ABSTRACT

Naturally occurring electromagnetic oscillating fields in the very-low-

frequency (VLF) range of the spectrum, i.e., from 1 to 200 kHz, are
weak and difficult to detect under normal conditions. These naturally
occurring VLF electromagnetic events are observed during
thunderstorms, in certain mountain winds, and during earthquakes. On
the other hand, man-made VLF electromagnetic fields are stronger and
have been suspected of causing negative health effects. Typical sources
of these VLF emissions include television sets, video display terminals
(VDTs), certain medical devices, some radio stations, and the ground-
wave emergency network (GWEN) used for military communications.
This paper describes the development of a triaxial “VLF gauss-meter,”
which can be made portable. This electronic system can be used to
monitor VLF electromagnetic radiation in residential and occupational
environments. The “VLF gaussmeter” is based on a microcontroller
with a built-in l0-bit A/D converter and has been designed to measure
the magnetic flux density and frequency across the wide VLF
bandwidth (BW). A digitized resolution of 0.2 mG is used for the 0–
200-mG range, and 2-mG resolution is used for the range of 2–2000
mG.