We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember John White
saying something like:

Well I had one of these and seem to recall that in stud finding mode,
it involved putting it on the plasterboard and fiddling with the
controls until it shut up. You then moved the thing around until it
squawked. This indicated that it had detected a stud - or a thicker
bit of plaster - or a nearby light switch - or a passing taxi using
its radio.

In cable detection mode, you fiddled with the controls until it shut
up and then moved it over the wall around the electrical fitting until
it beeped to show where the cable wasn't.

The one I had seemed unable to reliably detect either solid walls or
power cables when it was resting on them - I threw it away.

Perhaps I was unlucky.

I'd say it's a common experience. Mine is resting at the bottom of a box
of crap things that will never see the light of day again.
--

Dave