It seems that my detector acts better in the evening

Maybe I'm crazier than just crazy. But I can carry my Deus to the site that I am currently hammering in the morning and not get near the signals as I get in the late evening (using the same settings). I know that it sounds queer, but I have noticed this over the last couple of weeks. And I am talking about the same spot at aforementioned site. Or rather, the same 20 by 20 foot area that has been fairly producing for me. I notice in the morning that my coil is drenched with the morning dew. In the evening.....all is dry. Anybody else noticed this possible phenomina. Or am I just percieving this to be true after getting the idea stuck in my head.

Totally makes sense, but in different ways. We have to consider moisture content, which in my experience betters things. If you are experiencing problems then, have you tried dropping the frequency?

A bigger issue in my experience has been EMI. Mornings were always great, just like fishing. But in the afternoon, things changed with more EMI. Just as a test see how hot you can run it at different times.

I wonder if things like the moon affect electronics like they do oceans as well. Ok, a reach but you never know.

Albert

Kevin B Wrote:
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> Maybe I'm crazier than just crazy. But I can carry
> my Deus to the site that I am currently hammering
> in the morning and not get near the signals as I
> get in the late evening (using the same settings).
> I know that it sounds queer, but I have noticed
> this over the last couple of weeks. And I am
> talking about the same spot at aforementioned
> site. Or rather, the same 20 by 20 foot area that
> has been fairly producing for me. I notice in the
> morning that my coil is drenched with the morning
> dew. In the evening.....all is dry. Anybody else
> noticed this possible phenomina. Or am I just
> percieving this to be true after getting the idea
> stuck in my head.

I got the chill reading this.... i found out the exact same thing several years ago by detecting several days far out into the summernights.

And we have the answer.

[www.prostockdetectors.com]

I know this is the case.... some days it went from 0 finds to 20 in the exact same few square yards.

It seems simple to me.....more sunlight/sun spots=more electromagnetic energy=more interference. No need for in-depth analysis in my pea-brain.

TerraDigger Wrote:
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> It seems simple to me.....more sunlight/sun
> spots=more electromagnetic energy=more
> interference. No need for in-depth analysis in my
> pea-brain.


Yes it may be that simple but it is no way of determine it other then in your finds pouch.

The detector is humming away as stable as a fish in water but it just dont find anything before the sun is down behind the horizon.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the most likely targets that may be detected according to
the frequency:
4 kHz Large, mainly ferrous and non-ferrous masses.
Coins of sufficient conductivity and size.
All other medium or relatively small targets in non-mineralised ground relatively
uncontaminated by iron.
Good for ferrous masses and militaria.
8 kHz General use.
Coins and large masses, militaria.
Medium and small targets in low-mineralised ground.
12 kHz General use, small coins.
Coins of all sizes in medium to highly mineralised ground.
18 kHz Small coins made from any alloy (gold, silver, copper, etc.) and bigger but very fine coins,
low conductivity gold coins, lead, rings, sheet metal, aluminium foil.
Small objects can be found even on mineralised ground contaminated with iron.
Discriminates (distinguishes) coke more easily.
More unstable on non-mineralised and moist ground.


This was taken from the owners manual. Under 18 kHz you can see that moisture does have an influence on the Deus.

Have no doubt moisture, humidity, temp, sunny, cloudy, time of year and etc. etc. may or may not have any influence on any brand of metal detector.

Perhaps its you and not the detector and you hit your peak at a certain part of the day...just thinking out loud ...but again may or may not have an effect on your abilities...

You have to experience it yourself to understand.

Those who have know.

It is not about whispers and hearing them a little better when you are better consentrated in the chill of the evening.

It is like you just buried 20 test targets at 5" when the sun went down,, if you understand.

I won't rule out the "being at my peak" logic. It has merit as far as I am concerned. But it has been so noticeable that it caused me to "home in on it" and take notice. But that in itself may cause the results to be biased. I may be "looking for it to happen a certain way and therefore I only notice results that support my theory". But then....I really doubt that it's all me. I mean...SOMETHING caused me to notice it. Thanks for all of the great replies by the way. I appreciate them all.

Kevin...your a smart guy. You hit on the key hindrance to correctly performed research....the bias of .......I may be "looking for it to happen". Even the greatest reseachers suffer from this flaw, usually subconciously. Your way ahead of the game

TerraDigger Wrote:
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> Kevin...your a smart guy. You hit on the key
> hindrance to correctly performed research....the
> bias of .......I may be "looking for it to
> happen". Even the greatest reseachers suffer from
> this flaw, usually subconciously. Your way ahead
> of the game


Well, thanks Terradigger. I appreciate that. But if you talked to me in person and saw how dull I was, you might reconsider how smart you think i am. 'chuckling out loud'. But back to the deal: I am going in the morning with the attitude that I am going to disprove my theory. Maybe, just maybe, I can neutralize that bias, and therefore learn something. Besides....these days....it's WAY cooler in the mornings and that makes for a more pleasurable outing. (if I don't get a back spasm) (I couldn't resist).

*** "Just like your car radio, which starts working like a champ on distant stations after sunset, so will your detector on distant coins when the atmosphere is a problem" ***

Not to be a downer on a cute theory, but ... no one with a detector is bouncing their puny electo-magnetic signal off the ionosphere. In the evening after sunset the F-layer forms at 150 miles upward but it has no effect on the ground or the stability of the detector.

*** "This bending of the radio waves in the atmosphere can and does cause interference to our metal detectors." ***

I'd have to disagree. Consider an AM radio with a band from 540 - 1600 kHz and a detector at 12 kHz - if there is a transmitter somewhere operating at those freqs then you can have interference - which in the case of the radio is a possibility due to competing signals. Another common source is sferics from lightning (the return stroke) that runs below 3.0 kHz - but again not in the common detecting freq operating window.

Most lightning electro-magnetic pulses are channeled between the earth surface and the ionosphere, any longer a wavelength and they escape. Though some lightning pulses do return after being reflected by the earth's magnetosphere (same field that bends the energy of solar flares toward the poles) and follow the earth's magnetic field lines.

So, it is possible due to interactions to get sferics into the detector range (below 20 kHz), which would cause some increased signal noise. The thunderstorms that produce this freq level would have to be fairly close, within about 250 miles. But since most lightning discharges occur in the afternoon to early evening --- you are going to experience geater noise in the early evening, not less. Though if you hunt in the dead of night it may be quieter at that time.

There are other more subjective factors that could affect your ability to hear a target better in the later portion of the day. It could be your mood simply changes as the day closes - you relax, your surroundings mellow, and as a result you listen more attentively to hear the targets better. As the day ends your focus improves, your goals and options shrink, the distractions around you disappear (people leave, wind dies, sun fades), and you try harder to make one more big find. Now you begin to hear targets you might not otherwise have heard at the start when you were busy hurrying to cover ground and had the whole day ahead of you.

Or it could be that this is when the night elves emerge from their dens ... just say'n