The choice of a magnetometer is determined by your goal: whether you are looking for archaeological artifacts or mineral deposits.
If you are looking for minerals, you need a proton magnetometer. It is a relatively simple device, but it is affected by various interferences. In particular, for geological investigation with a proton magnetometer, two units are needed, the first for field work, the second – to compensate for interference. Proton magnetometer investigations are complex, require interference recording, and are therefore available only to specialist-geophysicists. Obviously, high-quality proton magnetometer investigations require high material costs.
If you like archaeological research, finding iron artifacts or meteorites, gradiometers are much better. These magnetometric devices have two sensors and therefore you do not need the second device to avoid interference. They are specially designed to search for products of human activity and are widely used not only by professional archaeologists, but also by amateurs. Research with a gradiometer is simple, does not require sophisticated technology, and enables a target to be achieved several times faster and more efficiently than a proton magnetometer.
Another important characteristic of magnetometric equipment is its performance. A magnetometer can measure only in points; you waste too much time and cannot investigate your area quickly and thoroughly. Ideally, your device should measure the field and transmit information continuously, in a convenient way, so that you don’t have to constantly look at a screen, read and memorize the number of many digits.
And of course, a search device should be as convenient and lightweight as possible to ensure a pleasant job.
All these requirements are met in the new MG200 gradiometer. Its two fluxgate sensors continuously measure the magnetic field and the information is instantly transformed into sound and light signals, informing the discovery of an object. With this information you can evaluate not only the approximate size of an object, but also its direction and depth.
If you start to excavate your object and want to clarify whether to go deep or extend to one side or the other, our fluxgate MG200 gradiometer will, unlike a proton magnetometer, which simply displays a “0” in the vicinity of a magnetized object.
And finally, the last notable feature of our gradiometer: thanks to a number of successful technical solutions, it weighs only 1850 grams (conventional proton magnetometers and gradiometers weigh from 6.5 to 10 kilograms). The bag conveniently holds the MG200 to the investigator and you can simply walk the route.