Mineoro tests: What's really going on

[Carl-NC]

A few years ago I obtained a Mineoro PDC205 on loan. I found that it could not detect gold, but that it would beep occasionally, in a seemingly random way. I got permission to dissect it. I found that it had no circuitry or sensor that corresponded to Mineoro claims of detecting ions. Instead, I found a loop antenna and regenerative receiver circuit, indicating an ability to detect standard RF radiowaves. I had to return the unit before fully investigating this.

I now own a Mineoro FG80. It is advertised as being able to detect fresh gold, again through ionic means. I have fully demonstrated, 100% of the time, under any conditions, that it definitely WILL NOT detect fresh gold. It has also failed to detect buried gold that is approaching 4 yrs old.

Like the PDC205, the FG80 seems to just beep in a rather random way. It is possible, by carefully adjusting the threshold while standing in one location, to get the unit to consistently beep in a particular direction, or a particular point on the ground. But if I move a few meters away, there is no consistency with the prior signal direction, even when re-tweaking the threshold. Directions are helter-skelter.

I have an invisible dog fence. It works by pulsing a low current through a buried wire. Metal detectors easily pick this up as EM interference, so when testing detectors, I turn it off. The other day I took the FG80 outside, before turning off the fence, and discovered that it would rather easily detect the buried wire. With the threshold set low, I could hold the FG80 horizontally close to the ground and precisely track the buried wire. In anticipation of a suggestion, the voltage produced on this wire is much too low to cause ionization.

I propose that the Mineoro locators are detecting EM signals, not ionization. Everywhere around us, we are bathed in EM signals of all frequencies. It is simple to build a receiver that will detect these signals and beep when a threshold is exceeded. EM signal strength can vary with direction due to obstacles and multipath. If a directional antenna is used (such as a loop), a threshold-based receiver can be made to detect a signal in certain directions but not others.

Next: tests that confirm my theory.

- Carl