Are air tests a good indicator of reading coins in the ground?

[heckling7]

I see many speak of how well their detector does on air tests. So would an air test be comparable in depth to an average soil signal given the same coin or object used? Or do air tests give a more optimist reading typically than the same found in the ground? Thanks

 

[kaolinwasher]

lets say you air test a dime at 6" with a good signal , if you go to a soil that is mild and not much minerals you will hit that dime at 6" but the more it gets full of Iron the more loss of depth , and a DD coil will do better in badd ground than a concentric my outlaw does pretty good in my ground concidering I have lots of black sand in it ,

 

[wheatymike]

I like air test to compare machines. If one machine will hit a dime three inches more than another in the air, then that tells me it is a hotter machine. Not necessarily better; just hotter. JMHO. It has always shown on the machines I have tested in my test garden that one that air test deeper will be deeper in the ground. However, all I have tested lose some depth in my ground. Maybe 30% give or take. Keep in mind this is in my test garden, which has only been there about a year. In the real world maybe not so much? Hope that wasn't confusing

 

[Scanman]

What kind of air test measurement for Quarters are folks getting?

 

[wheatymike]

My Vaquero would hammer on a quarter (air test) at 11".

 

[Scanman]

I am getting a solid 12" with my LST, out of dimes at the moment. Thanks

 

[kaolinwasher]

Scanman, you are getting 12" air test on a dime ? thats hot , I seen a video of a guy hitting a dime in ground with the Lobo at 11" deep thats amazing

 

[Scanman]

12" on a Quarter.

 

[D&P-OR]

11" on a dime in the ground???----The guys got waaaay milder ground than I got!

Scanman, you are getting 12" air test on a dime ? thats hot , I seen a video of a guy hitting a dime in ground with the Lobo at 11" deep thats amazing

 

[Mike Hillis]

Nope.

Air test depths only show potential.

Site conditions, which include the ground conditions, always has the final word as to what reality is.

HH
Mike

 

[Rainyday101]

Air is a great medium to transmit through. Ground is less great. Add mineralization and ground is less great yet. Air test in theory should show the maximum potential of the detector. A detector that air test poorly will have bad depth. Think of ground mineralization like fog. The brighter the light you shine in the fog, the more light that is reflected back. When you air test you are not dealing with the ground. Your in ground depth should be a percentage of the air test depending on ground conditions. Disturbed soil like a fresh test garden is really tough. When the soil is disturbed the linearity of the ground matrix is messed up. By this I mean the + and - alignment of the soil particles. Over time all the ground particles will reach a linear alignment of their charges. Detecting in disturbed soil is like sending the transmit signal through several different mediums and a fair amount of signal is lost.

 

[heckling7]

Great info Rainday My Compadre gets 8" with a quarter and 6" with a dime when I lay them on the ground. Is that fair for a $160 detector?

 

[Rainyday101]

That is better than an air test because the signal is seeing the ground. No matter how you stack it, you can't wrong with the Compadre. You may dig more targets, but you will find more stuff.

 

[BarberBill]

I've followed air test discussions for all the years I've been on forums. IMHO they are useful for comparing the resuts between different coils and different machines. Possibly most importantly they give a level to compare to if a given detector seems to have lost performance over time. As far as compared to "in ground" tests in nearly all cases one should figure there will be some depth loss compared to air tests. How much depends on the mineralization, ground balance settings and coil. Once in a while the statement "my machine is deeper in the ground than in the air" comes up. Pesonally, I don't believe that, but do believe a proper ground setting may make that appear to be the case as certainly a preset ground machine (or improperly adjusted manual ground balance) that gets good distance in the air may lose more in ground depth due to not haveing adjustable ground balance for more difficult soils. Just my take on it.
BB

 

[Southwind]

I've always looked at the air test as a best case scenario. In the right conditions you can get a little deeper than an air test, but in most vast majority of the time you will get less depth in the ground.

 

[heckling7]

whats the safest and best way to do an airtest? attach a coin to a long stick? assuming one doesnt want to wave their hand through the emf.

 

[Rainyday101]

I've always looked at the air test as a best case scenario. In the right conditions you can get a little deeper than an air test, but in most vast majority of the time you will get less depth in the ground.

Totally true.

 

[BarberBill]

I've waved my hand in front of the coil countless times with no ill effects. Make sure you aren't wearing a ring or watch though. I don't think there's any safety issue at all.
BB

 

[WV62]

I know I do a lot of air testing, but when post results I get a lot of feed back that air testing is worthless. But the way I look at it, it doesn't help anybody but me if I go out and test in my ground and report that. Everybody has different soil so it doesn't give anybody any information they can use.

Air testing is a good tool to compare and share.

Ron in WV