The approach below is quick and dirty - the detailed setup works a lot better if you are going to collect several parallel lines to get a grid of data. Use this approach for a quick line, a small, irregularly spaced grid, or when you just want to write down field values and locations in your field notes. Getting started includes charging the batteries, reviewing the manual, getting all the pieces, brewing some coffee, travelling to the survey site. Once you're in the field, take some notes, and follow these instructions:

• Plug the top sensor into the top jack and the lower, total-field sensor into the lower jack. Be careful, the instrument will return a reading even with no sensor plugged in. Make sure there is no dust, grit or gum in the connectors.
• Turn the instrument on by pressing the power button (0F or CF (hardware always works) turns it off). Check to see that you get consistent readings (A, A, then any key but A & look at the value, again,...; 1C to go back to the main menu) to test connections. Total field data, by default, is from the lower sensor. In a clean, low-noise area, the display should read a pretty constant field-value; short term changes should be +/- 1 nT or so. Larger changes indicate cultural interference or possible solar noise. There is no sense starting your survey until you obtain a steady reading of the ambient field free from local disturbances.
• Erase any existing data by pressing the 4 and 5 keys simultaneously then simultaneously press 9, 4, 7 & 3 (to spell "wipe") to complete the task.

LAB RULE: Once you put the instrument away it is fair for anybody else to erase any existing data.

• Set the DATUM. Press C then 0 (zero). Pressing C again will let you change the datum to the appropriate value use 56,000 for Missoula. Press F, 1C to return to the main menu. Autotune is best used in base station mode only, so turn that off if it is on. Otherwise, if you hit a high gradient area, the instrument will autotune to a near-random number and never get back to where it should
• To collect the first profile with the simplest approach, just use the default line numbers, increments, etc. You keep track of where you and your stations are in your field book, never a bad idea. Make sure you are getting repeatable readings at any single station. The procedure goes like this:

  1. Press A for Survey then either A for magnetic profiles or C for gradient profiles. Then press F to access the setup menu. Scroll through the options by pressing F ten times until you get to the auto-tune choice; press F again to auto-tune. The auto-tune value should be close to the ambient field value you entered under datum. Press F two more times and you are ready to start collecting data on your profile, the display should show "nT new" in the upper right hand corner.

  2. Press any key except A to take a measurement. Move to your next station, record the site in your field book, and again press any key except A. Continue in this mode until you reach the end of your profile. Remember this is the quick and dirty approach so you have to keep track of which value goes with each of your stations. Pressing A will take you to a submenu where you can implement the EOL choice and increment if you set it.

  3. At the end of your profile press 1C to return to the main menu.

  4. To collect subsequent profiles press A for survey then 6 3 (lower case nf) simultaneously, A or C for magnetometer or gradiometer, then press A to start a new file and collect measurements at your stations by pressing any key except A, as above.

To get a little more sophisticated setup you can make various selections while going through the sub-menus accessed from Main Menu, A, F on the way to auto-tune. You can change the time, date, line and station increment numbers, survey direction, cycle time, and a host of other parameters. If you want to do a survey like in the figure, and download data nearly ready for Surfer, see the detailed notes. The menu choices you go through during the setup sometimes seem confusing, weird, or redundant. Thus make sure you check your file names/numbers and record enough information in your field book so that you can reconstruct what you did. I recommend making a simple sketch of your survey and notating it with sufficient sample numbers/readings and EOL locations to allow sorting out your data file which will always be in the order you collected points.