Can you detect in frozen ground?

[harryhh]

Last spring I first went out when the ground was mostly thawed. I did go to one place that was heavily shaded. In a few areas there was moss on the ground with ice crystals on it. I got indecipherable signals from this. I don't know if the ground underneath was thawed as in other places.

When it warms up some and the snow melts, I'm thinking of going out with the ctx even if the ground is frozen, just for practice.
Even though I won't be able to dig, will the ctx still give me good readings in frozen ground?

 

[parkgt]

I have gotten good signals in frozen ground in shady spots, but moved on to thawed areas in the sun. Since I couldn't dig as you mentioned I couldn't confirm the identity of the targets.

 

[harryhh]

Thanks parkgt. My apologies for making a post, and then immediately taking a nap.

So, I'll try the frozen ground and see if the ctx is stable. I never did figure out why the moss with the ice crystals made the machine go crazy.

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

Frozen ground does not affect the detector's ability. And the fact that you can't dig means you will get lots of REALLY good signals.

 

[Crusty]

And the fact that you can't dig means you will get lots of REALLY good signals.

So true

Dave

 

[DE-Digger]

What Chris said!

 

[harryhh]

I can see how that would happen.

 

[WaterWalker]

I have to say YES, yet I was not there.
I retired from the US Navy in 1985, went back home to CT and knowing a swimming hole had closed before I joined the Navy in 1965 I headed straight for the beach.
I spent 3 hours and only found ONE penny, went home and put away my detector and EVERYTHING had been found!
A couple of years later I joined a MD club and talked to a few members that took me under their wings. They taught me a lot. INCLUDING that back in the 70's when the water was lowered at my abandoned swimming hole, the group had gone detecting on the frozen ground with pics, chisels and hammer in hand they pulled a countless number of rings and other valuable targets from the ground. They also told me of the days when you went home with ONLY 5 or 6 gold rings...YOU and a BAD day.

I listened to them, learned very valuable lessons and techniques...and have so much more to learn and pass on...
Enjoy.

 

[harryhh]

Thanks WaterWalker.

I have 3 old parks from before 1870 that I can go to, but last spring, while I had use of the detector, I only found two old coins. I going to use different techniques this year and hope to do better.

If I could find just one gold ring.

 

[McClod]

Frozen ground does not affect the detector's ability. And the fact that you can't dig means you will get lots of REALLY good signals.

True, but the beauty of the CTX is that you can pinpoint it's location with the GPS then go back when it thaws. I have actually done this when our ground was too hard to dig and I just had to get out of the house for awhile and hunt. Went back and the GPS got me close enough that I found all the targets I had created waypoints to within a few feet of the mark! A little hunting around was required but not that much! I was happy with that.

 

[Digger]

the beauty of the CTX is that you can pinpoint it's location with the GPS then go back when it thaws. I have actually done this when our ground was too hard to dig and I just had to get out of the house for awhile and hunt. Went back and the GPS got me close enough that I found all the targets I had created waypoints to within a few feet of the mark! A little hunting around was required but not that much! I was happy with that.

 

[McClod]

Thanks Randy!

One thing I should add to my post that may be obvious, that is to all create a find point or only create a find point, because a find point will capture depth and signal data that a waypoint will not. Its more motivating to me to want to navigate back to a particular spot at a later date when I can see what signal and depth reading I was originally looking at.

One thing I've found myself doing that others may or may not think is worthwhile and that is to create multiple find points when I find a target worth investigating and digging. It might clutter up your folders a bit but the extra points can always be deleted, but it helps me see and be aware of the various range of target ID that a target can show up as when hunting. I make a note of the ID range in the one find point I decide to keep so I have better data for other targets in the future.

All kinds of great uses for the GPS feature and functionality of this great machine that is probably not being g taken adva stage of by others but I love the feature! It could get you back to your car for that matter if you go off on a long trek through the woods with your head down too much not looking at your surroundings. Its just too handy of a feature to not take advantage of just IMO.