Metal detector

[AirAssisted]

Having met that thoroughly nice chap SeadartBob a number of weeks ago, and listening to his tales of treasure hunting, I decided to go out and get myself a metal detector. First stop, was obviously ebay, and it provided just the thing.

During my ongoing conversations with Bob, it turns out that he has one, and Finless also has been tempted. So first things first, it was put to the test!!

Bob has done a some work already with the unit, testing that it is actually waterproof, and doing some adjustments. So, it was time to do some of my own work.

First off was a trip to the beach....

Wandering up and down the seashore, metal detector in hand I was soon to find out if it worked at all. Initially I had the settings on the wrong 'sensitivity' and after 10 minutes began to wonder if it was broken. Increasing the sensitivity, brought the unit to life, and within a few minutes it was beeping its head off. Having neaver used a metal detector before, I had to get used to how the unit located a metal object. Firstly, they only indicate something when the head is moved over the object, keeping it stationary loses the signal. Next, you have to work out where in the path of the head, the object is. Moving the head around, and in different directions, gives you a good idea where the object is. It was able to find objects as small as a screw, and much bigger objects like buried irons bars, and a bulldog clip. (??)

So happy with what I had seen so far, it was taken to the Cape for inwater testing. On Bobs info page, he shows the adjustments that make the unit easier to use underwater, making it a lot more compact and easier to handle. So, once this was done, I was ready.

On with the kit and down to the waters edge we went, I gave the battery compartment one last tighten, for 'lucks' sake and submerged. Heading out towards the sump, the unit didn't seem to be leaking bubbles, that was a good sign, so I turned it on. It comes with underwater headphones, which
are worn over the hood, so putting these in place I started scanning the quarry floor....

Nothing happened until I got to the sump, the...BLEEP! YES!! it works!! Using the same technique as on land, I scanned the area until I was happy I had found the correct spot. Then putting the detector to one side, I began to dig.......The silt blew up like a bunch of trainees finstrokes, within a few seconds the area was obliterated and viz reduced to zero around the target area. Disapointed but not exactly surprised, I folded the unit down and just enjoyed the rest of my dive.

Used in a more forgiving substrate, I have every confidence that it would be easy to find and recover whatever lay below the surface, give silty conditions then it will be more of a challenge.

More testing will be done in different locations, and 'finds' if any, will be posted here.

I'm happy with my purchase, and it will make a change to just bimbling around.

Bobs page on the unit can be found at the link below, very impressive it is too! Thanks again for your help Bob, much apreciated.

http://www.seadart.net/menupage/home...-detectors.htm

Ian