maxxkatt
Forum Supporter
One of the confusing concepts for newbies is conductivity in terms of metal detecting. Conductivity is a term that describes how easy electricity (electrons) flow through a metal. Low conductivity means the metal is more resistant to electron flow. A high conductive metal is a metal that offers a lower amount of resistant to electron flow.
What does this have to do with metal detecting? A higher frequency in a metal detector say 20 kHz to 40 kHz or higher is good for finding low conductive metals such as gold and tiny pieces of metal.
A lower frequency in a metal detector is better at finding high conductivity meals such as silver coins.
Silver is highest conductor, followed by aluminum and gold, then coper Brass (10% zinc), zinc, brass (40% zinc), nickel, tin, iron, lead, platinum and tungsten.
Seeing how close aluminum follows silver you now should understand why aluminum screw caps are so difficult to distinguish from silver coins. Both have high conductivity and are round. The two very characteristics that the design engineers use to ID silver coins.
A metal detector operating at below 10 kHz will find silver coins better than one operating at 20 kHz. A metal detector operating at above 20 kHz will find small gold particles better than one operating below 10 kHz.
You might ask what does this mean to me? When buying a metal detector, you should buy one with operating characteristic that best suits your type of hunting. If you are only hunting silver coins, then one operating at a lower frequency over a one operating at a higher frequency may be the better choice.
Likewise, if you are hunting gold you buy a gold detector that operates above 40 kHz to locate the smaller gold pieces. Another example is that when I am hunting civil war bullets is that with my Equinox 800 I can switch to a single frequency mode of 20 kHz or 40 kHz and tune my detector to hunting lower conductors like lead bullets or hopefully gold coins.
We have the best of both worlds which is a multi-frequency (Multi-IQ tm) like the Equinox 800. (I am using the 800 as an example because I own one and can write with more knowledge about its characteristics). The 800 can operate in the multi-frequency mode. This is where the Minelab designers have decide which mix of two frequencies it uses in each hunting modes. A common misconception about the 800 is that in the multi-frequency mode it operates in all frequencies from 5 kHz to 40 kHz. This is not true. The engineers have selected the best two frequencies and Minelab does not publish these exact frequencies. The do give you hints.
Park1 is better for coins (high conductors). Park2 is better for jewelry (high conductor alloys. Field1 is for coins and artifacts (coins, brass and iron).
Field2 probably the same mix of two frequencies as Field1 but with other settings changed.
Beach1 is good for lower conductivity targets such as gold jewelry (alloys) and small gold chains. Better for dry ocean beach sand.
Beach2 per the 800 manual uses a “very low” weighted multi-frequency combination to maximize ground balance for salt in the salt water. Better for wet ocean beach sand and hunting in the surf.
Also keep in minds each different mode in the Equinox 800 (and I assume other multi-frequency machines like the Simplex, Apex, Equnox 600 and Vanquish 540) have a different mixture of settings like recovery speed, iron balance, discrimination in addition to a different frequency combination.
What does all this mean to the 800 owner? When hunting a particular piece of property that you think is hunted out in silver coins, you can re-hunt the site with different single frequencies (lower) and recovery speeds, sensitivity and iron balance to essentially give yourself a completely different detector. In the past detectorists not using today’s more advanced detectors would have to hunt the “hunted out” sites with different detectors with different characteristics. This explains why you see on the forums lots of members owning more than a few different metal detectors.
What does this have to do with metal detecting? A higher frequency in a metal detector say 20 kHz to 40 kHz or higher is good for finding low conductive metals such as gold and tiny pieces of metal.
A lower frequency in a metal detector is better at finding high conductivity meals such as silver coins.
Silver is highest conductor, followed by aluminum and gold, then coper Brass (10% zinc), zinc, brass (40% zinc), nickel, tin, iron, lead, platinum and tungsten.
Seeing how close aluminum follows silver you now should understand why aluminum screw caps are so difficult to distinguish from silver coins. Both have high conductivity and are round. The two very characteristics that the design engineers use to ID silver coins.
A metal detector operating at below 10 kHz will find silver coins better than one operating at 20 kHz. A metal detector operating at above 20 kHz will find small gold particles better than one operating below 10 kHz.
You might ask what does this mean to me? When buying a metal detector, you should buy one with operating characteristic that best suits your type of hunting. If you are only hunting silver coins, then one operating at a lower frequency over a one operating at a higher frequency may be the better choice.
Likewise, if you are hunting gold you buy a gold detector that operates above 40 kHz to locate the smaller gold pieces. Another example is that when I am hunting civil war bullets is that with my Equinox 800 I can switch to a single frequency mode of 20 kHz or 40 kHz and tune my detector to hunting lower conductors like lead bullets or hopefully gold coins.
We have the best of both worlds which is a multi-frequency (Multi-IQ tm) like the Equinox 800. (I am using the 800 as an example because I own one and can write with more knowledge about its characteristics). The 800 can operate in the multi-frequency mode. This is where the Minelab designers have decide which mix of two frequencies it uses in each hunting modes. A common misconception about the 800 is that in the multi-frequency mode it operates in all frequencies from 5 kHz to 40 kHz. This is not true. The engineers have selected the best two frequencies and Minelab does not publish these exact frequencies. The do give you hints.
Park1 is better for coins (high conductors). Park2 is better for jewelry (high conductor alloys. Field1 is for coins and artifacts (coins, brass and iron).
Field2 probably the same mix of two frequencies as Field1 but with other settings changed.
Beach1 is good for lower conductivity targets such as gold jewelry (alloys) and small gold chains. Better for dry ocean beach sand.
Beach2 per the 800 manual uses a “very low” weighted multi-frequency combination to maximize ground balance for salt in the salt water. Better for wet ocean beach sand and hunting in the surf.
Also keep in minds each different mode in the Equinox 800 (and I assume other multi-frequency machines like the Simplex, Apex, Equnox 600 and Vanquish 540) have a different mixture of settings like recovery speed, iron balance, discrimination in addition to a different frequency combination.
What does all this mean to the 800 owner? When hunting a particular piece of property that you think is hunted out in silver coins, you can re-hunt the site with different single frequencies (lower) and recovery speeds, sensitivity and iron balance to essentially give yourself a completely different detector. In the past detectorists not using today’s more advanced detectors would have to hunt the “hunted out” sites with different detectors with different characteristics. This explains why you see on the forums lots of members owning more than a few different metal detectors.
