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In this report I had the opportunity to work with the Accumeter Pro VI in some rugged
conditions in California and combine it for a job I was hired to do there. The time of
year was in the spring with a fair amount of moisture still in the ground which gives the
unit better conductivity. Things are green and blooming, so we did not have the concerns
of fire season. We got into the area where the target was supposed to be in. After looking
over the historical data with the client, we had agreed that it should be within a
half-mile radius from our starting point.
Included in the Accumeter VI you have four spools of insulated wire, which are
125 feet long. Unrolling the wire in four opposite directions from the unit is the
procedure for setting up the instrument. Next, I put the four copper rods at the end
of each wire, and I placed them in the ground firmly then attaching the copper clips
to each rod. This allows you to send your signal current independently directly into
the ground between two of the six testing positions of the four rods.
With the wire and rods out into their positions, we were testing an area of about
24,000 square feet which was about one-half of an acre. After completing this, I was ready
for the first test area. I checked the fuse to make sure it was good, and then I turned on
the master switch and the green light came on showing power was being transferred into the
unit by the 12-Volt battery. Then I turned on the ohm meter and went over to the left side
of the ohm meter and depressing the red button next to it, and I dialed in the meter
needle to zero with the knob on the meter. Then taking a test load and plugging them into
the ground probe jacks with the test probe being plugged in, I pushed the switch over to
the two probe positions that the load was plugged into. I looked at the response on the
meter. Then the needle went into the correct position on the gauge, and we were ready to
work for the day. Normally you only need to set the meter and use a test load only once
during your day of use. If there is a question on whether the response is working
correctly you can retest it with one of the two test loads (iron & gold) supplied with
the Accumeter VI.
Now that we are ready, the set-up and test time only took about fifteen minutes. With a
notepad and pen, I started pushing the different rod position switches for about 3 seconds
each and then I wrote down the ohm readings each time. (Switch positions for rods are 1-2,
3-4, 1-3, 2-4, 1-4, and 2-3). My readings were averaging through the first day from 2500
to 4000 ohms. We worked our first grid area moving over from our last tested area and so
on until we had covered our first proposed target area. We moved fifteen times that day
covering about seven to eight acres, this taking about five hours and then we quit for the
day and went over our notes that had been taken on the meter readings. Nothing of a
substantial drop was made on the ohm meter that day.
The second day I set-up and reset the unit by putting the test loads in. Everything was
working properly. I worked a grid area again, and by the middle of the afternoon I had a
drop on the ohm meter to 500 ohms between rods 1-4 and 1000 ohms between rods 2-3. We were
now over something and now was the time to start bringing the rods closer together to find
the point of contact and get a depth reading. As the rods were moved closer together, the
lowest readings were between the rods 1-4, and with that I concentrated on these two rods.
As I moved each rod in each time, one half the distance from the unit the readings
dropped. I moved them again and they went up, meaning I was past my optimum point. Moving
the two rods out one half the distance from the last point my meter reading went to 300
ohms. This area on the meter is also in the precious metal area. Whereas, if it went up
from my average of what I was getting in the area, (the left side of the ohm meter) it
would have indicated ferrous metals, a tunnel or cave.
Now that I found my lowest reading, I measured the distance between the two rods. I
divided the distance in one half to find my approximate depth.
With that, several weeks later a hammer drill was brought in. We were looking to hit
the target at about 80 feet. Hitting a target at that depth can be difficult, but on the
sixth hole we hit our target at 83 feet.
Needless to say, everyone was happy and will be for some time to come. Keep in mind
while your planning your hunting trips to be aware of the local laws and regulations
pertaining to the different places you may be going into.
In conclusion, with the type of hunt on this trip I found the Accumeter VI very helpful
in locating and pinpointing a target at that depth. This unit can also locate them at
greater depths. Care must be taken with any piece of equipment to keep it maintained and
clean. You take care of it and it will take care of you. Till my next trip, have a good
time hunting!
Independent Field Representative
FOR THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF OUR FRIENDS AND CLIENTS AROUND THE WORLD, NO
DISCLOSURES WERE MADE OF THEIR PROJECTS.
Product Review/Field Report
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