L-rod technique and tips

[waltom0798]

Hello Mike, I didn't understand what it means to demagnetize, it's not translated correctly, it says hold on to the side and then let go for 30 seconds, you can easily explain this in writing, I hope that didn't happen, thank you all the best

[Mike(Mont)]

Hold L-rods down at your sides for thirty seconds.

[Mike(Mont)]

Demagnetize the rods after standing on the signal line while counting. You do not need to demagnetize if you are not doing another search directly after standing on the line. SO if you wait a few minutes before the next search you don't need to demagnetize.

[Mike(Mont)]

Tip #22: The signal line always extends past the target depending on signal strength by as much as 200 feet (60 M). But usually several feet. If you have a weight cancelling device attached to the rods set it just before the target is eliminated and you will be able to get a more accurate pinpoint. Or you can connect a 100K - 250K potentiometer between the rods. For a gold ring I set mine to about 40K and still give a good signal. Don't go any lower than a 100K potentiometer or you might get a weaker signal during weak conditions. 250K is better. At full resistance you get the strongest signal. Practice with a visible test target before attempting this in the field.

When you have it adjusted close to eliminating the target the rods will only close partially. This way you know you have it adjusted correctly. Only do this after you have located the signal line. It depends on locating conditions as to how you set this. If conditions are weak you might not even need it at all. Once you find the line you will need to make a few passes while adjusting so the rods partially close. Conditions are different every day so you need to adjust each time you go out. If you have too many targets you can adjust it to eliminate some of the small stuff before you find the good line.

[Mike(Mont)]

It's best to set up the transmitter at a different spot and where the two lines cross will likely not be at the end of the first line. If you set up at a third spot you will probably end up with a triangle area. Even then the target might not be in the middle, so check the surrounding area. Remember the more time you spend checking the signal you will save energy ans frustration digging a false target. Only persue the good solid signal lines. Important!

[Mike(Mont)]

Tip #22: The signal line always extends past the target depending on signal strength by as much as 200 feet (60 M). But usually several feet. If you have a weight cancelling device attached to the rods set it just before the target is eliminated and you will be able to get a more accurate pinpoint. Or you can connect a 100K - 250K potentiometer between the rods. For a gold ring I set mine to about 40K and still give a good signal. Don't go any lower than a 100K potentiometer or you might get a weaker signal during weak conditions. 250K is better. At full resistance you get the strongest signal. Practice with a visible test target before attempting this in the field.

When you have it adjusted close to eliminating the target the rods will only close partially. This way you know you have it adjusted correctly. Only do this after you have located the signal line. It depends on locating conditions as to how you set this. If conditions are weak you might not even need it at all. Once you find the line you will need to make a few passes while adjusting so the rods partially close. Conditions are different every day so you need to adjust each time you go out. If you have too many targets you can adjust it to eliminate some of the small stuff before you find the good line.

Another important note: The amount of weight filtering you get from the potentiometer or power module depends on how much you angle the L-rods down at the tips. I know it is tempting to hold the rods level to get a response,but you need to angle them down or you will be detecting insignificant targets and mineralization. So angle the rods down 10 - 15 degrees for best results. It will likely take much practice to achieve this. Good, smooth-working rods can help along with a light, relaxed grip.

Also note that when the rods are angled down it is easy to prevent them from moving so you have to watch out for this. Once the rods start to move you want to relax your arms and allow the rods to move, but don’t force them.

Even with weight filtering the signal can still extend 10 - 15 feet (3 - 5 m) past the target.

[Mike(Mont)]

Tip #23: This is part of #22 but... When doing a weight chek/measurement keep within 50 feet (15 m) of the suspected target. Otherwise the approximate weight will appear to weigh more. Also the approximate weight will depend on the signal strength at that time. Solar magnetic interference will make the target appear to weigh less. Use a test target to get a relative figure. Or another technique is to place a test target near the suspected target about 30 feet (10 m) away and stand in the middle and the rods will pull to the larger target.

Always use a test target to help judge how much interference/signal strength. Important!

[Mike(Mont)]

I found some older info from Dell Winders says the signal line extends between a few inches and 50 feet (15 m) past the target. Later info said 10 - 15 feet (3 - 5 m) and 200 feet (60 m). Quite a difference there and I think it depends on how much power the locator has and locating conditions. I walk along the signal line with one rod and look for a response at the target. But it is best to set up the tansmitter at another spot and find where the two lines intersect. You should be close to the target at this point.

