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Park Hunting and Discrimination
- Thread starter synthnut
- Start date
haven't used my sovereign for a couple of years. when i first started i couldn't get the habg of all the tones so i tried running ast full disc. i dug a lot of mercs that would only read 136 but would sound off even in full disc. i would basically dig anything that didn't change location when i went to pinpoint mode. some places i went back and located the older nickle signals.
I don't use my meter much but when I hunt parks which isn't very often I use my meter so I don't have to use notch or disc. When you use either your masking targets that you would otherwise hear with them set at zero and don't get the chance to at least analyze it to see if you want to dig it or not.
Chuck, it's a matter of what your willing to dig. Sometimes those targets that aren't the norm in ID can make the difference in trashy sites. I've never cared for numerical meters. That is the reason I use the old Sovereign bar graph meter. Sometimes it will average targets if they are close enough just like the 180 meter but if it sees them as separate targets it will bounce from one target to another when two targets are close together telling me there is more than one target under the coil. The numerical readout will cause it to run up and down the scale on each pass and not actually separate the two until you can separate the targets with the tip of the coil if you can. Just my preference.
Chuck ,
So if your numbers were coming in at 136 or so , you were not getting the "high tone " that Silver would give you either correct ? ........If this is the case , then you would not even think that you hit Silver unless you dug it out of curiousity I'm guessing ? ......Thanks, Jim
So if your numbers were coming in at 136 or so , you were not getting the "high tone " that Silver would give you either correct ? ........If this is the case , then you would not even think that you hit Silver unless you dug it out of curiousity I'm guessing ? ......Thanks, Jim
Chuck ,
Thanks for your reply ....This next statment is not directed to you ...I'm thinking out loud and making a statemet ....
OK ....So I'm guessing that anytime a target is near another target, there is an averaging going on between the two , and the VID will not be the same as either taget if they are close together , or one on top of the other as I have witnessed in the past ......The tone will not be the tone of either target .......This is MASKING !!!..... If this is what you are going to hear from a Masked target , than what would ever make you think that it's Silver ? ......Why would you even bother to dig it ? ....unless you were curious ......??????
The reason I'm asking this is I am now wondering how many other Silvers did I walk past becuase of a masking issue ? ....... Jim
Thanks for your reply ....This next statment is not directed to you ...I'm thinking out loud and making a statemet ....
OK ....So I'm guessing that anytime a target is near another target, there is an averaging going on between the two , and the VID will not be the same as either taget if they are close together , or one on top of the other as I have witnessed in the past ......The tone will not be the tone of either target .......This is MASKING !!!..... If this is what you are going to hear from a Masked target , than what would ever make you think that it's Silver ? ......Why would you even bother to dig it ? ....unless you were curious ......??????
The reason I'm asking this is I am now wondering how many other Silvers did I walk past becuase of a masking issue ? ....... Jim
thats why i started hunting the way i did. anything that gave a signal i checked in pinpoint and if the target didn't pinpoint differently like iron would do i dug. i was fooled by some nails but most were good targets. i also dug 2 or 3 silver halfs that really sounded trashy.
There has only been a few times I turned the disc above 1/2 way. This is where there was a lot of alum foil, but I mostly run the disc about the 10 o'clock position. I run a 180 digital meter and listen tot he tones and look at the meter for any close tones. The only time I don't get a 180 reading on a good target is when it is super deep as it also will be very small area you get a signal on the target. From experience you will get to know the tones and when you get one that is a bit different you will check it out a bit more and in most cases you will get a 180 or very close to it when wiggling the coil just right. Now at one old park everyone has given up on I went super slow and listened close and could hear some targets and some you could tell the tones were trying to climb along with the meter numbers with some only seeing 179-180 for a split second while the real deep one i seen the best i could do was 136, but these were very deep and you could tell it was trying to climb. Many of the iffy ones that are not real deep may show a lower number, but when you work it and come from a different angle you will hear the tone climbing to let you know there is a good target close to trash or a coin on edge.
Most of this come with the experience with the Sovereign and when you swing the coil you will hear many different tones, but when the right one hits it will stop you in your tracks. Going slow to get the signal of a good target and doing the wiggle to help ID by going over just the small area of the target will help you ID it. This is why i say you learn something new each and every time out with it.
On all mask or multi targets I feel I can tell something is different in the tones, so I go around a target and can hear the high tone of as good target next to trash and get my 180 or very close on the meter.
