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Mikes CZ page??
- Thread starter Whimpster
- Start date
Try this one: Mike's CZ page
mrwilburino
Member
I believe these are all of his CZ tips. Since it's so long, it needs to be divided into two posts. I hope it's not a problem that I post this information here, if so then the mods can delete it.
ID
1) Indian Head pennies ID as zinc on my CZ7A. Therefore, if you are in an old area and get a 3-inch plus depth reading on zinc you better dig.
2) Every time I got a nickel reading, it was a nickel except for one time. At four inches, instead of a nickel I got a nice sterling wrist bracelet (links style) stamped .925. If the meter bounced between nickel and whatever, it was trash. I dug two nails that bounced between coin and zinc, and pinpointed like a coin. I suspected they were iron and wanted to verify it and they were.
3) I have never found anything good when digging a weak, pure iron signal that pinpoints in the same location. It has always been a deep small piece of iron. Sometimes it's not much larger than a nail head at 10-12 inches.
4) Deeper targets seem to bounce from their identity, to iron, in mineralized soil.
5) When I get a reading that bounces high and low, I sweep it several times, listening to the tone while looking at the ground to determine the source (pinpoint location) of the signal. You should dig these signals and when you find a few coins, the experience becomes deeply ingrained into your detecting patterns. You will then be able to better judge when and when not to dig these types of signals. Yes, you will dig some nails but I don't mind digging 2-3 nails for a nice older coin, as sometimes my ratio is as good as 50-50.
6) I have dug some coins, including silver dimes that were at 3" that gave strong signals and although they were shallow, still bounced. For me, the signals were to good to pass up and I sure am glad that I dug them.
7) If you like old nickels, especially "V" nickels (or are in a buffalo hunt) ALWAYS dig the nickel iron bounce, no matter how much higher the iron percentage to nickel you receive. It may not always be a nickel but it won't be iron.
I like to set the volume at "5" because I know that soft, low volume "high coin" beeps are usually deep coins.
9) I almost never use the "boost". With the wheat penny I heard the very soft high coin beep about 50% of the time, it disappeared at times from one direction, and then the other, and then it just disappeared altogether. I paused for a minute to get my thoughts together, changed the angle a little and tried it again. The audio ID came back, this time a little more than 50% of the time, so I dug it.
10) If you get a deep iron reading and get a good sounding signal at 90-degree angles and when pinpointing, the target stays in one place and does not move when pinpointed, it's likely a good target.
11) A bouncing indication on the meter between two target indications most likely means trash.
12) If you get a loud high repeatable signal, and after you pinpoint, it seems long shaped, not crisp and sharp, lift the coil a foot off the ground. If you still hear it loud, it's probably a can or big iron target. If you're looking for a cache then, DIG!
13) Pay very close attention to your audio resonance. This is the MAIN key to a good target and makes a good hunter prevail among others.
14) Regarding the bouncing between two different targets: if it bounces from coin to zinc, from what I have seen, it is iron.
15) I read you found a war nickel which has about 35% silver in it and it came in as zinc.
16) All "clad" Canadian coins with the exception of cents and some nickels register as square pull-tabs on CZ series machines. Therefore, in order to get coins (dime thru $2.) you have to dig all square tabs. If you are having this problem, try this: When you get a square tab reading flip the "salt" switch to "salt" and pass the coil back over the target a few times. If the signal remains mid-range and the dial continues to read tab - it is a pull-tab or similar junk. If the meter now reads as a coin and the signal changes to high tone, you have a coin - almost always. I have been using this system on the past dozen or so trips to local parks and have found it to be better than 90% accurate. Oh, by the way, don't forget to flip the salt switch back to normal before you go on to your next target.
17) If you want to find gold, you're gonna have to dig some trash. Try digging your foil signals and some square tabs as well. Dig readings that bounce around from foil to tabs too.
1 Not too long ago someone had written that if you are hunting and get a belltone sound, raise the coil a few inches. If you get a good signal, then dig the target, which could be a coin. If the belltone continues target is probably junk.
19) Can sounds are much larger and you can raise the coil sometimes over a foot off the ground and still hear them as such. Coin sounds are more like a "dot". Deeply buried nails and iron pipes can give you a false coin signal also. Most of the time you will get what I call a "droopy" coin signal, but not a solid sound. A repeatable coin signal that sounds solid is a coin or something worth digging up for sure! Sometimes you will get a signal only one way, but dig it. I've found many coins that way and most of them were silver.
20) Any targets that are 5" or more will likely ID as iron. Discrimination only goes so deep. Anyone can verify this by an air check. If you take a nickel and detect it, then tune it out by turning up the discrimination and hold it high above the nickel, you'll still get a return off the nickel. So, it shows that a deep target will do the same in the ground, and will ID most likely as iron.
21) I dig all zinc signals at 4 inches and deeper. Most of my incrusted wheats have come off as zinc signals at 4-6 inches. Also, my first Eagle "A" button came off as a zinc signal. If I am pressed for time, I skip the zincs at 2 inches and above.
22) I always have my CZ6 audio boost turned up to 10 when hunting in "silver country". A silver coin at 4-6 inches sounds a lot different than a silver dime at 1-2 inches with the boost at 10. The audio isn't the same with a deep coin at 7 inches + with the volume set at 10, as it is with a surface coin. Its close but there is a slight difference that says its a deep one.
23) Coins will usually repeat at 90-degree angles.
24) Iron will usually pinpoint off target.
25) I like to run the discrimination at one. I'll watch the meter as I'm scanning a target, if it bounces from coin to zinc and back it's usually iron. Haven't dug a coin yet that did that but that's not saying it can't be.
26) If my meter starts ID'ing at zinc first and then wants to go to coin and back I will usually check it out. But, if it starts with coin and goes to zinc and back, it's usually a different story. I guess there's a risk of losing something if you don't dig it. There's just too many variables involved to say for sure it is this or that. But, when the ground is wet, it doesn't take long to dig the target.
27) If you hunt at 0 discrimination those wheats and a few other coppers can give that low iron buzz.
2 Wheat cents will sometimes jump between zinc and coin here, as have a couple of deep Indian head pennies. I recovered two tokens at an old church site that did the same.
29) I have noticed that iron will usually pinpoint off center. I don't rely on that trait, though, to eliminate the possibility of it being a coin. I have found that a coin on edge will also pinpoint off center.
30) Remember, if you are in sand, clay, or front/back yard topsoil, that Civil War button may sound like a nail under certain circumstances. I do know that breastplates, 15 inches deep in sand, sound like coins. Bullets...coin. Gold rings... mid tone. Buttons ... mid tone... pop tops... mid tone. Bullets over 8-9 in. deep...faint, coin/iron mix. The aluminum stuff is a curse all its own.
31) Normally I don't always dig those zinc penny readings, but I decided that I would try to dig a few just to see what I would get. One of the zinc readings on my meter said 4 inches deep so I dug it out and got a 1961 Canadian nickel. And my best find for that day gave me a solid zinc reading at 2 inches and I dug out an aluminum play spoon. I then swept the coil over the hole again and got a good coin reading. To my surprise I dug out a sterling silver 1st lieutenant bar obviously worn by an air force officer at one time. That aluminum spoon was masking the lieutenant bar! I wonder how many detectors got the same zinc reading and just passed by this same target?
32) I hunted a park near my home today with my CZ6a and the 8" loop. I found 4 rusted bottle caps in a row, all were between 2 and 3 inches deep, and they all registered a solid nickel reading even on the cross sweep. I was a little surprised thinking that the CZ detectors would read high coin on rusty items.
33) Here's some more items that commonly go off as nickels; The metal part of pencil erasers, .22 cal. bullet casings, bits of lawn mower chopped aluminum cans, some square tabs, and a few more I can't seem to remember now. The main thing to remember is that the CZ's will flat find nickels! Don't be tempted to quit digging those signals because the ratio of actual nickels to junk items is in favor of it being a nickel by a large margin.
34) I would investigate on any nickel reading. While there are quite a few wads of foil where I have been finding silver coins I also got a no-date Buffalo and the 1943P silver war nickel. I have found well over 1000 nickels since this past April. Highest total for one day was 74. So, everyone, "don't be fickle and dig every nickel (signal)".
35) Another item that has been giving me fits lately is large pieces of flattened foil that also register as nickels. I've been digging up lots of the foil in the place where I've been finding a few silver coins, so I guess I'll just continue to dig and clear out a lot of the trash.
36) In a lot of areas, zinc penny readings will be zinc pennies 99% of the time. I pass them up in parks that are brimming with new coins, unless they sound deeper & mellower sounding than surface zinc.
37) The CZ's will give a target alert on any item with good conductivity close to the coil. Coins on the surface will do this too just the same as a pop can.
3 Pay attention to the sounds you get while pinpointing, I find that coins give a mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. Also the deep ones may not ID correctly. I make it a point to dig some junk signals to see what's really under there, sometimes you'll get a surprise. If you hit some old stuff dig everything that beeps.
39) The best tip for finding nickels that I can give is to dig every target that id's as one. You will be surprised at the amount of nickels you will amass. You will no doubt have a bigger bulge on the trash side of your pouch, but, it's a trade off.
40) Every indian head penny I've dug IDed as zinc penny. And don't let lack of depth fool you either, as I've found some of them VERY shallow.
41) You will dig a lot of beer caps. The real bummer is: some will ID as dime, quarter, or copper penny. You'll swear it sounds like a quarter, dig it and it will read "Miller High Life".
42) The metal part on a pencil that holds the eraser will read as nickel. Same with aluminum can shrapnel.
43) While hunting, I got a foil reading at 4 ½ inches. I dug down, piled the dirt next to the hole and swept my coil over the pile. The foil reading now changed to a solid nickel reading on the meter. I knew immediately when I saw the object that I had a silver war nickel.
44) Since first using my CZ6 six years ago, I have probably dug around 50 war nickels with it, and they can read all over the meter. I believe the "halo effect" and soil conditions effect how they come up on the meter.
45) Due to the composition of war nickels, I have seen them register as high as low penny. With supply and demand for metals during this era, I would feel their composition of metals varied considerably. Ground conditions may have something to do with it, but basically the varied composition may be the culprit.
46) Old coins and deep coins may not ID as coins. Dig those deep zinc's and tabs.
47) A very deep coin can ID as coin one way and iron the other. This is the exception and the majority of time they will be junk.
4 After a lot of practice you will know a coin by its sound. I, myself, usually can tell a silver coin from a copper by the different audio.
RINGS
1) The Pro is a nice machine but has a quirk or two. It will ID some square pulltabs and gold rings as nickels and will ID some silver rings and zinc cents in the dime/quarter range.
2) When hunting for gold rings in parks & schools... Notch out, round and square tabs and dig the foil and nickel signals to find those pretty AU rings. Your chances are better if you go this route.
3) I've seen rings do the "bounce" so be careful...
4) About 85% of rings are knocked out at the foil and tab setting. You have to dig a lot of junk to get them. However, a percentage of gold rings will fall into the nickel category so dig all these. Many silver rings will come in at the high end of the scale. Gold coins also disappear right after you discriminate out foil.
5) Here are my CZ-6a gold ring test results: 3=round tab, 30=foil, 4=square tab, 6=nickle, 0=zinc, 1=high coin. In addition, I had five other non-ring gold items all classify as foil. My best ring worth over $1000 is the one that read as high coin.
6) Test all the gold rings you can, yellow, white, 18k, 14k, 10k, this will give us a good sample of what's out there. I have already tested 30 myself. Example: 5=round tab, 8=sq. tab, 9=foil, 2=zinc, 3=nickel, 1=high coin.
7) My tests so far show that most small 14k and 10k rings fall under foil. Medium and large 14k and 10k rings fall under tabs. I did have one large 10k ring read as zinc. I tested a 23k band that I had found several years ago and it also read as zinc.
White gold will most likely read as nickel and more in the foil range, but I've never had one read as iron. The same goes for platinum depending on what it is alloyed with.
9)My CZ-5 found a gold ring which was lost for 21 years. It was at 2" and read as a square tab. The signal was solid. No jump. It was a medium man's wedding band of 14k gold.
DISCRIMINATION
1) I usually set the discrimination at 1, because the iron signals can drive you crazy. However, sometimes I will go to 0-discrimination just as an experiment.
2) Run your unit with no discrimination and the low tones will usually come through before the high coin tone.
SENSITIVITY
1) I'm a newbie and have been having lots of fun working the many nearby parks with the sensitivity set at 6-8 to maximize the potential of my CZ. Your post about a sensitivity setting of 2 inspired me to retry around the iron at a nearby park I worked a few days ago. Results? As fast as I could dig, I recovered 14 pennies, 7 nickels, 3 dimes and 2 quarters!
2) Try sensitivity at 2, it will aid in discrimination and cut down on masking when target is next to iron.
3) Do not run your sensitivity above 4 to start with. It sees just fine set there until you get used to the machine.
4) Run your sensitivity at 6 or 7 and you won't loose much depth.
5) I live in Florida with very salty, sandy, humus soil. I found that I had to turn my sensitivity down to between 2-4 or I fought "false signals" all day long.
GENERAL
1) When pinpointing, back off the target, push the pinpoint, then wait a couple of seconds before sweeping back over the target, otherwise your target will evaporate and leave you bewildered. It takes a couple of seconds for the detector to make the transition from disc to all metal.
2) To learn more, plant a coin garden. Plant some coins from 6-8 inches deep. Listen to the signals they produce. Plant some at angles and do the same. After they have been in the ground for a long period, they may read differently than when initially planted. Spend a little time daily or weekly in your garden studying your signals. Alter your settings. Try hunting at 0-discrimination. It will help you determine if the machine is reading iron off the side of the coil as you approach an iron target, or if you are getting a true bounce when directly over the target.
3) Normally you should set the sensitivity to the highest level you can without getting a lot of false signals.
4) Volume should be set at 5 to let you know when a target is deep, not a weak signal boosted.
5) It's a fact in this hobby that if you want to really excel as a metal detectorist, you have to start digging a lot of targets. At least, dig all high solid repeatable signals with a CZ without concern of the meter and you will be surprised at what pops out. It is sometimes because there are so many conductive metals that fall into the high range. To me having a unit that ID's nickel with a high tone is a great feature, hence so many nickel and surprise finds.
6) Once you have encountered an iron signal that's over 5" deep, hit it from at least 2 angles at 90 degrees apart. If you can get a good tone at these 2 angles AND the signal PINPOINTS IN THE SAME SPOT then DIG! Iron will never pinpoint in the same spot when sweeping the coil at 2 different angles.
7) To properly ID any target, slow down! The CZ's ID more accurately at a very slow sweep. When swept in a moderate/fast mode the tone id is not fully locking on. When slowed to about 1.5sec/ft, it locks on with no problem.
To properly ID a target you must have it under the center of the coil. This becomes more critical the deeper the target is. Off center targets will tend to give false signals.
