Big Boys Hobbies

Metal detectors and lightning?

Stiffwrists said:
Very off subject... but this reminds me of an English spelling exam in 6th grade. The word was "lightning" The teacher gave no sentence or definition. I wrote "Lightening" When i received the exam back, it said Lightening was not a word and it was marked incorrect.



Lightning refers to an abrupt, discontinuous natural electric discharge in the atmosphere—i.e., the flash of light associated with thunder.


Lightening is a present participle corresponding to the verb lighten, where to lighten is to make light or lighter. For example, we might say that a person who has been losing weight is lightening, or that an aging man’s hair is lightening to gray.

I was right. Funny how you never forget when you were right and the teacher was wrong!
Click to expand...


The old auto correct doesn't like lightning apparently
 
I have always made my best finds on cloudy, damp days. Still years ago I was at a night hunt in Oklahoma. They just threw coins on the ground and you hunted them in the dark without lights. After the hunt started, it began to rain and most of the hunters ran for shelter. Every now and then the lightning would flash and you could see the coins shinning on the ground. I was doing great until I realized that i was in the middle of a storm swinging a lightning rod. I ran for shelter too. Later they said a tornado had passed behind a hill across the road.
 
When i am detecting and i start hearing the crackle of lightning in my headphones from what ever machine i am swinging I suddenly develop some severe back problems.

The Yellow streak that runs up the middle of my back suddenly becomes very wide and the only cure is to seek shelter.

I have played with some high voltage Transmitters in my time and have seen one young man knocked 10 feet from touching the wrong spot.

Since Lightning is thousands of times more powerful i have no desire to be standing there with a lighting rod in my hand and become a crispy critter.
 
georgeinsc said:
When i am detecting and i start hearing the crackle of lightning in my headphones from what ever machine i am swinging I suddenly develop some severe back problems.

The Yellow streak that runs up the middle of my back suddenly becomes very wide and the only cure is to seek shelter.

I have played with some high voltage Transmitters in my time and have seen one young man knocked 10 feet from touching the wrong spot.

Since Lightning is thousands of times more powerful i have no desire to be standing there with a lighting rod in my hand and become a crispy critter.
Click to expand...

Well put.......I gained a healthy respect for it growing up on the coast of Florida!
 
Silversmith45 said:
I have always made my best finds on cloudy, damp days. Still years ago I was at a night hunt in Oklahoma. They just threw coins on the ground and you hunted them in the dark without lights. After the hunt started, it began to rain and most of the hunters ran for shelter. Every now and then the lightning would flash and you could see the coins shinning on the ground. I was doing great until I realized that i was in the middle of a storm swinging a lightning rod. I ran for shelter too. Later they said a tornado had passed behind a hill across the road.
Click to expand...

georgeinsc said:
When i am detecting and i start hearing the crackle of lightning in my headphones from what ever machine i am swinging I suddenly develop some severe back problems.

The Yellow streak that runs up the middle of my back suddenly becomes very wide and the only cure is to seek shelter.

I have played with some high voltage Transmitters in my time and have seen one young man knocked 10 feet from touching the wrong spot.

Since Lightning is thousands of times more powerful i have no desire to be standing there with a lighting rod in my hand and become a crispy critter.
Click to expand...

TabZilla said:
Well put.......I gained a healthy respect for it growing up on the coast of Florida!
Click to expand...

Reminded me of this comic, (smart detectorists :lol:)
lightningfield2.jpg
 
Mud-puppy said:
Nothing to worry about! Lightening has not once ever hit a Detectorist!...The 'field' emanating from the coil acts like some sort of safety bubble...creates a 'safety zone' all around a Detectorist., Like a little invisible Faraday cage....I'm not a scientist, just a personal theory...


I've never heard of a Detectorist getting knocked out of their shoes and have their kneepads go flying off in a cloud of burnt coins and blue puff of headphone components?....Anybody?


I think we are safe from lightening..either totally invisible or considered off limits, or a protected species in the cosmos of 'outdoor human timewasters'.......

Golfers, Soccer players, Fishermen on the other hand..yeah, they better run! They have it seriously coming!:laughing:
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I wonder if city hall gives a permit to hunt in thunderstorms , it's probably a hot topic at the council meeting tonight :lol: +1 re golf

btw the the gsd on back of bike is a highly trained seeing eye dog:lol:
 

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Pulltabby said:
I wonder if city hall gives a permit to hunt in thunderstorms , it's probably a hot topic at the council meeting tonight :lol: +1 re golf

btw the the gsd on back of bike is a highly trained seeing eye dog:lol:
Click to expand...

Thats a nice set up you got there! Makes a guy want to hit the road looking at that pic!
 
Pulltabby said:
I wonder if city hall gives a permit to hunt in thunderstorms , it's probably a hot topic at the council meeting tonight :lol: +1 re golf

btw the the gsd on back of bike is a highly trained seeing eye dog:lol:
Click to expand...

That photo is awesome.
Brought back some good memories
of my old jack Russell riding on my wave runner!
 
I have found that one of the best times to detect is when there are tornado warnings for the area. The parks are mostly empty without anyone to bother you.
 
Being underneath a tree in a lightning storm is nearly as dangerous as being out in the open. Being anywhere outside during one is endangering your life. Please don't! We like you too much. ;) Detecting in the rain is fun and rewarding, but when a lightning storm strikes, I would not risk my life for all the relics in the world.

Hope this helps. Happy hunting! :thumbsup:
 
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I have lost count of the times I have been underwater during thunderstorms. AWESOME experience except for two things. I hate the crackle in my headphones and I won't surface until the storm passes.

However, I love them because all the boats leave the area. I even surfaced after a tornado touched down near a lake. People getting out of their cars, boats overturned, cups and plates all over the lake and I was just coming out of the water. I really surprised a lot of folks.

On land I wouldn't get caught playing with an electronic machine. Underwater I am as safe as I would be in a house probably.
 
When you feel the hair on the back of your neck and legs standing up there is a wha wha wha in the headphones like emi... passes after the strike. An experience I don't recommend
 
georgeinsc said:
Since Lightning is thousands of times more powerful i have no desire to be standing there with a lighting rod in my hand and become a crispy critter.
Click to expand...

1000's? Sure, if you have a gigavolt transformer. Lightning in measured in the Teravolt. Maybe a thousand thousand times more powerful. ;)
 
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