Tips For Beginning Detectorists
If you find you have purchased a used metal detector at a garage sale and the owner’s manual is missing, don’t worry. The majority of metal detectors have the same functions, and we’ll be explaining all of that throughout this page. What’s most important to start with is you know what the various knobs are used for, and how to use them so you are getting everything you want from your metal detector.
On and Off Volume
The most basic knob is the power switch. Many detectors feature an on-off knob that also controls the volume. Turning the knob clockwise will turn the detector on and increase the volume. As the knob is turned counter clockwise, the volume will decrease and then the detector will turn off.
The sensitivity knob will adjust how sensitive your machine is to picking up metal objects. When this knob is turned fully in the clockwise direction, the machine will search a deeper range and will pick up smaller objects. This is not always a good thing, however, as there are minerals in the ground that the machine can pick up and you will wind up digging for nothing.
Decreasing the sensitivity will create more stable readings. When you first begin working with the machine, set the sensitivity in the middle and then adjust from there. The environment you are searching in should always be taken into account. When you are searching in fields and dirt, the sensitivity can be increased. However, if you are searching at the beach there will be more minerals in the ground so the sensitivity should be reduced.
Discrimination and Rejection
You may also see this referred to as DISC. This is the machine that will help you decide what metals you are searching for and would like to be notified of. You can specifically decide what metals you would like to be alerted of or, alternatively, what metals you would like the machine to completely ignore. Your machine may use numbers or it may actually name the different metals.
Keep in mind a lot of gold items may identify as aluminum-nickel, so it’s a good idea not to have too much discriminate with these two metals if you’re looking for gold jewelry. When you’re first starting out it would be good to keep in on the “nickel” setting, as your detector won’t make any noise, or just a broken sound, if you’re around bottlecaps, nails, or other junk iron. However, when it’s hitting coins and other precious kinds of metals you’ll get a real solid signal. Hunters say, “if in doubt, dig,” but if you are frustrated from digging junk then crank it up to high.
However, if you are searching and the machine is not picking up anything, then the discrimination setting might be set too high. Reduce the discrimination to find more items, and increase it if you are finding too much trash.
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Tags: Metal Detectors