9) When you are working in the trash with the 5" coil that's when you really have to slow down!
10) I have the CZ-7, and it works great in mineralized soil. I sometimes have to turn the sensitivity down to limit false readings, but still have great depth.
11) Take care to ground balance well, sweep with a relatively slow speed and don't discriminate out the iron. Deep silver will ID as iron and high conductivity coin at times.
12) I suggest that you do not use the audio boost so that you will be able to tell that you are dealing with a deep signal.
13) If you don't notch nickels, expect to dig a lot of round pulltabs.
14) When hunting areas that are trashy and the signals bounce a lot and you have already reduced the sensitivity-----try hunting in the "salt mode". It tends to cut down on mis-identifying targets a little better. Finding that fine line between maximum depth and accurate discrimination is what it is all about (that's why they have controls).
15) Another thing to try in a real trashy area is to use the five-inch coil, and discriminate everything up to coins, even the nickels. You will be surprised on how many silver dimes you can find this way. I have found them between the five and six inch range this way.
16) I saw a fellow's find for this year, and it was in the pounds of old silver. I ask how he did this, as this park is well metal detected. He uses an 8" coil and sets his discrimination on coins only. He is very methodical in the way he covers the ground and uses small flags to point out questionable targets only to come back with the 5" coil to make sure what the questionable target really is. This way ...he is not bothered with changing coils all the time. He covers the areas like an archaeologist would in a grid fashion.
17) For a while I wasn't finding much, then I got a very faint signal while I swept the coil in several directions. The depth indication was 6" so I decided to check. What a surprise it was to dig up a good 1906 Barber half. I had GB set on 5, sensitivity at 3 and discrimination at zero.
1 Just got the response from Fisher on my sensitivity question. I asked, "Is the sensitivity linear or non-linear?" Linear settings means "1" represents 10%, "2" means 20% and so on. But they said, "No, its not linear, it's non-linear." It just means that when they designed the 1266-X or CZ series a "1" setting is the lowest response and by turning it up to "10", you get the highest response. As you turn the knob or setting higher the sensitivity increases by amounts that may be equal to each other or not, for example a setting of "2" is not 50% of "4" setting, but a "4" setting is just an increase over the "2" setting by an arbitrary amount. So what does this all matter? I wanted to find out how much sensitivity I was exactly using. Everyone benefits from knowing how their detector works, so its fair to say when you want to cut down on masking from iron, use a setting of 2 or 3, slow your sweep (in order to let your detector recover faster between targets).
19) I have added a CZ-7a Pro to my 1235X and I agree with the sensitivity being really critical on the 7a. I have just begun learning all the features of the 7a but it appears to me that the "old" 1235x could pinpoint much better than the new machine. I'm backing down on the sensitivity and won't give up till I get it right.
20) Many times I've used the tips posted on the forums to help on my learning curve, but I've also learned not to totally rely on them. In this MD'ing business there are many variables, even weird at times. By going against the grain sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised!
21) Just listening to the audio sound can eliminate a lot of the false signals and iron signals. Takes some practice.
22) Dimes and pennies laying flat that are deep will pinpoint very small compared to iron. I've dug a few deep ones on the CZ7 that pinpointed well, sounded good, but bounced back and forth between coin and zinc. That was the tip off and sure enough it was iron.
23) Nails have not been a problem as long as I run at the discrimination at the 0 setting. I've dug a few, but usually they gave low tones in three directions with only a high coin spike in the other direction. It may be because we don't have as much mineralization here as other areas do.
24) I think one key to success is to go very slowly and listen for the faint or erratic ticks from your detector.
25) There will always be stories of a goodie that read as a common type of junk or coin, but that's because target ID can only narrow the odds down, not guarantee ID.
26) The CZ6a takes some getting used to. Find a place that is not very trashy to learn how to use it. Be patient and slow down. The 6a will often mis-ID a rusty nail if you sweep it too fast. When I got my CZ6a, I went to a trashy old park and dug about 40 lbs of square nails. Since then, I've learned a lot about the machine's signals, learned to slow down, and be patient.
27) Make sure that you are sweeping at a relatively slow speed and when you run into wheat pennies, slow down even more. There is bound to be silver there, although fewer of them, as more pennies made it to the ground than silver.
2 Make sure you overlap your sweep pattern.
29) If you hit a site with old coins or relics, dig everything that beeps.
30) Being properly ground balanced is very important. If at times you can not GB in normal mode, switch to the salt mode. This has helped me, especially on damp, humid mornings when the ground is wet.
31) I personally run my volume at 5, my discrimination at 1, and my sensitivity around 7. In this mode, when I'm properly ground balanced, I don't often dig non-repeatable signals.
32) CZ's have a quirk and don't ID to and fro as good as left or right so you will have to walk around your target and hit it at right angles.
33) I hunt around a lot of power lines and with the 8" coil, I get a fair amount of chatter. With the 5" coil I get none.
34) Be prepared to dig a lot of junk for awhile. That is part of the learning process. Lots of people never get past that stage and quit. Hang in there and it becomes addictive.
35) Autotune is a very sensitive wide scan all metal, motion search mode. You can use autotune or target ID mode. When in autotune, target ID does not work. In the Fisher operating manual it's recommended that you use autotune on black or gray sand beaches or highly mineralized soil. I've tried this at the beach and it works great.
36) It's my understanding that most experienced treasure hunters prefer to manually ground balance their detectors. It's very easy with all the CZ's.
37) The autotune mode on the CZ machines is an all-metal-motion search mode. When in this mode, you will not get a visual ID indication of the target. You will only get an audio indication, which will only be one tone, not the three tone audio you receive in the discriminate mode.
3 I have read that the CZ machines do better in wet ground than they do in dry ground.
39) Surely a CZ5 is not a park or sports field unit. Its meter designations are too wide. Usually screw caps hit in the zinc penny area. I would advise you to experiment and you will find that screw caps usually cover a wide area compared to a coins.
40) Put a quarter in the ground at about 2 inches and put a screw cap in the ground at 2 inches, space them about 18 inches apart. Then raise your coil above them. When moving your coil above the screw cap, you will get a signal much higher in the air than the quarter. I found with practice I seldom dig a screw cap.
41) Pay attention to the tones when pinpointing. Most of the time I can tell a screw cap by the very high pitched and very loud tone when pinpointing. Coins will be a softer mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. By doing this, you might miss a few shallow coins, but you'll dig a lot less screw caps.
Additional Fisher CZ tips
CZ Sweep Speed
Slow. Too fast you will false. Lay a coin on the ground and sweep over it a few inches above the coin. try differn't speeds and note the difference. It is suppose to be swept Slooooow. Carry the coin with you in the feild each time and after you ground balance throw the coin down and go over it a few times to set your sweep speed. I do this everytime just to remind myself of the proper speed.
Pesky screw caps
Aluminum screw caps are a problem. One thing I do if in an area with lot of them, is start raising my coil up above the signal, a screw cap will beep higher than a coin. Also the more you use your CZ you will start to notice that a screw cap has a slightly longer beep. I'm getting to where I can tell one from a coin most of the time, the only problem is the deep screw caps. Also they will pinpoint larger than a quarter, the more you use your CZ the more you will notice this. I hope this helps some. I have question for you, how do you like your CZ compared to your XLT.
New Way To Pinpoint
Having used a Minelab Sov, I was wondering if any techniques could be carried over to the Fisher CZ. Well, I discovered that when pinpointing with the CZ 10 1/2" coil, you press the pinpoint button, swing the coil slightly side to side while backing it up, and when the sound stops, your target will invariably be at the top center tip of the coil. Works every time for me.
Pinpointing with the CZ
When you are in the pinpoint mode and believe you are directly over your target, quickly release and press the pinpoint button again. This will desensitize your detector. Now watch your meter and listen to the tone. When the meter deflects as far as it will in the right direction and the tone is the strongest, you should now be over your target. Remember, while doing this your depth reading will read deeper than the target is. This technique works very well on shallow targets.
Pinpointing with the CZ
You can get a very accurate pinpoint by criss crossing the coil over the target while in the ID mode. Lay a coin on the ground and watch it as you pass the coil over it. Note that you get a signal as the far side of the inner coil passes over the coin. Now move the coil side to side and back and forth. You should be able to pinpoint a buried target the same way by remembering what spot on the ground gets the signal as the far side of the inner coil passes over. With this method I can pinpoint to within a half inch or better.
Positive Ground Balance
When running positive, the threshold increases very slightly as the coil approaches the ground. After tuning the GB to obtain no change in threshold while bobbing the coil, you turn the GB knob on the 7a/7a Pro counterclockwise (toward 1) to achieve a very slight threshold when the coil approaches the ground. Not having used a CZ 5, 6, or 6a, I'm not sure, but I believe the GB control is the opposite of the 7a/7a Pro. So, you would turn it clockwise, towards 1. I'm not sure about the pushbutton method, but I'd assume you would tune the GB to have a very slight threshold, instead of total silence.
I use a CZ-5 and a XLT
Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. As far as depth, in Ohio where I hunt if the XLT is set up correctly it will hold its own with the CZ. But this is just one area. Results I am sure will be different depending on the ground conditions. If you are mainly a beach hunter the CZ is the best choice. If you are hunting a trashy park with screw caps, iron, and various junk I would prefer the XLT with its superior Discrimination Setup and more accurate Target ID. Although the CZ has the better target separation and the debate goes on. But the bottom line is they are both excellent detectors which is why I have both of them. Which one is best for "You" depends on your preferences, ground conditions, and hunting style.
Startup Settings I use when I ground balance my CZ-5
In the manual it goes though a section about start up settings which is "nice" but I set the options up the way they are going to be when I start hunting and then I ground balance. If I change any of the settings I keep hunting and if I get a lot of falsing then I will rebalance while only changing the ground balance control (if I don't have the Sens set too high). At nearly all of my hunting sites a ground balance of 4 to 6 does a good job with my ground balance being set on about 5 most of the time. If I ground balance and I don't get a response I will try it again if the same thing occurs I will set the ground balance on 5. As far as your Sens set it as high as you can without getting a lot of falsing unless you are in a trashy area and then it is a good idea to keep it lower. That is an option that you will have to set up for your ground and site conditions.
I think I am starting to learn how to use the Nail Grabber
I went to an old site and in an area the size of my basement with my CZ-5 I found a 1865 & 1880 Indian Heads with Full Liberty in nice shape A 1865 Two Cent Piece in at least Fine Condition A 1891 Liberty Nickel that was in Good Condition until I used it for target practice with my digger :-( 6 Wheats the oldest being a 1916 in nice shape. The 1865 Indian read like a Zinc, the 1880 Indian read in the Copper Penny Silver Range, the Liberty Nickel read like a Nickel, and the Two Cent Piece read in the Copper Penny Silver Range. The odd thing about the copper coins where they were all in nice shape, shallow, and had a very nice greenish color to them. They weren't corroded like a lot of the old copper coins I find. I have the 2 Indian Heads and the Two Cent Piece in Olive Oil to make them look even better but they really didn't need it. I can't believe it. I found all of them in a relatively small area that I worked for about 3 hours. The first good one I found was the 1865 Indian and the last one was the 1865 Two Cent Piece. The deepest coin I found was a 1940-D Wheat at about 3 inches. When you get around old coins go slow it pays off big time. If you find one keep looking as a rule there will be more. By the time I was done hunting I was hunting in all metal mode hoping to find just one more. I also found a Silver Thimble. What is the difference between a 1266-X and a CZ ? The CZ tells you it is a coin and you dig a nail and with the 1266-X you just dig the nail Just joking guys I wouldn't part with either one. This is the best day I ever had as far as old coins go.
Beach Tips needed
The "zig-zag" pattern I use is more like an "S" pattern. First you'll have to understand why it's done. That is, tidal/wave action concentrates heavier materials along a line on the tidal beach that may be invisible to the naked eye. To locate this line, you walk a zig-zag or S pattern until you start hitting targets.......even if it's junk. Try to follow this line for the goodies. You may lose it and have to start over. Also, it may not be in the same place tomorrow. Zig-zag is not necessary in the dry beach area. Simply check out where people concentrate at the busy mid-day and search there tonight or tomorrow morning when it's cooler and less crowded. You will find most people like to spread their beach towels just off the high water mark and tend to crowd around the security of a lifeguard. Study the crowds and their behavior and you'll learn a lot. If the beach is new to you perhaps you can Polaroid the crowds for later reference.....the beach looks a lot different empty! Don't be intimidated by that tiny coil vs that enormous beach and start to "Sandpiper"......walking fast, swinging high and fast as if you're under an obligation to cover the entire length. Work those hot spots to death swinging that coil slow and low and use a grid pattern search. Be aware that if you find one coin it may have been lost by someone returning from the hamburger stand with 99 cents change. If you find some coins then an iron/coin ID......DIG! I found two Delaware quarters that way this morning! Volumes could be written about beach hunting, but that's a starter. PS: One clarification. I don't claim to be an expert, I just beach hunt most every day. You made a good choice with the CZ. If your experience is the same as mine you'll be finding many 6-8" and deeper dimes missed by the White's detectors. This morning I found a deep Mercury dime at 10 plus inches [indicated]. Also found a heavy man's wedding band.
Even more tips:
Meter Readings
ID
1) Indian Head pennies ID as zinc on my CZ7A. Therefore, if you are in an old area and get a 3-inch plus depth reading on zinc you better dig.
2) Every time I got a nickel reading, it was a nickel except for one time. At four inches, instead of a nickel I got a nice sterling wrist bracelet (links style) stamped .925. If the meter bounced between nickel and whatever, it was trash. I dug two nails that bounced between coin and zinc, and pinpointed like a coin. I suspected they were iron and wanted to verify it and they were.
3) Deeper targets seem to bounce from their identity, to iron, in mineralized soil.
4) When I get a reading that bounces high and low, I sweep it several times, listening to the tone while looking at the ground to determine the source (pinpoint location) of the signal. You should dig these signals and when you find a few coins, the experience becomes deeply ingrained into your detecting patterns. You will then be able to better judge when and when not to dig these types of signals. Yes, you will dig some nails but I don't mind digging 2-3 nails for a nice older coin, as sometimes my
ratio is as good as 50-50.
5) I have dug some coins, including silver dimes that were at 3" that gave strong signals and although they were shallow, still bounced. For me, the signals were to good to pass up and I sure am glad that I dug them.
6) If you like old nickels, especially "V" nickels (or are in a buffalo hunt) ALWAYS dig the nickel iron bounce, no matter how much higher the iron percentage to nickel you receive. It may not always be a nickel but it won't be iron.
7) I like to set the volume at "5" because I know that soft, low volume "high coin" beeps are usually deep coins.
