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Using Air Tests To Gauge Detector Performance


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I am from the school that thinks air tests are good enough to see if your detector is turned on.....

 

I believe there is something intrinsically different about a target that has been in the ground for awhile and a target that has been recently put in a hole to test...

 

I think a target in the ground has a halo around it from leaching (or some other phenomena)....that cant be reproduced by burying a coin or nugget.

 

Field testing rules...

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Well, it can all be useful in different way, not least just in keeping ourselves entertained!

Tom, bricks can and have been used to simulate mineralized ground, but again the key word here is simulate.

I can set up a situation where two of exactly the same detector has one that air tests far better than the other, only to have the result switch 180% degrees in the ground. A detector air testing better than another, even the same model, does not automatically mean it will detect deeper in the ground. I do not know how to say it any plainer than that. Most of the time, yes, but not always.

I do most of my work with ground balancing PI detectors, and to remove the ground from the test equation is removing the sole thing that really matters. A non ground balancing PI will kill a ground bslancing PI in most air tests. A horribly mis-balanced VLF can outperform the same properly ground balanced VLF in an air test also.

Having said that, I very much admit I do lots of air tests. They have there uses. But right now I have several things on hold pending true in ground tests as that is the only way I can find out for sure what is going to work best for me.

Great subject actually, backed by a lot of "beliefs". Be a good subject for a study with a video. There are several very good studies done if you do some Googling on the testing on mine detectors in mineralized ground. Would post the myself but I have a meeting to catch!

The real point I am making is question everything others do, especially as regards air tests and even in ground tests, and even in videos. If I do not do the testing myself I have no idea really, and even then I can mislead myself if I am not careful.

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Oh and thanks guys, I went ahead and wrote that article! http://www.icmj.com/article-notloggedin.php?id=3197

Something to keep in mind is I am not trying to argue with people who are expert detectorists over niggling details. There are a lot of new people out there who can be very easily mislead by dealers with air tests or by watching any of the very many really bad videos out there. My hope is to help them out.

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  • 4 months later...

I agree with you Steve, although I do a lot of Air Testing My main reason is to see if the Coil will pick up Tiny Items and at what distance Because although they are not what I am Looking for, the better they can pick them up the better they will pick up the coins and things that I am looking for and also I do these tests to check out the Coils Detection Field This is the most Important Part of Air Testing because I Once bought A Coil that had me wondering why my finds rate had gone down, So by using a 0.12gm Test piece I started to Map my Coils and I do this with all coils, My Sovereign GT with the 8", 10" and the Platypus could not see it yet when I put the Little Joey on it could and then I started finding Silver Hammered Coins and the Depth of the 10X5 On Thinner sectioned Coins was A lot better than the Bigger Coils. Of Coarse Things have Changed and Moved on and now Most Machines and Coils Are Fire Breathing Monsters and it is now getting harder See differences with all these different Models.

 

John

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  • 2 weeks later...

I Don't do any testing ! I research. Then I buy. Then I hunt. I get so confused sometimes with all the research. And when I get confused. I just read Steve Hershbach thoughts about it, and ZIP ZIP . No more confusion!!

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