December 2010

By Mitch Silverstein

I must admit, we did sit in on a K-II session where we had extraordinary responses.  It did appear to be direct responses and not random blips.  There is an outline of the session on my web site from the Shanley Hotel if interested http://64nywf65.20m.com/NPI/K2.htm .  I had no explanation as to why we had those responses at that time.  It WAS cool and we were with trustworthy people and three separate meters, two belonged to us, responding at different times.  Anyway, that’s not why I’m here right now.

I am going to spare everyone from the technical jargon. Simply put the K-II meter detects electromagnetic fields. It’s not a spirit meter.  It was designed so that you can check your appliances at home and use “prudent avoidance” to reduce your risk of exposure to these fields.  The jury is still out on what effects are actually caused by these fields.  But that’s also not why I’m here. 

The K-II became popular with paranormal investigators because it was used on TV.  TV made it appear as though there were two way communications with spirits using this device.  I believe, and I may be wrong, that the K-II made its TV debut on Ghost Hunters in the Manson Murders Episode (wasn’t really the Manson house anyway, the original house was long gone). It appeared the meter was responding to yes/no questions by the lights blipping once or twice.  It was explained that the meter was specially calibrated for paranormal investigating….unfortunately, there were no special calibrations and the meter wasn’t responding to the spirits. I suggest that you, the reader, use the link below and review carefully the responses on the meter.  The original meters and many still out there have a momentary button that has to be held down by the thumb for the unit to operate.  When you release pressure and re-press the button, the lights go through a self test each time it powers up and they all blip a couple of times.  You are most likely familiar with this sequence of lights.  What you will notice is when the unit is on, the first green LED on the left remains on constantly. It’s basically the power on indicator. If you find the original GH video online you WILL notice all the lights going off along with the blips as the responses appear. That would only happen if the power is cycled by releasing the button. That means the meter was being directly manipulated by the one holding it.  Easy for the viewers to be duped since the meter was a novel item at the time and those at home watching were too amazed to wonder how the meter actually worked. That was great for early K-II sales!

Once the meter was widely available for purchase people realized the flaw in the momentary switch.  It was just too easy to manipulate and too cumbersome to handle. The fix was to use a coin and wedge it into the button to hold it in the on position. Then there were home modifications done by adding a slide or toggle switch (that’s what I did on mine).  Lo and behold, little or no more hits were happening on K-II’s until it was discovered that radio signals from outside sources, including two-way radios and cell phones can set off the K-II.  I am sure there have been recorded sessions where, even innocently, the meter was responding to someone’s cell phone just searching for a signal or receiving the unexpected text message.  The worst case, as probably happens often on the TV shows, the meter was purposely manipulated with a two-way radio or similar radio device so as to make it appear it was directly responding to questions. No matter who believes what, it isn’t going to change the fact that the K-II is still a popular tool on investigations. 

Being of a scientific mind, and anyone who knows my approach to experimentation in this field, I attempt to add a level of control to an investigational technique as any experiment should.  The general belief out there, not based on any fact, is that the spirits communicate by manipulating the EMF.  OK, fine, let’s accept that for a moment.  How do we add a level of control to the K-II.  Well we know radio signals are its downfall, it is an EMF meter not a radio frequency detector, so the obvious answer is to use a Radio Frequency (RF) detector or bug detector next to the K-II!  This is a great idea. The RF detectors are not set off by EMF so any responses on both the RF detector and the K-II mean it was a radio signal.  HOWEVER, it does not mean that a hit solely on the K-II is spiritual; it does mean it was most likely just EMF.  This certainly increases your chances it was a spirit, if it’s ever proven that spirits can communicate this way. Even better, it adds a little bit of credibility to the sample data collected with the combination of meters.

Whether you believe in the K-II or not, do not use any K-II hits as sample data on an investigation unless you can also record the RF detector hits.  Nyack Paranormal continues to use a K-II for research.  If the masses are using it I want to know why, it also helps me understand better ways of using it or it may convince me not to use it at all. However, I will always use the RF detector alongside the K-II, if I don’t have my RF detector, then there are no K-II sessions. I also strongly recommend video recording of the session to rule out manipulation of the RF detector.  Frequently test it with a two way radio on camera to be sure its operational and capture the lights responding just like the K-II. If no video is accessible then an RF that has sound report can be recorded with audio.

Nyack Paranormal uses a simple RF detector that has a switch that stays on, many cheap detectors have momentary switches and we know the shortcomings of these switches! Do a search online and you will find several inexpensive units that are worth the investment to improve your data collection.

Who knows what research may find.  We may collect data that shows communication with spirits happens in the radio frequency range.  Maybe that’s where EVP comes from, maybe that’s why people say that they get results with a Frank’s Box or Shack Hack!  Sigh…that’s a whole other story, but that’s not why I am here…