How Do Metal Detectors Work?

Metal detectors can be found in many commercial establishments like airports, court buildings and jail houses. Travelers feel much safer when they see an airport security guard walking around with a metal detector in his hands. Whether they are being used for security or for entertainment, metal detectors will always share some basic similarities.

Metal Detector Features

In all metal detectors, the single most vital part they have is called a search coil. This feature, otherwise coined as the "search head", is what detects metals. The extended part of the device is a shaft and brings the search coil and control box together. Most metal detectors being sold today incorporate modifiable shafts, and so your size, whether big or small, will not have an impact on the machine's performance.

Included in the control box is the device's circuitry, speaker system, processor and batteries. Another common appendage to these devices is the headphone jack in the control box. There are a lot of metal detectors today with stabilizers that are being employed in the hunt of buried treasure. The stabilizer clasps around the forearm to keep the metal detector firmly in position.

How Metal Detectors Perform

While it is true that some of the metal detector accessories can vary, any major differences are minimal. One popular example of this would be the metal detectors that have built-in Very Low Frequency (VLF) technology. The transmitter coil and receiver coil are what make up this technology, and they are both separate. The detector's shaft is surrounded by the transmitter coil, which also includes a tiny metal wire on the inside.

Electronic pulses are emitted through the small wire both ways after modifying the control box to an acclimated frequency. As a result of this current, an electromagnetic field emerges. The pulsations that ensue to and fro in that shaft are what result in interaction between the metal detector and impending metals. In turn, these metals produce and emit a unique magnetic field. Ultimately, the receiver coil works as a frequency amplifier that detects the electromagnetic fields of other metals that are found.

The control box consequently receives this amplified frequency and induces a high tonal sound to the treasure hunter's ears. As the sound grows in volume and pitch, the buried metal is shown to be closer to the surface. If a metal is rooted too far down into the earth's crust, it cannot produce a magnetic field that the receiver coil will be able to detect. Some of the more inconspicuous metal detectors are the beat-frequency and pulse induction oscillator models, but they all still have a single metal coil inside that gives rise to a magnetic field to interact with foreign metals.

Shopping for Metal Detectors

There is no shortage of reasons to purchase one of these invaluable devices. Whether you aim to get rich quick, earn a small sum of cash or have fun with your loved ones, you can be sure that the web-based and physical store locations for metal detectors will have staff who are more than willing to help you out!