a reply from the general manager saying that due to my feedback and others like it, he was reconsidering carrying these products. And I made it clear in my email that I'm not even a scientist or science teacher. If they received similar feedback from people who actually are part of their target market, it just might have an impact.

It may be self-serving, but this is several times now that Edmund has pandered blatantly to the woo market. About 2-3 years ago Randi wrote about Edmund selling a very questionable medical device.

In the 70's, Edmund carried a lot of woo stuff, but that was the era of pyramid woo and the like. They eventually stopped carrying the item, not because of any letter campaign, but because they wanted to be taken seriously. The new owners (who are Boreal) have managed to increase sales, but they keep making mistakes like this.

When I was the PLM for Edmund, this stuff was waaayyyyy off the menu. The big thing at that time was questionable 'cell phone radiation' reducers.

And thanks for the plug Zax63.

[SezMe]

Originally Posted by bryan

This is more of the nonsense that we discuss in our letcures.

Who is "we"?

Originally Posted by bryan

The majority of the EMF detectors that are being sold are great if you want to find bad wiring, major apliances, etc...

You know people who need an EMF detector to find their fridge?

[Ernie M]

If you want to see some young adults on Paranormal State who can't find the "true source" of EMF using a TriField® Meter, please click here.

But that's okay. They got to whack a big hole in a bathroom wall, and we got to see:

Quote:

Ryan (PRS Director): You're telling me these pipes they have no electrical current what-so-ever?

Quote:

Josh ("Electrical Engineer"): No.

Quote:

Sergey ("Tech Specialist") Because they're copper.

Maybe, just maybe, if the PRS had bought an Edmund Scientific's EMF Ghost Meter, which states "Detect Paranormal Presences," they would have found a ghost.