The 7A, although a lot cheaper to maintain with batteries, is heavier. The Pro when rod mounted weighs 3.8 lbs. But you can hip/chest mount the box to reduce the rod/coil weight to only 2.5 lbs. I just simply do not tire with the rod mounted standard coil. However, I do hip/chest mount when using the heavier 10.5" coil. Although I MD on vast and intimidating beaches my swing is shorter than a full 180 degrees.

I've observed that some detectorists with limited detecting time and an urge to cover the most ground tend to maximize their swing, which is very tiring and encourages a pendulum swing..........particularly with fast swing detectors such as an XLT. IMHO the net result is negative in that I feel that it may be quicker in racing over more linear miles but the coverage is poorer and it's more tiring.

I've seen mis-adjusted rods by design so as to cover more ground........ and some simply thru ignorance. Too long a rod will make the coil feel heavy and give you a sore arm......... and too short a rod can give you a backache. Ideally, the rod should be adjusted to feel more like a natural extension of the arm and swung at a non-stressful sweep-length. Of course this would mean a rather short sweep for midgets, but heck that's just one of their problems.........they're also the last ones to know it's raining out! <G>

Chet

• Re: Meters, needed or not, on the other hand, Robert(NY) 19:16:54 1/08/2001 (0)