geekTreasure Hunting, Metal Detecting, and High Value Information
October 27th 2006 15:01
Metal detecting is definitely not the entirety of Treasure Hunting. In fact, metal detecting is a relative newcomer on the scene. Before it came along people were largely dependent on their eyes, and erosions of both natural and man-made origin, to accomplish high value salvage or just salvage in general.
Some sifting activity went on early, and over time, but it never really caught on until recent times, as a tool of archaeology. Archaeologists know all about casual-loss and cached hoardings, but were some of the very last to make use of the modern metal detector as a tool for discovery.
As with so many other vocations and avocations, the amateur, the person in it for the love of it, whatever IT might be, carries the day in every respect, but catches most of the blame if there is something that goes wrong, even though these confrontations always appear nothing so much as farcical, with those throwing the blame around appearing to reason more along the lines of the kangaroo, than the human being.
Let us put it this way: Many times the amateur collector and high value salvage specialist is attacked for POLITICAL reasons. Kangaroo in deed as well as thought! This generally stems from the fact that collectibles are alternative currencies. The currency controllers do not like any infringement on their control, and that especially means control of the money. FYI.
Regardless of all that though, there is no way the amateur can be blamed for the massive archaeological destruction that takes place due to development of all kinds, whether it be new electric plants, or subdivisions, or roads, or what have you...so that is all just covered up well. Control of the media is second only to control of the money! I am giving you secrets here, are you paying attention???
We must face the fact though that development is GROWTH, a good thing, which should not be hindered. Just remember that development and new construction activities definitely do more than their share of destruction archaeologically speaking, even with measures in place to minimize that, and this is never mentioned in media, or big education, just the amateur who happened into the wrong place at the wrong time, and was penalized by it in one way or another. I have been there. I know all about this. I have documented it well over time. Eventually some of that documentation will be made public, in places like this for instance.
OK. Onward.
There is a lot of information that has been kept secret by the powers that are, so that they can control others with it, and also some information remains secret because the people in possession of it fear disruption if it gets out, and they do not have a clue how to begin getting these informations disseminated properly. Some of these informations are quite shocking (See the introductory post!). To confuse it all even more, much of this type of high grade and secret information is very important for our actual survival. Another case of hanged if you do and hanged if you don’t.
This is where the metal detector came in very handy. Already during its short history, it has removed certain cloistered knowledge from the group who had unwittingly kept a lot of very important interpretations of reality to themselves, all unbeknownst. Duhhhhhhhh.
The archaeologists I am speaking of. And some others too, born into the responsibility, but not really too keen on it all being secret, and knowing the dangers of that.
Numismatics is another way to interpret history, and is much more varied than just the study of stamped coinage. There are many different types of metallic money, and these are all in the dirt, for anyone with the curiousity to look. And there is a lot to learn too.
A good example is this: most people have no idea just how much lead has been deposited at fishing spots by people using lead as sinkers for their line. In many places in Florida and elsewhere, every bottom obstruction is inundated with lost lead sinkers, they are literally piled up on any rock, bicycle, car part, jetty or anything else that a line can get snagged on. Dang it caught the bottom again, PING- there goes the line, re-rig it with another hook, another sinker, more bait and away she goes again. Over time, and in popular spots, all that activity adds up and can cause lead pollution/poisoning!
so.
I am not an alarmist, just a realist, and I think the amateur collector has been given short shrift in this world, in more ways than one. The metal detectorists do a good job collectively of at least removing some of the metal trash deposited in the ground in the last centuries and millennia, as well as informing the population-at-large about some things that concern us all, and have not yet been brought to the fore.
From another of my books:
The Coil
The coil of the metal detector is of course the flat round item at the end of the wand, the part that is passed over the ground itself. The coils FIELD is like a big invisible donut surrounding the coil itself, and most of the newer coils actually are designed with that very same basic exterior shape.
In the old days, coils were actually what their name implies them to be: actual coils of wire wound into a coil in a specified number of turns. Some of the real powerful machines back then could be modified by hardcore nuts such as myself (Oops!) adding some more turns, or even sub-coils, alongwith more power. But thats definitely a story for another day, so don't try that at home kidz! Today we are just covering some of the basics of coil construction, with some tips on how to make best use of these field emitting devices.
Truly modern metal detector coils are Printed Circuit Coils, and this is because instead of actual copper wire comprising the coil, there is now a round flat donut shaped printed circuit board, with the number of turns coated in metal on the circuit board itself. This makes for greater efficiency all the way around, because now the coil is much lighter, much more powerful, and a lot less prone to damage through use.
So. The field of either type of coil, meaning the old wire type, or the newer printed circuit type, emits a field all around its total self, very much the shape of a donut, as has already been mentioned. Once you get this idea down, you can then imagine this: alongwith the donut shaped field surrounding the coil, imagine two cones, like ice cream cones, one on top of the coil, and one below. The open end, which means the large part of the cone, emanates from the coil, with the pointy part sticking upward on top of the coil, and most importantly to visualize, the POINTY PART of the lower cone going down into the ground.
