Rain, Andy's Book and Power

[GBalance]

What is the general though on metal detecing on wet soil, not a beach, but a park:

Do metal detectors find objects deeper in wet soil?

Do metal detectors find objects deeper in dry soil?


It is my understanding from Andy's book that the Sensitivity setting affects the Explore or ETrac's power output:

Do Explores and ETrac's made outside of the United States have different Maximum power outputs, given the F.C.C. type acceptance? Is this the reason Garrett had an international version of the AT Pro and Minelab has an Ireland Manufacturing facility for their products in Europe?


Thanks


A

 

[born2hunt]

A

Wet soil is definitely preferable. The deepies are much more pronounced and easier to distinguish and with a lot less interference. I had an exceptional season this year and I owe a big part of that to the fact that the ground here never dried out all summer.

As for the power output issue, I couldn't say.

 

[sgoss66]

Moist soil increases "conductivity" of a target, as I understand it. There is good and bad there...if you are hunting in a fairly trash-free area, you will be able to detect coins to deeper depth in moist soil -- that's the "good." The "bad" is that IRON becomes especially active when soil is moist -- so your iron falsing will increase, and you may actually have a harder time therefore...

As for power output, you are right -- Andy's book DOES say that increasing sensitivity increases "power output." However, I have asked about this -- and one very trusted source, NASA Tom Dankowski, is 99% sure that this is not the case with the Explorers. There are only a couple of units out there where transmit power can be increased, and the Explorers/E-Tracs are not among them.

Finally, I do not know if Explorers and E-Tracs made outside the U.S. have higher power output, but I'd doubt it...

Steve

 

[EtracTom-AdirondacksNY]

I say NO to higher power overseas. I fly remote control Helicopters too as well as detecting (my 2 passions) and all the radios are lower power output overseas compared to here.
Garrett's AT-PRO was just LABELED with depth measurements for overseas cnetimeters I believe instead of inches like here and the coins range extended in the machine's software and the labeling on the faceplate was changed due to their thousands of years of coins history there. That's the difference in the machines from here.

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

This is a misunderstanding that comes up often. The power transmitted stays the same, sensitivity changes how big a signal needs to be to be processed.

Chris

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

Sensitivity setting on the Explorer has no effect on the transmit signal power, I have had Explorers connected to an oscilloscope while building/testing coils, its constant. What is useful about that is that the Explorer coil returns to you the best signal possible for a target, your settings simply carve that signal up, removing bits and pieces of it. You remove a little soil here, a little iron there, get rid of the super tiny false signals. In other words your settings take things away from the signal, now somebody ask me how that effects the great Gain vs Sensitivity debate.

Regarding wet soil, with iron and mineralized soil damp soil is good, sopping wet soil sucks. In sopping wet soil the iron signals will be HUGE masking targets. Put your WOT away if the ground is sopping wet and there's iron. Go back to the heavy iron areas when the ground is dry as a bone and the iron signals shut up, you will make finds there.

 

[dewcon4414]

Charles has good advice. In dry ground i tend to get a LOT more EMI in the ground and separation tends to be better.

Dew

 

[Hotcz70]

Moist soil increases "conductivity" of a target, as I understand it. There is good and bad there...if you are hunting in a fairly trash-free area, you will be able to detect coins to deeper depth in moist soil -- that's the "good." The "bad" is that IRON becomes especially active when soil is moist -- so your iron falsing will increase, and you may actually have a harder time

I seem to always find my deeper coins in wet ground....BUT I struggle a little more with iron.

This is a case where I definitely put the SE in semi auto sensitivity at 26 and let it roll. It calms the falsing and chirping down quite a bit and still has no problems hitting 10"+ deep coins in my IL soil.

 

[sgoss66]

Charles, I enjoyed your info above...and so, I am asking! What do you have to say about the "sensitivity vs. gain" debate?

Steve

 

[GBalance]

-- moved topic --

 

[GBalance]

Which explorer do you have on the O scope?


Thanks,


A