I was contacted Tuesday to help find a hearing aid that was lost when taking off a face mask while driving. It was assumed it was pulled from the left ear and landed along the residential road way. Today, Wednesday I was called to search a ball field for another hearing aid. In each case I had the matching hearing aid. I "tuned" the Equinox 800 for signal on the hearing aid only. I found Field 1, 20KHz, all readings above 10 discrimination were notched out (OFF), Iron Audio OFF and only searched for a repeatable VDI of -9 as the sample hearing aid gave as the best signal. Gain was down to 15 as the target would be on the surface and reduced undesired signals. This setup gave me the ability to locate and return the two hearing aid valued at approximately $4,000.00 each.
The set-up procedure can be used for any one specific object you may be searching for. I have used it in locating stud earrings in sand and wedding bands in a trashy area. It is best used with a very similar item in this case it was the second hearing aid is available to “tune” the detector. The part that the detector will pick up on in this situation more than likely the internal battery which is very small.
Knowing your detector’s capabilities and how to tweak the controls to adjust for a very specific target is paramount in succeeding if finding a given object. On days you can’t get away from your home, try this procedure on some unusual object and take notes. This will give you a one-up on the next near impossible find. You may just be surprised at just what you can make your detector "see".
Enjoy our hobby.