Does anyone know where I can get a field report on the White's XL Pro? :)

[Kelley (Texas)]

n/t

 

[crazyman]

Kelly, Here ya go!

http://www.losttreasure.com/fieldtests/index.cfm

http://www.garysdetecting.co.uk/6000pro.htm

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

that the Indian head penny will give a slightly lower reading than a copper wheat penny. Somewhere I read about this subject, may be in a book "Taking A Closer Look At Metal Detector Discrimination" by Robert Brockett. I just pulled this book from my book case and will see if this subject is discussed. I am having fun still learning about this detector. Thanks for providing the links. Kelley (Texas)

 

[crazyman]

Here's some Indians from one of my favorite ghost town sites. They read between pulltab and penny around 48-50 on the VDI scale. Some other sites I hunt they have come in slightly higher.

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

I just thumbed through "Taking A Closer Look At Metal Detector Discrimination" and saw where the author stated that the Indian head penny will show up anywhere from 40-50 on the scale...wheat pennys from 50 to 60.

Wheat pennys from 50 to 60...but the top scale for "pennys" on the meter indicates 58-70? This book was written for the older White's 6000 which may be the reason for conflict of the actual meter reading. I suspect that I will have to watch very closely and determine where the targets read on the meter for my detector...and just use the book for a guide only.

Am I to assume that learning the readings on the meter will be the bulk of the learning curve on this detector? Kelley (Texas)

 

[crazyman]

Kelly I also own the 6000DI Pro SL and the readings are the same as on the XL Pro. Ground mineralization or the lack of and the angle and depth of the target can change VDI readings higher or lower. If I'm hunting old parks or lawns for old coins I depend on the sound and depth indications more than the VDI on the meter. Combine this with the ability to size the target with that excellent analog needle and you have one of the best machines made for cherry picking old coins amongst the trash and clad.

 

[Monte]

First, I'll just remind you and readers than, all too often, the "Field reports" we have read in various magazines tend to point of the features and say all sorts of nice things about the particular detector. I'm not saying all field reports are useless, just that you have to use a little caution with some of them.

That said, let me add this reminder regarding the excellent White's XL Pro, and it applies to each and every make and model of Target ID detector on the market. There is not such thing as a "perfect detectors" and there nothing to the myth that one brand's visual TID is "always accurate" or "can be trusted 100%"[/i] because, well they just aren't that good!

I read ahead and you also asked about the typical Target ID that you get from an Indian Head penny. The short answer is this: Most Indian Head cents, as well and many early 'wheatback' cents from 1909 to the early-to-mid 1920's, will usually produce a visual Target ID readout very similar to the modern US zinc cent."

The early "fat boy" Indian Heads and Flying Eagle cents read differently, and we must remember that ANY COIN, RING, OR OTHER METAL TARGET CAN READ 'OFF' from what we would expect under ideal (air or bench test) conditions depending upon the target's position, shape, wear, damage, and depth, as well as factors such as ground mineralization, ground moisture content, nearby masking targets, detector make and model, coil type and size, coil/target presentation, and operator related factors.

How can you know what target readings might be like at any given site? You dig the targets up.

I always suggest that when hunting a new site that you don't know anything about, set the detector up at the highest gain/sensitivity level you can handle w/o chatter, and use the lowest discriminate setting you can tolerate.

Then, for the next 30-45 minutes, or perhaps an hour if it takes that long to hit on a good enough number of targets to learn, you recover all iffy and good sounding target hits. ALL OF THEM.

You listen to how the target sounds, and you look to see what the TID reading is you get on a well-centered target sweep, and then you dig it up and take a look. In that 30-60 minute period you ought to have a good idea if there are many challenges at your site that can alter the Target ID, or if you're fortunate to be hunting in some decent ground and will have good to above average TID results.

Happy Hunting,

Monte

 

[poptop]

Well Tex...here is my opinion in layman terms. There are too many possible conditions for anyone to be able to tell you what something is going to read on your meter. It all depends on your soil and the depth of a target. The deeper any target is...the lower on the scale it will read unless a soil condition has given it a halo to compensate for that or it is a fairly shallow target to begin with. No need to have concern over a good signal on a shallow target...just dig it! I might mention that the halo effect in my opinion is overrated as is the coin on edge theory. I have found a quarter on edge at over three inches and guess what....it still metered as a quarter with very little loss. ID stays fairly reliable for the first zero to four or five inches but after that things start changing very fast. At eight inches deep in low mineralized soil, a quarter will often read as a dime or even zinc penny. A beer can at ten or twelve inches will read like a coin if you fail to size it, but will bang the meter past the 100 mark if it is shallow. In hard dry ground a IH may not go deep and read about the same as a zinc but at seven inches+ in my soil it's gonna read down in the nickle, tabs range or even lower... if it reads at all. For these reasons I have always felt that notch was the dumbest feature to ever grace a detector. No serious detectorist should ever use it. Who cares if it prefers one piece of junk over another. That nickel is only worth five cent more than a pull tab, but it will knock you totally out of a barber, seated or anything of value that is very deep and now reads in the tab range. Meter ID does not take depth into consideration..that's your job. I don't want to give the impresion that I have found a sack full of silver, but I do know how I found what few pieces I've got. I posted a tip here about the stack of phone books with targets placed randomly between the pages. You said that would be good practice for folks in the north when it's cold. That's good practice for anyone, any where, any time..period. I fully believe that you will learn ten times more with a test bed of any type than you will in the field. Why?....that's simple. How can you solve a crime after you have destroyed all the evidence? The second you shove that digger in the ground, you have disturbed everything concerning that target. All you are really going to find out, is if your guess was right or wrong. If it was right...you won't really know for sure why. If you set things up in a test bed....you know what's below that coil before you start figuring out the sound and meter. Then you can apply that information in the field with very similar results. The other thing I might mention is don't worry what exact number is on that meter beforehand because if it sounds good and you feel it's above trash..you are going to dig it anyway. Just remember what the reading is each time before you dig so you can compare the results with your discovered target for future reference. I use a list of shallow reading numbers on my machine for a base to subtract from after the depth is considered. You must always use the depth reading on your target to judge what it might be along with the audio and meter reading beyond a shallow depth. For example, if I get a signal that reads penny, dime and I go to pinpoint and read the depth at seven or eight inches, You can bet your dog that it's going to be bigger than a penny. I'm going to start digging because I know that at that depth it's going to be a larger something, hopefully a quarter or better and because it's deep...it might be a good old one. With my luck though, it's usually a brass key. The meter or digital readout on any single frequency machine made is only reliable on coin sized objects to a relatively shallow depth, no matter what anyone claims. At those shallow depths it's easy work to dig just about anything. Beyond that, it is dependant on your interpretation of the erratic behavior of your machine and what is causing it beneath the coil. The funniest thing I hear someone say in the field is " I ain't gonna dig no eight inches for a penny"(southern talk). Thank goodness they won't because as soon as they get out of my way, I will dig up that silver quarter. I don't have near the experience that many have on this forum, so If I am mistaken here...please straighten me out so I don't pass on bogus information. If I am wrong...I've got a lying detector for sale and I'm moving away from this soil. I Hope this helps Tex and thanks for making me feel welcome.

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

I had finally come to the conclusion that the readings on the meter would have to be determined at each site being hunted. I am hoping to do some hunting tomorrow morning if the rain will hold off. Again, thanks for the information. Kelley (Texas)

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

I was looking for additional information in regards to meter readings. In the past, on occasion, I have found field reports helpful in clarifying the use of the controls on a detector when not understanding something in the owner's manual. Thanks for the information. Kelley (Texas)