Double blind study comparing dowsing to metal detecting silver coins

[maxxkatt]

You missed my point. Yes it was no doubt pure coincidence I walked out and found the silver half in a field following the coat hangers, but it does not change the fact that I can honestly say I found that silver half because I followed where the coat hangers said to go. That fact can not be changed. I never would have gone out in that field had it not been for playing with the dowsing rods idea. FACT!

So, whoever made the comment you can never find a nickle/penny/whatever with a dowsing rod was wrong.

do the coat hangers move in a specific direction to tell you where to walk, like NE or SW like a compass?

Or do you just walk and they cross when you find the target? This is a serious question because I don't know how they work.

 

[atomicbrh]

do the coat hangers move in a specific direction to tell you where to walk, like NE or SW like a compass?

Or do you just walk and they cross when you find the target? This is a serious question because I don't know how they work.

This answer is for underground utilities only and what I observed in every case.
The person walks with the rods so that they will pivot freely in every direction.
When the buried line is crossed the rods move toward each other and cross.
When the buried line is passed the rods swing freely again.
The person does not change hand position at any time and it looked like their goal is to not give any input to the rods.
The rods do not indicate any direction to walk.
The person just walked where they needed to dig a trench for a line.

 

[atomicbrh]

Could somebody smarter than me go back to my reply at #115 and explain what they think is going on with these hotrug company rods?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Could somebody smarter than me go back to my reply at #115 and explain what they think is going on with these hotrug company rods?

You're probably not going to get any takers. Because that's LRL. Not dowsing.

 

[atomicbrh]

You're probably not going to get any takers. Because that's LRL. Not dowsing.

That LRL acronym was key to what I wanted to know.
Wikipedia definition:

A long-range locator is a class of fraudulent devices purported to be a type of metal detector, supposedly able to detect a variety of substances, including gold, drugs and explosives; most are said to operate on a principle of resonance with the material being detected.
Skeptics have examined the internals of many such devices and found those that have been examined to be incapable of operating as advertised, and have dismissed them as overpriced dowsing rods or similarly useless devices.
Author Tom Clancy came under fire for including the DKL Lifeguard,[1] a long-range locator purported to be useful for detecting people, in critical passages of his novel Rainbow Six. A study by Sandia National Laboratories proved the Lifeguard to be completely useless,[2] and other designs by the Lifeguard's creator Thomas Afilani have been shown to contain numerous dummy components with no clear function.

The full article is quite interesting.

 

[maxxkatt]

I will say this, that his has been a good discussion by all participants. I think we all have our own personal views and they sometimes differ. Detector has made it clear that he is not saying dowsing works for coins. He is just saying he was dowsing and he found a coin in his line of walk partially buried.

I don't think there is a finite end to any discussing on dowsing whether it be for coins, water or gold.

I think there is one thing we all can agree on this is a great hobby. I have five days of great detecting weather ahead of me this week. This coming off finding a Spencer fired civil war bullet less than a mile from my home in urban Atlanta yesterday. Trust me that ain't easy. It was on 230 acres of woodland, with a 1840's chimney still standing. Have hunted that area quite a few time over the past six years with the AT Pro and Nox 800. But yesterday found it with my new CTX3030. Was it the machine or luck? I think luck because it was only about 6" deep and gave off a good signal for a Civil War bullet on the CTX.

I know, some guys in VA go out one day and come back with a dozen 3 ringers. But not so easy in urban Atlanta even though we have a fair amount of civil war battle areas and camps in Atlanta thanks to General Sherman on his visit in July 1864. Our problem is urban sprawl covers most of those civil war sites and we are very limited where we can hunt without getting permission. Permission are hard because the price of the homes and expensive landscaping don't mix with a guy asking to dig holes in their lawns.

 

[Cherry Picker]

Well said maxxkat.

I always have the upmost respect for my friends and fellow detectorists here on Friendly Metal Detecting. We may dissagree and even seem heated, but respect for their opinions is never lost.

Here in Kansas we're looking at some unusually great weather as well. No snow on the ground in December is a treat. Now If I can just get over my respiratory infection and get in some hunting I'll be a happy camper.

 

[maxxkatt]

Well said maxxkat.

I always have the upmost respect for my friends and fellow detectorists here on Friendly Metal Detecting. We may dissagree and even seem heated, but respect for their opinions is never lost.

Here in Kansas we're looking at some unusually great weather as well. No snow on the ground in December is a treat. Now If I can just get over my respiratory infection and get in some hunting I'll be a happy camper.

Hope you get well quickly. Those are no fun. I have has some light ones in the past and was coughing for 3 weeks.

 

[Tpmetal]

If you listen you hear them admit to having tried satellite photos, ground radar and nded up finding it with the dowser.

It keeps being brought up that if you ig deep enough you'l eventually hit water anywhere and that is just not true. I worked in the oil field and we drilled more wells over a mile deep that didn't hit water than did. Besides, these dowsers are not looking just for water, but the shallowest and or largest source of water.

I'm a common-sense type guy and of course common sense says its BS, but then my common sense also tells me if there were not some evidence that dowsing did work, it would not be questioned any longer. So I went to YouTube and found many videos that seemingly shows proof dowsing works.

Funny because my cousins both worked as engineers in the fracking/oil industry. So naturally I gave them both a call and asked them about their experiences and knowledge... And they said of course you hit water almost anywhere on earth if you go straight down in the layers, its just a matter of how much and if it was enough to notice in the drilling process. Also the other option to having not hit water was because you were drilling at an angle and more or less stayed in one or two layers of the ground where water was not present. Water is literally almost everywhere underground. there are very very few places you will not find it if you drill deep enough.