Tony's tip for the week of 7/2/2006

[TonyinCT]

Air testing a detector is a good way to see what the ID numbers are for various items. It also provides some idea of how the detector operates and you can easily make adjustmeants and see how it reactes to those adjustments.
However , air tests do not provide an acurate picture of how well your particular model will perform in the real world.
Most detectors air test well in regards to depth but you have to remember that there is no ground interference between your coil and the target. Mineralized ground is the detectors enemy and will hamper the detectors ability to "see" targets. Test gardens can provide some clue as to how it will perform with ground in between the target and coil but freshly planted coins do not have the same effect on the magnetic field as those that have been in the ground for longer periods of time.
Claims recently of coin finds at 10 to 14 " with detectors just not capable of doing this is muddying the waters of actual detector performance. Generally speaking , if the detector costs more it performs better. There are exceptions of course but if the detector looks inferior it probably is and no air test you perform is going to make it better in the real world.
Thanks for reading and if anyone needs help with their detector or the purchase thereof , please let me know.