How to Search With Gold Bug 2
The Gold Bug 2, like its predecessor the Gold Bug, is good at finding gold. But that's only half the equation. The operator must know how to use the detector. A hundred hours is about how long it will take to become proficient with this metal detector, but it's time well-spent. It's not uncommon for good detectorists to pull nuggets out of areas their friends just covered.
Instructions
-
-
1
Keep the coil as close to the ground as you can. Swing it around you in a half-circle pattern while walking forward. Although the coil must be moving to detect gold, sweeping it too quickly will also miss the metal. Keep in mind that the magnetic field created is not a cylinder shape. It's shaped more like a downward-pointing cone. If you are using the 10-inch coil, it will detect about a 10-inch swath at the surface of the ground. But, the swath gets smaller below the surface. For example, it may be only a five-inch swath four inches below the surface and only a one-inch swath six inches below. So, you must overlap your sweeps to cover the underground thoroughly.
-
2
Pinpoint targets using a pattern in the shape of an "X." When you hear the zip-zip sound indicating metal, sweep left to right, then front to back until you determine their intersection. Then dig.
-
-
3
Practice in your yard with a small gold nugget until you know the best sweeping speed and how much to overlap your sweeps to cover differing depths. At first, place a marker over the nugget, indicating its exact location and depth. Next, practice without a marker. Finally, find out how good you really are by having a friend bury the nugget when you're not looking.
-
4
Frequently adjust the metal detector to ignore the minerals in the soil. This is called ground balancing. The amount of mineralization in the soil can change in just a few steps. So, keep your Gold Bug 2 working at peak efficiency by ground balancing often.
-
5
Dig everything. Your detector, like most, is capable of iron discrimination. Engineers have tried to save detectorists some digging, but the device is just not accurate enough. Maybe the day will come when metal detectors can accurately tell what kind of metal they are "seeing," but for now, the experts dig everything. You should, too.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
The coil's magnetic field goes above the coil as well as into the ground below the coil. If you pass a piece of metal back and forth over the top of the coil, the detector will sound off just as when the coil passes over metal below it. This can be a problem when lifting the detector to search places such as the walls of a mine or a steep hillside; the coil will be passing back and forth in front of your belt buckle, setting off the machine. If you do much of this type of prospecting, get a belt with a plastic buckle. They are available at prospecting supply stores. Also, if you get the coil too close to shoes containing metal, you can get a false signal.
References
- Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Lifesize/Getty Images
