We have all seen metal detectors being used in cartoons as children and then in movies. The allure and attraction that has become synonymous with these electromagnetic instruments are also attached to connotations of great wealth, especially after seeing our little animal cartoon friends find mountains of treasure using this device. Though, its uses extend much further, with the device finding popularity first during The Great War, with soldiers using it to detect landmines and weapons within their vicinity. Although the uses of this great instrument, such as the garrett ace apex metal detector, may reach as far as to the food industry, used to detect foreign bodies in food, what you must know are the pros and cons of this awesome device.
The Pros of Buying a Metal Detector
There are many different uses for this metal detecting instrument that goes beyond just the uses of it in movies and cartoons.
Safety
Safety is always important, especially in public places, like airports and of course schools. Employing a metal detector is such areas may decrease the amount of potential violence, seeing as how the instrument will regulate people’s entries and make sure no one is armed with a weapon or anything that can be dangerous. This will also give out a feeling of confidence, as people will feel safer knowing that there aren’t any weapons roaming freely around them. There will be the big metal detectors and the handheld detectors, which allow for a more thorough security check, as the security personnel will be able to detect the exact areas where someone can be hiding a weapon.
Less Intrusive
Manual security checks can be both tedious and intrusive. So, in order to save time, and embarrassment, a metal detector will get the job done without making anyone feel uncomfortable, unlike manual security checks.
Archaeology
Metal detectors have long been used in matters relating to archeology. Great finds have been ascribed to these little devices when used in remote areas to unearth metals that have been long buried.
As a Hobby
With a number of people holding onto wishful thinking, they hold onto the hopes of finding gold or treasures. That said, people have taken their metal detectors around random areas, using this device as a hobby. There have been reported incidents where hobbyists have come across great and magnanimous finds. The metal detector wizards at Detectorlist explain all the different famous metal detector finds, with one person finding a lump of gold that weighs about 5kg. Another person found a giant lump of space rock, so never say never.
The Cons of Buying a Metal Detector
No device is perfectly complete with just pros, as it is the case with everything else. There must be a few downsides that may deter you from making this purchase.
False Alarm
There is no such thing as a perfect system, even with this seemingly ultimate instrument. They may fall to flawed judgments that have not been accounted for during security checks. Such issues may arise with people that have had surgical metal plates placed inside them. The alarm will go off not knowing that the person is not carrying anything on them, which may in return have that person subjected to a manual security check.
Intrusive
Though this device can make security checks less intrusive, they can also work counterintuitively and end up leading to more intrusive behavior. As in the case of metal plates or devices being surgically installed into people’s insides, the metal detector may in such cases have that person get checked manually.
Expensive
Acquiring such devices may end up proving to be expensive. Whether it was the initial hefty price-tag or for the maintenance involved in keeping the device working.
Time Consuming
For all the hobbyists out there, they may find themselves engaged in activities revolving around this instrument more than they would like to admit. Especially if they are hell-bent on finding a great, and long lost and forgotten, fortune underground. Though, yes, it is feasible, it is also very rare to come across. This can have the person who has just purchased their metal detector fall short in their other duties and waste their time on nothing really.
All in all, a metal detector will invite into your lives more than just a few pros and perhaps a few cons along with it. As it will invite a new sense of adventure which is often foreign to most. Though, admittedly, the pros do outweigh the cons, seeing as how the cons are majorly left to chance and are extremely rare as well. The only ‘danger’ metal detector buyers should be wary of is that it could delay you from getting on with your day to day lives normally. Well, that is if you fall to an adamant obsession with finding Pandora’s Box.