Circuit Alert


In my never ending quest for knowledge and perfection (read "anal") I bought a Circuit Alert from Amazon, made by GB Instruments. You press the clip, like a pen-light, and it beeps once so you know it works. Then you hold it in the "on" position and start looking for live circuits.

Worked great at outlets, so I went off experimenting with my audiogear. No beeps at the speakers or on the speaker cables or ICs; good. Lots of beeps all over the
Eel power cords....Hmmm. I have no idea what this means. Then, no beeps anywhere on a cheeper, less beefy Audiomagic power cord. So off I go looking for more things to make my Circuit Alert happy. My Audio Prism Quiet-line beeps, as does the positive slot on all my outlets...I guess that's good. In walk the two black Labs so what the hell, put the tester on the dogs' heads. Wouldn't you? The beta of the pair, Kia, gives no response, but the alpha dog, Mookie, sets the alert signal into howl mode. What gives here? My wife takes one look at us, rolls her cute green eyes, laughs and exits the room. I tried to put the tester on her head but she was too quick. My head was silent like the beta dog. Maybe I don't want to know about about my wife!

Why does the Eel PC beep all over and the Audiomagic not? Why does Mookie's head beep and Kia's not. Can you spell robot-dog? Forget about me and my wife....I won't even go there!
Is there an EE out there to explain all this, or am I beyond all that fact stuff?
Ag insider logo xs@2xsnooker14
Sounds like you are the proud owner of an induction tester. Try rubbing it up and down your hairy arm. This device lets you know when voltage is present. It may not read through all power cords due to insulation thickness. Try all sides of the cord. The closer you get to the hot the better your chances. I don't know it's value in audio except to check for the presence of line voltage. This device can be misleading on such things as neutral or ground connections. It will also give false readings if a dead conductor is run in the same raceway as a live one. Always double check problem circuits with a voltage tester for accuracy.

PS- I am not an engineer but I play one on TV.
Thanks Glen, appreciate your input.
P.S. Did you stay at a Holiday Inn express last night?