Advise

[cachenut]

I tested my Exp II on a silver dime and a silver quarter today. I set my detector at -12 iron mask with deep on and sensitivity at 20 manual. At about 10 inches the detector nulled but no numbers appeared. At about 8 I got some numbers that jumped around a lot. Under 8 I got an exact match on what I thought it should be 3 29 for the dime and 0 29 for the quarter. Never did the machine lock onto a bad number for the coins.

Does this mean that I can expect this behavior from buried silver coins also. To jump around a lot or to lock on at the exact correct number if I find one?

I hunted with the detector set at -12 w deep on and sensitivity varied between 18 and 22 manual today for two hours. I found squat besides a couple of junk targets I decided to dig just to see what they were. No coins. A copper fish about 1/2 inch long was all I found. No deep coins. I spent a lot of time (too much) checking out false targets that gave a high tone but then id as something else once I was over the target. Or it changed dramatically when I pushed iron mask to -14 or -15. I dug the deep ones since I thought they might be something else. Most came out around 4 inches. Gain was set to 8.

? I don't seem to be finding deep coins.

 

[Joe of South Jersey]

Are you running Ferrous, or Conductive? You can send me a private E-mail if you would like.
I commonly find targets deep. the thing is there is a bounce in the cross hairs. I prefer to hunt that way rather than hunting digital.
Joe D

 

[Eddie in Poulsbo]

So, what is the verdict? Ferrous or coductive?

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

What you saw at greater distances is typical. The machine knows something is there but cannot ID it correctly. As you get closer ID improves. There are no settings other than cranking up the sensitivity that will improve this. Try it sometime. But... many times you cannot turn up the sensitivity higher or the machine will become unstable.

And.... In mineralized soil you will get even less depth than the air testing. And if there is lots of junk present it will be even harder to get the explorer to lock on and give you a proper ID.

As far as I know there aren't any detectors that do better IDing overall than the explorer. Some detectors might see a target better once in a while, and often you can get a better signal with the explorer using a smaller or larger coil, but in general it all works the same.

Chris

 

[cachenut]

I use conductive. I tired ferrous but I got even more false high tones. So many I could not stand it at that time.

 

[AK in KY]

Joe - You are having the same problem I was. As someone said earlier, just because a place you are hunting is old does not mean there are old coins there. I believe deep is relative to your location. I read a lot of post where they find coins 10"-12" deep and I believe them. But around here (KY) deep is 5". The oldest coin I have found so far is an 1828 Large Cent and it was only 4" or 5" deep. I found an 1852 Canadian token which is about the size of a large cent and it was only 2" deep. You just have to be around old coins to find them.
Good Luck

AK in KY

 

[cachenut]

Thanks, this might be it but I exect there are deep coins I am missing since that rainy day I started finding coins at 8 inches suddenly after the rain. Then again I might have found most of them.

True not finding them does not mean I am not doing it right. Finding them would mean I am doing it right.

I am trying many different places and will see if they start coming up.

 

[ED-NH]

Funny you should ask that Eddie. I have hunted in conduct for the past year. 1/2 my time is spent at the beach where conduct works well for me. The rest of the time is spent in the woods around old cellar holes and iron. I tried some experiments this week with ferrous. I find that with ferrous sounds, the iron becomes a low low tone whereas the copper, silver, clad stay in about the relative tone that they were in conduct.

For me, ferrous sounds seems to work well in an area where there is lots of old rusted iron. I find that rusted iron in conduct can give off a high squeak down to the same sound as silver and I end up digging all iron, plus there are so many sounds that I can't detect in iron with iron mask opened up to any great degree... but ferrous sounds seems to eliminate most of the high iron sounds and iron comes in very low. That works nicely if you want to open up the iron mask in hopes of finding coins co-mixed in iron. Depends on how much low sounds you can tolerate as to how open your iron mask will be.

So in my opinion, ferrous sounds using some sort of iron mask for woods, and conduct sounds for cleaner less iron infested areas. Anyone else have any thoughts/suggestions I'd love to try some out. Thanks

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

The depth at which the target ID starts jumping around will vary depending on the site conditions and is normal. While the ID may jump around at least you get something on the deeper targets.

Mineralization, iron, and trash aside moist soil is generally better than bone dry or sopping wet soil. Sopping wet soil can be worse than bone dry soil if rusty nails are plentiful.

Here's a deep target tip...lets say a target at a given site 5 inches deep gives you a rock solid ID, 100% coin response. At 7 inches deep the ID begins jumping around, 80% coin response and 20% other. At 9 inches deep things are getting iffy, 50% coin response and 50% other. At 11 inches deep it sounds like crap, 20% coin response and 80% other or worse.

The question of the day is, what is this "other"? Where does "other" ID and more importantly do you have "other" discriminated out? Absent any rusty nails or trash other = ground mineralization. Mix 8 parts ground mineralization with 2 parts deep coin and what do you get? A bouncing cursor that hangs mostly over in the iron area of the screen with an occasional bounce towards the coin area. Sometimes you don't even get that, the worst of the worst stay in the iron area around iron mask -14 range. How many people have dug a crappy signal that sounded mostly like iron, recover a coin then sweep the hole with the probe and big coil and find there was no iron nearby? I have many times.

This behavior seems to hold true across a wide range of soil types, only the depth at which targets start to get iffy varies. In some parts of the US things get iffy at only 6 inches, in other parts of the country they can get a solid ID at 12. Most of the sites I hunt things get iffy starting around 8 inches for a small cent sized target.

