Explain it like Im 5...please!!

[finderskeepers]

Coils...how the heck do they work.

What I think I know...concentric coil is actually 2 coils, a send & a receive. Signal is sent (in a spherical direction) from coil, part of which penetrates the ground. Receive coil...does it "know " that a signal has been sent and is listening for a response OR is it in a constant listen only mode, relaying any signal heard , back to the machine?? I guess I'm also having trouble wrapping my head around the "directional" aspect here. I tend to think of the signal in that way that throwing a stone in the pond creates waves that head outward from the source and then wondering how the receive coil hears these waves that are heading away from it?

 

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[Ammoman]

As i would say to my 5 year old..."Lets just say its magic!

 

[finderskeepers]

Well Ammoman, that probably isn't gonna tide me over for too long. I need to find a slightly morally corrupt magician who is willing to give away secrets.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Well, first of all, it can't be explained in language for a 5 year old.

Your coil is a radio antenna, and the shape affects the signal path (a directional antenna). The transmit coil is the outter coil inside the disc. The small, inner coil is the receiver. Traditional (and simple) detectors simply balance the transmit and receive signal so it's a net zero effect. When something metal gets close enough to emit the signal back to the receiver, it changes the balance and the detector responds as seeing a target.

 

[finderskeepers]

Ahhh, Jason we have made more progress than you imagined possible. Can we dissect the word "emit" just a little bit?? Is this signal "reflected back" because metal is shiny and slippery? Is it taken by the target and altered/rebroadcast like a fan takes in air on one side and sends it out the other? Or is it just "changed" and keeps travelling through the ground to China or infinity and the receive coil has special super secret hearing? What keeps the R coil from "hearing" the signal from the S coil before it enters the ground and is altered OR is it constructed to "ignore" that unaltered signal?

 

[Terry Soloman]

One coil is a radio that sends out sine waves at a set frequency

As the waves go into the ground they bounce off objects in the ground

The second coil is tuned to receive these returning signals, and send them to the control box where they are deciphered.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Ahhh, Jason we have made more progress than you imagined possible. Can we dissect the word "emit" just a little bit?? Is this signal "reflected back" because metal is shiny and slippery? Is it taken by the target and altered/rebroadcast like a fan takes in air on one side and sends it out the other? Or is it just "changed" and keeps travelling through the ground to China or infinity and the receive coil has special super secret hearing? What keeps the R coil from "hearing" the signal from the S coil before it enters the ground and is altered OR is it constructed to "ignore" that unaltered signal?

The signal is not truly reflected. The signal is radio-wave energy. When that energy reaches a metal object, that metal becomes energized and then it emits that energy back out. The larger the object, the more signal it can emit. That is why large objects can be detected much farther than very tiny ones. This is also why different metals (and corrosion) change the signal that the detector receives back.

the receive (I like how you were using R and T.....) coil does "hear" the T coil signal all the time, that is why they are tuned to be opposites. This creates the effect of "zero" when no metal is present. Only when the signal it hears changes does it register a target.

The answers also explain why basic detectors with a factory set ground balance give worse performance as the soil minerals increase. The adjustable GB detectors are letting you manually shift the signal return "zero point" so that it is once again eliminating the return from the ground.

 

[GA_Boy]

After reading this, I still think it's Magic, but you may like this.
Marvin
Garrett's Searchcoil Tech Sheet | How Searchcoils Work

 

[Jason in Enid]

After reading this, I still think it's Magic, but you may like this.
Marvin
Garrett's Searchcoil Tech Sheet | How Searchcoils Work

Oh, sure..... that's fine if you like a detailed and graphic explanation.

 

[RustyGold]

After reading this, I still think it's Magic, but you may like this.
Marvin
Garrett's Searchcoil Tech Sheet | How Searchcoils Work

Way to go Marvin!

 

[Peyton Manning]

a coil is basically a phase emitter and receiver
the way it is set reflects the signal back when it finds metal ( or a wood detector sounds off when it finds wood, or plastic plastic)
inside the control box is a tiny tiny person who listens to the signal then guesses what it is - types it on your screen and pushes a button to make a sound

What it boils down to is hear a sound - start digging

 

[Keppy]

Is there a reason why you have to know how it works ? I use a lot of different things that i do not know how they work but i use them any how and they do the job with out me knowing how they work . I use this computer and have no idea how this computer works but i still use it.. On my detector it beeps i dig what makes it beep or the coil work it does not matter as long as it does the job for me... Same as my computer and some other things i use.....

 

[favored papa]

you don't really want to know, just put the coil over the gold and smile, some things you don't need to know. Like where dose the white go when the snow melts?
just smile and enjoy the son's shine.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Is there a reason why you have to know how it works ? I use a lot of different things that i do not know how they work but i use them any how and they do the job with out me knowing how they work . I use this computer and have no idea how this computer works but i still use it.. On my detector it beeps i dig what makes it beep or the coil work it does not matter as long as it does the job for me... Same as my computer and some other things i use.....

Because understanding the operation lets you have better knowledge of why it does what it does and not to get frustrated, or maybe even get better performance from it. How many people have we seen right here saying "but the detector said silver....."? Knowledge is your friend.

 

[foiler]

Knowing how coils work allows the best coil selection for the task at hand. KNOWLEDGE = SUCCESS

 

[Keppy]

Because understanding the operation lets you have better knowledge of why it does what it does and not to get frustrated, or maybe even get better performance from it. How many people have we seen right here saying "but the detector said silver....."? Knowledge is your friend.

Sorry every one does not every thing or does every one have to know every thing ... All i know is this coil for this and this coil for that. but how it works i could care less .. and i have done very very well in my detecting.. So you are wrong ..

 

[Keppy]

Knowing how coils work allows the best coil selection for the task at hand. KNOWLEDGE = SUCCESS

Knowing what coil works for the different types of item or what type of hunting you do yes that is something you should know....... But how it works who cares . It works that's all. Now a days every one want's to make every thing so complicated or difficult for them selves .. You all need a job in the Government .

 

[Baja]

 

[finderskeepers]

Thanks guys. I think another benefit of knowing how coils works is...maybe it helps make you less crabby??

 

[Jason in Enid]

Thanks guys. I think another benefit of knowing how coils works is...maybe it helps make you less crabby??