Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hello! I am doing a project measuring cell phone radiation, and I need a good radio frequency meter. But the meter listed on the materials list for the "Does your cell phone radiate?" project is way too expensive for me. Do you have any suggestions on what meter I should use? One that isn't expensive.

You can find many options if you search "measure cell phone radiation" online. Here is one radiation meter that costs less than $15:

http://www.gearbest.com/measurement-ana ... oCHUvw_wcB

-Karen Zhang

Hi Chynna22,

The radio frequency meter linked in the project materials is also available to rent for a few weeks at a much lower cost:

http://www.magneticsciences.com/rf-meter/

http://www.magneticsciences.com/rent-gaussmeter/

We have only tested the project with that meter, so we cannot guarantee that you will get good results if you purchase a much cheaper meter like the one Karen linked. For example, some of those meters are designed to detect radiation from power lines and the electrical wires in your house, which is at a different frequency than radiation from a cell phone.

-Ben