Dig only 11's and 12's ?

[tcornel]

I have only 12 to 15 hours on my CTX so any help would be appreciated.

When running in coin mode it would seem that I should just dig the 11-? and 12-? readings. Outside of those
seems to be just aluminum trash or iron. Looking at the available TDI charts seems to confirm this.

Are there things in the 15 to 19 range that are worth digging? I am not interested in iron artifacts but do enjoy
researching various badges, etc.

 

[LandOLincoln]

Depending on what is in the hole with the coin/ring/etc the numbers could be all over the place. Besides you never know what it is until you dig it up regardless of numbers.

 

[Jason in Enid]

You will miss a LOT of good targets if you only dig FE 11-12. I would easily dig everything that hit between 01- and 20. IT also makes a huge difference depending on whether you are in ground-coin or Fe-coin. THE TID CHANGES!

 

[tcornel]

Thanks for the input. I have been in ground coin as a place to start. If I understand what you are saying if 2 targets are close to one another then the TID will be a blend of the 2 ?

 

[Rick(ND)]

I am not a expert on the CTX but I do own one and still learning. I have right now my Sovereign GT and have used all the different Explorer and the E-Trac and learned the first thing is go by the tones first, then look at the conductivity number and last look at the ferrous numbers if you are a coin hunter. The tone are the most accurate ID and if they sound good I look at my meter to see the conductivity number and if they are within range I will then look at the ferrous number which can vary when looking at them if the target isn't surface one, my range is anywhere from 1-21 my first glance and will work the signal to try to get the best signal and see if I can get the ferrous number from 8-17 and see if I can get it closer to the 12 by working the signal from different angles. Now a silver dollar or halves may read 1 or 2 on the ferrous, but for me I would think the conductivity would have to be 45-48 for me to get concerned.
A nail in with a coin can cause the ferrous number to be in the high teens and why I like to switch to the open screen to see what is all down there or any iffy signal to I switch to the open screen.
Always when in doubt I will dig and find mostly rusty nails and iron and even other trash, but also seen some nice stuff this way too.
Have patience, listen for those tones which you will learn from experience and dig anything that is deep and iffy sounding as you never know what others have walked over as it was not a perfect signal.

Rick

 

[Jason in Enid]

Thanks for the input. I have been in ground coin as a place to start. If I understand what you are saying if 2 targets are close to one another then the TID will be a blend of the 2 ?

No, it won't blend them, but it's hard to tell exactly how the numbers will read. It will be jumping between the two and may show one target on one swing and the other on the next. The key is to listen to the tones. If you are getting a good tone IN THE SAME SPOT then dig it. if you are getting a broken/jumpy tone and the spot on the ground seems to be jumping around several inches then it is an iron false.

 

[mcb613]

If your new, certainly getting use to machine and digging 11 and 12s is not a bad idea in my mind. I only say that because most good targets do indeed fall in that range. There are those exceptions for sure. Ill probably get blasted for this position, but it is only my opinion. After you start to feel comfortable with machine and your ability, sure expand and rehunt those 11/12 dug sites. Good luck!

 

[INSAYN]

I would open that to include 13's as well. Silver can and will hit in the 13's.

 

[mcb613]

For sure on that! Missed that!

 

[tcornel]

I am new to the CTX. Spend 3 years with AT Pro with many coils. Probably 2000 + hours on that one. Big difference, not the least is the tones.
With the ATP iron is low and good hits are high. Exactly opposite on the CTX. ATP only has 3 tones.

One of the reasons I changed was to hopefully be able to dig less through better target identification. Also to
get better depth at the ocean where I spend 6 to 8 weeks a year.

With the ATP I dug everything other than iron hits.

I think until i get maybe 100 hours on this I will dig the 10 to 14 range. I need to learn the programs and learn
when to use each one.

Thanks for the feedback, it is appreciated.

 

[jas415]

If there are things to target and dig up that are not in those 10-14 number ranges, I am not aware of them. What 'stuff' will ring in those ranges? If the numbers are bouncing around and the other available info, tone, icon location, size and color is not solid, what could be there? To me, if the numbers were weird, BUT all the other available information was good (tone, icon location, size of icon, color, etc.), than I would dig it. Use ALL the information you have available. Yeah, some folks always say, if in doubt dig it. And to a great degree that is pretty true, but at my age I have a finite number of digs left and I would prefer to use them on more favorable targets

Sube has some really good videos on trash, depth, differentiation of close lying coins and iron, and basically ways to make the 'dig' decision!

