NAILS!!!

[cosmic]

I have had a new SE for a couple of months now.. I'm really not impressed with it.. I have used every different pattern, sounds, A.M. and everything else I could think of.. I get a clear repeatable sound good and cursor placement, low ferrous numbers and are almost never a coin almost always nails!!!.. I guess I expected more from minelab than this( should have tried before I purchased it).. I have dug more nails with this in all modes than many mid priced machines..Is there any way to calm this down? I didn't purchase it to find nails and can fodder..Before anyone asks,the coil is clean..Also I have no problem as far as programming it..Falsing is another issue and can't see where it is a smooth running machine..I am not a novice and do realize that no machine made is 100 percent accurate but I don't see any real difference between this and a mid priced machine.. Anyone have any patterns to help the nail problem? Any help would be appreciated.. If I can't figure this out I'm going to sell it and buy something else..
Ray

 

[Joe of South Jersey]

Ray,
It seems that many are having the same problem. Hang in there.

We are all working together to see if we can find out what the problem is.

 

[Yooper]

I would bet that if you try to pinpoint these nails before digging, that they would not pinpoint well at all. Also, they will usually not repeat in more than one direction when sweeping. You are seeing iron falsing.

A coin will have a fluty sound to it when it is mixed in with the iron. A coin mixed with iron will also usually sound off in multiple directions and will also pinpoint much easier than iron falsing. I would recommend that you also make a decision to dig by the sounds more than looking at the readouts. I dig when it sounds like a coin and not merely by what the readout is saying.

The more you dig, the more you will learn the machine. I only have about 20 hours on my SE, but am becoming more comfortable all the time. Stick with it.

 

[txbluesman]

Cosmic,

Here are some of my personal observations regarding nails while learning my SE.

1. If I have my sensitivity set too high for a particular site, I get erroneous readings from the SE and tend to dig more ferrous objects. By reducing my sensitivity or switching to Semi-Auto always corrects this "falsing".

2. Very wet ground tends to make deep nails (8"+) sound "iffy" to me which causes me to dig them (afterall the best discriminator is your shovel).

3. Sweep speed. Slow and low is required for good target ID. If you sweep too fast or don't exercise good coil control can cause erroneous responses.

4. When the SE is tuned to your ground matrix, nails will rarely sound good from two directions. In Smartfind you will see the cursor move from far right back to far left. They also pinpoint differently that a coin. More elongated vs round.

5. Nails don't give the fluty sound that most coins produce. It took me quite awhile to tune my ears to this sound, but now I can hunt almost exclusively by tone. I reference Smartfind once I hear that sound.

6. Roofing nails just under the surface sometimes read like silver from one direction.

I don't consider myself a pro with the SE but I do feel that I'm getting there. It takes time and an open mind. I hope this helps. HH

 

[goldenpulltab]

I dont mind screaming nails at least i know its a nail.