Metal Detectors Can Help You Find Treasure Like Meteors Or Your Car Keys


     A metal detector is great for finding buried objects. If you are a fan of the television show Meteor Men, then you know they are great for finding meteors too.  There is some money in that for sure.  They’re most often used to detect hidden metallic items such as firearms, coins, treasure (i.e. jewelry), and other minerals. A typical metal detector is an uncomplicated instrument that really functions similarly across most brands. A metal detector is standard equipment for surveyors looking for subsurface metal ores and archeologists scanning dig sites or soil mounds for ancient metallic artifacts. Metal detectors are not unlike automobiles in that they use different technologies and include features targeted to their intended use. All metal detectors are variations on the basic technological fundamentals of electromagnetism.
If you are new to the world of metal detection, then you have found your way here because you’re pondering whether or not to consider a metal detector for some specific reason.  It could be anything from a basic curiosity to finding your wedding ring or other some other precious item.    I bought my wife a very nice golden necklace as a wedding give – which she promptly lost on the South Padre beach outside our hotel.   That was over 20 years ago – and to this day I’ve often thought about going back there with a metal detector.  One could just as easily locate your car keys in tall grass for that matter.  Their uses are numerous to say the least.  Why not become a bounty hunter looking for meteors in your spare time.
 
While a metal detector is good for many different practical purposes the most compelling reason for acquiring on is that excitement and thrill of make the find of a lifetime.  Don’t waste any more time wishing you had one – satisfy the urge and follow the lure that got you interested in metal detectors.  It could be the best thing you’ve done in years.   Using a metal detector combines both the capabilities of the metal detector and your natural human senses linked together to produce results in the search for a lost treasure (or earring). 

This isn’t rocket science, but setting up a metal detector incorrectly may result in a decrease in depth sensitivity and could easily cause your expensive metal detector to be outperformed by an inexpensive one.  In most cases an average metal detector using a commodity class coil on moderate surface ground should sense the following items at these depths:  nickel/dime at depths of 4 – 8 inches, a quarter as much as 6 – 8 inches, a half dollar or dollar coin from 6 – 12 inches.  Knowing your detector and using it properly are the two most important things that you can do to get the best depth and sensitivity out of any machine.

Fundamentally, the higher the sensitivity setting/rating, the smaller amount of signal a target will need to produce an audio signal from a metal detector.  The easiest way to set the sensitivity is not unlike setting the squelch on a CB radio or walkie-talkie.  Continue to increase the metal detector sensitivity up until the machine starts to chatter.  At that point reduce the sensitivity until the chatter ceases.  Do this slowly or you’ll sacrifice the metal detector sensitivity.   When considering a metal detector take into account whether it will be used for many hours a day or merely periodically.  Use your common sense basically.


 

Questions, comments, or concerns?  Contact gking@backyardsteward.com

Last Updated 8/04/2010