Bosch GMS Bosch GMS120 Digital Multi-Scanner
Bosch GMS Bosch GMS120 Digital Multi-Scanner
I live in an attached home with metal as well as
wood wall studs and plumbing that runs through the attic and down the
walls. Just about the perfect test bed for wall scanners.
The
way this scanner works is a bit unintuitive. The user selects one of
three modes; wood, metal or live electrical. When you select wood, the
Bosch actually scans for all three. Selecting metal excludes wood, so
you're scanning for metal and live electrical wire. Selecting live
electrical limits the scanner to only that. Indicators in the display
show what the scanner is reacting to; wood, metal or live electric.
The
Bosch GMS120 did well scanning for wood. Since I live in an attached
home, my neighbors and I are separated by a cement block fire wall. My
dry wall is attached to that using thin furring bar. The Bosch reliably
found the furring bar even against that dense slab of concrete.
When
scanning metal, the Bosch attempts to determine if the metal is
magnetic or not. That's useful to me, for instance, so I can tell if
I'm detecting a steel wall stud or a copper water pipe. The Bosch gets
it right most of the time, but not always. Sometimes magnetic metals
are identified as non-magnetic. Still, the Bosch did a good job of
finding metal studs. On interior walls, I could even identify studs
supporting the wall I was scanning and studs supporting the other side
of the wall. I could tell the difference by the signal strength
displayed by the Bosch.
This wall scanner had the hardest time
detecting live electrical wire. All the wiring in my home is simple 3
conductor plastic insulated wire with no shielding. Still, the Bosch
could not detect most of it even when I made sure electricity was
flowing.
Bosch GMS Bosch GMS120 Digital Multi-Scanner