I almost never use the "boost". With the wheat penny I heard the very soft high coin beep about 50% of the time, it disappeared at times from one direction, and then the other, and then it just disappeared altogether. I paused for a minute to get my thoughts together, changed the angle a little and tried it again. The audio ID came back, this time a little more than 50% of the time, so I dug it.
9) If you get a deep iron reading and get a good sounding signal at 90-degree angles and when pinpointing, the target stays in one place and does not move when pinpointed, it's likely a good target.
10) A bouncing indication on the meter between two target indications most likely means trash.
11) Pay very close attention to your audio resonance. This is the MAIN key to a good target and makes a good hunter prevail among others.
12) I read you found a war nickel which has about 35% silver in it and it came in as zinc.
13) All "clad" Canadian coins with the exception of cents and some nickels register as square pull-tabs on CZ series machines.
Therefore, in order to get coins (dime thru $2.) you have to dig all square tabs. If you are having this problem, try this: When you get a square tab reading flip the "salt" switch to "salt" and pass the coil back over the target a few times. If the signal remains mid-range and the dial continues to read tab - it is a pull-tab or similar junk. If the meter now reads as a coin and the signal changes to high tone, you have a coin - almost always. I have been using this system on the past dozen or so trips to local
parks and have found it to be better than 90% accurate. Oh, by the way, don't forget to flip the salt switch back to normal before you go on to your next target.
14) Not too long ago someone had written that if you are hunting and get a belltone sound, raise the coil a few inches. If you get a good signal, then dig the target, which could be a coin. If the belltone continues target is probably junk.
ID
1) Indian Head pennies ID as zinc on my CZ7A. Therefore, if you are in an old area and get a 3-inch plus depth reading on zinc you better dig.
2) Every time I got a nickel reading, it was a nickel except for one time. At four inches, instead of a nickel I got a nice sterling wrist bracelet (links style) stamped .925. If the meter bounced between nickel and whatever, it was trash. I dug two nails that bounced between coin and zinc, and pinpointed like a coin. I suspected they were iron and wanted to verify it and they were.
3) I have never found anything good when digging a weak, pure iron signal that pinpoints in the same location. It has always been a deep small piece of iron. Sometimes it's not much larger than a nail head at 10-12 inches.
4) Deeper targets seem to bounce from their identity, to iron, in mineralized soil.
5) When I get a reading that bounces high and low, I sweep it several times, listening to the tone while looking at the ground to determine the source (pinpoint location) of the signal. You should dig these signals and when you find a few coins, the experience becomes deeply ingrained into your detecting patterns. You will then be able to better judge when and when not to dig these types of signals. Yes, you will dig some nails but I don't mind digging 2-3 nails for a nice older coin, as sometimes my ratio is as good as 50-50.
6) I have dug some coins, including silver dimes that were at 3" that gave strong signals and although they were shallow, still bounced. For me, the signals were to good to pass up and I sure am glad that I dug them.
7) If you like old nickels, especially "V" nickels (or are in a buffalo hunt) ALWAYS dig the nickel iron bounce, no matter how much higher the iron percentage to nickel you receive. It may not always be a nickel but it won't be iron.
I like to set the volume at "5" because I know that soft, low volume "high coin" beeps are usually deep coins.9) I almost never use the "boost". With the wheat penny I heard the very soft high coin beep about 50% of the time, it disappeared at times from one direction, and then the other, and then it just disappeared altogether. I paused for a minute to get my thoughts together, changed the angle a little and tried it again. The audio ID came back, this time a little more than 50% of the time, so I dug it.
10) If you get a deep iron reading and get a good sounding signal at 90-degree angles and when pinpointing, the target stays in one place and does not move when pinpointed, it's likely a good target.
11) A bouncing indication on the meter between two target indications most likely means trash.
12) If you get a loud high repeatable signal, and after you pinpoint, it seems long shaped, not crisp and sharp, lift the coil a foot off the ground. If you still hear it loud, it's probably a can or big iron target. If you're looking for a cache then, DIG!
13) Pay very close attention to your audio resonance. This is the MAIN key to a good target and makes a good hunter prevail among others.
14) Regarding the bouncing between two different targets: if it bounces from coin to zinc, from what I have seen, it is iron.
15) I read you found a war nickel which has about 35% silver in it and it came in as zinc.
16) All "clad" Canadian coins with the exception of cents and some nickels register as square pull-tabs on CZ series machines. Therefore, in order to get coins (dime thru $2.) you have to dig all square tabs. If you are having this problem, try this: When you get a square tab reading flip the "salt" switch to "salt" and pass the coil back over the target a few times. If the signal remains mid-range and the dial continues to read tab - it is a pull-tab or similar junk. If the meter now reads as a coin and the signal changes to high tone, you have a coin - almost always. I have been using this system on the past dozen or so trips to local parks and have found it to be better than 90% accurate. Oh, by the way, don't forget to flip the salt switch back to normal before you go on to your next target.
17) If you want to find gold, you're gonna have to dig some trash. Try digging your foil signals and some square tabs as well. Dig readings that bounce around from foil to tabs too.
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Not too long ago someone had written that if you are hunting and get a belltone sound, raise the coil a few inches. If you get a good signal, then dig the target, which could be a coin. If the belltone continues target is probably junk.19) Can sounds are much larger and you can raise the coil sometimes over a foot off the ground and still hear them as such. Coin sounds are more like a "dot". Deeply buried nails and iron pipes can give you a false coin signal also. Most of the time you will get what I call a "droopy" coin signal, but not a solid sound. A repeatable coin signal that sounds solid is a coin or something worth digging up for sure! Sometimes you will get a signal only one way, but dig it. I've found many coins that way and most of them were silver.
20) Any targets that are 5" or more will likely ID as iron. Discrimination only goes so deep. Anyone can verify this by an air check. If you take a nickel and detect it, then tune it out by turning up the discrimination and hold it high above the nickel, you'll still get a return off the nickel. So, it shows that a deep target will do the same in the ground, and will ID most likely as iron.
21) I dig all zinc signals at 4 inches and deeper. Most of my incrusted wheats have come off as zinc signals at 4-6 inches. Also, my first Eagle "A" button came off as a zinc signal. If I am pressed for time, I skip the zincs at 2 inches and above.
22) I always have my CZ6 audio boost turned up to 10 when hunting in "silver country". A silver coin at 4-6 inches sounds a lot different than a silver dime at 1-2 inches with the boost at 10. The audio isn't the same with a deep coin at 7 inches + with the volume set at 10, as it is with a surface coin. Its close but there is a slight difference that says its a deep one.
23) Coins will usually repeat at 90-degree angles.
24) Iron will usually pinpoint off target.
25) I like to run the discrimination at one. I'll watch the meter as I'm scanning a target, if it bounces from coin to zinc and back it's usually iron. Haven't dug a coin yet that did that but that's not saying it can't be.
26) If my meter starts ID'ing at zinc first and then wants to go to coin and back I will usually check it out. But, if it starts with coin and goes to zinc and back, it's usually a different story. I guess there's a risk of losing something if you don't dig it. There's just too many variables involved to say for sure it is this or that. But, when the ground is wet, it doesn't take long to dig the target.
27) If you hunt at 0 discrimination those wheats and a few other coppers can give that low iron buzz.
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Wheat cents will sometimes jump between zinc and coin here, as have a couple of deep Indian head pennies. I recovered two tokens at an old church site that did the same.29) I have noticed that iron will usually pinpoint off center. I don't rely on that trait, though, to eliminate the possibility of it being a coin. I have found that a coin on edge will also pinpoint off center.
30) Remember, if you are in sand, clay, or front/back yard topsoil, that Civil War button may sound like a nail under certain circumstances. I do know that breastplates, 15 inches deep in sand, sound like coins. Bullets...coin. Gold rings... mid tone. Buttons ... mid tone... pop tops... mid tone. Bullets over 8-9 in. deep...faint, coin/iron mix. The aluminum stuff is a curse all its own.
31) Normally I don't always dig those zinc penny readings, but I decided that I would try to dig a few just to see what I would get. One of the zinc readings on my meter said 4 inches deep so I dug it out and got a 1961 Canadian nickel. And my best find for that day gave me a solid zinc reading at 2 inches and I dug out an aluminum play spoon. I then swept the coil over the hole again and got a good coin reading. To my surprise I dug out a sterling silver 1st lieutenant bar obviously worn by an air force officer at one time. That aluminum spoon was masking the lieutenant bar! I wonder how many detectors got the same zinc reading and just passed by this same target?
32) I hunted a park near my home today with my CZ6a and the 8" loop. I found 4 rusted bottle caps in a row, all were between 2 and 3 inches deep, and they all registered a solid nickel reading even on the cross sweep. I was a little surprised thinking that the CZ detectors would read high coin on rusty items.
33) Here's some more items that commonly go off as nickels; The metal part of pencil erasers, .22 cal. bullet casings, bits of lawn mower chopped aluminum cans, some square tabs, and a few more I can't seem to remember now. The main thing to remember is that the CZ's will flat find nickels! Don't be tempted to quit digging those signals because the ratio of actual nickels to junk items is in favor of it being a nickel by a large margin.
34) I would investigate on any nickel reading. While there are quite a few wads of foil where I have been finding silver coins I also got a no-date Buffalo and the 1943P silver war nickel. I have found well over 1000 nickels since this past April. Highest total for one day was 74. So, everyone, "don't be fickle and dig every nickel (signal)".
35) Another item that has been giving me fits lately is large pieces of flattened foil that also register as nickels. I've been digging up lots of the foil in the place where I've been finding a few silver coins, so I guess I'll just continue to dig and clear out a lot of the trash.
36) In a lot of areas, zinc penny readings will be zinc pennies 99% of the time. I pass them up in parks that are brimming with new coins, unless they sound deeper & mellower sounding than surface zinc.
37) The CZ's will give a target alert on any item with good conductivity close to the coil. Coins on the surface will do this too just the same as a pop can.
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Pay attention to the sounds you get while pinpointing, I find that coins give a mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. Also the deep ones may not ID correctly. I make it a point to dig some junk signals to see what's really under there, sometimes you'll get a surprise. If you hit some old stuff dig everything that beeps.39) The best tip for finding nickels that I can give is to dig every target that id's as one. You will be surprised at the amount of nickels you will amass. You will no doubt have a bigger bulge on the trash side of your pouch, but, it's a trade off.
40) Every indian head penny I've dug IDed as zinc penny. And don't let lack of depth fool you either, as I've found some of them VERY shallow.
41) You will dig a lot of beer caps. The real bummer is: some will ID as dime, quarter, or copper penny. You'll swear it sounds like a quarter, dig it and it will read "Miller High Life".
42) The metal part on a pencil that holds the eraser will read as nickel. Same with aluminum can shrapnel.
43) While hunting, I got a foil reading at 4 ½ inches. I dug down, piled the dirt next to the hole and swept my coil over the pile. The foil reading now changed to a solid nickel reading on the meter. I knew immediately when I saw the object that I had a silver war nickel.
44) Since first using my CZ6 six years ago, I have probably dug around 50 war nickels with it, and they can read all over the meter. I believe the "halo effect" and soil conditions effect how they come up on the meter.
45) Due to the composition of war nickels, I have seen them register as high as low penny. With supply and demand for metals during this era, I would feel their composition of metals varied considerably. Ground conditions may have something to do with it, but basically the varied composition may be the culprit.
46) Old coins and deep coins may not ID as coins. Dig those deep zinc's and tabs.
47) A very deep coin can ID as coin one way and iron the other. This is the exception and the majority of time they will be junk.
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After a lot of practice you will know a coin by its sound. I, myself, usually can tell a silver coin from a copper by the different audio.RINGS
1) The Pro is a nice machine but has a quirk or two. It will ID some square pulltabs and gold rings as nickels and will ID some silver rings and zinc cents in the dime/quarter range.
2) When hunting for gold rings in parks & schools... Notch out, round and square tabs and dig the foil and nickel signals to find those pretty AU rings. Your chances are better if you go this route.
3) I've seen rings do the "bounce" so be careful...
4) About 85% of rings are knocked out at the foil and tab setting. You have to dig a lot of junk to get them. However, a percentage of gold rings will fall into the nickel category so dig all these. Many silver rings will come in at the high end of the scale. Gold coins also disappear right after you discriminate out foil.
5) Here are my CZ-6a gold ring test results: 3=round tab, 30=foil, 4=square tab, 6=nickle, 0=zinc, 1=high coin. In addition, I had five other non-ring gold items all classify as foil. My best ring worth over $1000 is the one that read as high coin.
6) Test all the gold rings you can, yellow, white, 18k, 14k, 10k, this will give us a good sample of what's out there. I have already tested 30 myself. Example: 5=round tab, 8=sq. tab, 9=foil, 2=zinc, 3=nickel, 1=high coin.
7) My tests so far show that most small 14k and 10k rings fall under foil. Medium and large 14k and 10k rings fall under tabs. I did have one large 10k ring read as zinc. I tested a 23k band that I had found several years ago and it also read as zinc.
White gold will most likely read as nickel and more in the foil range, but I've never had one read as iron. The same goes for platinum depending on what it is alloyed with.9)My CZ-5 found a gold ring which was lost for 21 years. It was at 2" and read as a square tab. The signal was solid. No jump. It was a medium man's wedding band of 14k gold.
DISCRIMINATION
1) I usually set the discrimination at 1, because the iron signals can drive you crazy. However, sometimes I will go to 0-discrimination just as an experiment.
2) Run your unit with no discrimination and the low tones will usually come through before the high coin tone.
SENSITIVITY
1) I'm a newbie and have been having lots of fun working the many nearby parks with the sensitivity set at 6-8 to maximize the potential of my CZ. Your post about a sensitivity setting of 2 inspired me to retry around the iron at a nearby park I worked a few days ago. Results? As fast as I could dig, I recovered 14 pennies, 7 nickels, 3 dimes and 2 quarters!
2) Try sensitivity at 2, it will aid in discrimination and cut down on masking when target is next to iron.
3) Do not run your sensitivity above 4 to start with. It sees just fine set there until you get used to the machine.
4) Run your sensitivity at 6 or 7 and you won't loose much depth.
5) I live in Florida with very salty, sandy, humus soil. I found that I had to turn my sensitivity down to between 2-4 or I fought "false signals" all day long.
GENERAL
1) When pinpointing, back off the target, push the pinpoint, then wait a couple of seconds before sweeping back over the target, otherwise your target will evaporate and leave you bewildered. It takes a couple of seconds for the detector to make the transition from disc to all metal.
2) To learn more, plant a coin garden. Plant some coins from 6-8 inches deep. Listen to the signals they produce. Plant some at angles and do the same. After they have been in the ground for a long period, they may read differently than when initially planted. Spend a little time daily or weekly in your garden studying your signals. Alter your settings. Try hunting at 0-discrimination. It will help you determine if the machine is reading iron off the side of the coil as you approach an iron target, or if you are getting a true bounce when directly over the target.
