BHPlatinum target id?

[gld2pan]

I purchased a BHP mid March of this year although I'm not new to the hobby I am new to the technology. Any way here is my question
while searching using the notch feature set at nickle - dime - quarter it will hit a target with a id range any were from 80-83 but when I pass
back over the target in the opposite direction it will show 55-59, it will do this consistently time and time again. There are other times when
when I pass over a target it will id at 55-59 or 80-83 but it stays in that range no matter how many times I pass over it. Is this normal or is there
a problem? Let me add it never changes from 50 to 80s its always changes from 80s to 50s!

 

[Bucksport]

Is this in air tests or in the ground tests? Sometimes when a coin is on edge it will give you different numbers from two directions, but if it does it every time you get a coin signal it might have problems.

 

[gld2pan]

Thank you for responding Bucksport I might be an air head but to answer your question its ground tests I have not done any air tests. whats
even more frustrating I have tried to dig these targets many times only to find nothing! So I come to the point when this happens to just move on
in disgust still wondering why it happens?

 

[Bucksport]

Yeah it definetly sounds like a machine issue. Detecting should be fun and that broken machine has taken all the out of it for you. Give First Texas a call and see what they say. 5 year warranty should cover you.

 

[norbyx]

Well I have a platinum as well. Personaly I found discrimination a bit off... sometimes I set it to discriminate the iron and I still dig up a lot of iron. Now on erratic numbers. It has happend to me to.. but it is not a problem in the detector, the problem is that this detector (in my opinion) is too sensitive. I have dug holes to find nothing, BUT I also have a garret pro pointer, and once I start digging I set the BHP to a side and use just the pro pointer, as the BH the propointer beeps to tell me there is metal in the hole, but I can't seem to find it, at last I find some rusted very small metal parts.
Here is what I feel it's happening. The Platinum is a very good machine, indeed it is much better than what it should be for the price. It detects small (very small) metal particles that maybe all combined together give the machine a signal, sometimes steady, sometimes a bit erratic like it is happening to you.
I haven't spent too much time with the detector yet (just about 6 hours hunting time) and I am just starting to learn it. One thing is for sure, when I get a stedy signal it is a good target, pulltabs are very easy to be mistaken for a coin since they read in the 50...60... Now I don't know how long have you had the detector but give it some time to be learnt, I can tell you that the platinum is a great machine.
Do some air tests just to verify if you don't have a internal problem with the unit but I think that the false readings are because you got trash in the soil...

 

[gld2pan]

Norbyx I completly agree with you on the platinum being an excelent detector i probably have at least 100 hours in the field using it and learning ins and outs of
the 4 different operating modes and it truly is a very sensitive machine in fact I have not been able to use it in any mode at max with out it acting eractic rather it
be from trash or high mineralaztion in the ground I think 8 is the highest setting ive used so far. I'll try and explain myself a little better with my dilemma while swinging
my BHP from left to right I will hit a target that id's at 80-83 at that point I stop and swing it back the other direction right to left to pick up the target again and when
it does going the opposite dirrection now it id's the target at 55-59 now if i go back over the target again in the same direction i origanly found it it will id at 80-83 again!
It will consistly do this over and over again changing id's moving left to right 80-83 and moving right to left 55-59. And it does this with 80% of the targets that fall in that range
of 80-83 now if I turn down the sensitivty it will not pick up the target again going in the opposite direction???

 

[gordon5jeff]

I have use my platinum for about 5 months and love it. One thing that I do notice is that, on some targets, I will get a strong tone from left to right and NOTHING from right to left. I used to dig these and never found anything. So, now if if it doesn't beep both ways I just move on.

 

[norbyx]

Norbyx I completly agree with you on the platinum being an excelent detector i probably have at least 100 hours in the field using it and learning ins and outs of
the 4 different operating modes and it truly is a very sensitive machine in fact I have not been able to use it in any mode at max with out it acting eractic rather it
be from trash or high mineralaztion in the ground I think 8 is the highest setting ive used so far. I'll try and explain myself a little better with my dilemma while swinging
my BHP from left to right I will hit a target that id's at 80-83 at that point I stop and swing it back the other direction right to left to pick up the target again and when
it does going the opposite dirrection now it id's the target at 55-59 now if i go back over the target again in the same direction i origanly found it it will id at 80-83 again!
It will consistly do this over and over again changing id's moving left to right 80-83 and moving right to left 55-59. And it does this with 80% of the targets that fall in that range
of 80-83 now if I turn down the sensitivty it will not pick up the target again going in the opposite direction???

Ok mine doesnt do that. I might have an erratic reading from trash but not from a stedy signal. If it reads 80 one way it can become 84 on the other and than maybe 83 and again 80 but not what you are experiencing. Do some air test if it does that than contact the seller for warranty.

