Turn your cell phone into a metal detector with an app.

[bootyhoundpa]

Alright, I always seem to be the last one to know ....... I belong to a forum related to my employment ,on that forum someone posted that they used a metal detecting app on there cell phone to help them find fire hydrant curb caps which are about 8” round and made of iron... I did a utube search and found this to apparently be a real thing... the videos I watched would seem indicate this app will only works on objects larger than coins... does anybody have any experience with this or am I the last to know again lol...

 

[still looking 52]

That seems to be impossible but I'm way behind on the technology curve so maybe there is someway? How would you not need a search coil?

 

[bootyhoundpa]

That seems to be impossible but I'm way behind on the technology curve so maybe there is someway? How would you not need a search coil?

. I thought pretty much the same as you,gotta be impossible,right.. but I believe it works on a different principle... you ever notice how your phone loses signal strength perportionate to the amount of metal around it? From the videos I’ve seen it’s application is only useful on larger items..

 

[woody]

Heck, I'll just ask one of my grand children.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

From the videos I’ve seen it’s application is only useful on larger items..

I've seen the video clips too. I believe it only works for ferrous / iron metal. Not conductive metals.

 

[#1Leatherneck]

Undisputedly, technology is the key factor in metal detecting! I have watched youtube videos on using a smart phone for programming a coil! Batteries will soon be solar powered? My watch is solar powered, and I have had it for about (15) fifteen years! The initial price was about ($115.00) one hundred, and fifteen dollars. Each year by not having to replace the battery the solar powered watch pays for its' self! A metal detector with a solar powered unit would be no problem! The only time it is in use would be when it is being used. Security lights are solar powered! Next year, . . . tomorrow. . . . Technology is moving so fast, that to vision a metal detector capable of utilizing a smart phone is certainly plausible! To hold otherwise, would be to refuse to move out of the dark ages! . . . Tomorrow!

 

[vlad]

Its not like they are made to be hard to find: the size and red color is a dead give-away.
I mean, dogs don't seem to have a problem finding them.
(googling locations with a phone is a different matter, and google earth maps are used)
But I asked NASA Tom and here is what he said:
"It is possible; a coil (added) would need to have some additional electronics in it. The i-phone can not do as much as a metal detector platform."
Now just imagine the power requirements.
All in all, I'd rather have a detector with a phone app, than a phone with a detector app.
Something like an Apple Watch.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Yes ,of course the hydrants are easy to find...it’s the underground valve cap cover which is an 8”cap that is usually exposed flush with the ground or street but occasionally gets buried or paved over.. nevertheless thank you for your input..

 

[mtdoramike]

I don't know, sounds like black magic to me.

 

[vlad]

Its a differential magnetometer (two stacked mags) requiring motion and nulls momentarily over target.
It is literally a 2.5 pound rod with a control on the end (with headphone plug) and requires 1-9volt battery.
Will hit a 1/2" pipe at 3 feet and works on Civil War artillery projectiles too.
https://smhttp-ssl-37061.nexcesscdn.net/media/catalog/product/optimized/a/4/a404200a0dbe35eed961c91bb7316bb8/fx3_1_3.jpg

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Very interesting....