3) Normally you should set the sensitivity to the highest level you can without getting a lot of false signals.
4) Volume should be set at 5 to let you know when a target is deep, not a weak signal boosted.
5) It's a fact in this hobby that if you want to really excel as a metal detectorist, you have to start digging a lot of targets. At least, dig all high solid repeatable signals with a CZ without concern of the meter and you will be surprised at what pops out. It is sometimes because there are so many conductive metals that fall into the high range. To me having a unit that ID's nickel with a high tone is a great feature, hence so many nickel and surprise finds.
6) Once you have encountered an iron signal that's over 5" deep, hit it from at least 2 angles at 90 degrees apart. If you can get a good tone at these 2 angles AND the signal PINPOINTS IN THE SAME SPOT then DIG! Iron will never pinpoint in the same spot when sweeping the coil at 2 different angles.
7) To properly ID any target, slow down! The CZ's ID more accurately at a very slow sweep. When swept in a moderate/fast mode the tone id is not fully locking on. When slowed to about 1.5sec/ft, it locks on with no problem.
To properly ID a target you must have it under the center of the coil. This becomes more critical the deeper the target is. Off center targets will tend to give false signals.9) When you are working in the trash with the 5" coil that's when you really have to slow down!
10) I have the CZ-7, and it works great in mineralized soil. I sometimes have to turn the sensitivity down to limit false readings, but still have great depth.
11) Take care to ground balance well, sweep with a relatively slow speed and don't discriminate out the iron. Deep silver will ID as iron and high conductivity coin at times.
12) I suggest that you do not use the audio boost so that you will be able to tell that you are dealing with a deep signal.
13) If you don't notch nickels, expect to dig a lot of round pulltabs.
14) When hunting areas that are trashy and the signals bounce a lot and you have already reduced the sensitivity-----try hunting in the "salt mode". It tends to cut down on mis-identifying targets a little better. Finding that fine line between maximum depth and accurate discrimination is what it is all about (that's why they have controls).
15) Another thing to try in a real trashy area is to use the five-inch coil, and discriminate everything up to coins, even the nickels. You will be surprised on how many silver dimes you can find this way. I have found them between the five and six inch range this way.
16) I saw a fellow's find for this year, and it was in the pounds of old silver. I ask how he did this, as this park is well metal detected. He uses an 8" coil and sets his discrimination on coins only. He is very methodical in the way he covers the ground and uses small flags to point out questionable targets only to come back with the 5" coil to make sure what the questionable target really is. This way ...he is not bothered with changing coils all the time. He covers the areas like an archaeologist would in a grid fashion.
17) For a while I wasn't finding much, then I got a very faint signal while I swept the coil in several directions. The depth indication was 6" so I decided to check. What a surprise it was to dig up a good 1906 Barber half. I had GB set on 5, sensitivity at 3 and discrimination at zero.
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Just got the response from Fisher on my sensitivity question. I asked, "Is the sensitivity linear or non-linear?" Linear settings means "1" represents 10%, "2" means 20% and so on. But they said, "No, its not linear, it's non-linear." It just means that when they designed the 1266-X or CZ series a "1" setting is the lowest response and by turning it up to "10", you get the highest response. As you turn the knob or setting higher the sensitivity increases by amounts that may be equal to each other or not, for example a setting of "2" is not 50% of "4" setting, but a "4" setting is just an increase over the "2" setting by an arbitrary amount. So what does this all matter? I wanted to find out how much sensitivity I was exactly using. Everyone benefits from knowing how their detector works, so its fair to say when you want to cut down on masking from iron, use a setting of 2 or 3, slow your sweep (in order to let your detector recover faster between targets).19) I have added a CZ-7a Pro to my 1235X and I agree with the sensitivity being really critical on the 7a. I have just begun learning all the features of the 7a but it appears to me that the "old" 1235x could pinpoint much better than the new machine. I'm backing down on the sensitivity and won't give up till I get it right.
20) Many times I've used the tips posted on the forums to help on my learning curve, but I've also learned not to totally rely on them. In this MD'ing business there are many variables, even weird at times. By going against the grain sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised!
21) Just listening to the audio sound can eliminate a lot of the false signals and iron signals. Takes some practice.
22) Dimes and pennies laying flat that are deep will pinpoint very small compared to iron. I've dug a few deep ones on the CZ7 that pinpointed well, sounded good, but bounced back and forth between coin and zinc. That was the tip off and sure enough it was iron.
23) Nails have not been a problem as long as I run at the discrimination at the 0 setting. I've dug a few, but usually they gave low tones in three directions with only a high coin spike in the other direction. It may be because we don't have as much mineralization here as other areas do.
24) I think one key to success is to go very slowly and listen for the faint or erratic ticks from your detector.
25) There will always be stories of a goodie that read as a common type of junk or coin, but that's because target ID can only narrow the odds down, not guarantee ID.
26) The CZ6a takes some getting used to. Find a place that is not very trashy to learn how to use it. Be patient and slow down. The 6a will often mis-ID a rusty nail if you sweep it too fast. When I got my CZ6a, I went to a trashy old park and dug about 40 lbs of square nails. Since then, I've learned a lot about the machine's signals, learned to slow down, and be patient.
27) Make sure that you are sweeping at a relatively slow speed and when you run into wheat pennies, slow down even more. There is bound to be silver there, although fewer of them, as more pennies made it to the ground than silver.
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Make sure you overlap your sweep pattern.29) If you hit a site with old coins or relics, dig everything that beeps.
30) Being properly ground balanced is very important. If at times you can not GB in normal mode, switch to the salt mode. This has helped me, especially on damp, humid mornings when the ground is wet.
31) I personally run my volume at 5, my discrimination at 1, and my sensitivity around 7. In this mode, when I'm properly ground balanced, I don't often dig non-repeatable signals.
32) CZ's have a quirk and don't ID to and fro as good as left or right so you will have to walk around your target and hit it at right angles.
33) I hunt around a lot of power lines and with the 8" coil, I get a fair amount of chatter. With the 5" coil I get none.
34) Be prepared to dig a lot of junk for awhile. That is part of the learning process. Lots of people never get past that stage and quit. Hang in there and it becomes addictive.
35) Autotune is a very sensitive wide scan all metal, motion search mode. You can use autotune or target ID mode. When in autotune, target ID does not work. In the Fisher operating manual it's recommended that you use autotune on black or gray sand beaches or highly mineralized soil. I've tried this at the beach and it works great.
36) It's my understanding that most experienced treasure hunters prefer to manually ground balance their detectors. It's very easy with all the CZ's.
37) The autotune mode on the CZ machines is an all-metal-motion search mode. When in this mode, you will not get a visual ID indication of the target. You will only get an audio indication, which will only be one tone, not the three tone audio you receive in the discriminate mode.
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I have read that the CZ machines do better in wet ground than they do in dry ground.39) Surely a CZ5 is not a park or sports field unit. Its meter designations are too wide. Usually screw caps hit in the zinc penny area. I would advise you to experiment and you will find that screw caps usually cover a wide area compared to a coins.
40) Put a quarter in the ground at about 2 inches and put a screw cap in the ground at 2 inches, space them about 18 inches apart. Then raise your coil above them. When moving your coil above the screw cap, you will get a signal much higher in the air than the quarter. I found with practice I seldom dig a screw cap.
41) Pay attention to the tones when pinpointing. Most of the time I can tell a screw cap by the very high pitched and very loud tone when pinpointing. Coins will be a softer mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. By doing this, you might miss a few shallow coins, but you'll dig a lot less screw caps.
Additional Fisher CZ tips
CZ Sweep Speed
Slow. Too fast you will false. Lay a coin on the ground and sweep over it a few inches above the coin. try differn't speeds and note the difference. It is suppose to be swept Slooooow. Carry the coin with you in the feild each time and after you ground balance throw the coin down and go over it a few times to set your sweep speed. I do this everytime just to remind myself of the proper speed.
Pesky screw caps
Aluminum screw caps are a problem. One thing I do if in an area with lot of them, is start raising my coil up above the signal, a screw cap will beep higher than a coin. Also the more you use your CZ you will start to notice that a screw cap has a slightly longer beep. I'm getting to where I can tell one from a coin most of the time, the only problem is the deep screw caps. Also they will pinpoint larger than a quarter, the more you use your CZ the more you will notice this. I hope this helps some. I have question for you, how do you like your CZ compared to your XLT.
New Way To Pinpoint
Having used a Minelab Sov, I was wondering if any techniques could be carried over to the Fisher CZ. Well, I discovered that when pinpointing with the CZ 10 1/2" coil, you press the pinpoint button, swing the coil slightly side to side while backing it up, and when the sound stops, your target will invariably be at the top center tip of the coil. Works every time for me.
Pinpointing with the CZ
When you are in the pinpoint mode and believe you are directly over your target, quickly release and press the pinpoint button again. This will desensitize your detector. Now watch your meter and listen to the tone. When the meter deflects as far as it will in the right direction and the tone is the strongest, you should now be over your target. Remember, while doing this your depth reading will read deeper than the target is. This technique works very well on shallow targets.
Pinpointing with the CZ
You can get a very accurate pinpoint by criss crossing the coil over the target while in the ID mode. Lay a coin on the ground and watch it as you pass the coil over it. Note that you get a signal as the far side of the inner coil passes over the coin. Now move the coil side to side and back and forth. You should be able to pinpoint a buried target the same way by remembering what spot on the ground gets the signal as the far side of the inner coil passes over. With this method I can pinpoint to within a half inch or better.
Positive Ground Balance
When running positive, the threshold increases very slightly as the coil approaches the ground. After tuning the GB to obtain no change in threshold while bobbing the coil, you turn the GB knob on the 7a/7a Pro counterclockwise (toward 1) to achieve a very slight threshold when the coil approaches the ground. Not having used a CZ 5, 6, or 6a, I'm not sure, but I believe the GB control is the opposite of the 7a/7a Pro. So, you would turn it clockwise, towards 1. I'm not sure about the pushbutton method, but I'd assume you would tune the GB to have a very slight threshold, instead of total silence.
I use a CZ-5 and a XLT
Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. As far as depth, in Ohio where I hunt if the XLT is set up correctly it will hold its own with the CZ. But this is just one area. Results I am sure will be different depending on the ground conditions. If you are mainly a beach hunter the CZ is the best choice. If you are hunting a trashy park with screw caps, iron, and various junk I would prefer the XLT with its superior Discrimination Setup and more accurate Target ID. Although the CZ has the better target separation and the debate goes on. But the bottom line is they are both excellent detectors which is why I have both of them. Which one is best for "You" depends on your preferences, ground conditions, and hunting style.
Startup Settings I use when I ground balance my CZ-5
In the manual it goes though a section about start up settings which is "nice" but I set the options up the way they are going to be when I start hunting and then I ground balance. If I change any of the settings I keep hunting and if I get a lot of falsing then I will rebalance while only changing the ground balance control (if I don't have the Sens set too high). At nearly all of my hunting sites a ground balance of 4 to 6 does a good job with my ground balance being set on about 5 most of the time. If I ground balance and I don't get a response I will try it again if the same thing occurs I will set the ground balance on 5. As far as your Sens set it as high as you can without getting a lot of falsing unless you are in a trashy area and then it is a good idea to keep it lower. That is an option that you will have to set up for your ground and site conditions.
I think I am starting to learn how to use the Nail Grabber
I went to an old site and in an area the size of my basement with my CZ-5 I found a 1865 & 1880 Indian Heads with Full Liberty in nice shape
A 1865 Two Cent Piece in at least Fine Condition A 1891 Liberty Nickel that was in Good Condition until I used it for target practice with my digger :-( 6 Wheats the oldest being a 1916 in nice shape. The 1865 Indian read like a Zinc, the 1880 Indian read in the Copper Penny Silver Range, the Liberty Nickel read like a Nickel, and the Two Cent Piece read in the Copper Penny Silver Range. The odd thing about the copper coins where they were all in nice shape, shallow, and had a very nice greenish color to them. They weren't corroded like a lot of the old copper coins I find. I have the 2 Indian Heads and the Two Cent Piece in Olive Oil to make them look even better but they really didn't need it. I can't believe it. I found all of them in a relatively small area that I worked for about 3 hours. The first good one I found was the 1865 Indian and the last one was the 1865 Two Cent Piece. The deepest coin I found was a 1940-D Wheat at about 3 inches. When you get around old coins go slow it pays off big time. If you find one keep looking as a rule there will be more. By the time I was done hunting I was hunting in all metal mode hoping to find just one more. I also found a Silver Thimble. What is the difference between a 1266-X and a CZ ? The CZ tells you it is a coin and you dig a nail and with the 1266-X you just dig the nail Just joking guys I wouldn't part with either one. This is the best day I ever had as far as old coins go. Beach Tips needed
The "zig-zag" pattern I use is more like an "S" pattern. First you'll have to understand why it's done. That is, tidal/wave action concentrates heavier materials along a line on the tidal beach that may be invisible to the naked eye. To locate this line, you walk a zig-zag or S pattern until you start hitting targets.......even if it's junk. Try to follow this line for the goodies. You may lose it and have to start over. Also, it may not be in the same place tomorrow. Zig-zag is not necessary in the dry beach area. Simply check out where people concentrate at the busy mid-day and search there tonight or tomorrow morning when it's cooler and less crowded. You will find most people like to spread their beach towels just off the high water mark and tend to crowd around the security of a lifeguard. Study the crowds and their behavior and you'll learn a lot. If the beach is new to you perhaps you can Polaroid the crowds for later reference.....the beach looks a lot different empty! Don't be intimidated by that tiny coil vs that enormous beach and start to "Sandpiper"......walking fast, swinging high and fast as if you're under an obligation to cover the entire length. Work those hot spots to death swinging that coil slow and low and use a grid pattern search. Be aware that if you find one coin it may have been lost by someone returning from the hamburger stand with 99 cents change. If you find some coins then an iron/coin ID......DIG! I found two Delaware quarters that way this morning! Volumes could be written about beach hunting, but that's a starter. PS: One clarification. I don't claim to be an expert, I just beach hunt most every day. You made a good choice with the CZ. If your experience is the same as mine you'll be finding many 6-8" and deeper dimes missed by the White's detectors. This morning I found a deep Mercury dime at 10 plus inches [indicated]. Also found a heavy man's wedding band.
Even more tips:
Meter Readings
ID
1) Indian Head pennies ID as zinc on my CZ7A. Therefore, if you are in an old area and get a 3-inch plus depth reading on zinc you better dig.
2) Every time I got a nickel reading, it was a nickel except for one time. At four inches, instead of a nickel I got a nice sterling wrist bracelet (links style) stamped .925. If the meter bounced between nickel and whatever, it was trash. I dug two nails that bounced between coin and zinc, and pinpointed like a coin. I suspected they were iron and wanted to verify it and they were.
