Three interchangeable transmitters - TEM47, TEM57-MK2 and TEM67 - are used with the PROTEM receiver and an appropriate receiver coil to make up different PROTEM systems for various applications such as mineral exploration, structural mapping, resistivity sounding and contaminant plume mapping.

The TEM47 is the smallest and lightest battery operated transmitter, with a very fast turn-off time to enable measurement of the near-surface response. The PROTEM 47 (including PROTEM receiver, TEM47 transmitter) is most often used for shallow resistivity sounding of groundwater contamination, saline intrusion and geologic units. In this configuration, single turn transmitter loops from 5 m to 100 m on a side, with turn-off times as short as half a microsecond, can be used to give maximum near-surface resolution.

The transmitter output current of 3A into a 100 m x 100 m loop gives good response and resolution to depths of 150 m, making this the ideal instrument for resistivity sounding over a large area. The 30 gate, 3 time decade measurement is usually enough to cover the full decay curve including the early time gates, without changing base frequency.

The TEM47 uses a reference cable to achieve the high synchronization accuracy required for shallow sounding. Regardless of application a high-frequency receiver coil is used with all PROTEM 47 systems - the high-frequency coil has the bandwidth necessary to capture the earliest portion of the transient decay.

For greater consideration of structural response within complex geologic environments, the three - component high frequency receiver coil is recommended.

When used in a PROTEM 47 system for profiling, the TEM47 supplies 2.5 A to an 8-turn, 5 m x 5 m moving transmitter loop to provide a dipole moment of 500 Am². With base frequency of 75 Hz, and 20 gates from 49µs to 2.9 ms, this configuration is optimal for Slingram (horizontal loop) surveys for mineral exploration to shallow depths, and for groundwater exploration in bedrock fractures electrical sounding is performed simultaneously with the search for fault or dike-like targets.