Omega Depth - Experiences and Thoughts

[earthmansurfer]

What kind of depth are you guys getting with the Omega?

With the following settings/conditions:
GB 50-60
No Fe3 bars
Max sensitivity
d2 mode
No discrimination (not all metal mode)
11" DD coil

My experiences
I'm consistently digging dime sized or slightly larger coins at 4" - 6". They are generally copper and occasionally silver. They hit hard and solid, unless on edge.
I have dug quite a few coins at 6" and a handful at 7" or so. The latter hit very softly and you got to listen.
Interesting note - If the coins are silver the ID is solid no matter the depth, if not the ID starts to vary a lot after 4" - 5" or so. (Hard to say consistently as there is often iron around. Larger coins which I rarely find, the ID does not vary much)
Case in point:
1. I dug a nickel sized thin silver hammered at 7" and it barely hit, but hit consistently and ID'd at 81 (plus or minus 1).
2. I dug a large 2.5 gram silver hammered at 7" and it hit solidly and high and with a consistent number on the VDI.

The depth meter is accurate to within 2" I'd say but the sound is really what I notice.

I have dug screw on bottle caps to over 9" no problem, they ID high and have a consistent ID. There isn't a lot of them, nor pull tabs, but I can't tell them from coins generally speaking, except if they are less than 3" deep it sometimes sounds too good relative to the size of coins I am digging.

A bit theoretical
I'm thinking since my soil conditions are fairly good mineral wise, ok GB wise and settings are maxed out that 6" - 7" on dime sized targets is about the max (if they are not silver). Silver seems to be able to add another inch or two.
For Nickel or quarter sized targets (which I rarely dig) I would probably extend that depth up to 9". If larger and copper or silver maybe 10"-11". Not sure as I haven't dug any big coins beyond 7". The ones I did hit hard.

Overall, (from reading) I think the Omega w/ 11" DD coil is probably within 2" of the higher end units depth wise. Not bad for a savings of 50% or so.

What have your experiences been like?

 

[dioramix]

hi, I am walking alone with headphones
better hear the sounds of the border.
I dug copper coins (2 pfenningf 1854) Open 10''. Headphones are strictly required, because you will not hear the sounds of border

 

[earthmansurfer]

I use headphones, Grey Ghosts, they are excellent. I dug a 1875 or so copper 2 pfennig last time out at around 5" or 6". It hit ok, might have been on edge or at an angle as it didn't pinpoint well. I really don't think I would have heard it at 10". Maybe the ground is a bit low GB wise? Oh, it had just rained also, so that saturated the ground too much for optimal depths.

dioramix - can you list your settings and conditions next time?

 

[jim tn]

Your experiences, ground, settings and all, are pretty much as mine are. My ground with the small coil runs right at 60. With the two larger coils, mid 60's. And usually one feo bar at most. I have dug a U S quarter at 9." That was with the 10" coil and that signal was quite faint, at least for my old ears. Like you, I have found silver to really lock on, but non silver at some depth to bounce 1-2 numbers. Usually, unless there is some close trash or the coin is slanted or on edge, no more then that. I have one of the high end units you reference and it is every bit of the 2" you mention deeper. Non the less, I can dig 7-8" dime size targets with the Omega and know there is still a little left. That is good enough for me, particularly when it id's so well. HH jim tn

 

[dioramix]

hi my settings

Koss QZ99
sensitivity 99
sound D1
freq 2
discrimination 16 notch better cope with masking iron

 

[earthmansurfer]

Thanks, but what about your GB and Fe3 ground level (The bars in the upper right I think).

I would like to understand how you can get a 2 pfenning at 10" ? mode d1 helps but not that much, hmmmm...

 

[dioramix]

bury a coin (2 pfenningf) in the clay at 11''is to convince

 

[sekypaleo]

OK here is the honest truth. The past weekend I was relic hunting at a site that I have pounded to death. I decided to concentrate on one certain area where I have dug quite a few relics but my last few hunts produced nothing. I was using a Tesoro Vaquero with stock coil and supertuned, my wife was using the Omega at sensitivity at 95, disc at 16. I got a strong signal..my wife checked it with the Omega, and got no response at all. Target was a brass scale from an epaulet at 10". Two feet away same scenario, this time a 69 cal musketball at 9-10". Again the Omega gave no indication of targets there. This is using the stock 10" elliptical coil ...maybe with the 11" DD it would have responded...I dunno. To me it seems the Omega tops out at 8". Still..I love my Omega.

