Is my SE in need of service? (Part II)

[Jaichim24]

Ok, some back ground, I've put about 30+ hours (I kno wI need more) into my SE which I bought used on eBay. I believe the detector was purchased from KellyCo in Nov 2007, so it's not that old. All of the pics below, I put on a plastic recycling bin, which lifted the item off the ground a bit over 2 feet. I had my SE in factory default settings. Sometimes I put it in all metal mode depending on the item. I live in a fairly old house circa 1850 and my yard is very trashy. I know it's probably not the best place to learn the SE, but it does have a ton of targets. I was able to pin point a wheat penny surrounded by iron, but I'm getting some crazy readings at times. My Fer and Cond readings are a bit off I believe. I usually go to this site Minelab Explorer XS Fer and Cond readings I also found another that listed even more, similar to this site. I can't find the link. My question, do the readings my Explorer SE seem a bit off. Should I send it in to be serviced?

[attachment 87253 oddnails.jpg]Ok, I'm really not certain about these. They look like nails, even modern nails given those horizontal hash marks. There is no head to them, perhaps from a nail gun? The thing that is confusing me are the Fer and Cond readings on them. Every pass has a cond of 01, with a fer content ranging from 11-14. For the most part it read 12 and 11, with the occasional 13 or 14. Is this sort of range normal? The only items I see on the list that are usually that low cond are gold items. I do not think these are gold. Any ideas?

[attachment 87255 oddlead1front.jpg]I personally think this might be made up partially of lead. The odd thing is when swinging over it from right to left I would get one reading fairly consistantly, then going over that top section, which was swinging left to right, I would get another reading. Basically 3 "sides" had the right to left reading, and the 4th side would always read differently when I passed over it first.

[attachment 87256 oddlead1back.jpg]This is the back side of the first chunk of lead I'll call it. It's really odd, this is a different material than the metal. Perhaps really old paint? The thing that is killing me are the Fer and Cond readings on this. Going by other postings this could be gold? I really doubt this is made up of a precious metal. Thus my thoughts about the integrity of my detector, any thoughts?

[attachment 87257 oddlead2front.jpg]This metal looks exactly the same as the metal from the piece above. It's like 2 pieces of lead encased in something. The readings say it could be a penny, yay! It is not as conductive as the first piece, perhaps because there is more of the non-metal looking material surrounding it? They were found within a foot of each other. Any ideas?

[attachment 87258 oddlead2back.jpg]This is the back side, what is attached to the metal is white in color, almost looks layered. It's cracked almost like old paint, probably is paint. I'm just not used to seeing it layed on so thick, and painted on to lead. It is rock hard, and when I scrap it it sounds like rock or metal.

[attachment 87259 chromecap.jpg] This is a chrome cap. Just posting it because it had crazy readings. If I swept over it high, simulating a deep target, it would get me a high Fer and no Cond. When I swept over it close, the detector was everywhere. I would get random numbers from 5-30 on both Fer and Cond. Is this normal? Almost touching I'd get 30/30.

Well, that's it for the slide show, hope everyone enjoyed it! So, am I experiencing the normal Explorer SE issues, or is there something up with my detector? Also, any feedback in regards to what some of this stuff is would be greatly appreciated. I know some of it's trash, but I'm still curious.

Thanks in advance for all of your help.

Jai

 

[Andrus(ut)]

I only own the XS but I can pretty much guarantee that your machine is fine. I think you are too concerned about accuracy of digital. For me I use the smart screen for reference only the cursor jumps all over the place, I find coins by sound, and feel with some confirmation from the smart screen.. I am sure your machine would lock right on a coin with proper readings with nothing around the coin. But this is not practical in the field. For me the digital numbers are a waste of time, I prefer to look at a graph which is less confusing.

 

[digitrich]

All your lead readings are exactly where they are supposed to be. Different siizes, shapes and corrosion will hop the numbers around a bit. My advice is to take some change out of your pocket and test that. You will find that allot more consistent with what ever charts you are looking at.

 

[Jaichim24]

Thanks all for the responses. I guess I'm going through the normal SE adjustment period. Anyone have an opinion on what type of metal those nails are made of?

 

[ihuntrelics!]

definately what it is and also there are way too many targets that read the exact same digits and cursor positon. Add to that multiple targets next to each other, soil conditions and depth. This is the same for all types of ID detectors not just Minelab. Remembering back over 4 years ago I scanned all kinds of civil war relics I had so as to write down and get used to the digits for future hunts. Well I learned all the digits and only dug those good digits. I wasn't digging as many targets as before and was leaving alot of good and bad targets in the soil. Now I hunt in all metal and dig eveything or I just selct a nail discrimination pattern if alot of nails are present. I was supprised at all the stuff I was missing before just by being selective in digging. Hope this helps. HH!!

 

[Jaichim24]

I just got permission to dig on the property next door to me it dates back to the early 1800's. It used to be a mill, first making covered wagons, and then making trolley's. The town burned the remaining structure down in 1960. I talked with the land owner and he pointed out a stone that used to be the front door of the mill and to about where the structure ended. He showed me where some other structures were as well. One of the property markers consists of four rifle barrels stuck down through a stone wall! I can't wait to get out there! Thanks all for the feedback, I've been holding off on going to some places other than my own property until I got a bit more experience and received a bit of clarification.