Luca Alpini, the genius of the workshop
The most frequent failures in metal detectors? Those created by their misuse
Luca Alpini is the technical manager of the Detector Shop service center, the expert who - every day - takes care of verifying those metal detectors that are shipped by customers for some anomaly. To him the task of drawing up the "prognosis", discovering the problem and then, of course, solving it.
"In reality - explains Luca - many models that arrive in our workshop have critical issues related, first of all, to their misuse. They do not have technical failures but, being used in an unorthodox way, they end up having reduced performance. Let's not forget that metal detectors are delicate devices with simple but precise instructions.
If you use the machine incorrectly it is normal to encounter problems. Most of the time the diagnosis is just that."
So, as they say in jargon, in the check-up of a metal you always start from the "over-handle"?
"This is the case because if a customer does not know how to use the detector he will always complain about problems. And many times those 'problems' are attributed to the metal detector, even when this, in reality, works very well. I check at least 3-4 metal every day and, many times, my diagnosis ends with a 'no problem highlighted'...".
What is one of the most common mistakes?
"To test the detector in domestic spaces.
The metal detector is a device created for the outdoors, and therefore you can not use it in the kitchen.
Many times, those who suffer a theft in their home, are led to think that thieves have found gold and jewelry thanks to the use of metal detectors, but these are mostly urban legends because, in reality, the use of the detector in living spaces presents, already at the start, complexities. To find precious metals in a living room you need a very particular setting and, above all, you need that time that, usually, thieves do not have".
And what is the component that breaks more easily?
"Usually there are problems with cable breakage, but even then the injury is due to incorrect stress on the devices.
Frantically detaching and disassembling the various parts of a metal detector ends up breaking them. Other times the enthusiast intervenes on metal with artisan modifications changing its structure and therefore this, in the long run, creates problems. We should be more careful and understand that detectors are devices to be handled with care".
You fix metal detectors since the 80s: what has changed in your work over the years?
"Until 10 years ago, metal detectors were manual and had almost exclusively mechanical components with:
- Coils
- Potentiometers
- Other mechanical instruments
When someone has an old detector and explains the problem to me on the phone, the moment he arrives at the company I already know, even before opening it, where to put my hands.
Today, however, metal detectors are almost all built with SMD micro-electronics and therefore, in many cases, the problem is solved with replacement boards or with the actual replacement of the model which, in some cases, is the most convenient solution ".
Send us your broken metal detector and the Technical Staff led by Luca, will be happy to repair it.
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