Difference Between IR/UV/FS

With all the spectral cameras out in the paranormal field today, it's hard to determine the difference between certain cameras and lights as well. Let's start out basic, with IR. IR stands for infrared illumination, the standard illumination for most night vision cameras, it produces a color either of a pale gray or green. IR lights can be bought at most outdoor stores and online. Next is UV, which is Ultraviolet illumination, many mistake this light for being a full spectrum light, but they're mistaken. UV lights produce the opposite end of the spectrum from IR, normally creating a blue or purple color to camera vision. UV light can only be used as an illumination source for full spectrum cameras. Lastly is the full spectrum lights, these contain both IR and UV lights, both ends of the light spectrum, thus the term, FULL spectrum. These lights can only be bought online usually, and need a FS camera to use them. You can get the same effect with an IR light along with a UV light, but FS lights are usually the cheaper alternative. Also there are green camera lights, for cameras with no night shot. The green allows a night vision type experience, as the green produces almost no glare of basic white light. If you want to know more about these lights, tune into the first episode of my upcoming internet radio show, Paranormal Tech Talk Radio, presented by the Spookshow Paranormal Network: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paranormal-Tech-Talk-Radio/317595151585030

Motion Detectors

These have long been used in the paranormal field to detect movement of spirits. And, from my experiences, it seems to work well. Motion detectors don't go off for spirits very often, but that's the glory of it. Spiritual activity comes around far less often than people think, and the usual lack of motion detector evidence runs with that. Out of the years I've had motion detectors in my arsenal, they've only gone off once, with a camera filming it at the moment it went off, ruling out animals or any other natural cause. So, if you want to get yourself some good motion detectors, I say go for it, but be patient with the evidence, and always film the area to rule out animals crossing its path or any other natural causes. If you can rule those out and still get them to trip, or with some mists in the film when it happens, that's the kind of evidence that doesn't come around everyday. Motion detectors can be very useful evidence collectors, if you film, and you use patience.

The Spiricom





Above: The original Spiricom device

The Spiricom was originally designed and built by George Meek and Bill O'Neil in 1979, making it one of the earliest spirit communication devices ever created. The device was built by a construction of 13 tone generators hooked up through an AM radio apparatus. Many thought the device was a waste of time and would not work, many thought the two of them to be crazy for even trying to contact the dead through their new machine. But as the Spiricom experiments went on, voices began to come through, or so they said. There are several recordings of either Meek or O'Neil speaking to dead scientists they used to know and work with. The two of them figured because the dead they were speaking to were scientists they could operate the Spiricom easier than other spirits. In total they collect over 20 hours of audio using the Spiricom to communicate with the "dead" scientists from 1979 to 1982. But, when they were told to conduct the experiment for a board of scientists, they could not, and the device seemed to just fade away. Ever since then, paranormal researchers and ghost hunters have been trying to build their own Spiricoms and conduct the same experiments. But if the Spiricom did not work, where did the voices of the dead they recorded come from? Chalk it up to just another one of life's mysteries.

Tomorrow's Blog: Motion Detectors



The Ovilus



My personal collection of Ovilus devices. From left to right,
PX, Ovilus II, Ovilus I, Paranormal Puck

 A lot has been said on both ends of belief when it comes to the Ovilus. Some call it nothing more than electronic Magic 8-Ball, while others say it gets great results when used in the field. For those who don't know what an Ovilus is, it is an experimental ITC (Instrumental TransCommunication) device that uses a built in word database hooked up to environmental sensors that speaks words from the database based on the environmental changes picked up by these sensors. The idea is that spirits can manipulate the environment and choose certain words from the dictionary to communicate with us. I, personally, use several of theses devices and like using them. But there are things that a user of this device MUST know. Probably the most important thing that a user needs to know is how to listen to the words. The voice is very robotic and if you don't have a word screen for the device (you can get one from the makers website for some of the newer versions) you NEED to learn what the words are and how they sound, if you think you get a different word than what is actually coming out of the device, it ruins the experiment and makes the use of the device useless. And I mean learn ALL the words, every single one, or get the text display if you can. Not knowing the words is very common, i see it all the time and it makes me wonder why you buy this kind of device when you won't even bother to learn to use it correctly. The Ovilus can be a great experimental investigation tool, in my opinion, but only if you learn how to use it correctly, other wise you've just got yourself a talking paperweight. Also, take note that this device is experimental and shouldn't be used as evidence, ever. If you're interested in an Ovilus device, check out the builder's website http://www.digitaldowsing.com/ never go to Ebay or Amazon for a device like this, people there will jack up the price from the original. Go to Digital Dowsing for the best deal on one of these devices.

