What is frequency, and how does it relate to the performance of the metal detector?
Metal detectors are based on radio technology, and are in fact are a type of radio transmitter and receiver, all built into one unit. They transmit on a given frequency or frequencies that could be heard on a radio receiver that had enough range in it’s tuning. In general, it is accepted that lower frequency detectors are less responsive to ground minerals and have better depth of detection on larger items. Most coin detectors therefor operate at lower frequencies of around 8 kHz or less. Higher frequencies are more responsive to smaller targets, but are also have a greater response to ground minerals and mineralized rocks. Gold nugget detectors available today operate in a range from 12 kHz to 71 kHz. Those at the lower end of the range tend to work well in mineralized ground, but are somewhat less sensitive to very small gold nuggets. Those at the higher end of the range are very sensitive to the smallest gold nuggets, but may be troublesome or impossible to operate in ground that is
