Ok this is my first post so apologies if this is inappropriate but I need some solid opinions from guys who know about house earthing
So me and my dad just moved into an old house and I was walking around with my multimeter in NCV setting and it starts beeping when I hold the meter up in the air.
Now I'm not talking a stray beep every now and then like a false reading, this thing beeps continuously until I bring it back down close to my body and immediately beeps again when I raise it up, I'm familiar with inductance and body capacitance and all that but this is spooky
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It beeps when I put it close to the kitchen bench (which has a metal strip along the perimeter), as soon as I touch the metal it stops beeping
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It beeps near his ACOUSTIC guitar strings which is sitting on a stand and stops once I touch the strings
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It beeps near any metal plate such as a small metal poster or piece of metal rod I have laying around and again, stops once I touch them
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It beeps near some of the door hinges too
Is my house not grounded properly or something because both our phones act weird and slow in the kitchen and in some spots around the house
Now I'm an electrical engineer so please don't tell me I'm using my meter wrong or that it's broken because it beeps everywhere it's supposed to (near mains plugs, lights, appliances) but I've never seen the NCV go this crazy around random things and I'm worried the house may need some attention
Thank you to anyone who reads this and chips in, all advice is appreciated.
Best Answer
It's probable that the 'non-contact voltage tester' is responding to a strong RF field, with the metal objects acting as 'retro reflectors'.
The sizes of those objects point to a VHF / UHF transmitter nearby.
It would most certainly not be a grounding issue since the metal beading of a bench, guitar strings, a metal rod and a metal hinge would not be even remotely connected to anything electrical.
The presence of a strong RF field, and its frequency, may be confirmed using a digital field strength meter.