Wired Science

Too cool. I gather that the larger device on the four bike wheels is in fact a large metal detector of sorts. When using it, do you go through a lot of batteries?

Great story. When is it going to air again?

Is there any way I can find out more about how to make one of those really big metal detectors?

sparks my interest great piece one problem.
how do you build the large detector

As for the metal detector, my guess is that it's just a big coil that replaced the coil on a defunk metal detector. Or at least that's what it sounded like when I heard it on the program. There are basically 2 types of detectors. The simple oscillator that changes frequency when the inductance of the coil increases (ferrous)or decreases (nonferrous). Or the balanced coil where the receive coil is balanced so it can't heard the transmit coil until something couples the two together.

But what intersted me was the fact that the hammer stuck to the metorite! Was it that magnetic? That would be another way to look for these, amagnotometer.

Great story. I found a strange rock in our farm field and always wondered if could be a meteor rock. Now after watching your show it makes me think it really is one. How does someone go about checking it out?

Thanks again, great show.

Randy, probably the nearest university or college would have an "expert" on staff.

Say, Jim, Debby, Frank, Don and Randy; would I be very wrong if I assumed that each of us is (somewhat) interested in making a detector such as the lads on the show had? I have 130 acres of land I'd love to search. Being retired, I have the time. Have some literature on making metal detectors too, and have one store-bought ready to go. Should we maybe help each other build them? I'd make a website with all the details for everyone else to enjoy too. I live at http://www.sticksite.com/.

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME??
I need to confirm what I have is a CINCINNATI found meteorite, and of it's value, Thank you

I loved the show on PBS. I was wandering if Mr. Arnold thought about selling his design of his detector. I'd sure love to build one.

Is there anyway I get a set of plans on how to build that detector?

Great show on PBS. I am pulling the cob-webs off of my brand new metal detector I bought a year ago, never used, back injury/forgot about it till now.
Only one slight problem..
Silicon Valley has more cement than dirt!

Cool story but those metorites look like plain old iron rocks. Whats the difference? I bought a metel detector a awhile back but can't find anything cool on our property because the iron rocks keep setting it off. :(

Hi, people. I haven't been able to view the video (have to upgrade Flash player), nor did I see the show (being in Aus and not having cable or satellite TV), but I just thought I would post the following link which has some interesting and hopefully helpful info on identifying possible meteorites.

http://found.meteorites.com.au/

By the way, love the site.

I found a large rock that just has to be a meteor. It has four large knobs on it the size of my head. How can I be sure? Who can I contact to find out more. I found my rock in North Idaho.

Hi All,

I am one of the two meteorite hunters featured in this segment. We had a blast filming this in a Kansas Dust Storm, and it looks like they did a great job editing it into an interesting story.

To answer a few questions:

I took an existing metal detector that usually uses a 3 ft by 3 ft coil that is pulled slowly just over the ground by one person on foot. The company that makes it also made a larger coil for 2 people to carry. I designed and made the cart so that the larger coil could be pulled by ATV rather than by 2 people on foot.

I consider much of what I do "proprietary" as I have spent thousands, into the tens of thousands of dollars in trial and error, not counting all the time invested.

Due to the competitive nature of my business, I prefer that my competition would get to take the slow path I took in my learning curve. This is why I am a little hesitant in sharing too much about my detector. I will say that the cart could not contain any metal or it would set off the detector. One thing I found was that plastic things tend to break often!

As for the hammer sticking to the meteorite, it was the HAMMER that had some very strong magnets attached to it. While my friend Geoff did mention the magnets prior to putting the hammer to the meteorite, that is one thing that did get edited out. I cringed when I first saw this as I was afraid REAL meteorites that people might find could get discarded because metal would not stick to them!

Meteorites are ferrous, and so they will attract a magnet, but they are NOT magnetic themselves.

The "Magnet Test" is a great field test to see if a rock you have is a meteorite, as 99% of the meteorites you would find will have enough metal in them to attract a strong magnet. NOTE: leave your weak magnets on the refrigerator, as they are not strong enough to test with.

If anyone wants to contact me about a suspected meteorite find, just Google my name and the word "meteorite" and I am sure you can find one of my websites to contact me at.

I am glad you all seemed to enjoy the show. I hope more meteorite stories will make it to the general public on TV. If you want more info on meteorites, I highly suggest the book "Rocks From Space" by O. Richard Norton.

I want to thank you for the great meteorite hunting show,I hope we hear more in the future about your excellent meteorite finds.
I also want to say:I have been looking for meteorites in central Wisconsin, in the Spencer, Marshfield area and have found many different types of magnetic rocks, mostly magnetite and hematite. I have a few with the meteorite symptoms, but have not had them tested yet.I sent books to the "Kansas Tornado Meteorite Fund Raiser" and world wide known: The Meteorite Man "Mr. Robert Haag" helped me with sending one of his own meteorite books personally signed just for the fund. I am now working to find even more about Meteorites, with reading all about them and watching what I can find as videos as they are shown on television. Wisconsin has meteorites not as many as Utah or Arizona, but they have been found in the past and recorded historically and can be seen in Museums around Wisconsin.I say Keep looking up and keep rocking on!

Is the video for sale and if it is, where can I order this video of your hunt?