Tasker EMF Alert Notifier
Create an Android Tasker script that notifies you when you are in the presence of a strong Electromagnetic Field.
This is from a forum thread I started and am just copying it here for those interested and to help the information index better. As far as I can tell there are no "ghost" scripts for Tasker or Automateit Pro and they are easy to make and can do much more than the free ghost apps so this is a very simple DIY for an Android Tasker EMF Notifier.
I've talked about ghost apps in other threads and mentioned that after trying all of the free ones in the Google Play Store, I'm just not a fan Some of them are fun and despite what many critics say phones really do have a magnetic field sensor and you can access it and the mentioned apps do just that
The main thing to keep in mind is that the EMF sensor was not meant to detect ghosts, metal or anything other than to get a bearing like a compass. So imagine that you are using a compass to detect magnetic fields, metal or even electric fields and you will have a good idea of the kind of accuracy to expect ... except a compass is a little better overall.
This doesn't mean the compass chip is useless or anything, it's there for many good reasons but why not access your smartphone or tablets compass directly and do whatever you want with it
The following is the stepwise process of using the
Assuming you have Tasker click the icon to start it.
Click the
Next you will need to choose the Context trigger so click State then choose Sensor and Magnetic Field
This is where you need to choose the magnetic field range. The easiest thing to do is click "Scan" and watch it for a little bit. Then choose a number below what you've seen and one above, These numbers will vary by device, what unit it displays in as well as your environment. Typically my phone registers 37µT {micro Tesla} and my alert is set to go off when the sensor goes below 20 or above 100µT However for this example I'm using 45 to 65µT so it will go off immediately. Be sure and put a check in "Invert" ... if you don't the alert will go off only when the sensor is inside those numbers and you want the sensor to go off "outside" the specified range.
Great! right now you've defined the normal range {between the two numbers} and the range you will want an alert for {anything outside those numbers} so now you need to tell Tasker what to do when the sensor reads outside the normal range ... in this case create the task that sends an alert. {Or you can make Tasker do whatever else you want after this point.}
If this is the first task you've made with Tasker you will automagically go straight to New Task but if you have other tasks you will need to hit the green
So name the task, hit the green and in the Task/Edit popup press the
Click on Alert then Notify and fill out the form screen however you like.
Now hit the green s to save your work ... and make sure you see the little "ON" in the bottom right ... this means the Profile is running.
Congarats! yer done !!!
Tasker runs in the background without using a ton of extra battery like most EMF apps do and when you enter an EMF area outside of the range you specified your device will send you an alert.
Below is what mine looks like when I pull down the notification bar. Please note this is a rooted Boost Mobil LG Marquee running on Ting which uses Sprints network, the phone is also running avast security and Airdroid which is how I'm transferring these screen shots from my phone to the computer in real time
The Thang on the bottom is the Alert
That's it for this DIY but some fine points, I changed my ghost alert tone to be something I can identify and there are also a couple of built in variables that might interest people ... %MFIELD ... if you put that in your notification text field you will get the magfield level that set off the alert. With a little more tweaking you can use the %LOC variable to get your GPS position when the alert occurred but this is for slightly more advanced users 'cuz it can be tricky to setup properly.
If anyone is interested the s magnetic field is typically 25 to 65µT so your range should be larger than this. As mentioned earlier I like 20 to 100µT. Yes, I know the center is 60µT and not 37µT but there is a whole range of things to consider with vector fields and +/- orientations in 3D space. For me that is the range I like ... for you maybe not ... it's ok
Here is a real life example of my Popup Tasker script which is the same as the notifier but with a "popup" action instead and I have it set to go off only for very strong EMF fields.
Just a little more advice ... you will need some time to tweak the ranges before you get them where you like them and so there are not too many notifications. In addition to metal surfaces, some high battery uses can generate a large magnetic field like restarting your phone or some video settings. Also induction chargers will always set it off. Just be aware.