Sensitivity Control Detectors

Certain multipurpose detectors and almost all prospecting units have some type of control that has been made to bring down or reduce the sensitivity the detector has. This is more known as attenuation control and it is very useful for prospectors that are going to be working around areas with high amounts of mineralization. A unit that does not have this cannot be very relied on as far as effectiveness is concerned. Heavy mineralization has a tendency of overloading the circuitry in metal detectors and therefore reduces the depth at which it is able to detect therefore; an attenuation control is definitely a desirable feature to look for in detectors.

Remember the best way to obtain optimal performance in a multipurpose detector, it is best for the unit to have a feature you can manually or automatically adjust for areas that have iron mineralization in the ground. Avoid the ones that have been preset by the factory. Factory preset ones may or might not have a motion, all metal mode setting. If the detector does have it, you will need to make sure that it has a quick one. Fast autotune can be seen in a detector by holding a target in front of the coil while it is in the autotune mode and watch to see how quickly the sound of the target goes away. If the sound goes away right away it means the unit is fast enough and can be used. Some detectors have discriminator or target identification units on them and they can be used as long as the operator is not too hooked on using them. In other words, as long as the operator is able to do his search in the all metal mode and use the discriminator identification to test targets to see if they are good or simply trash. In cases where the detector only works as a discriminator it might not be the best option to use for prospecting even in cases when the nugget is big enough, superficial enough or the ground is soft enough to work in it. Don’t be fooled with dealers that throw a nugget on the ground or hold it up in the air and waves the loop over it with the detector working in a mode that rejects trash. There are occasions in which this can work; however in the field conditions are always very different.