19 F1A4 Operator Instructor Notes and Syllabus
Minelab Countermine Division
Safety through Excellence
OUTDOOR TRAINING
At the completion of the classroom instruction it is important that all students have a sufficient amount
of time to demonstrate proficiency in an outdoor environment with the F1A4. It is recommended that
this be done over two full days however depending on time available the least amount of time to be
allocated should be no less than one full day.
It is recommended that the outdoor training be conducted in purposely prepared training lanes and
that there be enough lanes for two students per lane. Each lane should be one metre wide and ten
metres long and the lanes should have a separation of at least ten metres. It is also very important
that the lanes be free from metal contamination prior to laying any training targets. Although the F1A4
is capable of cancelling the electronic influence created by another detector as close as three metres
away and still operate to its full capability, a ten metre separation between detectors is suggested and
a metal-free area to provide the best training environment. This will ensure that those students with no
experience will understand how to operate the detector and recognize its responses before needing to
deal with a complicated environment.
Training lanes should be different from each other offering a range of challenging targets. Differing
the targets in each lane allows the paired students to move between lanes during the training.
Simulated targets should represent the widest range of targets presently found in minefields around
the world and not necessarily those you anticipate will be found in your next area of operations.
While the students are practicing in their lanes you and your training staff should be moving between
each group providing feedback from your experience in the use of the F1A4.
No doubt during your training day you will stop every hour or so to allow your students to take a break.
Each time the students return from their break gather the class together and provide group instruction
on one of the following topics:
•
Ground Balance.
This is always impressive. If the soil in the training area is benign, prepare
ahead of time and seek some mineralized soil from the local area or a local brick manufacturer or
distributor. Fired clay roof tiles work very well. Show the class the reaction from the F1A4 when
passed over this then conduct the Ground Balance (GROUND BALANCE) function. Repeat this
process with a target laid under the mineralized rock. It is likely that you will be asked if it is
possible to GROUND BALANCE out a metal target. The fact is that it is possible to GROUND
BALANCE a very small target in very heavily mineralized soil. Try it yourself with your mineralized
rock and an inert M14 or equivalent inert mine. It is most unlikely that bigger targets in benign soil
can be balanced out. Minelab does not advocate the drill that an operator can try to balance out a
potential target in a mine lane as proof it is actual metal. However, if a small target was Ground
Balanced then it should be obvious to an operator when the Coil is moved away from the target.
There should be an alarm from the surrounding soil because it is no longer balanced on the soil
rather on the small concealed target.
Make sure there are no misunderstandings about this.
•
Test Piece Procedure.
Exactly as shown in the Field Guide and the Operations Manual.
•
Pinpointing.
Minelab detectors pinpoint their targets in a different way to all other detectors and if
your students have used another detector then it is important that the correct procedure for
pinpointing is taught and adopted by the students. Get used to the pinpointing procedure taught in
Lesson Four of this Training Program. When teaching the application of ‘Mapping the Target’
ensure that you and your students stop Coil movement toward the target as soon as the slightest
change is heard in the tone. Move the Coil backwards and forwards to confirm that you have
actually noted the point of tonal change. Note that point on the ground and carry out this
procedure for each of the 12 radius of a clock until you have a sound impression of the shape of
the target. If it is a circle then ask the student to pick the actual centre of the circle and dig for your
target. The more experience you and your students gain in this process the better you will become
