L-rod technique and tips

[Mike(Mont)]

Originally Posted by 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.