I have tried dragging one magnet from each hip and unless you walk in absolutely straight lines and bend over perfectly straight, you end up dragging one magnetic mess that snags every piece of loose dead foliage you encounter. Also, there are small risks dragging even one.
Do you know what being "clotheslined" is? It's where you don't see a wire, string, or similar something that is strung about neck high. You walk into it (or drive a dirt bike through it...different story) and it kind of trips you from your head instead of your feet.
Sometimes the magnet you drag catches little branches and weeds and it's not a big deal. One day I was walking along and the top half of my body was violently pulled back - just like I was clotheslined. I was not hurt but I was reeeally surprised. When I turned around and saw what my magnet was attached to I thought I was just really wound up in a little branch. I pulled and pulled. I had been clotheslined by a lone piece of fence sticking up in the middle of a field! I got a good laugh out of it and had others been watching, they would have too.
Anyway, I'm kinda past how stupid I look in my quest. This year one of my farmers is letting me put magnets on strings to drag behind his plow. He has never spent much time clearing his land of rocks so this may be interesting. Now while we may just pick up all those tractor parts he's lost over the years, we may also hit a jackpot.
Maria
From: "Graham Christensen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Maria Haas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] What great hobby!! + microwaves to detectmeteorites?
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 22:56:07 -0600
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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.geocities.com/aerolitehunter msn messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message ----- From: "Maria Haas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Maria Haas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<Meteorite-list@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 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.geocities.com/aerolitehunter msn messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message ----- From: "Maria Haas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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.
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