Metal Detecting Guides & Reviews

The most reliable way to find underground water is to stack evidence: well records, geology, a survey and a licensed driller. Here is how each method compares.

From prospectors and cache hunters to archaeologists, engineers and search teams, here is who uses subsurface scanning, what each group is looking for and which tools suit each job.

How ground scanner software turns raw readings into 2D and 3D images, the settings that matter, how to save and export scans, and the display pitfalls that make empty ground look like a target.

Two-box detectors and large ground loops reach large targets deeper than standard coils by spreading the transmitter and receiver apart. Learn how they work, what they ignore and when to use them.

Caches, boxes and large metal objects call for different tools than coins. Compare large-coil pulse induction, two-box detectors, ground scanners and magnetometers, with realistic depth expectations.

Some professional detectors advertise 5, 8 or even 12 search systems. Here is what those systems typically are, which rely on established physics, which are manufacturer claims, and how to decide what you actually need.

A practical, fair protocol for testing a long-range locator on your own ground: blind target placement, controls, scoring against chance and how to read the results honestly.

Long-range locators are marketed as detecting gold or treasure from far away using frequency or ionic systems. Here is what manufacturers claim, what physics and controlled testing say, and how to evaluate one honestly.

Magnetometers and metal detectors both find buried metal, but in very different ways. Learn what each measures, why a magnetometer cannot find gold, and which tool suits your search.