Equipment
Here is an explanation about some of the equipment the P.I.G.S use on an investigation.
4 in 1 Environment Meter
The hand held devise can come in handy if you want to try and measure change in the locations Environment it will measure Light, Sound, Relative Humidity and Temperature.
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Temperature
Its Temperature reading is measures using a probe that plugs into the bottom of the unit; it’s a contact probe and as such takes time to adjust to the temperature, it can display -20 c to 750c or -4f to 1400f . The contact probe will give you the opportunity to measure room air temperature unlike the laser types that will only measure what they point at.
Sound Level
This will measure the level of the sound not the frequency of the sound, its range is 35dB to 130dB an example of this would be 30dB is the equivalent to a quiet bedroom at night 40dB to a library up to 110 being a chainsaw at a meter distance and 150dB being a jet aircraft at 50 meter distance. This devise has a microphone probe built onto the top of the unit and comes with a wind shield. So can it hear that disjointed voice sound or those knocks that seem to come from the walls yes it can and may help you to pin point them is you have them occurring consistently enough.
Relative Humidity
The range is 25% to 95% RH, The devise has a probe which clips onto the side of the unit, now the relevance of this would be to give you a control on vapour that may be appearing on video or photographs. Many investigators will use data loggers that also measure RH over time but I guess its useful to have an instant reading.
Light
Light is measured on this devise in a term called lux in a range of 0 lux to 20’000 lux now to make this make sense 1 lux is around what you would see on a moon lit night (no street lights) and 400 lux is what you would find in a well lit office or kitchen using florescent tubes. The devise comes with a plug in light meter. So how is this useful well for those of us that investigate at dusk or low light it can indicate when its time to switch your cameras to night vision, it can measure the intensity of reflection from other sources which can help you work out light pollution to an area and then the direction of shadows ect etc.
Summary
Its neat as it gives four component’s in one unit it really is a control piece of equipment rather than a ‘ghost detector’ for want of better words its uses are that it will give you knowledge of the environment you are investigating and help you compare or eliminates phenomena that you might encounter. The Environment meter has a hold feature so you can freeze a reading to enable you to record it in some way and it has a ‘max’ key which enables the devise to display the highest reading until a new peak is reached. The various measurements can be split into high band of reading or low band of reading. Its portable come with its own carry case although I wish it had an illuminated screen and a memory system. The Environment Meter will set you back around £70.
Hints and Tips
I would suggest that you get familiar with this unit before you take it on an investigation, it has hold, max and select buttons that are not easy to see in the dark, the unit also doesn't have an illuminated display you you will need a form of light to see it if you will be in darkness.