So if you are hunting deep targets in the iffy detecting range running little or no iron discrimination can help. Nulls are sticky and stretchy, the machine doesn't like to let go of a null. If the weak coin signal is being pulled over to the iron side of the screen and the machine is nulling how will you hear the coin?. Nearby iron only makes matters worse. Conductive tones is of course counterproductive to this type of deep hunting. Iron sounds high, so do the coins and the cursor is bouncing all over the place. That doesn't give you much information to go on. With ferrous tones what you hear is the 20% high coin tones peeking and fluting through the low 80% iron tones. I mean lacking a target ID all you really have to go on is the tones, the pitch and shape of the signal as you sweep it.

I'll let some more air out of the digital screen approach, worn silver dimes can ID down in the indian head range and worse. Half dimes and 3 cent pieces also ID lower on the screen. Indian head cents can ID all over the dang place depending on how corroded they are. Even the mighty barber half dollar can get yanked well off its mark by a rusty crown cap directly overhead. The worse silver coin I dug was a worn smooth half reale which the cursor locked on steady to around iron mask -14 and stayed there. Yet I was hearing mostly a high silver tone in ferrous (another vote for ferrous over conductive)which freaked me out a little as I thought at the time that should not happen. That only goes to show you that tones rule and do not always agree with where the cursor is landing.

Lastly, I know it can be frustrating not finding deep coins when you think they are down there. But if coins are down there deep there will also be trash items down there, lead toys, junk rings, brass shell casings, and the like. I highly recommend that you go out and forget all about what the target is and just concentrate on how deep it is. Hunt using your depth meter. If you get a deep target at the depth you think an old coin should be, if its not a nail dig it up. A couple hunts like this can really expand your understanding of the machine.

Charles

 

[cachenut]

n/t

 

[airfitter]

Great post Charles, Ted

 

[Joe of South Jersey]

I hunt 80% of the time in Ferrous......Why? I hunt -14 and in case you didn't know broken jewelry and hoop ear rings read in the Iron side toward the bottom. It is easy to hear where you hit a target you want to dig. I use Conductive when coin shooting, and don't want anything but good solid coin targets. I have a program that disc's out everything but upper right. about a 3/4" square.

I will for go nickles when time is limited. And on dig upper right.

 

[stressed]

Just got my Exp about 2 wks a go. Used 10 in coil first time out in the factory setting-bing, bang and bong. A few coins, no real problem pinpointing. The last time I used a MD was a RB7, a real dime finding machine if you could swing it. Broke it and tosed it in the lake, don't make no more and I am done. Any way reading here their is a lot of good info. One thing you may like to try till you get used to the sound and use of it,it will take a while, is a 5 in coil. It has done wonders of me on the learing curve. Left work and headed for a freshwater beach, lake in the 1940's I think. Lots of junk, pulltabs and caps. I read that the beach guys dig a lot of 12 inch+ holes. Grass over sand is the general make of this beach, I dug a nice 1937 dime on edge at 7 inches, a wheaty at 12, yep I mesured it, dang I need the backhole. I think that being by the lake helps a lot as their is some moisture, we a very, very dry here. The small coil helps as their are fewer targets to deal with at one time, clears things up a bunch. I am still supprised at the depth of the small coil--makes me wonder what will happen when we hit the gulf in a few wk. with the 10in. Any how something to try.

 

[MattR]

Charles....An excellent overview of typical responses for the Explorer.

For the benefit of any new detectorists:-
As with most detectors, you cannot sensibly expect positive i.d.'s from coin sized targets(One inch or less in diameter), at a depth roughly greater than 3/4 of your search coil's diameter.
As you clearly stated, soil conditions and ferrous trash are also a dynamic moderating factor.

In light of the many unknown variables, I have one motto for the keen detectorist who wants to learn more and keep ahead of the pack.

Borrowing the theme from the British paratrooper's motto.
WHO DARES WINS........I say "WHO DIGS MOST, WINS MORE"...MattR

 

[AK in KY]

I seem to get alot of readings like 0 - 20, 0 - 15, 0 - 18. They have a very good high tone, I assume these are iron falsing as I never find anything after digging.

What about the high tone that reads 31 - 31, 30 - 31, 29 - 31?

Thanks
AK in KY

 

[Captain Kirk]

You made me a FERROUS believer. I also hunt with no iron discrimination (other than the tones).

HH,
Glenn

 

[Captain Kirk]

AK,

As I have posted many times, nails under the outer rim of the coil give a target response in upper right corner. That is why you find an empty hole when you dig. That problem is solved by careful pinpointing, especially if you use the PINPOINT mode.

HH,
Glenn

 

[Captain Kirk]

Ed,

I use exclusive FERROUS mode at the beach with a wide open screen. The reason is that the open screen completely eliminates masking that could cause you to miss a deep target. I have just learned to ignore all the low growls from iron (it as if they were not there).

HH,
Glenn

 

[cachenut]

What a popular topic this turned out to be. Today I found a silver quarter at 6 inches on edge, 1964. It exhibited the exact behavior I mentioned before, I got a high tone but the digital number kept dancing around. When I switched to iron mask at -14 it came in clearer as a 0 29. Not every time but it got better. I do wonder how many of those other signals I did not dig were actually silver even deeper.

The art of deciding which high tones to dig is a very important one.

I did note that setting the detector more sensitive makes it harder to separate targets when I get several in one area and also to id the targets I do find. It should help to dummy the detector down a bit when I find some targets.

I need to write all I learning about the use of the minelab into words so I can be sure to practice it every time.

 

[AK in KY]

Thanks Glenn

AK in KY