3) Deeper targets seem to bounce from their identity, to iron, in mineralized soil.
4) When I get a reading that bounces high and low, I sweep it several times, listening to the tone while looking at the ground to determine the source (pinpoint location) of the signal. You should dig these signals and when you find a few coins, the experience becomes deeply ingrained into your detecting patterns. You will then be able to better judge when and when not to dig these types of signals. Yes, you will dig some nails but I don't mind digging 2-3 nails for a nice older coin, as sometimes my
ratio is as good as 50-50.
5) I have dug some coins, including silver dimes that were at 3" that gave strong signals and although they were shallow, still bounced. For me, the signals were to good to pass up and I sure am glad that I dug them.
6) If you like old nickels, especially "V" nickels (or are in a buffalo hunt) ALWAYS dig the nickel iron bounce, no matter how much higher the iron percentage to nickel you receive. It may not always be a nickel but it won't be iron.
7) I like to set the volume at "5" because I know that soft, low volume "high coin" beeps are usually deep coins.
I almost never use the "boost". With the wheat penny I heard the very soft high coin beep about 50% of the time, it disappeared at times from one direction, and then the other, and then it just disappeared altogether. I paused for a minute to get my thoughts together, changed the angle a little and tried it again. The audio ID came back, this time a little more than 50% of the time, so I dug it.9) If you get a deep iron reading and get a good sounding signal at 90-degree angles and when pinpointing, the target stays in one place and does not move when pinpointed, it's likely a good target.
10) A bouncing indication on the meter between two target indications most likely means trash.
11) Pay very close attention to your audio resonance. This is the MAIN key to a good target and makes a good hunter prevail among others.
12) I read you found a war nickel which has about 35% silver in it and it came in as zinc.
13) All "clad" Canadian coins with the exception of cents and some nickels register as square pull-tabs on CZ series machines.
Therefore, in order to get coins (dime thru $2.) you have to dig all square tabs. If you are having this problem, try this: When you get a square tab reading flip the "salt" switch to "salt" and pass the coil back over the target a few times. If the signal remains mid-range and the dial continues to read tab - it is a pull-tab or similar junk. If the meter now reads as a coin and the signal changes to high tone, you have a coin - almost always. I have been using this system on the past dozen or so trips to local
parks and have found it to be better than 90% accurate. Oh, by the way, don't forget to flip the salt switch back to normal before you go on to your next target.
14) Not too long ago someone had written that if you are hunting and get a belltone sound, raise the coil a few inches. If you get a good signal, then dig the target, which could be a coin. If the belltone continues target is probably junk.
mrwilburino
Member
15) Can sounds are much larger and you can raise the coil sometimes over a foot off the ground and still hear them as such. Coin sounds are more like a "dot". Deeply buried nails and iron pipes can give you a false coin signal also. Most of the time you will get what I call a "droopy" coin signal, but not a solid sound. A repeatable coin signal that sounds solid is a coin or something worth digging up for sure! Sometimes you will get a signal only one way, but dig it. I've found many coins that way and most of them were silver.
16) Any targets that are 5" or more will likely ID as iron.Discrimination only goes so deep. Anyone can verify this by an air
check. If you take a nickel and detect it, then tune it out by turning up the discrimination and hold it high above the nickel, you'll still get a return off the nickel. So, it shows that a deep target will do the same in the ground, and will ID most likely as iron.
17) I dig all zinc signals at 4 inches and deeper. Most of my incrusted wheats have come off as zinc signals at 4-6 inches. Also, my first Eagle "A" button came off as a zinc signal. If I am pressed for time, I skip the zincs at 2 inches and above.
1 I always have my CZ6 audio boost turned up to 10 when hunting in "silver country". A silver coin at 4-6 inches sounds a lot different than a silver dime at 1-2 inches with the boost at 10. The audio isn't the same with a deep coin at 7 inches + with the volume set at 10, as it is with a surface coin. Its close but there is a slight difference that says its a deep one.
19) Coins will usually repeat at 90-degree angles.
20) If my meter starts ID'ing at zinc first and then wants to go to coin and back I will usually check it out. But, if it starts with coin and goes to zinc and back, it's usually a different story. I guess there's a risk of losing something if you don't dig it. There's just too many variables involved to say for sure it is this or that. But, when the ground is wet, it doesn't take long to dig the target.
21) If you hunt at 0 discrimination those wheats and a few other coppers can give that low iron buzz.
22) Wheat cents will sometimes jump between zinc and coin here, as have a couple of deep Indian head pennies. I recovered two tokens at an old church site that did the same.
23) Remember, if you are in sand, clay, or front/back yard topsoil, that Civil War button may sound like a nail under certain circumstances. I do know that breastplates, 15 inches deep in sand, sound like coins. Bullets...coin. Gold rings... mid tone. Buttons ... mid tone… pop tops... mid tone. Bullets over 8-9 in. deep...faint, coin/iron mix. The aluminum stuff is a curse all its own.
24) Normally I don't always dig those zinc penny readings, but I decided that I would try to dig a few just to see what I would get. One of the zinc readings on my meter said 4 inches deep so I dug it out and got a 1961 Canadian nickel. And my best find for that day gave me a solid zinc reading at 2 inches and I dug out an aluminum play spoon. I then swept the coil over the hole again and got a good coin reading. To my surprise I dug out a sterling silver 1st lieutenant bar obviously worn by an airforce officer at one time. That aluminum spoon was masking the lieutenant bar! I wonder how many detectors got the same zinc reading and just passed by this same target?
25) I hunted a park near my home today with my CZ6a and the 8" loop. I found 4 rusted bottle caps in a row, all were
between 2 and 3 inches deep, and they all registered a solid nickel reading even on the cross sweep. I was a little surprised thinking that the CZ detectors would read high coin on rusty items.
26) Here's some more items that commonly go off as nickels; The metal part of pencil erasers, .22 cal. bullet casings, bits of lawnmower chopped aluminum cans, some square tabs, and a few more I can't seem to remember now. The main thing to remember is that the CZ's will flat find nickels! Don't be tempted to quit digging those signals because the ratio of actual nickels to junk items is in favor of it being a nickel by a large margin.
27) I would investigate on any nickel reading. While there are quite a few wads of foil where I have been finding silver coins I also got a no-date Buffalo and the 1943P silver war nickel. I have found well over 1000 nickels since this past April. Highest total for one day was 74. So, everyone, "don't be fickle and dig every nickel (signal)".
2 Another item that has been giving me fits lately is large pieces of flattened foil that also register as nickels. I've been digging up lots of the foil in the place where I've been finding a few silver coins, so I guess I'll just continue to dig and clear out a lot of the trash.
29) In a lot of areas, zinc penny readings will be zinc pennies 99% of the time. I pass them up in parks that are brimming with new coins, unless they sound deeper & mellower sounding than surface zinc.
30) The CZ's will give a target alert on any item with good conductivity close to the coil. Coins on the surface will do this too just the same as a pop can.
31) Pay attention to the sounds you get while pinpointing, I find that coins give a mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. Also the deep ones may not ID correctly. I make it a point to dig some junk signals to see what's really under there, sometimes you'll get a surprise. If you hit some old stuff dig everything that beeps.
32) The best tip for finding nickels that I can give is to dig every target that id's as one. You will be surprised at the amount of
nickels you will amass. You will no doubt have a bigger bulge on the trash side of your pouch, but, it's a trade off.
33) Every indian head penny I've dug IDed as zinc penny. And don't let lack of depth fool you either, as I've found some of them VERY shallow.
34) You will dig a lot of beer caps. The real bummer is: some will ID as quarter, dig it and it will read "Miller High Life".
35) The metal part on a pencil that holds the eraser will read as nickle. Same with aluminum can shrapnel.
36) While hunting, I got a foil reading at 4 ½ inches. I dug down, piled the dirt next to the hole and swept my coil over the pile. The foil reading now changed to a solid nickel reading on the meter. I knew immediately when I saw the object that I had a silver war nickel.
37) Since first using my CZ6 six years ago, I have probably dug around 50 war nickels with it, and they can read all over the meter. I believe the "halo effect" and soil conditions effect how they come up on the meter.
3 Due to the composition of war nickels, I have seen them register as high as low penny. With supply and demand for metals during this era, I would feel their composition of metals varied considerably. Ground conditions may have something to do with it, but basically the varied composition may be the culprit.
39) Old coins and deep coins may not ID as coins. Dig those deep zinc's and tabs.
40) A very deep coin can ID as coin one way and iron the other. This is the exception and the majority of time they will be junk.
41) After a lot of practice you will know a coin by its sound. I, myself, usually can tell a silver coin from a copper by the different audio.
42) If you don't notch nickels, expect to dig a lot of round pulltabs.
43) When hunting areas that are trashy and the signals bounce a lot and you have already reduced the sensitivity-----try hunting in the "salt mode". It tends to cut down on mis-identifying targets a little better. Finding that fine line between maximum depth and accurate discrimination is what it is all about (that's why they have controls).
44) If you hit a site with old coins or relics, dig everything that beeps.
45) CZ's have a quirk and don't ID to and fro as good as left or right so you will have to walk around your target and hit it at right angles.
46) Surely a CZ5 is not a park or sports field unit. Its meter designations are too wide. Usually screwcaps hit in the zinc penny
area. I would advise you to experiment and you will find that screwcaps usually cover a wide area compared to a coins.
47) Put a quarter in the ground at about 2 inches and put a screw cap in the ground at 2 inches, space them about 18 inches apart. Then raise your coil above them. When moving your coil above the screw cap, you will get a signal much higher in the air than the quarter. I found with practice I seldom dig a screw cap.
4 Pay attention to the tones when pinpointing. Most of the time I can tell a screwcap by the very high pitched and very loud tone when pinpointing. Coins will be a softer mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. By doing this, you might miss a few shallow coins, but you'll dig a lot less screwcaps.
General or Miscellaneous Tips
Recently recovered two 10 inch wheaties that would initially not repeat in a 90 degree turn. Used to the CZ5 but was using the CZ7A which goes to 10 inches on the depth reading, CZ5 only goes to 8 inches...Now if I get a solid signal in one direction only hit that pinpoint button and if it hits 10 inches, really play around with it and if I get any kind of repeatable signal from another direction go for it. Seems the extreme depth has something to do with repeatabilty. Usually an 8 inch signal will repeat with no problem. Hard to tell with the earlier analog models as an 8 inch depth could easily be several inches more as it maxes out at 8 inches. By the way got three additional wheaties and a 18 and 36 merc all in the 6 to 8 inch range.Don't know if the CZ7A is better on iron or I have conquered the problem as I have only dug one large corroded nail in the last month....Dan(Pa)
1.) Sometimes we find a few goodies in a small area. Have you ever done this and found no more in that vicinity. Next time: Go to the pinpoint or all metal mode and slowly grid a 5'x 5' square.
a. If you get a signal then switch to discriminate and play around with it.
b. If you get no signals then move on--(a barren area)
c. If you get lots of signals ---chances are there are some more goodies mixed in with a little trash (target masking). Dig a few just for the heck of it (you might be surprised).
The grass is not always greener----if you hit a hot spot ----slow down and investigate.
2.) Run your unit with no discrimination and the low tones will usually come through before the high coin tone.
3.) I'm a newbie and have been having lots of fun working the many nearby parks with the sensitivity set at 6-8 to maximize the potential of my CZ. Your post about a sensitivity setting of 2 inspired me to retry around the iron at a nearby park I worked a few days ago. Results? As fast as I could dig, I recovered 14 pennies, 7 nickels, 3 dimes and 2 quarters!
4.) Try sensitivity at 2, it will aid in discrimination and cut down on masking when target is next to iron.
5.) Do not run your sensitivity above 4 to start with. It sees just fine set there until you get used to the machine.
6.) Run your sensitivity at 6 or 7 and you won't loose much depth.
7.) I live in Florida with very salty, sandy, humus soil. I found that I had to turn my sensitivity down to between 2-4 or I fought "false signals" all day long.
8.) When pinpointing, back off the target, push the pinpoint, then wait a couple of seconds before sweeping back over the target, otherwise your target will evaporate and leave you bewildered. It takes a couple of seconds for the detector to make the transition from disc to all metal.
9.) To learn more, plant a coin garden. Plant some coins from 6-8 inches deep. Listen to the signals they produce. Plant some at angles and do the same. After they have been in the ground for a long period, they may read differently than when initially planted. Spend a little time daily or weekly in your garden studying your signals. Alter your settings. Try hunting at discrimination. It will help you determine if the machine is reading iron off the side of the coil as you approach an iron target, or if you are getting a true bounce when directly over the target.
10.) Normally you should set the sensitivity to the highest level you can without getting a lot of false signals.
11.) Volume should be set at 5 to let you know when a target is deep, not a weak signal boosted.
12.) It's a fact in this hobby that if you want to really excel as a metal detectorist, you have to start digging a lot of targets. At least, dig all high solid repeatable signals with a CZ without concern of the meter and you will be surprised at what pops out. It is sometimes because there are so many conductive metals that fall into the high range. To me having a unit that ID's nickel with a high tone is a great feature, hence so many nickel and surprise finds.
13.) To properly ID any target, slow down! The CZ's ID more accurately at a very slow sweep. When swept in a moderate/fast mode the tone id is not fully locking on. When slowed to about 1.5sec/ft, it locks on with no problem.
14.) To properly ID a target you must have it under the center of the coil. This becomes more critical the deeper the target is. Off center targets will tend to give false signals.
15.) When you are working in the trash with the 5" coil that's when you really have to slow down!
16.) I have the CZ-7, and it works great in mineralized soil. I sometimes have to turn the sensitivity down to limit false readings, but still have great depth.
17.) Take care to ground balance well, sweep with a relatively slow speed and don't discriminate out the iron. Deep silver will ID as iron and high conductivity coin at times.
18.) I suggest that you do not use the audio boost so that you will be able to tell that you are dealing with a deep signal.
19.) Another thing to try in a real trashy area is to use the five-inch coil, and discriminate everything up to coins, even the nickels. You will be surprised on how many silver dimes you can find this way. I have found them between the five and six inch range this way.
20.) I saw a fellow's find for this year, and it was in the pounds of old silver. I ask how he did this, as this park is well metal detected. He uses an 8" coil and sets his discrimination on coins only. He is very methodical in the way he covers the ground and uses small flags to point out questionable targets only to come back with the 5" coil to make sure what the questionable target really is. This way ...he is not bothered with changing coils all the time. He covers the areas like an archaeologist would in a grid fashion.
21.) For a while I wasn't finding much, then I got a very faint signal while I swept the coil in several directions. The depth indication was 6" so I decided to check. What a surprise it was to dig up a good 1906 Barber half. I had GB set on 5, sensitivity at 3 and discrimination at zero.
