Map Dowsing

Hello All,
 I do some dowsing with my L-rods and a pendulum, and with some success. What I would like to know is: Is there anyone out there who can give me any advice or information on map or photo dowsing? Any and all info will be greatly appreciated.
Piddler

As a rule, the strongest signals show up in a smaller size state map. The strong signals crowd out the weaker ones. Go to a larger state map, you find more things. The county maps and then Google close ups that show all the roads will bring out more targets. If you are hunting something big such as an unknown cache, start small like a tiny state map. But if you know the location of a cache, get close up photos or a detailed map of the suspected area.

1. Hold pendulum over a map
2. Ask a question.
3. Move the pendulum to different areas of the map
4. Watch for pendulum swings or movement

Thanks a lot for the information.

You're welcome Piddler. If you really want to see that pendulum start moving, try it where all those shipwrecks are along Southeast coast of Florida. My pendulum just goes crazy over that area spinning in circles...

Piddler

You might consider a book by Leroy Bull called The Art and Craft of Map Dowsing....
Leroy also teaches map dowsing, his techniques are very effective....
The book can be purchased on line through the ASD bookstore....
I find map dowsing very accurate to location and target ID....
Good luck ....
"Y"-ROD

I will not leave the house until I have map dowsed the place that I want to search. I know if my dowsing tells me there is gold there it will by there. When I map dowse instead of searching a 100,000 acres I have cut it down to less than ½ of a section.  I also know where to park my car for the easiest access…Art

Hi Piddler,
How are things going for you with the photo/map dowsing?
Jon

 I haven't had much timer lately to really give it a go, but I have dowsed a photo (8x10) of an old homeplace with just the chimneys standing and got a good reading at one of the chimneys. Can't wait to check it out.

Great to hear of your success!

Hey Ladies and gentlemen. …When I map dowse I am usually using  a printer version of a map from Google Earth or some other mapping  program. When I have all the information marked I have every thing but….The position of the find…Now I can go to a computer mapping  program and get my position fix…..Now I could spend a lot of time getting the position exactly right but I don’t. Trying to match the map and what is on my screen is a waste of time….You know..Zoom..up down and sidewise…I mark the spot on the screen as close as I can.
If you use these programs as much as I do you will find  errors in the position part of the programs or differences when moving from one program to another. I have two GPS’s and they give me different readings. My test show that there is about 30 feet difference in the two readings. Which one is wrong? Makes no difference to me because I am going to use the one whose features best suit the job I am doing on the trip. One has easier access to the “way point markers” and I like the  “go to maps”  better on the other one.
Like I have always said…I will use any and all tools to locate treasure….Art

Yeah, if you dowse a Google Earth map, zoom in from there about half way...then print and dowse that, then zoom in as much as possible to map dowse a 3rd time...you get closer, it does show the 1st, 2nd dowsing was off some from before zooming in all the way and as much of a distance, like GPS units can be off.

I just got my first GPS unit and it has 1/10 of a second. Yet it gets closer one time and drifts farther away minutes later. Maybe the GPS signals drift a little?

Hey Red_desert…….After I map dowse for a site I use mostly Google Earth to locate roads or trails in the area. Most of them are those little no name type roads. I can take GPS readings off the map to get me there. I can also determine if I need two wheel drive . four wheel drive or my trail bike to get to the location.  When needed I can also program a “go to” and follow it. With the tilt function on Google earth I can determine the easiest way into the area….I also use TerraClient and Delorme topo but the google earth is my preference….Art

I've used Search TerraServer which has topos and aerial photos.
http://terraserver-usa.com/address.aspx

And just plain Google highway maps which are easy to make marks on. Google Earth has what look like aerial photos of a park I'm dowsing near me. You can actually see parked cars, get right down to the tree tops, even see people walking around. I've seen posts here at TNet recently that say Google Earth isn't what it used to be...maybe it depends on what map sources are available (or no longer available).

I thought the GPS would be great for marking places out away from visible landmarks. If you put coordinates into Google Earth, dowse around that site...what does it matter if you can't see anything up close in the map. Add a distance scale from the menu...grid lines, it will get you close enough.

http://terraserver-usa.com/address.aspxIf you put coordinates into Google Earth, dowse around that site...what does it matter if you can't see anything up close in the map. Add a distance scale from the menu...grid lines, it will get you close enough.

Once you've done your map dowsing and reduced the search area, what do you consider an area that would be "close enough"? Are you talking feet, yards, quarter miles, miles? And once you get to that area, do you use only dowsing equipment, or do you also use some other type of equipment such as a metal detector to narrow down the search? 