 

[dioramix]

10 coil''is shallower than 8''
Here is a test of four coils in the ground.
performed on the equivalent gamma BH

http://video.yandex.ru/users/mdet/view/35

 

[AndyNM]

Use the All Metal Mode (AT) and watch the signal strength meter. If you get a tone, but the signal meter does not move or moves just a little, DIG IT !
Very deep gold and silver coins won't ID (or ID low as iron) so go by it's size and signal strength. You may dig some trash, but the coins you find that way will make your heart skip a beat.

Andy

 

[gmanlight]

Thanks Andy NM

 

[jumper]

was at a group hunt this past weekend in mid coast Maine and dug this watch fob 11 + inches in a field.
Omega 8 K 99 sens.- 2 tone - 0 discrim.-11" DD

 

[sekypaleo]

Sunday I dug a 58 cal. minie ball at 9". Sens was at 95, disc at 16. Signal was repeating soft warm 99 TID...normally that number would be a wrap around iron signal , but the tone was not "sharp", but rather soft and mellow. Knew it was good from the get go. Deepest good signal I have dug with the Omega yet. Oh...stock 10" coil.

 

[Monte]

What kind of depth are you guys getting with the Omega?

With the following settings/conditions:
GB 50-60
No Fe3 bars
Max sensitivity
d2 mode
No discrimination (not all metal mode)
11" DD coil

In most of the ground sites I hunt in around here (grassy or bare dirt, not bad sand or gravel) my Ground Phase is usually from 72-78 when balanced.
Most of the time I pump the coil to auto-balance and it shows 2 or 3 Fe3O4 bars, and most often 1 or 2 during the sweep. Some balance w/4 and I get maybe 3 during the sweep. A few sites are lower.
I run the Sensitivity as high as possible. Often maxed at 99, but sometimes EMI drops me down around60-70.
Usually in d2 Audio Tones, but sometimes d4 and on occasion d1.
Discrimination is almost always at 1, and on rare occasion it's up to about 17/18.
When I want to use an 11" I grab my T2. Right now I split my hunting 50/50 between the 5" DD and stock 10" concentric.

My experiencesOverall, (from reading) I think the Omega w/ 11" DD coil is probably within 2" of the higher end units depth wise. Not bad for a savings of 50% or so.

What have your experiences been like?

First, I'm not sure about the 2" difference but I know I have hunted with others and we've been

 

[earthmansurfer]

Thanks for the replies guys. (Andy, I am starting to listen more for what you said, but the ground was a bit too wet yesterday. I've noticed the GB drop 5 pts of so.)

Monte or others - Quick question. You are the second person in the last two days that mentioned "bad sand" on the forums. The other guy mentioned when clay is mixed in. There is lots of sand here in Germany and my Omega seems to see into it pretty well. Are you just looking at the Fe3O4 meter to determine how "bad" it is, or is it something more?

Thanks

 

[Monte]

Monte or others - Quick question. You are the second person in the last two days that mentioned "bad sand" on the forums. The other guy mentioned when clay is mixed in. There is lots of sand here in Germany and my Omega seems to see into it pretty well. Are you just looking at the Fe3O4 meter to determine how "bad" it is, or is it something more?

In short, when I am referring to BAD ground, I directly point to that which is dense in structure, such as rocks or even bigger dirt clods which can hamper detection performance in the Discriminate mode, but especially BAD conditions that involve dense amounts of ferrous (iron) build-up. One of the nice features of the Omega, G2 and other good Teknetics models that help classify or qualify such conditions is the Fe3O4 read-out.

I have hunted some locations around the western states, especially, where the ground challenges just aren't all that bad. The Ground Balance/Ground Phase numbers are lower, such as in the 50's to mid and upper 60's, and I don't get any Fe3O4 bars showing during a Ground Balance procedure or when sweeping the coil during a search. Then there are the more challenging conditions.

Around here in NW Oregon, specifically in the Portland area, we have two major size rivers and the beaches are very difficult to hunt through. They are dark colored and have a lot of black sand in them and the Ground Phase settings are high, as are the Fe3O4 read-outs. The same applies to some of the finer texture sand that I encounter in a few playgrounds and many of the outdoor volleyball courts in various parks. When I get into the more dense ground cover, such as pea gravel in some playgrounds or the small rocks used to fill sidewalk repair prior to a fresh cement pouring, then it's a combination of the density or thickness of the material combined with the fact that a lot of it is quite mineralized. For example, some of the last sidewalk renovation had