The meter gave tens of thousands of different readings every time. This gave one possible real reading out of thirty trials, but that reading was three times the expected range of speeds. I turned off all lights and still have no meaningful results. All attempts were made with a black background and a strip of silver ribbon. I was trying to measure the speed of a 2.75 inch steel shaft rotating at a constant speed. I've tried all distances from 2" to 12" and gotten no meaningful readings. It was totally useless. I returned it.