Types of Metal Detecting Activities, page 38:
METEORITE DETECTING and PROSPECTING
(CONTINUED from previous page)
METAL DETECTORS REQUIRED FOR METEORITE HUNTING
Any low-cost conventional metal detectors can detect iron which is in most meteorites; however, a metal detector which also can detect gold is the most effective for meteorite hunting. Due to their high operational frequencies, gold metal detectors are more sensitive to small targets and can detect meteorites at much greater depths than other conventional metal detectors.
As the true All-Metal mode is essential for detecting meteorites (see details here), Pulse Induction (PI) metal detectors have an advantage over other types since they do not have Discrimination, i.e. they always operate in All-Metal mode. If your metal detector is not a PI machine, it must have the true All-Metal mode.
Also, the metal detector's weight is a big factor because "swinging" a heavy metal detector for up to 8 to 12 hours may be a problem. To avoid it, you should use a light-weight metal detector or have an opportunity to use your metal detector hip-mounted.
White's, Fisher, and Minelab are leading in manufacturing metals detectors that can be used to find meteorites. Most of the experienced meteorite hunters prefer Fisher's Gold Bug Series and the White's GMT detectors. Below is a list of metal detectors that are the most suitable for prospecting meteorites:
- Fisher Gold Bug-2
- XP Deus
- XP GoldMaxx Power
- White's GMT
- Minelab Eureka Gold
- Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger
- J.W.Fishers Pulse 8X
- Minelab X-Terra 505
- Minelab GPX 5000 (Pulse Induction)
- Minelab GPX 4800 (Pulse Induction)
- Minelab GPX 4500 (Pulse Induction)
- Minelab GPX-4000 (Pulse Induction)
- Minelab GP 3500 (Pulse Induction)
- Minelab SD 2200v2 (Pulse Induction)
- Tesoro Golden µMax
- Tesoro Lobo SuperTraq
- Minelab SD 2100v2 (Pulse Induction)
As for the size of a search coil used for meteorite hunting, it should not be too small or too big. The smaller the search coil, the more sensitive it is to small meteorites. The larger the coil, the deeper it will penetrate the ground but will be less sensitive to small pieces. Since most meteorites are not very deep, a 9"-11" elliptical search coil will do the job. If you would like to be sure that you do not miss larger and deeper meteorites, then the large 15" coil is optimal.