Metal detecting is a great hobby to spend your free time on; more so, for some lucky hunters, they can even discover things of historical or monetary value. It’s a lottery of sorts; even if you don’t end up finding something, you still will be able to have a great time. However, before starting anything, you need to have suitable metal detecting accessories along with you.
The primary equipment that you should start with is the metal detector. In the absence of this, the success of any hunt is slim to none.
Working of A Fundamental Metal Detecting Accessories
The primary principal metal detector works on is by transmitting an electromagnetic field from the search coil to the ground. Any object lying in this field then gets energized and retransmit its electromagnetic field. When the search coil receives this retransmitted field, it alerts the hunter by creating a response.
Essential Components of Metal Detectors
Now that you know the basic principles of the detectors, there are some components and terminology that every beginner should know while shopping at a metal detector store. These include,
Control Box
It contains all the detector’s electronics. This component is responsible for generating the initial signals, receiving them, and then processing them to convert them into a response.
Search Coil
This part of the detector transmits the field to the ground and receives the return electromagnetic field from the target object.
Target
A target is an object that is found using a metal detector. It varies in each hunt. For instance, it can be coins, historical artifacts, or other treasures.
Unwanted Target
When it comes to metal detecting finds, it’s not all roses. Many unwanted things do get attached to the magnet, like nails or bottle caps. Now, some metal detector does allow the advanced setting to avoid receiving a response from unwanted targets.
Key Concepts About Metal Detectors
If it’s your first time in the metal detector store, then you should know these terminologies about the equipment:
Frequency
It is one of the detector’s significant features that help determine how the target will be detected. Typically, if you see a metal detector with a high frequency, it will be much more sensitive to smaller objects. At the same time, the one that transmits less frequency is ideal for giving more depth to the larger targets.
Nowadays, some detectors generate multiple frequencies at a time. It will help you find deep, small, and large targets.
Ground Balance
It is a variable setting that increases the depth of detection on the mineralized soil. This type of ground has salts, wet sand, fine iron particles that can come in the way of finding treasure. Luckily, with the help of this feature, the ground signals are removed, so you are not distracted by other things.
When you are at a store like Teknetics Direct, you can come across the following types of ground balance settings:
- Manual Ground Setting
You can manually adjust the function, so there are minimum ground signals during the hunt.
- Automatic Ground Balance
This way, your device will automatically adjust the ground balance. It is more straightforward, effective, and accurate in comparison to manually set it.
- Tracking Ground Balance
This feature allows the detector to alter the ground balance while you are hunting continuously. It will make sure the ground balance is accurate throughout.
The following important concept to understand is:
Discrimination
With this, the detector can identify the buried targets based on the conductive properties. By recognizing the object, you can decide whether to dig up or consider it junk and move on. When it comes to the settings, there are four options you can choose from:
- Variable discrimination
It is the simplest type. You can adjust the value by using a knob.
- Iron Reject/Iron Mask
It is usually used to avoid junk during a gold hunt.
- Notch discrimination
It will allow the hunter to specify some targets to avoid.
These are some basics that every hunter should know about the primary metal detecting accessories. We hope you find this guide helpful.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What items do you need for metal detecting?
If you want to begin the hunting, you should look for the following metal detecting accessories:
- Metal detector headphones
- Pinpointer
- Trowel
- Shovel
- Pouch
- Sand scoop
- What do I need to know about metal detectors?
There are multiple things that you need to know about metal detectors. For a start, you can look for the components and key terms, like:
- Frequency
- Ground setting
- Discrimination
- Search coil, etc.
- How deep will a metal detector detect?
Generally, most detecting equipment can detect up to 4-8 inches. In ideal circumstances, a mid-range detector can help you reach 12-18 inches.
