Why do we swing it side to side?

[Mayo South Elgin]

Well the last time out, while Lowbatts was asleep against a tree and reminding me of similar sights I had seen in Lincoln Park in the late 60's minus the metal detector, I decided to try a different way of moving the coil over the ground. Since my arm was tired (shoulder injury) and I had already switched arms and *that* arm was starting to get tired too, I just started walking in a straight line with the coil in front of me.

Maybe that's something you have done before like on your way out of an area you've detected...and you're making a beeline straight to the car but you don't really want to stop detecting so you leave it on while you head to the car.

Anyways I thought it might be a more efficient use of my time and energy at that moment.
I'm thinking the original side to side movement metal detectorists typically make comes from minesweeping where you really don't want to advance forward before you're sure there's nothing in the ground in front of you - but is that the best movement to use when we're not concerned with mines?

So I get to the end of my imaginary 50 or 75 foot line, turn around, move the coil a little over and walk back again in a straight line, getting interrupted by various signals as I went along. Once I got a signal, I'd stop and do the usual sideways swingin of the coil in order to pinpoint.

Anyone else use this method regularly? If you try it out let me know how it goes. Might be a good way to cover a lot of ground until you start finding good stuff, then work the immediate area in the side to side fashion.

 

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[kimsdad]

Well. it might work with a concentric coil, but on a double D coil, the most sensitive part of the coil is the strip down the middle from the front to the back where the forward and backward "D" shaped windings overlap. In order to cover a wide area somewhat effectively without swinging those coils, you'd have to walk forward holding the coil sideways.

Plus, with only one pass over any target, you are only giving your machine one chance to sample the target.

This is something I've done when I'm really tired and walking back to the car or trying to get to a different area fast. Haven't really found anything that way, though. Usually when I start doing it, I realize it's time to go home and give it a rest.

 

[Lookn4Seated]

You don't necessarily have to hold the detector sideways....technically....you can walk sideways holding the coil direstly in front of you

 

[Montana Jim]

Yea... I've done the "beeline" thing before on my way back to the truck.

It's not a very efficient use of time and space... but it works I guess.

I think it's bad ground coverage and would rather make better use of the space which I illustrated here with this picture of some dude on the beach which I drew on...

 

[Mayo South Elgin]

Hmmm
My admittedly little understanding of the double D coil search area under the coil was that it was basically - a cone or tube shape that doesn't taper at the bottom like the concentric coils tend to do.

Are you saying it detects only along that center line? And that it needs to sweep sideways over a target in order to detect it? I seem to be able to detect targets when I move the coil forward and back over them, in addition to side to side (depending on the target of course - nails are always problematic and coins on edge, etc. sometimes only get detected from one direction)

I have also occasionally used the very edge of the coil to detect against the sides of those famous dirt piles and it seems like the edge also picks up signals.

 

[stoney56]

MJ, I saw the same guy, LOL. Sometimes in order to do something different, I swing in a curly cue pattern. Granted the drawing I made shows some holes but if you completey overlap, it covers the whole area. It seems to allow the coil to swing past an object from several directions in order to get the target to register better.

 

[Jeffro]

I wear boxers, so it's only natural I guess.

 

[stoney56]

I wear boxers, so it's only natural I guess.

And that folks was a brief intermission from one of our sponsors.

 

[Lowbatts]

Yep, back to Goose Poops Downs for us, bro!

 

[jeff of pa]

Hmmm
My admittedly little understanding of the double D coil search area under the coil was that it was basically - a cone or tube shape that doesn't taper at the bottom like the concentric coils tend to do.

Are you saying it detects only along that center line? And that it needs to sweep sideways over a target in order to detect it? I seem to be able to detect targets when I move the coil forward and back over them, in addition to side to side (depending on the target of course - nails are always problematic and coins on edge, etc. sometimes only get detected from one direction)

I have also occasionally used the very edge of the coil to detect against the sides of those famous dirt piles and it seems like the edge also picks up signals.

My Understanding Yes it Detects in the Center of the Coil
Front to Back Like
a Imaginary Paint Brush.

However The Signal cannot be Harnassed to Only Do that.
It will also
push Upwards,
to the Front
of the coil, Back of coil
& to the sides.

But that Center Strip Will be the Hottest
Deepest Point

 

[litefire56]

Yeah, I'll do the straight line thing with just a bit side wiggle when I get tired. Just comes natural I guess with age...