Tomorrow's Blog: The Spiricom

Thermal Cameras

Many ghost hunters today speak very positive things of thermal imagery being used in paranormal investigations, and I can see why. Thermal cameras see in temperature, and with cold/hot spots a supposed big determinant of paranormal activity, these camera can help a lot when searching for these spots in the air. Thermal cameras have been able to capture floating mists of cold air, and even apparitions molded by these odd air changes. But, however useful of tools these devices are, they are extremely expensive. Bottom line thermal cameras run from 1,000 to 1,500 US dollars, cameras that actually capture video run up to 5,000 bottom line, or more. One might wonder if it is possible to get anything like the effect that is seen through thermal cameras, minus that high price. The answer is, basically, no. You cannot get a clear, thermal picture without an expensive camera. But, you can still get something with thermal imaging capabilities for cheaper. A new thermal device known as a Thermasound has been built by Bill Chappell of Digital Dowsing. This Thermasound device takes a thermal sweep of an area, returning a very low pixel thermal picture of an area. A new addition to this camera device is Ultra-Sonic Range Detection, really sonar, it detects distance of things in the room, and if something new appears in the room it will show you how it moves, if at all, and how far away it is. The thermal camera on the device will also track the unknown sonar change in temperature. These together make the Thermasound a never before seen advance in the field of paranormal imagery. And for only $400, it isn't quiet cheap, but much lower in price than traditional thermal cameras, it can be found here: http://www.digitaldowsing.com/

EVP Recorders

EVP has long been a cornerstone to paranormal investigation, but with such a wide variety of options to go through in voice recorders today, how does one know what to choose. Many teams use modern digital recorders built by mainstream electronics manufacturers such as Olympus, Sony, and RCA. But others use special recorders along with those basic recorders, ones designed with features especially for the modern ghost hunter. One of these specialty recorders is a popular device knows as a Zoom. Zoom recorders come in different varieties like the Zoom H1 and H2. Zoom recorders are known for their highly advanced audio capabilities, like the H2's 4 different microphones built in, for a not before seen, crystal clear audio imagery. The H2, as well as other Zoom devices can be found on several ghost hunting websites. But for $200 or more, these are not for the strapped for cash individual. Other advanced recorders are known as Real-Time Audio Analysis Devices, and do just what you think they do, analysis on your audio in real time, instead of having you wait to go back home to go through your audio post-investigation. But, again, these devices can run up several hundred dollars in price. More advanced still, are recorders designed by DAS Distribution, known as the RT-EVP. The RT-EVP is a digital recorder/radio sweep device built with ghost hunters in mind. It has instant playback features for live EVP sessions, live audio monitoring, and even an inboard audio analyzer, that can pick out possible EVP's and even divide them up in between the classes, from A to C. All these specialty recorders are not cheap, but if you've got the money, one of these could definitely boost your EVP sessions to their max.