Gee…..I don’t know what close is. I have always considered a ½ mile as close enough. This summer I was looking for a closed cave entrance. History told me it was NW of a certain mountain. It was not there so I expanded my map to  100 sq miles. When I found it the coord I used was 0.008 miles from it. Like I have always said…I will use any and all tools to locate treasure….Art

I heard about a silver mine that everyone said didn't exist. I narrowed the search area down to 100 sq miles. 10 x 10. Close mattered because it was a small farm populated area with a town right in the middle. I found it. Had it been on the neighbors farm 1/2 mile away I wouldn't have, because he didn't allow anyone on his farm. -- I searched for a long lost village and with a small fort. That search area was 200 sq miles. 20 x 10. It was much larger farms. I had a much larger search area on each farm. --  I found a Civil War training camp that was supposedly under water and gone forever, but it wasn't. It's still there. -- I searched these by talking to area people, knocking on doors, driving driving driving, and listening to older folks. If you want to find the good stuff set down and put in some time with old folks, they remember things I've never heard of. And they're interesting. All three of these finds were large areas for the type area I live in. Populated. I guess they were close enough since I found all three, but I'd sure like to narrow that search area down some. Especially with gas prices today. That's why I'm practicing and studying and listening to y'alls comments about map dowsing. If I could have left home believing my search area was within one mile, in any direction, of any of these sites, it sure would have made a huge difference.

Practice Practice Practice….Download maps of different cities or towns that you have not visited. Dowse for schools, parks,  Rail Road Stations or what ever. When you are done you can zoom in and check your results. These maps are of the same spot but are different views…..

These maps are of the same spot but are different views…..

Art I'm going to join one of the search sites. I haven't been sure which one to get,  and I've heard several of you talk about Google Earth. Of course I want the site that is the best for treasure hunting in more populated areas. Small towns, small farms, rolling hills, lots of trees, no mountains. Are these pictures from Google Earth? Good clear pictures.

The top photograph says google.jpg
Google pics are very good, I prefer them for my work.
Red desert made a great point about pictures a while back and that was if you are zoomed out too far you will pass over the smaller caches due to the scale of the picture. Zooming gives you the flexibilty to pinpoint closer and find various sized caches rather than using a fixed scale picture.
There are many correct ways to map dowse. Check out my post titled Want to do map dowsing? in the general section of the Dowsing forum. It's what has worked for me and you can keep it simple at first, then advance to more techniques as your skills increase.
Jon

Hey Digum…..I have yet to find a mapping program that is perfect. Google Earth has great photos of some areas and some that are bad. I can put my address in it and the photo is all blurry but a ¼ mile away I can see every piece of Sage Brush. I also use TerraClient..Which is a little harder to use but sometimes has better photos. I also have the Dolorme Topo maps which I also like. Try Google Earth and TerraClient as they are priced just right “FREE”
TarraClient….http://billfriedrich.tripod.com

I like the google also for its gps coordinate feature. It gets you into your area of interest when using a portable gps receiver in the field.
Whatever photo package you select, it's still way better than what we had available to use for map work years ago.
Jon

Hey Jon….Isn’t this forum about exchanging ideas? I think most of us agree that there is no right way to dowse and no wrong way to dowse. It all comes down to what works for you. It always amazes me how one sentence can make a big difference to your dowsing methods. I always try others methods and see how they fit into my methods.

I even tried a map dowsing system where it was preformed on the computer screen. If it would have worked for me I could have saved a lot of printing cost. Keep putting your methods on here as you never know which sentence will ring the bell of someone and make them a better dowser….Art

Check out my post titled Want to do map dowsing? in the general section of the Dowsing forum.
Jon

Jon I read your  "Want to do map dowsing?"  post, then printed it so that I can refer to it as needed. Easy to follow instructions and good tips. I had no idea I was supposed to stand and not sit.  DUH!!!!  The little things, they make the difference. Thanks, Digum

Hi There Digum, thank you for taking a look at my post on map dowsing.
It's ok to sit at a table if you'd like, I started standing at my map dowsing table beacause that is what I do in the field with the instruments, so what you are doing is the same sweep procedures in the field as you are at home over the map dowsing table, you are reinforcing your body with repitition, taking the same movements with you outside on site.
There are some people that dowse from wheelchairs and scooters, ect.
The sweeping method is generally used more with an L-rod than a pendulum, but you can still sweep over a map or in the field with a pendulum, it's the operators choice and it's best to go with what works for you, that means that you have set up practice targets and you find that you are repeatably finding your test targets with your method of dowsing, it's what works for you that you want to stick with wether you learned it from your own self discovery or from the dowsers on the forum, books, class, ect. This takes time and over time with much practice, you will develop your own style of dowsing, personal to you and no one else.
Jon

