[meteorite-list] What great hobby!! + microwaves to detectmeteorites?

Tue Apr 12 00:56:07 EDT 2005

What was it that you found? Magnetite? That stuff frustrates me. I once 
found a piece of farly fine grained rock that stuck to a magnet and even 
looked like it had flowlines...but it turned out that it was dark all 
throughout and it had crystals.

I might give up on the metal detector and start going places where I can 
just walk fast and keep my eyes on the ground. I never seem to find anything 
of interest with the detector and it takes me so long to cover even a small 
area thoroughly.

I'll have to try that string dragging idea. I know you can get really 
powerful neodymium magnets on E-bay. If I tied a bunch of them to my belt 
loops as I walked that should easily pick up small pieces, although I'm sure 
I'd look like a total goof!

Happy hunting!
Graham
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Graham Christensen
voltage at telus.net
http://www.geocities.com/aerolitehunter
msn messenger: majorvoltage at hotmail.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Maria Haas" <dragonsoup at msn.com>
To: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Cc: <voltage at telus.net>
Sent: Monday, April 11, 2005 6:33 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] What great hobby!! + microwaves to 
detectmeteorites?

> Dear Graham,
>
> Unfortunately, I am unable to swing a detector right now and haven't been 
> able to for some time. All of my hunting is done by sight and I do have a 
> telescoping magnet on a stick (thanks to Mark Bostick) and hard drive 
> magnets on a string that I drag behind me as I walk.
>
> I think I'd be pretty frustrated if I dug for five minutes to reach a 
> piece of scrap metal but I sure can't wait for the chance!
>
> About a month ago while I was out hunting I came across this curious 
> little 63 gram stone slightly sticking out of the ground. When I got my 
> trusty magnet near it it went "click" and my heart jumped. I had been 
> taking artifact pictures and GPS coordinates all day so as luck would have 
> it, I now only had two good batteries with me. I had to abandon an "in 
> situ" picture but was able to get GPS coordinates before that died as 
> well. I was at the backside of 500 acres so I stuck it in my pocket and 
> pointed myself home. I must have taken 20 pictures of it on and off the 
> scale before I headed twards the saw to window it. I pulled it back from 
> the blade and had to remind myself about someday. Someday it'll be real 
> and I'll be doing the chicken dance all over my basement.
>
> I have lightly discussed with another listmember about using GPR (Ground 
> Penetrating Radar). Perhaps someone could offer some info on how 
> beneficial that is in the field.
>
> Kind Regards,
> Maria
>
>
>
>
>>From: "Graham Christensen" <voltage at telus.net>
>>To: "Maria Haas" 
>><dragonsoup at msn.com>,<Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] What great hobby!! + microwaves to detect 
>>meteorites?
>>Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 23:07:27 -0600
>>
>>Are you using a metal detector or just visual? I do both. I use a metal 
>>detector but at the same time I have a magnet on a short flexable stick on 
>>my belt so that if I see anything on the surface I can probe at it quickly 
>>and then return to sweeping with the detector. I hate it when the detector 
>>goes off and I dig for 5 minutes to find a pipe or something.
>>
>>I wonder if it's possible to use microwaves to detect meteorites? 
>>Conductive metal will backscatter microwaves and can be detected by an 
>>appropriate instrument (this is how radar works). Perhaps it's possible to 
>>send a beam of microwaves into the ground over a large area and see what 
>>comes back. If you use a fairly short wavelength you might be able to 
>>resolve images of what's under the ground. Short wavelength microwaves 
>>would probably be needed to detect a chondrite because long wavelengths 
>>would probably not couple to the metal very well and be reflected. An iron 
>>however should show up quite easily. The only problem with short 
>>wavelengths is that they are absorbed pretty quickly by water so they 
>>would have trouble penetrating wet ground. It would work great in a sandy 
>>desert though I'm sure.
>>
>>Just a thought
>>
>>Graham
>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>Graham Christensen
>>voltage at telus.net
>>http://www.geocities.com/aerolitehunter
>>msn messenger: majorvoltage at hotmail.com
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Maria Haas" <dragonsoup at msn.com>
>>To: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>>Cc: <voltage at telus.net>
>>Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 10:05 PM
>>Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] What great hobby!!
>>
>>
>>>Graham Christensen Wrote:
>>>>btw, I went meteorite hunting today for the first time in a couple 
>>>>years! And I found...*drumroll*...scrap metal!
>>>>Graham
>>>
>>>
>>>Maria Sheepishly Adds:
>>>I am so desperate to find "something" walking fields every single day 
>>>looking for meteorites that I have started to fill my rock bag with scrap 
>>>pieces of metal, miscellaneous junk, gum wrappers, fast food containers 
>>>and the occasional bolt, screw and nail. While I may not be ridding the 
>>>world of those pesky meteorites laying everywhere, I am providing some 
>>>job security to our garbage collection service employees. (Of course I 
>>>look the metal stuff over really carefully one more time just in case 
>>>space rocks could actually weather to look like one of those rusted old 
>>>metal pop lids.) Sick.
>>>
>>>
>>>______________________________________________
>>>Meteorite-list mailing list
>>>Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>
>>
>
>
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