22.) Just got the response from Fisher on my sensitivity question. I asked, "Is the sensitivity linear or non-linear?" Linear settings means "1" represents 10%, "2" means 20% and so on. But they said, "No, its not linear, it's non-linear." It just means that when they designed the 1266-X or CZ series a "1" setting is the lowest response and by turning it up to "10", you get the highest response. As you turn the knob or setting higher the sensitivity increases by amounts that may be equal to each other or not, for example a setting of "2" is not 50% of "4" setting, but a "4" setting is just an increase over the "2" setting by an arbitrary amount. So what does this all matter? I wanted to find out how much sensitivity I was exactly using. Everyone benefits from knowing
how their detector works, so its fair to say when you want to cut down on masking from iron, use a setting of 2 or 3, slow your sweep (in order to let your detector recover faster between targets).
23.) I have added a CZ-7a Pro to my 1235X and I agree with the sensitivity being really critical on the 7a. I have just begun learning all the features of the 7a but it appears to me that the "old" 1235x could pinpoint much better than the new machine. I'm backing down on the sensitivity and won't give up till I get it right.
24.) Many times I've used the tips posted on the forums to help on my learning curve, but I've also learned not to totally rely on them. In this MD'ing business there are many variables, even weird at times. By going against the grain sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised!
25.) Just listening to the audio sound can eliminate a lot of the false signals and iron signals. Takes some practice.
26.) I think one key to success is to go very slowly and listen for the faint or erratic ticks from your detector.
27.) There will always be stories of a goodie that read as a common type of junk or coin, but that's because target ID can only narrow the odds down, not guarantee ID.
28.) Make sure that you are sweeping at a relatively slow speed and when you run into wheat pennies, slow down even more. There is bound to be silver there, although fewer of them, as more pennies made it to the ground than silver.
29.) Make sure you overlap your sweep pattern.
30.) Being properly ground balanced is very important. If at times you can not GB in normal mode, switch to the salt mode. This has helped me, especially on damp, humid mornings when the ground is wet.
31.) I personally run my volume at 5, my discrimination at 1, and my sensitivity around 7. In this mode, when I'm properly ground balanced, I don't often dig nonrepeatable signals.
32.) I hunt around a lot of power lines and with the 8" coil, I get a fair amount of chatter. With the 5" coil I get none.
33.) Be prepared to dig a lot of junk for awhile. That is part of the learning process. Lots of people never get past that stage and quit. Hang in there and it becomes addictive.
34.) Autotune is a very sensitive wide scan all metal, motion search mode. You can use autotune or target ID mode. When in autotune, target ID does not work. In the Fisher operating manual it's recommended that you use autotune on black or gray sand beaches or highly mineralized soil. I've tried this at the beach and it works great.
35.) It's my understanding that most experienced treasure hunters prefer to manually ground balance their detectors. It's very easy with all the CZ's.
36.) The autotune mode on the CZ machines is an all-metal-motion search mode. When in this mode, you will not get a visual ID indication of the target. You will only get an audio indication, which will only be one tone, not the three tone audio you receive in the discriminate mode.
37.) I have read that the CZ machines do better in wet ground than they do in dry ground.
Rings
1) The Pro is a nice machine but has a quirk or two. It will ID some square pulltabs and gold rings as nickels and will ID some silver rings and zinc cents in the dime/quarter range.
2) When hunting for gold rings in parks & schools... Notch out, round and square tabs and dig the foil and nickel signals to find those pretty AU rings. Your chances are better if you go this route.
3) I've seen rings do the "bounce" so be careful...
4) About 85% of rings are knocked out at the foil and tab setting. You have to dig a lot of junk to get them. However, a percentage of gold rings will fall into the nickel category so dig all these. Many silver rings will come in at the high end of the scale. Gold coins also disappear right after you discriminate out foil.
5) Here are my CZ-6a gold ring test results: 3=round tab, 30=foil, 4=square tab, 6=nickle, 0=zinc, 1=high coin. In addition, I had five other non-ring gold items all classify as foil. My best ring worth over $1000 is the one that read as high coin.
6) Test all the gold rings you can, yellow, white, 18k, 14k, 10k, this will give us a good sample of what's out there. I have already tested 30 myself. Example: 5=round tab, 8=sq. tab, 9=foil, 2=zinc, 3=nickel, 1=high coin.
7) My tests so far show that most small 14k and 10k rings fall under foil. Medium and large 14k and 10k rings fall under tabs. I did have one large 10k ring read as zinc. I tested a 23k band that I had found several years ago and it also read as zinc.
White gold will most likely read as nickel and more in the foil range, but I've never had one read as iron. The same goes for platinum depending on what it is alloyed with.
9)My CZ-5 found a gold ring which was lost for 21 years. It was at 2" and read as a square tab. The signal was solid. No jump. It was a medium man's wedding band of 14k gold.
10) If you want to find gold, you're gonna have to dig some trash. Try digging your foil signals and some square tabs as well. Dig readings that bounce around from foil to tabs too.
Iron Signals
1) I have never found anything good when digging a weak, pure iron signal that pinpoints in the same location. It has always been a deep small piece of iron. Sometimes it's not much larger than a nail head at 10-12 inches.
2) If you get a loud high repeatable signal, and after you pinpoint, it seems long shaped, not crisp and sharp, lift the coil a foot off the ground. If you still hear it loud, it's probably a can or big iron target. If you're looking for a cache then, DIG!
3) Regarding the bouncing between two different targets: if it bounces from coin to zinc, from what I have seen, it is iron.
4) Iron will usually pinpoint off target.
5) I like to run the discrimination at one. I'll watch the meter as I'm scanning a target, if it bounces from coin to zinc and back it's usually iron. Haven't dug a coin yet that did that but that's not saying it can't be.
6) I have noticed that iron will usually pinpoint off center. I don't rely on that trait, though, to eliminate the possibility of it being a coin. I have found that a coin on edge will also pinpoint off center.
7) I usually set the discrimination at 1, because the iron signals can drive you crazy. However, sometimes I will go to 0-discrimination just as an experiment.
Once you have encountered an iron signal that's over 5" deep, hit it from at least 2 angles at 90 degrees apart. If you can get a good tone at these 2 angles AND the signal PINPOINTS IN THE SAME SPOT then DIG! Iron will never pinpoint in the same spot when sweeping the coil at 2 different angles.
9) Dimes and pennies laying flat that are deep will pinpoint very small compared to iron. I've dug a few deep ones on the CZ7 that pinpointed well, sounded good, but bounced back and forth between coin and zinc. That was the tip off and sure enough it was iron.
10) Nails have not been a problem as long as I run at the discrimination at the 0 setting. I've dug a few, but usually they gave low tones in three directions with only a high coin spike in the other direction. It may be because we don't have as much mineralization here as other areas do.
11) The CZ6a takes some getting used to. Find a place that is not very trashy to learn how to use it. Be patient and slow down. The 6a will often mis-ID a rusty nail if you sweep it too fast. When I got my CZ6a, I went to a trashy old park and dug about 40 lbs of square nails. Since then, I've learned a lot about the machine's signals, learned to slow down, and be patient.
How To Remove a Fisher Spider Coil Cover Without Breaking It!!
1. I have used my fingernails to get mine off. I was thinking about the vacuum of a tight fitting cover and I never tried it but, I wonder if some compressed air (dust off can like you use to clean computers etc) might help?
2. After breaking one cover, I just leave it on now. So what if there is some dirt or sand inside. It doesn't effect the performance of the detector.
3. It has not affected the performance as of yet, but I ty to clean them out periodically since the following happened.
I hunt in plowed fields quite bit and our soil is naturally sandy to begin with. I started having signals or interference from my Spectrum with no visible clues such as a power line or an abundance of iron to cause the erratic behavior. The spectrums cover is relatively easy to remove and done so and dumped a quarter of cup of sand out. It then worked fine. In that particular case with whatever was in that handful of sand...it did effect the performance to the point of being non usable.
There could be more subtle performance changes that are occurring prior to the machine going haywire, which might prevent a certain item from being found. I just prefer to clean them once in awhile to be certain.
4. Maybe it would be easier to seal it than to remove it. I sealed my CZ-6a 8" with silicone sealant about 4 years ago and haven't had a need to remove the cover yet. The sealant has held up very well and still looks good. I used the clear variety and wiped the excess off leaving only what remained in the gap between the coil and the cover.
I tried this with my CZ-20 and it ended up getting water in the cover. I had to get a new cover after breaking the first one trying to get it off. So now I just leave it on and use no sealant to trap water inside. I'm sure it has sand in it now but we have no mineralization here to interfere with performance.
5. Have someone hold stem as close to coil as possible or put about 1/2 of coil in vice,take a blunt instrument (I use a file)and place end at top of each section of coil(working one side to the other) and tap file or whatever instrument your using gently. I've done this on several occasions and this method works fairly quickly and the coil or cover isn't damaged.
6.Don't laugh but i'll tell you what I use.I found an old tube of silicon caulking (unopened) that had dried up.I take the end of the nozzle and work it in the front center of the coil cover and just twist it around,kind of like a tire changer.Works pretty good for me and it wont hurt the coil.
7.Go get you some paint stirring sticks and put them right up against the coil and on top of the edge of the coil cover and give it some nice Raps all the way around the coil and it will come off. Since I hunt the beaches and the water all the time I have to take mine off all the time and this is the best way to do it without damanging the coil or the coil cover. Anyway hope this helps getting the coil cover off.
8.Due to the design of the coil cover, it is almost impossible to remove without breaking....it really does build up dirt under the coil. Guess if you want to clean just have to buy new cover....Thought about submerging in hot water, but thought it might damage coil. coating the inside of the cover with vaseline might work when you get ready to take off and may also keep the dirt out.
9.I read some interesting ways of getting the coil cover off the spider coil and decided to share with you what I did to mine. The coil cover is there to protect the bottom of the coil from damage. I found it was not there to keep water or sand out as mine always got water and sand in it anyway. After I found out how difficult it was to get off, I did some carving and sanding to the inside surfaces of the coil cover. I continued to try it on the coil for that "perfect fit". Now I can grab the wide section of the coil cover and pull it off, rinse both the coil and the cover in the ocean and replace it. I didn't take that much plastic off to make it work. It beats breaking the covers off. For those that take too much off and the cover no longer fits tight, buy a new one and start over again. They're going to have to buy one anyway if they break it off, but they won't damage the coil in the process.
Fisher CZ Tips
Hello to all my CZ buddies. I've got a few tips that may prove helpful. See for yourself what works and what doesn't.This isn't intended as a complete " How To" guide but just a few of my own observations(unless noted otherwise). Also, refer to the Fisher forum for some great help. There's lots of experience there.
Locating and pinpointing deep targets Coins that are 6 inches or deeper can be hard to find if you're in a hurry. You have to slow down and overlap the search path, just inch forward if you can. This can get boring in a hurry. But once you locate that first deep old coin, it would be a worthwhile thing to do. Sometimes you might get two coin signals 4-6(roughly) inches apart. One is shallow and one is deep. Try digging the shallow one first. That shallow coin may be on edge and is causing a secondary false coin signal that pinpoints as a deep target. I found this out one day by digging the deep coin signal and finding nothing. I then dug up the shallow coin and then the deep coin signal disappeared. It can also be two separate targets, but why not save your-self some frustration? A good coin signal will be repeatable from darn near any direction. When I get a good signal, I will turn and check the signal from 90 degrees to the first signal. If I can get any type of signal, then I know it's probably good, except for rusty nails. Coins on edge can read good in one direction but not at 90 degrees.
Often a false signal will occur in one direction, but not the other, or at the end of the swing. Extremely deep coins could probably do this. So it would be a good idea to see if you can get a signal in the pinpoint mode. (By both directions I mean left to right as you swing the coil in front of you.) Try digging a plug and see if the signal gets better, which would indicate a good target. If you are getting too many false signals try reducing the sensitivity or switching to a smaller coil in trashy areas. Place some coins on the ground and see how they sound from different heights and directions. This will help you to recognize what a repeatable signal is. Try pinpointing by lifting the coil in the air, high enough to where you can barely pick it up. In extremely trashy areas I sometimes have to pinpoint in the disc mode, or dig the surrounding trash first. I wouldn't be concerned about digging deep targets until you can recognize what a good repeatable signal is.
Extremely deep coins can cause the audio to stutter, but still lock on coins. I'm not sure if it’s the depth or maybe the coin is on edge and deep but I encounter this only once in a great while. This is where you want to double check at 90 degrees. If you're not sure, then dig a plug and see if the audio improves.
I once got a coin signal at six inches but I couldnt get any pinpoint signal.I believe the signal was detectable at 90 degrees.I checked out my detector and it was working in all modes.(batteries were fine) After analysing the signal several more times it was just too good to pass up.I started to dig and checked with the pinpoint mode several times until I reached about 5 inches. Not much of a signal in the pinpoint mode yet.Finally at about six inches I pulled out a wheatback.I dont know if it was perfectly straight up and down or what.That was probably the weirdest signal I have dug. Sometimes even though a target may not pinpoint right, or at all, something says to DIG it!!
Rusty Nails on edge like to read as coins on the meter. It is a good idea to take some time and analyze the signal before digging. This can save a lot of frustration. These nail tips aren't foolproof, or should I say IRON proof? With experience you can reduce the number of them you dig. I've found that if a signal sounds suspicious or iffy, it's usually iron.A lot of the iron or other trash signals(false signals) can be ignored simply by listening to the audio signal! This takes some practice.But it can save a lot of frustrating digging. When I get a good coin signal, I will watch the meter as I scan back and forth. If just one time the needle drops to zinc and then goes back to coin, it is iron. I haven't found a coin in this situation yet so I can't say for sure that it isn't a coin. But dig a few and see for yourself. A deep, flat coin like a penny or dime should pinpoint as a small target where as an iron nail likes to run in one direction. Though, heh, heh, once in a while the signal will sound good, lock on coins, pinpoint small, and still be a rusty nail Say you get a good coin signal at 7 inches. You dig down 5-6 inches and all of a sudden the audio starts to skip. It should be an iron target the CZ is trying to disc out! Coins just sound good, sort of round -like, and you know it before digging them. I usually hunt with disc set on one. Then I'll turn it down to zero to see how much iron buzz I get. But some coins will give you a low iron buzz, so don't use this exclusively as an indication to dig or not. When in doubt, DIG!!!
The CZ is very good at picking up coins right in with the iron. I've pulled 4-5 wheats out of a hole with a large rusty bolt. The pinpoint was off, but it sounded too good to pass up. Try checking the targets from different angles to better separate them. Some rusty iron will read as zinc so check out those signals.
Coins and meter readings
Nickels don't always read as nickels. On my machine(cz6a) they like to bounce between foil and nickel. Half dimes, 3 cent pieces and old 22 shells will id as foil. Green wheatbacks from the teens like to id as rect tab or zinc or bounce back and forth.Targets in the ground and next to other metal objects may read different then an air test. If you're in an old area, it's best to dig everything. (Under old sidewalks is a favorite of mine.) Ive just recently started to experiment with the cz7.Alot of these tips seem to apply to the cz7 series also.I'll update as neccessary.
