The search head should not be raised to sweep over a clump of long grass. The headphone cables often become entangled with other personal gear, which may distract the operator. Additionally, dangling cables may prohibit movement of the operator's arms. Using an external speaker eliminates one of these cables. The speaker also allows the safety observer or supervisor to listen to the tones as the detector operator progresses.
Experts work slowly.
The operator's manual suggests a sweep rate of 1 meter per second,9 which correlates to a rate of 16 seconds per square meter. In the study conducted by Staszewski, soldiers tended to sweep at a rate of 20.5 seconds per square meter, while experts operated at a rate between 33.3 and 54.6 seconds per square meter. Be aware of environmentally imposed constraints on the search head. This is potentially very dangerous if the operator is unaware of the limitation. The decrease in sensitivity can be eliminated by recalibrating the detector or drying the search head.