I dont recall digging anything ever that had numbers you reference. I just dont trust the numbers to be the primary reason to dig. For me, on the sites I usually hunt (residential and commercial demolition sites) , the numbers are all over the place and using the numbers ONLY are, to me, a very poor reason to dig a target. The CTX is designed to give you a bunch of information to make a decision to dig. Several pieces of information that, again to me, should be used on almost every target; tone, icon location on the screen, color of icon, size, repeat-ability left/right and north/south, and for me, numbers are the very last thing used.

Please dont take any of my comments as 'smart a$$' or 'know it all', but use all the information the machine gives you to make the decision. Yeah you might pass up something good, but IMHO the amount of crap you will dig in the interim will discourage you.

 

[mcb613]

Jas415. Im with ya. Additionally, why did we pay so much for this CTX machine if we dont intend to be able to dig strategically. If I should dig all targets, them maybe I'll sell the CTX and buy a 1980's machine at yardsale for $10! I think some are missing why we bought the new technology.

 

[tcornel]

MCB613............Exactly.

Jas415..............I will use all information available (especially sound) and will still dig "to see what is there". Still learning those things. The carpal tunnel kicks in after a point so I need to rely on my
equipment to direct me to the most productive digs. Yesterday in a 4 hour hunt I dug about 30 things with mid to high tones and ended up with little pieces of aluminum
and foil, some 1/3 the size of a dime. I did find a clad dime that rang 12ish with other trash in the hole. Target separation is superior.

I am waiting to find something outside of the 10 to 14 range (coin mode) that is worthwhile. If in trash mode the 0 to 4 kicks in for big silver. Perhaps someone has specific examples with pics to give us new people encouragement.

 

[INSAYN]

The occasional good coin on edge, or on tilt laying directly over or under iron can and will make your numbers get all wonky. You may not even get a number in the 10-14 range, and it may be more in the 23-35 range. However, there is usually a distinct repeatable high tone in there that I would be chasing.

I've recovered most of my silver coins and wheat pennies this way, as my small town parks and schools have really been hammered by Compass and Whites owners since the 60's.
Whites factory is just a few hours south of me, and Compass was right here in town till 1996 when it burned down. So, most of my silver has been severely masked by some thing, that even the older Whites/Compass and $10 detectors missed for one reason or another.

For me it's the high tone first, (a non broken repeatable tone at least 2 or more directions) then icon quality, location and then of course numbers.

I still purposely dig squeaky nails just to get them out of the ground. There are hunts where if I didn't dig nails, I didn't dig anything at all. That is where my local parks and schools are right now.

 

[mcb613]

Insayn, are we talkin the same language here? I think most feel that the variable numbers are on the conductive side. Looks like your talkin ferrous numbers 10-14's, which for me are usually stable. Matter of fact, I dont see much if any outside the 10-14 range, every. The on edge comment is conductive side, Unless im crazy.

 

[INSAYN]

mcb613, Yes, ferrous numbers 10 to 14 are normal.

The 23 to 35 ferrous numbers with the distinct high tone, could easily be masked coins that are on edge near iron. The VID's are hitting off the iron, but you can hear a clear high tone from the coin.
I wouldn't even notice 23-35 ferrous numbers if I didn't get a high tone in the first place. Once I can get a good clean repeatable high tone in at least in 1 to 2 directions, I look at the screen for more detail that could tell me what I might have under the coil.

Iron that is leaching a non ferrous halo into the ground, can give a high tone, but is usually broken, short, or not reliably repeatable. Also when pinpointed the target will be off to the side where the host nail is sitting.

 

[Wayfarer]

There are hunts where if I didn't dig nails, I didn't dig anything at all. That is where my local parks and schools are right now.

Exactly! I've been detecting for 35 years and experienced the remaining silver get harder and harder to find. For awhile in the 80's, you could still pull silver using various tricks, like listening for broken tones, maked targets, hunting difficult to reach areas under bushes, etc. All those tricks have been used now for so long that it's near impossible to find anything of value in any older park. All older parks have been pounded over and over and over using every trick in the book. Even the etracs and ctx's, are running out of findable targets in parks. If you want silver, you'd be better served by getting a job at McDonald's, you could "find" at least a Merc per hour that way!

Silver is what the Minelabs are best at, so with ever dwindling remaining silver coins, I'm not sure if maybe Minelab is going down a dead-end road. If metal detector manufacturers want to survive, I think they're going to have to start focusing on jewelry which is the main worthwhile target type that is being continually replenished.

Sorry for the off topic rant :blush:... but I love detecting and want to see the hobby survive!

 

[Johnnyanglo]

I'd agree, the park silvers are few and far between. However, the silvers remain untouched on private land and homes. Gotta knock on doors if you want silvers.

Johnnyanglo