Gold rings
A study was done with 259 gold rings of all shapes and alloys. Here is where they read on the CZ. 0- read as iron; 51- read as round tab; 92- read as foil (mostly thinner women's rings); 75- read as rect tab; 26- read as nickel; 11- as zinc; and 4- as coin. This is just to give you an idea. So that's it for now. I don't claim to know it all. These tips can vary depending on ground conditions and other things.Don't be afraid to experiment and see what works or not.You might find a better way that works for you.I welcome all comments and tips you can send my way.
16) Any targets that are 5" or more will likely ID as iron.Discrimination only goes so deep. Anyone can verify this by an air
check. If you take a nickel and detect it, then tune it out by turning up the discrimination and hold it high above the nickel, you'll still get a return off the nickel. So, it shows that a deep target will do the same in the ground, and will ID most likely as iron.
17) I dig all zinc signals at 4 inches and deeper. Most of my incrusted wheats have come off as zinc signals at 4-6 inches. Also, my first Eagle "A" button came off as a zinc signal. If I am pressed for time, I skip the zincs at 2 inches and above.
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I always have my CZ6 audio boost turned up to 10 when hunting in "silver country". A silver coin at 4-6 inches sounds a lot different than a silver dime at 1-2 inches with the boost at 10. The audio isn't the same with a deep coin at 7 inches + with the volume set at 10, as it is with a surface coin. Its close but there is a slight difference that says its a deep one.19) Coins will usually repeat at 90-degree angles.
20) If my meter starts ID'ing at zinc first and then wants to go to coin and back I will usually check it out. But, if it starts with coin and goes to zinc and back, it's usually a different story. I guess there's a risk of losing something if you don't dig it. There's just too many variables involved to say for sure it is this or that. But, when the ground is wet, it doesn't take long to dig the target.
21) If you hunt at 0 discrimination those wheats and a few other coppers can give that low iron buzz.
22) Wheat cents will sometimes jump between zinc and coin here, as have a couple of deep Indian head pennies. I recovered two tokens at an old church site that did the same.
23) Remember, if you are in sand, clay, or front/back yard topsoil, that Civil War button may sound like a nail under certain circumstances. I do know that breastplates, 15 inches deep in sand, sound like coins. Bullets...coin. Gold rings... mid tone. Buttons ... mid tone… pop tops... mid tone. Bullets over 8-9 in. deep...faint, coin/iron mix. The aluminum stuff is a curse all its own.
24) Normally I don't always dig those zinc penny readings, but I decided that I would try to dig a few just to see what I would get. One of the zinc readings on my meter said 4 inches deep so I dug it out and got a 1961 Canadian nickel. And my best find for that day gave me a solid zinc reading at 2 inches and I dug out an aluminum play spoon. I then swept the coil over the hole again and got a good coin reading. To my surprise I dug out a sterling silver 1st lieutenant bar obviously worn by an airforce officer at one time. That aluminum spoon was masking the lieutenant bar! I wonder how many detectors got the same zinc reading and just passed by this same target?
25) I hunted a park near my home today with my CZ6a and the 8" loop. I found 4 rusted bottle caps in a row, all were
between 2 and 3 inches deep, and they all registered a solid nickel reading even on the cross sweep. I was a little surprised thinking that the CZ detectors would read high coin on rusty items.
26) Here's some more items that commonly go off as nickels; The metal part of pencil erasers, .22 cal. bullet casings, bits of lawnmower chopped aluminum cans, some square tabs, and a few more I can't seem to remember now. The main thing to remember is that the CZ's will flat find nickels! Don't be tempted to quit digging those signals because the ratio of actual nickels to junk items is in favor of it being a nickel by a large margin.
27) I would investigate on any nickel reading. While there are quite a few wads of foil where I have been finding silver coins I also got a no-date Buffalo and the 1943P silver war nickel. I have found well over 1000 nickels since this past April. Highest total for one day was 74. So, everyone, "don't be fickle and dig every nickel (signal)".
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Another item that has been giving me fits lately is large pieces of flattened foil that also register as nickels. I've been digging up lots of the foil in the place where I've been finding a few silver coins, so I guess I'll just continue to dig and clear out a lot of the trash.29) In a lot of areas, zinc penny readings will be zinc pennies 99% of the time. I pass them up in parks that are brimming with new coins, unless they sound deeper & mellower sounding than surface zinc.
30) The CZ's will give a target alert on any item with good conductivity close to the coil. Coins on the surface will do this too just the same as a pop can.
31) Pay attention to the sounds you get while pinpointing, I find that coins give a mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. Also the deep ones may not ID correctly. I make it a point to dig some junk signals to see what's really under there, sometimes you'll get a surprise. If you hit some old stuff dig everything that beeps.
32) The best tip for finding nickels that I can give is to dig every target that id's as one. You will be surprised at the amount of
nickels you will amass. You will no doubt have a bigger bulge on the trash side of your pouch, but, it's a trade off.
33) Every indian head penny I've dug IDed as zinc penny. And don't let lack of depth fool you either, as I've found some of them VERY shallow.
34) You will dig a lot of beer caps. The real bummer is: some will ID as quarter, dig it and it will read "Miller High Life".
35) The metal part on a pencil that holds the eraser will read as nickle. Same with aluminum can shrapnel.
36) While hunting, I got a foil reading at 4 ½ inches. I dug down, piled the dirt next to the hole and swept my coil over the pile. The foil reading now changed to a solid nickel reading on the meter. I knew immediately when I saw the object that I had a silver war nickel.
37) Since first using my CZ6 six years ago, I have probably dug around 50 war nickels with it, and they can read all over the meter. I believe the "halo effect" and soil conditions effect how they come up on the meter.
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Due to the composition of war nickels, I have seen them register as high as low penny. With supply and demand for metals during this era, I would feel their composition of metals varied considerably. Ground conditions may have something to do with it, but basically the varied composition may be the culprit.39) Old coins and deep coins may not ID as coins. Dig those deep zinc's and tabs.
40) A very deep coin can ID as coin one way and iron the other. This is the exception and the majority of time they will be junk.
41) After a lot of practice you will know a coin by its sound. I, myself, usually can tell a silver coin from a copper by the different audio.
42) If you don't notch nickels, expect to dig a lot of round pulltabs.
43) When hunting areas that are trashy and the signals bounce a lot and you have already reduced the sensitivity-----try hunting in the "salt mode". It tends to cut down on mis-identifying targets a little better. Finding that fine line between maximum depth and accurate discrimination is what it is all about (that's why they have controls).
44) If you hit a site with old coins or relics, dig everything that beeps.
45) CZ's have a quirk and don't ID to and fro as good as left or right so you will have to walk around your target and hit it at right angles.
46) Surely a CZ5 is not a park or sports field unit. Its meter designations are too wide. Usually screwcaps hit in the zinc penny
area. I would advise you to experiment and you will find that screwcaps usually cover a wide area compared to a coins.
47) Put a quarter in the ground at about 2 inches and put a screw cap in the ground at 2 inches, space them about 18 inches apart. Then raise your coil above them. When moving your coil above the screw cap, you will get a signal much higher in the air than the quarter. I found with practice I seldom dig a screw cap.
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Pay attention to the tones when pinpointing. Most of the time I can tell a screwcap by the very high pitched and very loud tone when pinpointing. Coins will be a softer mid-tone when pinpointing unless they're very shallow. By doing this, you might miss a few shallow coins, but you'll dig a lot less screwcaps. General or Miscellaneous Tips
Recently recovered two 10 inch wheaties that would initially not repeat in a 90 degree turn. Used to the CZ5 but was using the CZ7A which goes to 10 inches on the depth reading, CZ5 only goes to 8 inches...Now if I get a solid signal in one direction only hit that pinpoint button and if it hits 10 inches, really play around with it and if I get any kind of repeatable signal from another direction go for it. Seems the extreme depth has something to do with repeatabilty. Usually an 8 inch signal will repeat with no problem. Hard to tell with the earlier analog models as an 8 inch depth could easily be several inches more as it maxes out at 8 inches. By the way got three additional wheaties and a 18 and 36 merc all in the 6 to 8 inch range.Don't know if the CZ7A is better on iron or I have conquered the problem as I have only dug one large corroded nail in the last month....Dan(Pa)
1.) Sometimes we find a few goodies in a small area. Have you ever done this and found no more in that vicinity. Next time: Go to the pinpoint or all metal mode and slowly grid a 5'x 5' square.
a. If you get a signal then switch to discriminate and play around with it.
b. If you get no signals then move on--(a barren area)
c. If you get lots of signals ---chances are there are some more goodies mixed in with a little trash (target masking). Dig a few just for the heck of it (you might be surprised).
The grass is not always greener----if you hit a hot spot ----slow down and investigate.
2.) Run your unit with no discrimination and the low tones will usually come through before the high coin tone.
3.) I'm a newbie and have been having lots of fun working the many nearby parks with the sensitivity set at 6-8 to maximize the potential of my CZ. Your post about a sensitivity setting of 2 inspired me to retry around the iron at a nearby park I worked a few days ago. Results? As fast as I could dig, I recovered 14 pennies, 7 nickels, 3 dimes and 2 quarters!
4.) Try sensitivity at 2, it will aid in discrimination and cut down on masking when target is next to iron.
5.) Do not run your sensitivity above 4 to start with. It sees just fine set there until you get used to the machine.
6.) Run your sensitivity at 6 or 7 and you won't loose much depth.
7.) I live in Florida with very salty, sandy, humus soil. I found that I had to turn my sensitivity down to between 2-4 or I fought "false signals" all day long.
8.) When pinpointing, back off the target, push the pinpoint, then wait a couple of seconds before sweeping back over the target, otherwise your target will evaporate and leave you bewildered. It takes a couple of seconds for the detector to make the transition from disc to all metal.
9.) To learn more, plant a coin garden. Plant some coins from 6-8 inches deep. Listen to the signals they produce. Plant some at angles and do the same. After they have been in the ground for a long period, they may read differently than when initially planted. Spend a little time daily or weekly in your garden studying your signals. Alter your settings. Try hunting at discrimination. It will help you determine if the machine is reading iron off the side of the coil as you approach an iron target, or if you are getting a true bounce when directly over the target.
10.) Normally you should set the sensitivity to the highest level you can without getting a lot of false signals.
11.) Volume should be set at 5 to let you know when a target is deep, not a weak signal boosted.
12.) It's a fact in this hobby that if you want to really excel as a metal detectorist, you have to start digging a lot of targets. At least, dig all high solid repeatable signals with a CZ without concern of the meter and you will be surprised at what pops out. It is sometimes because there are so many conductive metals that fall into the high range. To me having a unit that ID's nickel with a high tone is a great feature, hence so many nickel and surprise finds.
13.) To properly ID any target, slow down! The CZ's ID more accurately at a very slow sweep. When swept in a moderate/fast mode the tone id is not fully locking on. When slowed to about 1.5sec/ft, it locks on with no problem.
14.) To properly ID a target you must have it under the center of the coil. This becomes more critical the deeper the target is. Off center targets will tend to give false signals.
15.) When you are working in the trash with the 5" coil that's when you really have to slow down!
16.) I have the CZ-7, and it works great in mineralized soil. I sometimes have to turn the sensitivity down to limit false readings, but still have great depth.
17.) Take care to ground balance well, sweep with a relatively slow speed and don't discriminate out the iron. Deep silver will ID as iron and high conductivity coin at times.
18.) I suggest that you do not use the audio boost so that you will be able to tell that you are dealing with a deep signal.
19.) Another thing to try in a real trashy area is to use the five-inch coil, and discriminate everything up to coins, even the nickels. You will be surprised on how many silver dimes you can find this way. I have found them between the five and six inch range this way.
20.) I saw a fellow's find for this year, and it was in the pounds of old silver. I ask how he did this, as this park is well metal detected. He uses an 8" coil and sets his discrimination on coins only. He is very methodical in the way he covers the ground and uses small flags to point out questionable targets only to come back with the 5" coil to make sure what the questionable target really is. This way ...he is not bothered with changing coils all the time. He covers the areas like an archaeologist would in a grid fashion.
21.) For a while I wasn't finding much, then I got a very faint signal while I swept the coil in several directions. The depth indication was 6" so I decided to check. What a surprise it was to dig up a good 1906 Barber half. I had GB set on 5, sensitivity at 3 and discrimination at zero.
22.) Just got the response from Fisher on my sensitivity question. I asked, "Is the sensitivity linear or non-linear?" Linear settings means "1" represents 10%, "2" means 20% and so on. But they said, "No, its not linear, it's non-linear." It just means that when they designed the 1266-X or CZ series a "1" setting is the lowest response and by turning it up to "10", you get the highest response. As you turn the knob or setting higher the sensitivity increases by amounts that may be equal to each other or not, for example a setting of "2" is not 50% of "4" setting, but a "4" setting is just an increase over the "2" setting by an arbitrary amount. So what does this all matter? I wanted to find out how much sensitivity I was exactly using. Everyone benefits from knowing
how their detector works, so its fair to say when you want to cut down on masking from iron, use a setting of 2 or 3, slow your sweep (in order to let your detector recover faster between targets).
23.) I have added a CZ-7a Pro to my 1235X and I agree with the sensitivity being really critical on the 7a. I have just begun learning all the features of the 7a but it appears to me that the "old" 1235x could pinpoint much better than the new machine. I'm backing down on the sensitivity and won't give up till I get it right.
24.) Many times I've used the tips posted on the forums to help on my learning curve, but I've also learned not to totally rely on them. In this MD'ing business there are many variables, even weird at times. By going against the grain sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised!
25.) Just listening to the audio sound can eliminate a lot of the false signals and iron signals. Takes some practice.
26.) I think one key to success is to go very slowly and listen for the faint or erratic ticks from your detector.
27.) There will always be stories of a goodie that read as a common type of junk or coin, but that's because target ID can only narrow the odds down, not guarantee ID.
28.) Make sure that you are sweeping at a relatively slow speed and when you run into wheat pennies, slow down even more. There is bound to be silver there, although fewer of them, as more pennies made it to the ground than silver.
29.) Make sure you overlap your sweep pattern.
30.) Being properly ground balanced is very important. If at times you can not GB in normal mode, switch to the salt mode. This has helped me, especially on damp, humid mornings when the ground is wet.
31.) I personally run my volume at 5, my discrimination at 1, and my sensitivity around 7. In this mode, when I'm properly ground balanced, I don't often dig nonrepeatable signals.
32.) I hunt around a lot of power lines and with the 8" coil, I get a fair amount of chatter. With the 5" coil I get none.
