Nulling Question??

[taltexan]

I had a hit on a wheat about 6" deep right off a null area. I while digging the penny I saw something silver to the side of the hole. I removed the penny and started working the coil over the silver colored item. All I got was a null from any direction from the etrac. I started digging over the silver item and about 4" down I found a rusted nail about 2" above the silver. I removed the nail and dug a 1935 quarter. I did some air test and found that if I put the nail on top of the quarter the detector would null. If I had the quarter on top I would get a quarter tone. Now I have heard that guys are finding coins in the same hole with metal but I have not been able to get any tone if the metal is over the coin. Now if it off to one side just a little I get a coin tone. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong???
Thanks,

 

[Idaho PRB]

Just out of curiousity, what was your "Trash" setting on? Other settings?

 

[taltexan]

Trash-High
Recovery- Fast on---Deep on
Ground-difficult
Auto sen. gererally runs around 22-24
Variability-28
Limits-30

Tried quick mask in am and still null......

 

[Goes4ever]

I can lay a nail on top of a quarter and still get a signal, no null..........not sure what is happening on your end?

 

[Jason in Enid]

I know I have found coins under nails before, but your problem has me wondering. I will try the old-rusty-nail over dime in the air test when I get home tomorrow.

 

[Ray-Mo.]

Also if you are in true all metal in quick mask the nail alone should sound off loud and clear,not null.

 

[utahshovelhead]

I would suggest a couple things to try. 1. be absoulutely certian that high trash is on first . 2. adjust your discrimination to take out the Nail.
then try sweeping over the nail and qaurter again with it on top and on bottom.

With high trash on and the nail discriminated out the E should lock opto the accepted signal and give a good enough signal and id to make you dig it. If these are in play as you say then it could very well be that sweep direction and ground matrix or lots of other things are comming into play. But here is the thing...you did find the quarter. So you are not sure if you would of without seeing it first but the machine is very funny in air tests so dont always be 100% sure that that is what is going on down under. Is there more than the nail? did you swing over the hole after the qaurter was out?.

I tend to do lots of messing around and experimenting when stuff like that happens just to see if I can make the wondering stop.

good luck
,
utahshovelhead

 

[taltexan]

Thanks for all the replies.....Dennis

 

[gingerlm]

i have had that happen....just last week....i have done the air test with colonials and silvers with an old square nail sitting right on top...still got the coin signal...but i was getting a null in the field..i went back over the sight with quick mask...i did get a coin signal for a second...so i dug...there where square nails...so i took them out and i lost the signal...so i put my shovel in the hole again and pulled out this large piece of metal....but before that there was no null , no nothing....but once i removed the big peice of metal i got the colonial.....i think if the metal is bigger than the coin the machine doesnt make a sound...but i will always keep digging....i alsways have a feeling there is a goody in there somwhere...lol.....ginger

 

[utahshovelhead]

If I have gotten a good signal in the midst of hums or difficult signals and the machine seems to be trying to hit on something down there I will dig...If it disapers I keep digging as I know somthing was giving the machine trouble to begin with and now I have moved the dirt and matrix. I will take a lot of dirt out and check again and every once in a while I do find a good target. But I dont recomend fishing the nice lawns like that cause my holes are large when I am done. Each signal can vary for me and if the site has old coins as well then I tend to check (dig) everything, But just in some sites so not all the time.

 

[tippyhound]

I am a great believer in using the Quick Mask program with no discrimination on really iffy targets. I have dug several coins and tokens, that would null or chatter from at least one direction, and would find one or more nails in the hole with my good target. At times I have even seen both the good target and the nail at the same time on the Quick Mask screen. Sometimes they just bounce around between the lower right hand corner and the coin area. When this happens I always dig, and most (not always) of the time I come up with something worth digging. It's a gamble but it often pays off.

I recently dug a 1917 Political Token made of aluminum about seven inch's down that had a rusty nail laying right on top of it. (The Token was in really nice shape except where the nail laid across it, unfortunatly it ate into th aluminum there.) The signal was terrible but The Quick Mask showed it was reading high so I dug it. Really Glad I did.

Remember in most areas the easy targets are picked over, that what makes the E-Trac so great, it really helps cull out the few good ones left.

Rick