Hey Jon….I tried your methods a few years back. Being a physical dowser I found that when I tried to use the rods mentally it started to interfere with all my dowsing. I even printed the maps on 4 pieces of paper and tried to mark them where my heels  were when the rods crossed. It worked but I was always to far off. The Pendulum is the only tool I use that is a mental thing. When using the rods I think of anything but what I am doing. There are a few objects that I use mental dowsing to find “ Caves or tunnels”  but these are rare occasions. ….Art

I can use all types of maps. I am working on dowsing charts right now...mount them on a cardboard backing about 4 1/8" wide x 3 1/2" high. Make sure the print size says 4.171" x 3.485" at 350 resolution. I just posted one of these for Spanish trails in the Spanish signs board, but it didn't post right...found out I accidently messed up the resolution of it...will post that here also.

Compass + target id. To use the compass line up North with the North. Pendulum should rotate around the outer part which is obviously the compass. For target id. think of a location...keep thinking of different areas. Use the yes/no for depth and additional info. Signals in the target id. area don't import into the compass, but you can move from the compass into the target id. When you activate the compass, pick up signals by asking about where something is....if silver or gold, keep getting more specific until it points in a direction. All else belongs with the target id. part of the chart and does not need to be lined up with North, South, etc. to work (just the compass only).

I just posted only those 2 to see if they post right...yes, but still display a little large. Here are a couple more...

Being a physical dowser I found that when I tried to use the rods mentally it started to interfere with all my dowsing. The Pendulum is the only tool I use that is a mental thing. When using the rods I think of anything but what I am doing. ….Art

I think? that I dowse with rods the same way you're describing Art. I don't continually imagine or mentally see the object. I relax and watch my rods react. Kindof just enjoy being out there doing what I'm doing. That's why I've  said I'm a physical dowser. Now since I've picked up the pendulum, that's a totally different thing. I could not get a reaction until I began mentally focusing more. I'm getting results with the pendulum but it takes "allot" more effort. --- Hey Jon, I read you latest post on using maps. I'm going back to your written instructions. You could teach me Chinese before the Olympics end faster than I can learn this. LOL. But maybe I'll get there someday. I have a way to go before I get to that point.

Hi Digum,
Let me know if there is something I can make more clear about my map dowsing post,ect.
Post it here or email me personally.
Jon

i think that explains what could have messed me up when first using L-rods. I'm more of, as you call it, a mental dowser. And could from the beginning find things map dowsing, no problem at all.

When I use a pendulum, it is rather effortless...I don't keep thinking of something that I'm trying to locate. If the truck keys get lost, no problem...I've found lost truck keys with my pendulum simply by asking yes/no questions (without a map) about where they are...ask once where something is, then keep dowsing the map until you find it.

Once I mark the spot on a map, I hold the pendulum over the x (or whatever mark I use), try to find out more. It wil keep swinging over the x until asking the wrong thing...if the treasure is a coin, thinking jewelry will cause the pendulum to stop swinging (at least it does the way I do it). For me, thinking of something is no different than asking about where or what a thing is, the thought can or usually does override the question.

i tend to focus on where I'm dowsing a map instead of what I'm looking for...after starting which usually begins by asking about where is...

Hi Digum,
Let me know if there is something I can make more clear about my map dowsing post,ect.
Post it here or email me personally.
Jon

Thanks Jon. I appreciate the offer. That's what's good about this site. Allot of people here are willing to help. Because of that I'm way ahead of where I was just weeks ago. Far ahead of where I thought I'd be. And I still have a "looong" way to go. Digum

Great posts    thanks

very interesting reading gents...thanks
are the charts printable ?

Yes, print out the charts about 3 1/2 X 4" and keep the image resolution high. I've discovered that wood makes a better backing to mount them on.

To use the compass part and get a direction to something, I now reccommend the following.
1. Align the chart so that North points North.
2. Do your pendulum dowsing over the chart facing East...it will cause you to ignore the target id. part of the chart.
3. Allow the pendulum to rotate around the outer circular edge of the chart where the directions of the compass can be seen...focus your mind on a particular treasure (cache, coin, etc.) until you get a response. A response should be a change from rotation into a direct pointing swing.
4. Ask a question about the distance it is away from you, the pendulum should stop swinging the moment you guess too far.

thanks for sharing mate. ill try it out soon.