33.) Be prepared to dig a lot of junk for awhile. That is part of the learning process. Lots of people never get past that stage and quit. Hang in there and it becomes addictive.
34.) Autotune is a very sensitive wide scan all metal, motion search mode. You can use autotune or target ID mode. When in autotune, target ID does not work. In the Fisher operating manual it's recommended that you use autotune on black or gray sand beaches or highly mineralized soil. I've tried this at the beach and it works great.
35.) It's my understanding that most experienced treasure hunters prefer to manually ground balance their detectors. It's very easy with all the CZ's.
36.) The autotune mode on the CZ machines is an all-metal-motion search mode. When in this mode, you will not get a visual ID indication of the target. You will only get an audio indication, which will only be one tone, not the three tone audio you receive in the discriminate mode.
37.) I have read that the CZ machines do better in wet ground than they do in dry ground.
Rings
1) The Pro is a nice machine but has a quirk or two. It will ID some square pulltabs and gold rings as nickels and will ID some silver rings and zinc cents in the dime/quarter range.
2) When hunting for gold rings in parks & schools... Notch out, round and square tabs and dig the foil and nickel signals to find those pretty AU rings. Your chances are better if you go this route.
3) I've seen rings do the "bounce" so be careful...
4) About 85% of rings are knocked out at the foil and tab setting. You have to dig a lot of junk to get them. However, a percentage of gold rings will fall into the nickel category so dig all these. Many silver rings will come in at the high end of the scale. Gold coins also disappear right after you discriminate out foil.
5) Here are my CZ-6a gold ring test results: 3=round tab, 30=foil, 4=square tab, 6=nickle, 0=zinc, 1=high coin. In addition, I had five other non-ring gold items all classify as foil. My best ring worth over $1000 is the one that read as high coin.
6) Test all the gold rings you can, yellow, white, 18k, 14k, 10k, this will give us a good sample of what's out there. I have already tested 30 myself. Example: 5=round tab, 8=sq. tab, 9=foil, 2=zinc, 3=nickel, 1=high coin.
7) My tests so far show that most small 14k and 10k rings fall under foil. Medium and large 14k and 10k rings fall under tabs. I did have one large 10k ring read as zinc. I tested a 23k band that I had found several years ago and it also read as zinc.
White gold will most likely read as nickel and more in the foil range, but I've never had one read as iron. The same goes for platinum depending on what it is alloyed with.9)My CZ-5 found a gold ring which was lost for 21 years. It was at 2" and read as a square tab. The signal was solid. No jump. It was a medium man's wedding band of 14k gold.
10) If you want to find gold, you're gonna have to dig some trash. Try digging your foil signals and some square tabs as well. Dig readings that bounce around from foil to tabs too.
Iron Signals
1) I have never found anything good when digging a weak, pure iron signal that pinpoints in the same location. It has always been a deep small piece of iron. Sometimes it's not much larger than a nail head at 10-12 inches.
2) If you get a loud high repeatable signal, and after you pinpoint, it seems long shaped, not crisp and sharp, lift the coil a foot off the ground. If you still hear it loud, it's probably a can or big iron target. If you're looking for a cache then, DIG!
3) Regarding the bouncing between two different targets: if it bounces from coin to zinc, from what I have seen, it is iron.
4) Iron will usually pinpoint off target.
5) I like to run the discrimination at one. I'll watch the meter as I'm scanning a target, if it bounces from coin to zinc and back it's usually iron. Haven't dug a coin yet that did that but that's not saying it can't be.
6) I have noticed that iron will usually pinpoint off center. I don't rely on that trait, though, to eliminate the possibility of it being a coin. I have found that a coin on edge will also pinpoint off center.
7) I usually set the discrimination at 1, because the iron signals can drive you crazy. However, sometimes I will go to 0-discrimination just as an experiment.
Once you have encountered an iron signal that's over 5" deep, hit it from at least 2 angles at 90 degrees apart. If you can get a good tone at these 2 angles AND the signal PINPOINTS IN THE SAME SPOT then DIG! Iron will never pinpoint in the same spot when sweeping the coil at 2 different angles.9) Dimes and pennies laying flat that are deep will pinpoint very small compared to iron. I've dug a few deep ones on the CZ7 that pinpointed well, sounded good, but bounced back and forth between coin and zinc. That was the tip off and sure enough it was iron.
10) Nails have not been a problem as long as I run at the discrimination at the 0 setting. I've dug a few, but usually they gave low tones in three directions with only a high coin spike in the other direction. It may be because we don't have as much mineralization here as other areas do.
11) The CZ6a takes some getting used to. Find a place that is not very trashy to learn how to use it. Be patient and slow down. The 6a will often mis-ID a rusty nail if you sweep it too fast. When I got my CZ6a, I went to a trashy old park and dug about 40 lbs of square nails. Since then, I've learned a lot about the machine's signals, learned to slow down, and be patient.
How To Remove a Fisher Spider Coil Cover Without Breaking It!!
1. I have used my fingernails to get mine off. I was thinking about the vacuum of a tight fitting cover and I never tried it but, I wonder if some compressed air (dust off can like you use to clean computers etc) might help?
2. After breaking one cover, I just leave it on now. So what if there is some dirt or sand inside. It doesn't effect the performance of the detector.
3. It has not affected the performance as of yet, but I ty to clean them out periodically since the following happened.
I hunt in plowed fields quite bit and our soil is naturally sandy to begin with. I started having signals or interference from my Spectrum with no visible clues such as a power line or an abundance of iron to cause the erratic behavior. The spectrums cover is relatively easy to remove and done so and dumped a quarter of cup of sand out. It then worked fine. In that particular case with whatever was in that handful of sand...it did effect the performance to the point of being non usable.
There could be more subtle performance changes that are occurring prior to the machine going haywire, which might prevent a certain item from being found. I just prefer to clean them once in awhile to be certain.
4. Maybe it would be easier to seal it than to remove it. I sealed my CZ-6a 8" with silicone sealant about 4 years ago and haven't had a need to remove the cover yet. The sealant has held up very well and still looks good. I used the clear variety and wiped the excess off leaving only what remained in the gap between the coil and the cover.
I tried this with my CZ-20 and it ended up getting water in the cover. I had to get a new cover after breaking the first one trying to get it off. So now I just leave it on and use no sealant to trap water inside. I'm sure it has sand in it now but we have no mineralization here to interfere with performance.
5. Have someone hold stem as close to coil as possible or put about 1/2 of coil in vice,take a blunt instrument (I use a file)and place end at top of each section of coil(working one side to the other) and tap file or whatever instrument your using gently. I've done this on several occasions and this method works fairly quickly and the coil or cover isn't damaged.
6.Don't laugh but i'll tell you what I use.I found an old tube of silicon caulking (unopened) that had dried up.I take the end of the nozzle and work it in the front center of the coil cover and just twist it around,kind of like a tire changer.Works pretty good for me and it wont hurt the coil.
7.Go get you some paint stirring sticks and put them right up against the coil and on top of the edge of the coil cover and give it some nice Raps all the way around the coil and it will come off. Since I hunt the beaches and the water all the time I have to take mine off all the time and this is the best way to do it without damanging the coil or the coil cover. Anyway hope this helps getting the coil cover off.
8.Due to the design of the coil cover, it is almost impossible to remove without breaking....it really does build up dirt under the coil. Guess if you want to clean just have to buy new cover....Thought about submerging in hot water, but thought it might damage coil. coating the inside of the cover with vaseline might work when you get ready to take off and may also keep the dirt out.
9.I read some interesting ways of getting the coil cover off the spider coil and decided to share with you what I did to mine. The coil cover is there to protect the bottom of the coil from damage. I found it was not there to keep water or sand out as mine always got water and sand in it anyway. After I found out how difficult it was to get off, I did some carving and sanding to the inside surfaces of the coil cover. I continued to try it on the coil for that "perfect fit". Now I can grab the wide section of the coil cover and pull it off, rinse both the coil and the cover in the ocean and replace it. I didn't take that much plastic off to make it work. It beats breaking the covers off. For those that take too much off and the cover no longer fits tight, buy a new one and start over again. They're going to have to buy one anyway if they break it off, but they won't damage the coil in the process.
Fisher CZ Tips
Hello to all my CZ buddies. I've got a few tips that may prove helpful. See for yourself what works and what doesn't.This isn't intended as a complete " How To" guide but just a few of my own observations(unless noted otherwise). Also, refer to the Fisher forum for some great help. There's lots of experience there.
Locating and pinpointing deep targets Coins that are 6 inches or deeper can be hard to find if you're in a hurry. You have to slow down and overlap the search path, just inch forward if you can. This can get boring in a hurry. But once you locate that first deep old coin, it would be a worthwhile thing to do. Sometimes you might get two coin signals 4-6(roughly) inches apart. One is shallow and one is deep. Try digging the shallow one first. That shallow coin may be on edge and is causing a secondary false coin signal that pinpoints as a deep target. I found this out one day by digging the deep coin signal and finding nothing. I then dug up the shallow coin and then the deep coin signal disappeared. It can also be two separate targets, but why not save your-self some frustration? A good coin signal will be repeatable from darn near any direction. When I get a good signal, I will turn and check the signal from 90 degrees to the first signal. If I can get any type of signal, then I know it's probably good, except for rusty nails. Coins on edge can read good in one direction but not at 90 degrees.
Often a false signal will occur in one direction, but not the other, or at the end of the swing. Extremely deep coins could probably do this. So it would be a good idea to see if you can get a signal in the pinpoint mode. (By both directions I mean left to right as you swing the coil in front of you.) Try digging a plug and see if the signal gets better, which would indicate a good target. If you are getting too many false signals try reducing the sensitivity or switching to a smaller coil in trashy areas. Place some coins on the ground and see how they sound from different heights and directions. This will help you to recognize what a repeatable signal is. Try pinpointing by lifting the coil in the air, high enough to where you can barely pick it up. In extremely trashy areas I sometimes have to pinpoint in the disc mode, or dig the surrounding trash first. I wouldn't be concerned about digging deep targets until you can recognize what a good repeatable signal is.
Extremely deep coins can cause the audio to stutter, but still lock on coins. I'm not sure if it’s the depth or maybe the coin is on edge and deep but I encounter this only once in a great while. This is where you want to double check at 90 degrees. If you're not sure, then dig a plug and see if the audio improves.
I once got a coin signal at six inches but I couldnt get any pinpoint signal.I believe the signal was detectable at 90 degrees.I checked out my detector and it was working in all modes.(batteries were fine) After analysing the signal several more times it was just too good to pass up.I started to dig and checked with the pinpoint mode several times until I reached about 5 inches. Not much of a signal in the pinpoint mode yet.Finally at about six inches I pulled out a wheatback.I dont know if it was perfectly straight up and down or what.That was probably the weirdest signal I have dug. Sometimes even though a target may not pinpoint right, or at all, something says to DIG it!!
Rusty Nails on edge like to read as coins on the meter. It is a good idea to take some time and analyze the signal before digging. This can save a lot of frustration. These nail tips aren't foolproof, or should I say IRON proof? With experience you can reduce the number of them you dig. I've found that if a signal sounds suspicious or iffy, it's usually iron.A lot of the iron or other trash signals(false signals) can be ignored simply by listening to the audio signal! This takes some practice.But it can save a lot of frustrating digging. When I get a good coin signal, I will watch the meter as I scan back and forth. If just one time the needle drops to zinc and then goes back to coin, it is iron. I haven't found a coin in this situation yet so I can't say for sure that it isn't a coin. But dig a few and see for yourself. A deep, flat coin like a penny or dime should pinpoint as a small target where as an iron nail likes to run in one direction. Though, heh, heh, once in a while the signal will sound good, lock on coins, pinpoint small, and still be a rusty nail Say you get a good coin signal at 7 inches. You dig down 5-6 inches and all of a sudden the audio starts to skip. It should be an iron target the CZ is trying to disc out! Coins just sound good, sort of round -like, and you know it before digging them. I usually hunt with disc set on one. Then I'll turn it down to zero to see how much iron buzz I get. But some coins will give you a low iron buzz, so don't use this exclusively as an indication to dig or not. When in doubt, DIG!!!
The CZ is very good at picking up coins right in with the iron. I've pulled 4-5 wheats out of a hole with a large rusty bolt. The pinpoint was off, but it sounded too good to pass up. Try checking the targets from different angles to better separate them. Some rusty iron will read as zinc so check out those signals.
Coins and meter readings
Nickels don't always read as nickels. On my machine(cz6a) they like to bounce between foil and nickel. Half dimes, 3 cent pieces and old 22 shells will id as foil. Green wheatbacks from the teens like to id as rect tab or zinc or bounce back and forth.Targets in the ground and next to other metal objects may read different then an air test. If you're in an old area, it's best to dig everything. (Under old sidewalks is a favorite of mine.) Ive just recently started to experiment with the cz7.Alot of these tips seem to apply to the cz7 series also.I'll update as neccessary.
Gold rings
A study was done with 259 gold rings of all shapes and alloys. Here is where they read on the CZ. 0- read as iron; 51- read as round tab; 92- read as foil (mostly thinner women's rings); 75- read as rect tab; 26- read as nickel; 11- as zinc; and 4- as coin. This is just to give you an idea. So that's it for now. I don't claim to know it all. These tips can vary depending on ground conditions and other things.Don't be afraid to experiment and see what works or not.You might find a better way that works for you.I welcome all comments and tips you can send my way.
MikeW said:
Hi Mike,
Good workable information never dies --- the information on the CZ is as good as the treasure found by using it to successfully find goodies under the ground as demonstrated by the chaps above.
Being new to the CZ21 i very much appreciate the efforts you went to to record this info and many thanks to the guys who have resurfaced all this "0ld" information presented here.
best
Gundy
mrwilburino
Member
It's like mecca for CZ enthusiasts. 
Fisher is still making 21s and 3Ds and hint they have a new one in the works. There are legions of hunters who swear they will only give up their CZ when they are pried out of their cold dead hands. I thank you for all the effort and hope the site can come back and keep evolving! 
Mike, your interest and dedication to the site has been a blessing to me over the years. I read and re-read your page before I even ordered my new CZ3d. I felt like I had used it for years when I unpacked it. CZs are like old friends and I can't imagine not having at least one in the arsenal. I am one of those who hope that Fisher will give us one more hero in the CZ ranks. Thanks again for sharing and spreading the word.
Don
Don
DetectorCollector
New member
I Own 24 detectors(and counting)and I always clean up a site with my trusty CZ.It is just deadly on coins,you just have to slow way down and take your time.Out of all the detectors Ive used and owned my CZ is still the best coin shooter period.
NEBeachcomber
Member
I know this is an old message... but for those still interested here's a working link:
http://mikewd.fws1.com/
(I'd be lost without my CZ's!)
http://mikewd.fws1.com/
(I'd be lost without my CZ's!)