 

[gld2pan]

grodon5jeff thank you for your input from what you are saying sounds exactly like i'm having an issue with but instead of getting NOTHING going
the opposite direction, i'm getting a lesser target id which indicates that i'm probably using a higher sensitivty setting, and when I do turn it down
I get the exact same results as you NOTHING when going from right to left. Either way the end result for both of us is the same when trying
to find these ghost targets NOTHING in the hole but AIR and NOTHING outside the hole but a pile of DIRT! I think I will do as you do and just
move on and stop thinking i'm doing something wrong to create this unknowing! Not to beat a dead horse but do have any ideas or opinions as to why the
Platinum would operate differently when going in one direction as opposed to the other? I don't know about you but i'm right handed do think I
may have been sold a left handed Platinum?

 

[gld2pan]

I have use my platinum for about 5 months and love it. One thing that I do notice is that, on some targets, I will get a strong tone from left to right and NOTHING from right to left. I used to dig these and never found anything. So, now if if it doesn't beep both ways I just move on.

Do you honeslty believe it will ever be 6 ?

 

[gordon5jeff]

I have use my platinum for about 5 months and love it. One thing that I do notice is that, on some targets, I will get a strong tone from left to right and NOTHING from right to left. I used to dig these and never found anything. So, now if if it doesn't beep both ways I just move on.

Do you honeslty believe it will ever be 6 ?

I'm sorry. I don't understand your question.

 

[gld2pan]

I have use my platinum for about 5 months and love it. One thing that I do notice is that, on some targets, I will get a strong tone from left to right and NOTHING from right to left. I used to dig these and never found anything. So, now if if it doesn't beep both ways I just move on.

Do you honeslty believe it will ever be 6 ?

I'm sorry. I don't understand your question.

I apologize i posted this in error

 

[mwaynebennett]

That is why the number system is so redicilous. It is like trying to use a micrometer to measure your shoe size. The primary design motivation for it is to separate people from their money.

Mark

 

[gld2pan]

That is why the number system is so redicilous. It is like trying to use a micrometer to measure your shoe size. The primary design motivation for it is to separate people from their money.

Mark

I thought the motivation was to find the money that was already separated from the people!

 

[mwaynebennett]

Nope, they tricked you also.

Mark

 

[gld2pan]

Nope, they tricked you also.

Mark

Mark I was just wondering if you have ever met one of them, you know the beings that you refer
to as they. Because their knowledge is endless, people speak all the time about them,

 

[mwaynebennett]

Yes

 

[jmann]

Let me guess u r either a beep dig kinda guy or u swear by tesoros. The meter or v.d.i. numbers r a super tool added to detectors to help the user ,along with tone response, decide when to dig! Its not a gimmic . Anyone that uses vdi,s will tell u ,experenced hobbiest, its not the vdi alone that stimulayes a dig response for the user. Its simply another tool in the users belt to aid in target i d. It kills me when someone who doesnt use vdi machines makes the assumption that everyone that does is foolish.

 

[Ed in SoDak]

I read a great quote here on Findmall, I think it was in a post by Elton or Monte. Anyway, it goes something like "You have to learn to fit your detector, because it won't learn how to fit itself to you."

If you read the manuals, they state right off that ID is a guide. If you're expecting 100% correct ID, it's going to elude you. It's not just sounding off on a whim with lottery number ID, there's a reason behind every beep or boop. All it takes is a little testing and taking the time to understand what's going on.

If somebody doesn't care for the "bells and whistles," that's fine, but it's counterproductive to make litlle of it. There's other models and brands that treat the signals differently, have other bells or dispense with them entirely. There's really no need for derogatory posts right, Mark? I may not use all the features, and you'll find most of them can be switched off if not wanted. Myself, I wouldn't enjoy the hunt as much without having the option of at least clicking over to check a signal in several different modes before digging. I didn't learn some of them overnight, but it's neat that I can grow into a machine learn more from it anytime I choose to make the effort.

I find BB-sized native iron in my yard I can collect with a magnet, but unseen otherwise and hard to even pinpoint. But the detector finds 'em no problem and it is very confusing till you find the source of a nuisance signal like that.

I've learned a lot just by experimenting with the iffy ID problem. Try slowing sweep speed to a crawl after hitting these types of signals. Now you might find two different items instead of just one "merged" ID. Or try ultra-short sweeps just over the signal itself. Don't sweep the coil so both outside edges go beyond the "center" of the signal. Just "putt" with the coil, keeping the center coil or rib of a DD coil over the target. For bottlecaps and .22 shells and some other items, try bobbing the coil up and down over it. You may find ID shifted down to iron, while "good" targets keep their high tones.

These are all things you can try with tossed down targets in your own yard or anywhere.

I made some coil sensitivity "graphs" and posted that in another thread. I discovered certain "bad ID" areas or patterns and unusual detection areas that can help explain some kinds of poor ID and why objects can be detected in places other than "dead-center" beneath the coil.

You can of course avoid all ID problems and most of the odd coil patterns by hunting in all-metal and digging everything. But just because some people think that's the only way to do it doesn't mean that's the way I choose. I much prefer ID with a little guesswork to all-metal and all-guess.

-Ed