The point of imagining this pointiness (Oh thats BAD) is so that you can imagine the way the field really acts, as it gets farther and farther away from the bottom of the coil, penetrating the ground. The farther away from the coil the field gets, the more restricted the effective detecting area of the field, as it comes to a point down around the maximum detecting depth. At the bottom of its effectiveness, it is very small. To overlap your swings is a must, and forward movement should be an inch or less if you are trying to get maximum scan-ability. Thats another way of saying -- Its Real Easy To Miss Deep Targets Unless You Take Great Care To Move Forward Slowly and Methodically. Concentrate.
Dig It!
There are many things you can do to help you get the most out of your metal detector. Conversely, though in the same vein, there are also some things a metal detectorist should not do. Today we will address one of the things all metal detector operators would be much better off without.
The most common mistake everybody makes when metal detecting is this: they inadvertantly vary the distance of the coil from the ground, as they swing the coil. People do not even realize they do this.
Thankfully, though this is a major problem in metal detecting, its very easy to correct once you see whats going on.
Most if not all metal detectorists have been guilty of this at one time or another, and I am no exception. In fact, I had read about this digression in tactics several times, but still did not get it. Finally, an older, more experienced detectorist literally pointed it out to me in the field one day. I began finding more good stuff immediately. Just remember that for every inch the coil is lifted from the ground, you lose a corresponding amount of coin detecting depth. Which defeats the whole purpose of metal detecting for treasure, and as stated here already, is by far the most common mistake in metal detecting today.
If you wish to get the most from your metal detector, you must make a conscious effort to keep the coil as close to the ground as possible. Do not lift the coil from the ground in any way, at any time, especially at the end of the swing. At the end of the swing is where it happens habitually, by the way: its a matter of physics, and human tendencies and physical limitations.
To overcome this tendency of lifting the coil during the swing, some professionals first coat the bottom of their coils with epoxy, to keep from wearing a hole in it, as they literally SCRUB the ground. This insures uniform swings and maximum depth, but takes some getting used to. In shallow water metal detecting, scrubbing works very well too, and is the preferred methodology. You cannot get the coil too close to the ground. Closer the better. Always.
On land the way to overcome this is to concentrate on the fact that this onus of inefficiency happens all by itself, 24-7, as a matter of course. Concentration on the activity at hand will break the old inefficient habit and establish a new efficient one, and you too will begin finding lots more right away.
Some sifting activity went on early, and over time, but it never really caught on until recent times, as a tool of archaeology. Archaeologists know all about casual-loss and cached hoardings, but were some of the very last to make use of the modern metal detector as a tool for discovery.
As with so many other vocations and avocations, the amateur, the person in it for the love of it, whatever IT might be, carries the day in every respect, but catches most of the blame if there is something that goes wrong, even though these confrontations always appear nothing so much as farcical, with those throwing the blame around appearing to reason more along the lines of the kangaroo, than the human being.
Let us put it this way: Many times the amateur collector and high value salvage specialist is attacked for POLITICAL reasons. Kangaroo in deed as well as thought! This generally stems from the fact that collectibles are alternative currencies. The currency controllers do not like any infringement on their control, and that especially means control of the money. FYI.
Regardless of all that though, there is no way the amateur can be blamed for the massive archaeological destruction that takes place due to development of all kinds, whether it be new electric plants, or subdivisions, or roads, or what have you...so that is all just covered up well. Control of the media is second only to control of the money! I am giving you secrets here, are you paying attention???
We must face the fact though that development is GROWTH, a good thing, which should not be hindered. Just remember that development and new construction activities definitely do more than their share of destruction archaeologically speaking, even with measures in place to minimize that, and this is never mentioned in media, or big education, just the amateur who happened into the wrong place at the wrong time, and was penalized by it in one way or another. I have been there. I know all about this. I have documented it well over time. Eventually some of that documentation will be made public, in places like this for instance.
OK. Onward.
There is a lot of information that has been kept secret by the powers that are, so that they can control others with it, and also some information remains secret because the people in possession of it fear disruption if it gets out, and they do not have a clue how to begin getting these informations disseminated properly. Some of these informations are quite shocking (See the introductory post!). To confuse it all even more, much of this type of high grade and secret information is very important for our actual survival. Another case of hanged if you do and hanged if you don’t.
This is where the metal detector came in very handy. Already during its short history, it has removed certain cloistered knowledge from the group who had unwittingly kept a lot of very important interpretations of reality to themselves, all unbeknownst. Duhhhhhhhh.
The archaeologists I am speaking of. And some others too, born into the responsibility, but not really too keen on it all being secret, and knowing the dangers of that.