New IR/Full Spectrum Lighting

Will all the new cameras coming out to the paranormal field, specially designed for ghost hunters only, like the deep IR and Full Specrum cameras, there are bound to be another wave of new technology in the realm of lights for those cameras. When it comes to IR lights, you can get those at just about any outdoors store, they're pretty common. But online it becomes a much bigger game. Many private builders of ghost hunting supplies construct their own IR lights for the field, using larger light, and larger batteries than the store bought brands. You should be able to find a few of these privatly built lights on any online shopper such as Ebay or Amazon. One thing a few of these sellers offer that you can't find in a store are IR flood lights, these lights shoot out a much more powerful beam of IR light for a greater nightshot distance. The downside to these specially made lights is they are more often than not more expensive than the store bought brands, but chances are their batteries last longer, and they're more powerful. A whole different story arises from Full Spectrum lights, which are very hard, if not impossible, to come by in any store. But you can find them all over the internet, lights specially built for the ghost hunters with the full spectrum cameras. One popular brand of FS light is Phantom, known for their large camera lights with their logo plastered on the front. Their light uses one row of IR, one row of FS, and 3 more rows of different assorted, visible, colors. I have heard more than a few bad reviews of these lights, that they don't give much light, they don't last battery wise, and their on/off buttons are easily broken. I've done research on this to find that indeed, many owners of these lights complain of all these problems, as well as the fact that they must buy a special camera mount for these lights, as they are too large for regular camera boots. Phantom is the most prominent name in ghost hunting lights these days, but there are other options. Sites like http://www.theghosthunterstore.com/ have several different options for IR and FS lights besides Phantom, like Vortex and Entity Electronics. Both of which give examples to the power of their lights, which is nothing short of impressive compaired to the Phantom FS products. You may also be able to find other producers of FS lights on Ebay or Amazon. One builder on Ebay calles themselves Colorado Para-Tech, and sells FS and IR lights there frequently, i have looked into their devices and read many reviews. From what i can tell they are very powerful for their size, and have a long battery life compaired to other lights on the market today. I hope you enjoyed the post, and i hope it helps you in the future.

EMF Detectors

EMF (Electro-Magnetic Field) Meters are commonplace in nearly every paranormal group in the country, they have become a staple of the ghost hunting community, but how well do they work? Many ghost hunters say that they work wonders on investigations, while others call them utterly useless. So lets start with what exactly they read. EMF comes from just about anything electrical, microwaves, outlets, speakers, etc. along with very many appliances and in-wall wires/pipes. With all that taken into account, EMF detectors alone cannot do a very accurate job of detecting spiritual activity. But, in the paranormal community today, many EMF Detectors come with add-on devices to help aid with spiritual detection. A few good examples of this comes from Gary Galka of DAS Distribution (maker of the Mel-Meter), the Mel-REM comes with a sort of short range motion detector via a telescopic antenna, the Mel-ATDD comes with a device called Ambient Temp. Deviation Device, which is an advanced Temp. probe that emits sounds (and sometimes light) based on Temp. changes. So, EMF all by itself is a nearly dead technique in the paranormal community, with skeptics closing in on all the short ends in ghost hunting today, we can't afford to continue using outdated devices like standard EMF detectors. Am I saying EMF is useless, no. Am I saying it should be used only together with other devices or add-ons to the EMF Detector, yes. Luckly modern EMF detectors like the Mel-REM and Mel-ATDD are readily available at sites like http://www.ghoststop.com/ and http://www.theghosthunterstore.com/

The Eddy Meter

An Eddy Meter measures Eddy Currents in the air around them. Eddy Currents are a special kind of swirling energy that can be found only around the human body and coming off of the third rail on electrified railroad tracks. So, with a device that can read these very odd currents, paranormal investigators may be able to more accuratly determine paranormal activity in an area. With general EMF detectors, there are many more sources of that type of energy that can set those meters off. Eddy Meters will only go off if they are near a persons current, or near the third rail. But still, investigators using these devices say they encounter odd spikes in the device they say they can't explain. These meters can be fairly hard to find and are highly experimental in the paranormal field at this point. So will these meters be the future of paranormal investigation? Only time will tell.

My New Blog

Hello everyone, my name is Mitch Goth. I've been working as a paranormal investigator since 2009, and since then I've been working heavily with the technology in the field. Through this blog I will be keeping you all updated on the latest paranormal equipment in the field, what to buy and what to pass on, the thought process behind experimental tools, and proper ways to use and experiment with the paranormal technology around today. I hope you enjoy it :)