Dirt Gold with the Vaquero

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Yesterday's site:
Pieces of aluminum siding - check.
Pull tabs - check.
Roofing nails - check.

This place was driving me crazy with junk targets, and I had half a mind to turn the disc up and just cherry pick for coins. Am glad I didn't.

Instead, I kept the Vaq at Tabman's settings which I've been using a lot lately and have been working out really well. Disc set to where a Gatorade foil cap just breaks up, barely audible threshold, sensitivity all the way up. I used to supertune all the time, but am finding that Tabman's settings give more information and fewer false signals. Thank you Tab for sharing your knowledge!

I checked with the landowners and they hadn't lost any rings. They said I can keep it.

 

[tabman]

Holly Mosses, that's a gorgeous gold wedding band. I know that you're on cloud nine. I that I would be.

I've been doing some testing with a 0.97 gram 14k gold ring that I recently found. It's really small. It still comes in at my normal settings, but it comes in just a tad better right before the foil cap discriminates out. I put a tick mark on the face plate with a fine point magic marker to make sure that I'm setup right when I'm looking for gold rings.

tabman

 

[Furious T]

Nice one ! Also a really good example of how we can help and be helped on the forums. HH

 

[metalfun]

n/t

 

[dirt doctor]

Nice going on the sweet ring .

 

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Thanks all. I am indeed on cloud 9.

 

[kansa54]

Nice find square nail. Were you using the stock coil?

 

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Kansa54, yup. The stock coil.

 

[John(Tx)]

is always a thrill to find. May I ask what Tabman's settings are? Thanks and good hunting.

 

[square_nail]

John, ground balance slightly negative, keep the threshold to where it's barely audible, set the sensitivity as high as it will go, switch to disc mode, and set the disc to where a Gatorade foil cap starts to break up. At least that's my understanding of Tabman's settings. They've been working great for me, even when I'm hunting the woods and at old cellar hole sites. Tab just mentioned that he's starting to set the disc even lower than the point where the Gatorade foil cap breaks up. I'll have to try that too. I used to crank the threshold up all the time but I think the noise-to-signal ratio was just too much in trashy sites. With the threshold at around 1:00, the ground noises and partially-discriminated signals stay more in the background and the good signals really stand out, target depth is more easily determined, and the sensitivity can be cranked up more without the machine getting unstable. Hope this helps.

 

[Beale]

Congrats on the sweet Gold Ring! I have a Question on the settings as I also have a Vaquero. Why do you put the unit in a slightly negative Ground Balance? I am making the guess that when you do so the Ground sound is louder on the GB procedure or is it the other way around? Beale.

 

[kaolinwasher]

nice

 

[tabman]

Congrats on the sweet Gold Ring! I have a Question on the settings as I also have a Vaquero. Why do you put the unit in a slightly negative Ground Balance? I am making the guess that when you do so the Ground sound is louder on the GB procedure or is it the other way around? Beale.

You get a little bit better depth with a slightly negative ground balance on the Vaquero. Too much negative and it gets too noisy. On my Vaquero and in my ground after I get a perfect ground balance, I turn the the ground balance knob about a 1/4 of a turn to the negative. You just want a little bit more sound when the coil is on the upstroke than the down stroke when ground balancing in the all metal mode. I want depth, but I don't want a bunch of ground noise in my ear from having it too negative.

tabman

 

[square_nail]

Beale, Tabman is right on the money. I do the same thing.

 

[John(Tx)]

" After I get a perfect ground balance, I turn the the ground balance knob about a 1/4 of a turn to the negative." This means turning GB 1/4 turn counter clockwise? thanks

 

[tabman]

" After I get a perfect ground balance, I turn the the ground balance knob about a 1/4 of a turn to the negative." This means turning GB 1/4 turn counter clockwise? thanks

Yes, it depends on your soil how much. Mine is about a 1/4 turn counterclockwise. You want just a little negative. The audio tone should be just a tad louder when you raise the coil than when you push it towards the ground.

tabman

 

[Beale]

Thanks Tabman! I jost got mine. I had one before but used it very little. My single best Jewlery Find ever though was eith the Vaquero. In a Elementery School play lot around yhe sand box. I found a 21K Ring. I had never heard of 21K. I found out they use it a lot in Asia. This school was in a District with a high Aisian Population. That one find made my entire Year!

I need to get out and use this one. I have some good old Homes that I have permission on. I want to tey your settings. I do not mind digging trash one bit. Heck if I dig all the trash and come away with 3 or 4 Wheat's mayby a Buffalo or even an old Compact I am a happy camper, Beale.

 

[Beale]

Tabman I want you to know. I tried your settings for the 1st time the other day. It really made a difference in a short 1 hour hunt. I did not find much only 2 Wheat's and an Older Shotgun style Base. The point is those good signals rang in crisp, clean and I will continue to use this method. Thanks again Beale.