We may call it a growing hobby, a pastime or an obsession but gold detecting gets into your blood after a while. Using a gold detector can be very relaxing and sometimes mesmerizing, finding gold nuggets might be the ultimate goal but the fun of prospecting for gold provides so much pleasure as an outdoor activity.
With lots of equipment, tools and books available in the market it can be quite a challenge to get started, there is also and abundance of opinions from experts trying to promote a particular brand or product which can be equally confusing. For the person looking to buy their first metal detector a popular solution is to buy a basic gold metal detector and then learn by using it as you practice gold prospecting, it is also great practice to just go out to the park, beach or wood and look for anything that gives you a signal, even that is a great thrill.
Every gold detector has pros and cons depending on how much you pay for it and what you intend to use it for. With a specialized prospecting detector you get the high efficiency of locating even small nuggets at a shallow depth. The down side is that it may have poor discriminating abilities and you might end up with digging up lots of trash. With all gold detector patience is the key for finding gold. Do not leave the spot until you have scanned it effectively, then you can move on and mark out another area. Despite your hard work, you might not find anything, start all over again on a new location applying the same degree of concentration. With a little reading of some books on the subject, some effort and the right equipment, you too could be finding hidden treasures.
A metal detector is really not a complicated device but the specifications look quite technical. It has three basic parts, the first one is the coil which can come in different shapes, it has a power supply and a control box. Most of the job involves the control box because it is that one part that is triggered when there is metal around and this signal is what causes the gold detector to do its job.
Of all the different kinds of metal detectors, probably one of the most important is the gold metal detector. It is pretty obvious that gold is an element that is worth a lot in many ways and this makes gold metal detectors a prized possession as well. Metal detectors identify various metals by testing the conductivity of the metal. A target signal is eliminated for unwanted ferrous metals like leftover iron, steel, pull tabs and bottle tops while increasing target signals to high conductive metals as gold along with brass and silver.