solunar effects on metal detector performance? mudpuppy, are you there?

[ncwayne]

to avoid hijacking another thread, here's a quote from that thread with my question/comments the quoted text elicited.

Yesterday was the day of the Solar Perihelion...the Sun was the closest to the Earth for the year, plus it had a big hole in it with solar winds brushing past us, plus it was a Full Moon cycle....so thats why your rig was squirrely !

Don't know how you meant this, mud, but I took it that you were (at least somewhat) serious. I KNOW there are days when my detectors just work better than other days. By better, I mean find more targets in a general area, compared to other searches of the same area. I think there must be some correlation between solunar times, i.e. strong or weak gravitational effect on electromagnetic currents at play here. Are you aware of anybody who has, or have you, plotted detector performance vs solunar tables/times?
Just like hunters and fishermen may choose to be afield during peak periods (extremes of gravitational influence), perhaps there are peak times to detect (when gravitational influence on electromagnetic fields are weakest or strongest).

 

[Explorer]

Solar flares affect all electronics and the electrical grid, so why would metal detectors which utilize VLF or Induction currents be immune to the effects of the sun’s activity.

 

[GO VA]

To make this a little easier for everyone to understand, the solar effects disrupt any communications that are not directly wired to each other more complicated in some solar cycles. This is a normal thing for any high end component that is running at its maximum potential to pick up. I was into armature radio for some time and the sun and even moon would effect your ability to get or send a good transmission during some phases. If any of you were ever into the CB radios which were a big thing back in the day think of what happened to your signals during solar flares or if you were setting next to a power transformer, the loss you had in ability to transmit or send a good signal. I do not claim to know that any of this will pass on to metal detectors but common sense says it will. Another thing on this topic is the power transformer thing and radio signals, EMI/High end equipment. Again I am not trying to say I know anything about the effects on detecting equipment but I was pretty good at sending low wattage signals over long distances at one time. In the future when my arm gets tired of swinging and I get more into the electronics side of this I will be able to give everyone a much better answer but for now I am still learning all the little differences in tones that keeps me guessing what is under the coil.

 

[mudpuppy]

My assumption, based purely on anecdotal evidence/experience as a '50+yr observer', is that these solar/lunar/barometric events indeed have an effect on all things electronic, human, and other forms of life on this Planet....

I check Spaceweather.com daily....purely out of curiosity and probably to get a head start if a Carrington Event is inbound...I do not want to be far from home if is...

All this said, I DO plan and hunt specific sites primarily around the WEATHER...great NOAA and surf sites that post current and also forecast wind conditions..I know if its been howling across the Big Lake at certain angles, the effect it has on stripping or dumping sand in key locations...so theres that...I truly love to hunt dirt on very cool damp dismal days in the Spring and Fall, no Sun, damp earth, no people around, targets light up fast and easy, and the temps make it possible to really hunt aggressively without overheating...so those specific weather events have led to my most successful days in field...

I have hunted with the 70 during heavy solar flare activity with no trouble, of course, with the light settings I use, nothing seems to bother it concerning EMI....It seems to me the Earth gets 'noisier' as the day progresses, and I have a hard time focusing on account of the increasing ambient noise level of the surroundings...So I hunt very early pre sun up to 10am...and generally never past noon unless its one of those overcast cold damp days....I have a very hard time hunting in the afternoon, just too many people and distractions...

It is a fun and interesting topic! All good Hunters pay attention to see if theres a pattern of success regarding these things...Weather/soil moisture content seems to be key for me above all others...then we see some of the Brothers here that hunt nearly daily always pulling nice stuff, so thats the other thing, just being in field no matter what brings success, theres nothing of value to be found sitting around in the house...!
Mud

 

[togg77]

Agree with Mud on the best detecting days being dark,little wind,and damp ground. Back in the old days my detectors were very sensative to going from shade to sunlight. Of course this was primarily due to temp. changes,but the bright sunny days also made the detector more scratchy. Since becoming a regular on the Fisher forum I have come to really admire you guys in the frozen zone for your dedication,keep up the good finds and pictures---makes my coffee drinkin' that much better.