Your Thoughts

WV Hillbilly

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Dec 8, 2006
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I have read enough posts on air tests to know most of you don't put much faith in the results . My question ? If you tested 2 or more detectors , side by side , wouldn't it seem reasonable to assume the detector that tested farther in air would also detect deeper in dirt ? I don't really want to get into disc , ground minerals , ect. Thanks All HH
 

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stoney56

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Oct 4, 2004
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Usually I'd say that's true however with everything equal, I'd say that the detector that is manually ground balanced would have an edge over a factory balanced one.
The only 2 things I've learned from an air test is that 1) the detector is working and 2) it helps show where certain items register on the discriminator. JMO
 

cedarratt

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Nov 14, 2004
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I would think that it would depend on the type of soil, as air is essentually empty space and soil can be highly mineralized. I think that the soils that are heavy in iron may affect the detectors range more then just air, which would mean that the detectors ability to singly out other metals over the Iron innerferrence would be preferable then on that could detect deeper in air. Just my thoughts...
 

Sandman

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Stoney is right. Throw in the differences in the way they transmit a signal and there are more differences to the distance of detection. Example is air testing a Minelab with it's BBS tech. They don't air test well, but against a target in the ground, they are many inches deeper than most VLF's

Air testing only tells you VDI numbers or where items usually display on screens and were to set the discrimination, as was noted earlier.

Sandman
 

lonewolfe

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stoney56 said:
Usually I'd say that's true however with everything equal, I'd say that the detector that is manually ground balanced would have an edge over a factory balanced one.
The only 2 things I've learned from an air test is that 1) the detector is working and 2) it helps show where certain items register on the discriminator. JMO

Agreed,

and I gotta get me one of those kitty kats Stoney! lol
 

bakergeol

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Feb 4, 2004
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Sandman said:
Stoney is right. Throw in the differences in the way they transmit a signal and there are more differences to the distance of detection. Example is air testing a Minelab with it's BBS tech. They don't air test well, but against a target in the ground, they are many inches deeper than most VLF's

Air testing only tells you VDI numbers or where items usually display on screens and were to set the discrimination, as was noted earlier.

Sandman

You know Sandman I have always wondered about the claims that BBS units don't air test well. They also claim that recently buried coins do not test well either. I have asked a few knowledgeable Minelab people about this and always they maintain that this is true. Yet for this test involving several units - the old Explorer XS air tested really well compared to other units.

http://www.nexusdetectors.com/Testspage.html

I kind of wondering if this wasn't more of a Minelab marketing ploy- Look Kid this other cheaper detector may air test as well as this $1200 Explorer but in the FIELD THE MINELAB IS DEEPER. Sorry Sir. You CANNOT USE recently buried coins either for a comparison- No comparison test possible against an Explorer so take our word for. (No I am not venturing out to debate the "Halo" effect.) Kind of reminds me of Minelab's marketing of it's 37 frequencies. Really great marketing but basically an illusion more than fact. Yes these units may transmit these frequencies low to high and indeed it captured the publics demand for a lot of frequencies. But the number of transmitted frequencies was irreverent as only a couple( 2 or3?) are received. So why don't all multi- frequency units have this problem.

As a former Sov. and Explorer 11 owner, I am not putting these machines down. I know what they can do. However, I can't stop feeling that the engineers at Minelab are telling jokes about all this stuff during their coffee breaks.


George
 

galaxy51

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Sep 19, 2006
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George, I have to give Minelab credit for using the 17frequency BBS and 28 frequency FBS thing in its advertising strategy. Although I haven't used any of their detectors yet, I am sure that they build several really good detectors.
 

bakergeol

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galaxy51 said:
George, I have to give Minelab credit for using the 17frequency BBS and 28 frequency FBS thing in its advertising strategy. Although I haven't used any of their detectors yet, I am sure that they build several really good detectors.

Galaxy 51
As I have said before I felt my Explorer 11 was the best pure coin machine I have ever used. Minelab also produces the deepest gold detectors on the market(Gp 4000). My only objection was that they didn't need all that marketing hype- just feedback from regular users would have been enough similar to what SP and GP owners do.

I do really want to know about the air tests -Market hype or real deal?

Have fun

George
 

Monty

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In my short experience all my detectors air test much less than actual ground finds. Why? Don't know so let's just say they do and that's good enough for me! Monty
 

Sandman

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Hype or no hype on the distance a detector air tests on a coin, the fact remains that we can be swayed by advertising's real or false statement. Their is a lot more to which detector responds further than distance. An example is a PI, why don't we alll use these?

I just wanna have fun while hunting and don't want to clutter my mind with thoughts of if my detector is the deepest. I have enough to worry about if my car will start and get me home again.

Take Care,
Sandman
 

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