Empty Hole

[cachenut]

I came across a spot where I got a strong 0-31, over and over again It seemed to cover a wide area though about a foot. I dug down about 4 inches over the whole thing and the signal disappeared. I got a faint signal from the dirt I removed and I checked it to be sure but I could find nothing but a small piece of rusted out tin can. The hole gave no more indication so I left it.

I forgot to say it would not pinpoint at all! ever.

I ran it in iron mask -16 too just to check it out. Same results.

Was this a rusted out tin can that fooled the minelab or did I walk away from silver?

I was running it smartfind with deep on and sensitivity set at 22 then.

Joe.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Explorer like any other unit can be fooled by rusty object and when taken out of the ground lose their halo and could be the problem.
Do remember its a powerfull unit and you may have been getting the edge of a deep object and when you removed the dirt may have altered the matrix of the ground and were unable to get..Older coins especially silver hit hard in most cases so doubt you left a goodie in the ground and perhaps just walked over a buried 57 chevy or the like..

 

[cachenut]

Thanks.

I just wanted to check cause some discriminate circuits go deeper than the all metal or pinpoint ones.

Joe.

 

[dsurcy]

Hello. I am a dedicated, but silent enthusiast of this forum.
I am new to minelab (explorer xs) and currently attempting
to "learn" the explorer. I depend heavily on this forum for
guiding my "learning" process.. but.. I just had a thought
about the disappearing can..
If a can stays in the ground, in place and rusts out.. wouldn't
that leave a "ghost" of the can in the ground and give a signal
denoting that? and.. if we "dig" the ghost can.. wouldn't we
disintegrate the "dusty" particles.. dispersing it into and diluting
it with the ground around it? Therefore changing or removing the
initial signal?
Oh well.. just a dumb thought I had..
I thank all for the continuing information that is a constant source
for my "learning" processes.. it is invaluable.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

A large signal like that means you are either over a huge deep target, and old bucket or axe head, or you are over a medium large near surface target in this case a rusty can lid. Theres a site I hunt sometimes which is a semi-steep hillside which has a lot of old coins but also no shortage of rusty cans that people tossed over the hill. The rusty can lids outnumber the coins 20 to 1 at least so the first thing I do is raise my coil off the ground a good 10 inches or more, if I'm still getting a signal its a near surface rusty can lid.

Coins are not as large as you sweep across them with an exception of a quarter freshly dropped on top of the ground. After a while you will be able to tell the difference between a coin sized target and a larger trash item by sweeping across it. That can be useful at times when coins are hiding next to, on top of larger objects. I found a really nice 1840s large cent a couple years back on top of an old rusty file that must have been 18 inches long at least. Both were giving a high tone, but the file seemed huge yet the large cent was smaller, coin sized as I swept across it. Once I removed the file I found another large cent just a few inches away. Ed and I had detecting over that spot several times before I hit it from just the right angle to hear the large cent.

 

[cachenut]

Sounds reasonable to me.

 

[cachenut]

It refused ti pinpoint and then when I dug the hole out it disappeared. I assumed it was a rusted away can or something that did it.

 

[Dave Z]

Last time I hunted with him,he had craters all over the place,looking for only God knows what.Last signal I saw him dig,he had a hole about two feet deep and 3 feet wide.His whole upper body would disappear when he leaned into the thing.I assume he has figured out the problem by now.Dave

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

It had silver crosses duct taped to it and a bunch of religious writing on the control box that appeared to be spells written in latin. Evidently the owner felt it was possessed of the devil and burried it.

 

[Ace]

This is where the X-1 shines, you should get one, you can see used ones @ eBay for about $100 w/upper shaft, or get a new ones they aren't that expensive. Anyways, I see your Explorer II is finally up and working.

Here's an idea someone might clarify, if you get a signal of 00-31 can you go into Smart mode and see if the cursor is jumpy to determine if it's trash or a good target next to or masked by trash?

 

[Dave Z]

Got so excited after digging up those two gold coins from the 1700's at three feet in your park,I left the detector there and ran home.haha.Dave

 

[Jim upstate NY]

n/t

 

[todd9146]

yup hot rock,same problem i have with the ex2 ,you have to edit it out and the problem will be gone

 

[ath]

As we all know, the Explorer is a Superb Detector, but once hear the target, put it in the pin point mode then start digging. Once the dirt has been disturbed most of the time the target disappears. Expecially if it is real small. You may be supprised. Let me know if this works for you. HH,Ron