My Love/Hate Relationship with K-2 Meters

Every Paranormal Investigator has a K-2 Meter in their kit.

Every ghost hunter has a K-2 Meter in their kit.  When I started my ghost-hunting career, K-2 Meters averaged around $50 apiece.  Today you can buy one off Temu for as little as $2.50.  The one thing I have noticed in my paranormal career is that the K-2 Meter is the least understood piece of equipment used today in paranormal investigations.

Like most equipment used by paranormal investigators, it wasn’t originally designed for ghost hunting.  It was designed for a whole other purpose, and the paranormal community adopted it for use in investigations.  To be completely honest, when your K-2 Meter goes red, it’s actually telling you that there is a dangerous amount of EMF present.  Every ghost hunter wants to see their K-2 Meter go red, and when it does, most investigators think there is a ghost with a lot of energy present.  In actuality, they are in a situation that could be dangerous to their health.

Also, when I see a paranormal investigator using a K-2 Meter, I always ask them if they know what an mG is.  99% don’t.  mG stands for milligauss, a unit of the strength of a magnetic field.  When I read the synopsis of the investigator’s post-investigation report.  I always read that the K-2 Meter went red.  They have no idea, or have never realized, that the pretty multicolored sticker on their K-2 Meter is a graduated scale.  Each color represents a certain milliguass range.  I personally think using specific units and ranges makes your post-investigation seem more professional.

Let’s talk about erroneous readings.  Most investigators know that cell phones, electronic equipment, wiring, and anything electrical can cause false K-2 readings.  Actually, that’s what a K-2 Meter was designed to do: detect the strength of magnetic fields generated by electrical appliances and wiring.  What it wasn’t designed to do is detect ghosts.  Why do K-2 Meters pick up anything electrical?  They are designed to detect electrical fields between 40 Hertz and 2.4 Gigahertz.  Another name for a Hertz is frequency.  60 Hertz is your house wiring.  2.4 Gigahertz is your wi-fi router and cell phone frequency, given the amount of electromagnetic fields generated all around us in our modern society.  There is a 99.9999999% chance of a false K-2 reading.

Do I recommend using a K-2 Meter during paranormal investigations?  No, I do not.  Will I ever be able to convince a hardcore ghost hunter to give up their K-2 Meter?  Again, the answer is no.  What I do recommend is a simple compass for use during investigations.  They are much less likely to give false readings and are way more sensitive to magnetic fields.