Numismatics is another way to interpret history, and is much more varied than just the study of stamped coinage. There are many different types of metallic money, and these are all in the dirt, for anyone with the curiousity to look. And there is a lot to learn too.
A good example is this: most people have no idea just how much lead has been deposited at fishing spots by people using lead as sinkers for their line. In many places in Florida and elsewhere, every bottom obstruction is inundated with lost lead sinkers, they are literally piled up on any rock, bicycle, car part, jetty or anything else that a line can get snagged on. Dang it caught the bottom again, PING- there goes the line, re-rig it with another hook, another sinker, more bait and away she goes again. Over time, and in popular spots, all that activity adds up and can cause lead pollution/poisoning!
so.
I am not an alarmist, just a realist, and I think the amateur collector has been given short shrift in this world, in more ways than one. The metal detectorists do a good job collectively of at least removing some of the metal trash deposited in the ground in the last centuries and millennia, as well as informing the population-at-large about some things that concern us all, and have not yet been brought to the fore.
From another of my books:
The Coil
The coil of the metal detector is of course the flat round item at the end of the wand, the part that is passed over the ground itself. The coils FIELD is like a big invisible donut surrounding the coil itself, and most of the newer coils actually are designed with that very same basic exterior shape.
In the old days, coils were actually what their name implies them to be: actual coils of wire wound into a coil in a specified number of turns. Some of the real powerful machines back then could be modified by hardcore nuts such as myself (Oops!) adding some more turns, or even sub-coils, alongwith more power. But thats definitely a story for another day, so don't try that at home kidz! Today we are just covering some of the basics of coil construction, with some tips on how to make best use of these field emitting devices.
Truly modern metal detector coils are Printed Circuit Coils, and this is because instead of actual copper wire comprising the coil, there is now a round flat donut shaped printed circuit board, with the number of turns coated in metal on the circuit board itself. This makes for greater efficiency all the way around, because now the coil is much lighter, much more powerful, and a lot less prone to damage through use.
So. The field of either type of coil, meaning the old wire type, or the newer printed circuit type, emits a field all around its total self, very much the shape of a donut, as has already been mentioned. Once you get this idea down, you can then imagine this: alongwith the donut shaped field surrounding the coil, imagine two cones, like ice cream cones, one on top of the coil, and one below. The open end, which means the large part of the cone, emanates from the coil, with the pointy part sticking upward on top of the coil, and most importantly to visualize, the POINTY PART of the lower cone going down into the ground.
The point of imagining this pointiness (Oh thats BAD) is so that you can imagine the way the field really acts, as it gets farther and farther away from the bottom of the coil, penetrating the ground. The farther away from the coil the field gets, the more restricted the effective detecting area of the field, as it comes to a point down around the maximum detecting depth. At the bottom of its effectiveness, it is very small. To overlap your swings is a must, and forward movement should be an inch or less if you are trying to get maximum scan-ability. Thats another way of saying -- Its Real Easy To Miss Deep Targets Unless You Take Great Care To Move Forward Slowly and Methodically. Concentrate.
Dig It!
There are many things you can do to help you get the most out of your metal detector. Conversely, though in the same vein, there are also some things a metal detectorist should not do. Today we will address one of the things all metal detector operators would be much better off without.
The most common mistake everybody makes when metal detecting is this: they inadvertantly vary the distance of the coil from the ground, as they swing the coil. People do not even realize they do this.
Thankfully, though this is a major problem in metal detecting, its very easy to correct once you see whats going on.
Most if not all metal detectorists have been guilty of this at one time or another, and I am no exception. In fact, I had read about this digression in tactics several times, but still did not get it. Finally, an older, more experienced detectorist literally pointed it out to me in the field one day. I began finding more good stuff immediately. Just remember that for every inch the coil is lifted from the ground, you lose a corresponding amount of coin detecting depth. Which defeats the whole purpose of metal detecting for treasure, and as stated here already, is by far the most common mistake in metal detecting today.
If you wish to get the most from your metal detector, you must make a conscious effort to keep the coil as close to the ground as possible. Do not lift the coil from the ground in any way, at any time, especially at the end of the swing. At the end of the swing is where it happens habitually, by the way: its a matter of physics, and human tendencies and physical limitations.
To overcome this tendency of lifting the coil during the swing, some professionals first coat the bottom of their coils with epoxy, to keep from wearing a hole in it, as they literally SCRUB the ground. This insures uniform swings and maximum depth, but takes some getting used to. In shallow water metal detecting, scrubbing works very well too, and is the preferred methodology. You cannot get the coil too close to the ground. Closer the better. Always.
On land the way to overcome this is to concentrate on the fact that this onus of inefficiency happens all by itself, 24-7, as a matter of course. Concentration on the activity at hand will break the old inefficient habit and establish a new efficient one, and you too will begin finding lots more right away.
| 42 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
