Frequently Asked Questions

1. what is the deepest that a metal detector can find treasure?
2. What is discrimination?
3. What are the laws when it comes to treasure hunting?
4. Do I really need headphones when I go treasure hunting?
5. Why is using a pinpionter probe important?
6. What does Operating Frequency mean anyway?
7. How do metal detectors work?
8. Are all metal detectors the same or do I need a specific detector for different metals?
9. What is notch discrimination?
10. What is target ID?

ANSWERS

     1.  What is the deepest a metal detector can find treasure? 

Quality metal detectors are very similar as far as depth goes. You can add just a little bit more depth by increasing the size of the coil. A standard 8 inch coil will probably work good in most situations. This is the standard when it comes to metal detector performance. Nickel, dime size objects about 4 to 8 inches, Quarter and half dollar size objects about 6 to 12 inches and fruit jar lid size about 8 to 16 inches.

     2.  What is discrimination?

Discrimination is used to eliminate certain unwanted objects like pull tabs and other nonvaluable metals. The problem with that is that you might end up eliminating the valuable metal as well. one thing that you should always remember is that when it come to setting the discrimination the lower the better.

     3  What are the laws when it comes to treasure hunting?

Most states have different laws and regulations, make sure to visit the proper authorities in your town or city. By rule of thumb you should always ask permission from the owners of the properties before you start digging holes. If you get permission make sure to leave the area exactly as you found it (cover up your holes and pick up any trash that you have with you.) this could give other treasure hunters the chance to be given permission to.

     4  Do I really need headphones when I go treasure hunting?

The answer to this question is both yes and no. The headphone give you more depth and therefore increases you chances of finding more treasures.

    5   Why is using a pinpionter probe important?

Detector Pro came out with a preat probe called the pistol probe. This probe is like a mini metal detector capable of detecting treasures at up to 6 inches in depth. It can pin point an object therefore you can dig smaller holes, it protects the area from unnecesary damage and reduces the chance of damage to the object as well.

    6  What does Operating Frequency mean anyway?

Metal detectors use a frequency that is measured in kilo hertz. It is simply the number of times the signal is transmitted and received by the detector every second. Metals have different frequencies therefore the ability to distinguish between them.

    7  How do metal detectors work? 

The basic idea of how a metal detector works is this, It emmits a frequency or pulse into the ground, the tone the detector emmits will depend on what the object is, for example; The sound the detector makes will be different between gold and iron. 

    8  Are all metal detectors the same or do I need a specific detector for different metals?

Quality metal detectors are very similar in what they can do. If you are going to search say underwater, then you would need a metal detector specifically designed for underwater work and gold nugget hunting.

     9    What is notch discrimination?

Setting a notch is like setting the discrimination so that the metal detector can detect only one target (accept notch) or everything but one target (reject notch). An accept notch can be use successfully when looking for a specific object for example a certain kind of ring. If you set a reject notch then you are going to reject a certain type of metal, be careful setting these notches because you might be eliminating good finds also.

     10 What is target ID?

This is to identify a certain metal by adjusting the discrimination on your unit. This basically tells your metal detector not to pick up this certain metal. This adjustment is done quickly if you own a target ID metal detector. Be careful because using this technique sometimes eliminates old coins and other artifacts or shows them as junk.