Tools of the trade

​​You don’t’ have to have all of the fancy video surveillance and spirit boxes and Mel Meters to do a good investigation. All you really need is a digital camera and audio recorder.
In this picture I’ve got a Samsung HD video camera. It’s one of the sport ones because I drop everything, and it takes really crisp clear video. Next, I’ve got an RCA digital voice recorder, it is only two gigabytes, but that holds 70 hours of recording on high quality. The third item here is my handy-dandy Nikon Coolpix digital camera, she has seen some days but she still takes amazing photographs.
Then I’ve got above those three items my laptop computer which is a good idea to have when reviewing data. A bigger screen makes it easier to see and won’t harm your eyes, unless you’ve got your eyes on the screen. Along with reviewing what you’ve captured a good deal is to save it to a specific folder or other place. Right below my computer is a hello kitty, she’s a USB drive. I don’t want to lose anything, ever.
Going on down the line I’ve got headphones, for listening to audio (no brainer), but it’s good to carry a pair of buds with you in case you think you picked something up during an EVP session and wanted to make sure before reviewing everything the next day.
The last piece of electronics is a tablet, it’s definitely not required by any means, but with all of the sensor apps and radars it can come in handy. TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) has an app as well that acts as an EMF detector and I believe can record EVP and do a few other things. I know for a fact it is an EMF detector, most of those apps use the devices magnetic sensors to pick up variations in the electromagnetic fields in the atmosphere around the device.
All of that being said the last items, and probably the most technologically advanced and sophisticated of them all, is a notepad and writing utensil. It is always a must to record any feelings or emotions, personal experiences and variances that sensor pick up in a written log. Typing them would also work, but absolutely keep a record of everything in writing. Write it down at the investigation, don’t rely on your memory to remember an emotion you had. Once the investigation is over and you’ve gone home most of those emotions, if not all, have passed and been forgotten. So, to reiterate, keep a logbook. Write the time and event as well as personal feelings and experiences. That counts as evidence too, it is not about convincing other people, but vanquishing the doubt in your own mind. Amendment: notebooks are also for keeping notes from your research of the location, which you should have with you at all times so you know where to go, and what to do, possibly even what to expect and who might be there

Advertisement