[Mike(Mont)]

Tip #24: I already mentioned this, but it’s very important to keep the rod tips angled down. You will have to practice this to get the rods to respond. Start out the first time with the rods closer to level and when you see the rods start to move consciously relax your arms and tilt your hands inwards a bit. Practice this until you do it without thinking. This is one of the harder things to get right. so spend a lot of time with it. When you get a good day and the rods are crossing completely now is the time to start lowering the rod tips as much as you can to get to the inch or two down (3 - 5 cm). If you don't learn this you might never have any success. You need a test target set out so you can feel a good, solid response for that signal tength. You can compare targets with your test target. If you dig an empty hole it is a good bet that you are holding the tips down enough to get the nulling.My experience is that a square wave requires more nulling than sine or triangle wave.

[Mike(Mont)]

Tip #25: Signal strength has little or no bearing on target size. You turn off the transmitter and stand on the line with rods crossed. A big target will hold the signal for a longer time. As already mentioned you can stand on the line with transmitter on and count how long the rods stay crossed.

[Mike(Mont)]

Tip #25: Signal strength has little or no bearing on target size. You turn off the transmitter and stand on the line with rods crossed. A big target will hold the signal for a longer time. As already mentioned you can stand on the line with transmitter on and count how long the rods stay crossed.

I realize this might sound confusing, but you are looking for RELATIVE signal strength--compare the suspected signal to your test target. As stated earlier you can place a test target about 30 feet (10 m) away and stand in between the two and see which way the rods turn. Or you can adjust the weight filtering to see how it compares to you test target, or you can stand on the line and count how long the rods stay closed, or you can turn off the transmitter and stand on the line and count to see how long the rods stay closed. Also note: if the rods do not close at least three-fourths of the way you cannot determine target weight to any accuracy. So you do need good signal strength to judge target weight. If the rods only close one-third of the way you can still get the direction of the target. If the rods close one-half the way you can trace the line to the target, but if the rods do not consistently close at least three-fourths of the way you cannot judge target weight. If the rods do not close three-fourths of the way you are probably experiencng magnetic interference. Usually it doesn’t last long but sometimes it can. But none of this will be of nay help if you do not hold the rods angled down. Don't give up! You have to learn this, it's not something that just happens.

[Mike(Mont)]

Just to clarify here, all this is after you have learned to get the rods to cross when they are tilted downwards. You have to practice turning the tops of your hands inwards with the rods level at first.Once you can do this without thinking then you angle the rods downwards. This might take a few weeks practice. Don?t expect to learn with just one hour is week practice, it?s not going o happen. As I have said, you gotta want it. Practice twice a day every day. Don?t get upset if things don?t go perfectly?they won?t.

[Mike(Mont)]

Also another way for weight checking/filtering is once you have a good signal line you can adjust the frequency up or down until you lose the line. Depending on how far you adjust you can approximate the target weight. Adjusting up frequency is less sensitive. It depends on what type of equipment you have as to how far you can adjust and still detect the line. So you have to experiment. Wait about five minutes after adjustment before checking to see if the line is still there.

[Mike(Mont)]

Tip #26: Calculating efnmr frequencies. First you need to get the magnetic field strength for your area. Go to: https://ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/calcula...lination.shtml and in the lower right click on Calculator. Then on the lower right click on the site or bullseye icon and it should fill in your coordinates. Note the altitude will need adjusting. Then click Calculate! Then click Table. Now write down the F(nt) amount. Example 53123.4 Now go to: http://www-usr.rider.edu/~grushow/nm..._frameset.html and click on the element you want. On the left column write down the Frequency factor. example gold(Au) is 0.01754 Now to calculate 2.3488 divided by the magnetic field strength in Tesla (add four zeros in front)
2.3488/0.0000531234 = 44214.037 Write this down.

Now convert frequency factor 1754000
And divide 1754000/44214.037 = 39.6706 Hz. This is the gold efnmr frequency. NOTE: this is just an example. Do not use this frequency. Some people multiply this by 100 so you get 3967.06 Hz buy you can try either one. Lower frequencies penetrate better like if target is near to large metal mass.

If you don’t have a smartphone, look on the calculate page and click on Go to full site.Click on Magnetic field. Enter your location and it will retrieve your coordinates. Enter your altitude. You can also manually enter the desired coordinates if you like. In lower left click on Calculate. On far right look at Total Field

[Mike(Mont)]

You can try to multiply the frequency by 10 or 100.

If you find the frequency for hydrogen, you simply multiply it by the desired element?s frequency factor. Hydrogen F.F. Is 1 so

1/44214.037 = 2261.73 Hz (hydrogen frequency)

So gold in this fake example would be 2261.73 x 0.01754 = 39.67 Hz

So you can try 396.7 Hz or 3967 Hz. These are not the right frequency—you need to calculate for your search area. Also note the magnetic field strength changes, usually not by much. ANyone having trouble can send my a Private Message. I can calculate for you.