You have one of the new, everybody's-talking-about-it metal detectors; so new you could swear the electronic engineer's fingerprints are still visible, faintly, on the plastic covered VDI screen! Shaking with anticipation, you roar off to the nearest field a few miles away, switch it ON and...and...nothing happens...nothing at all, What the? You shake the machine, check the batteries are inserted, wiggle the coil cable...nothing! "This machine is the #@$@#@&!!! pits...it's junk!!!" you furiously type in the 47 social groups you belong to.
Angrily you stuff it back in the box, drive 67 miles one-way to the shop you bought it from, slam it on the counter and tell the proprietor what you think of him for selling you a piece of expensive junk! The shop owner pulls the detector out of the box, and switches it on. Nothing. "There, you seeeeee!!!" you growl, vindicated in your righteousness. The shop owner dumps the rest of the boxes contents onto the counter; a charger, blue-tooth headphones, a screen protector, and an owner's manual, still sealed, factory fresh, inside it's plastic bag!
The shop owner stares at you, pulls the manual out, opens it to page one, and turns it toward you. "Please note, the plastic battery terminal covers inside the compartment must be removed before inserting the batteries." A quick look in the battery compartment reveals the plastic protectors are still there, preventing the battery from making contact. The shop owner pulls the plastic device out from beneath the battery terminals and the detector powers up fine. Reading the owners manual is your very best guide to learning the mysteries and idiosyncrasies of your detecting gear. Of course the turn-it-on-and-run urge is very strong, young Skywalker, you must learn the basics, if you are to utilize the force, the electrodynamic force, that is, which will eventually unlock some of the secrets of history. And when searching for history, out in the field, let your conscience, and your operating manual, be your guide!