Most of this come with the experience with the Sovereign and when you swing the coil you will hear many different tones, but when the right one hits it will stop you in your tracks. Going slow to get the signal of a good target and doing the wiggle to help ID by going over just the small area of the target will help you ID it. This is why i say you learn something new each and every time out with it.
On all mask or multi targets I feel I can tell something is different in the tones, so I go around a target and can hear the high tone of as good target next to trash and get my 180 or very close on the meter.
Rick ,
I was more methodical in my aproach to this target than I have every been for almost ANY target .....After all, for all intents and purposes , I KNEW there was Silver down there according to my buddies E Trac .....It as was not like I was SEARCHING for a target .....The target was THERE !!.....All I had to do was identify it .......and I couldn't .......Had I been hunting , and I crossed that path , I would not have even stopped to double check it ..... There was NO HINT of a 180 number , and there was no hint of a high pitched tone until I started falsing running the Sensitiviy so high ..... My partner and I KNOW ths park and we purposely went back with my Soveriegn as I was telling him that I was gonna go in there and show him how to pull out some Silver .... He just smiled as we walked along .....We had to move VERY slowly in this park because we have already drained about as much Silver as we could from this park .....IT'S PICKED THRU !!..... There have been many others besides us that have hunted this park for YEARS !!!..... I just bought a 10 x 12 SEF coil and I'm going back to see if I can re create ths same scenario ...... I'm SURE that I was not too deep to find this coin, but I will finally lay this thing to rest one way or the other by doing the same area , same soil , SEF Coil will be the ONLY difference .....I am also bringing my Tornado strapped to my back to check ALL my targets with IT also ......Thanks for the reply ....Jim
I was more methodical in my aproach to this target than I have every been for almost ANY target .....After all, for all intents and purposes , I KNEW there was Silver down there according to my buddies E Trac .....It as was not like I was SEARCHING for a target .....The target was THERE !!.....All I had to do was identify it .......and I couldn't .......Had I been hunting , and I crossed that path , I would not have even stopped to double check it ..... There was NO HINT of a 180 number , and there was no hint of a high pitched tone until I started falsing running the Sensitiviy so high ..... My partner and I KNOW ths park and we purposely went back with my Soveriegn as I was telling him that I was gonna go in there and show him how to pull out some Silver .... He just smiled as we walked along .....We had to move VERY slowly in this park because we have already drained about as much Silver as we could from this park .....IT'S PICKED THRU !!..... There have been many others besides us that have hunted this park for YEARS !!!..... I just bought a 10 x 12 SEF coil and I'm going back to see if I can re create ths same scenario ...... I'm SURE that I was not too deep to find this coin, but I will finally lay this thing to rest one way or the other by doing the same area , same soil , SEF Coil will be the ONLY difference .....I am also bringing my Tornado strapped to my back to check ALL my targets with IT also ......Thanks for the reply ....Jim
For most of my park hunting I have ran the discrimination and the notch at zero position with very good results.When on group hunts the Sovereign usually ended up with the best finds.Not the most coins,but the oldest and deep silver.I am at this time trying to concentrate on gold rings right or wrong my discrimination is set just below nickles and will dig everything above that zone.I'm aware the upper level will be coins and usually not gold but this enables me to also find coins.The lower end of the gold range will be missed by having the discrimination just below nickles.There are no right or wrong way to run your discrimination,but usually its better to run it off in most situations.The Sovereign discrimination at this point is adjusted to my priority of finding medium to large gold rings mixed in with pull tabs and some coins.
Ron.
Part of my hunt on Saturday will be on the beach ....I will be running my beach program exactly like yours as I don't want to deal with , and I don't think that the Sovereign really handles fine gold very well anyway ....I too will be looking for earings, medium - large rings .......I've run it like you mentioned on my E Trac and found nice earlings and if the quarters are only a scoop away , I pocket a few of those for toll and gas money !!....Saturday I will be using the Sovereign , so I will probably be scooping a bunch of Copper pennies thinking they are quarters . .....Jim
BTW ...If you ever get really lucky, a large Platinum ring lands in the nickel range ........
Part of my hunt on Saturday will be on the beach ....I will be running my beach program exactly like yours as I don't want to deal with , and I don't think that the Sovereign really handles fine gold very well anyway ....I too will be looking for earings, medium - large rings .......I've run it like you mentioned on my E Trac and found nice earlings and if the quarters are only a scoop away , I pocket a few of those for toll and gas money !!....Saturday I will be using the Sovereign , so I will probably be scooping a bunch of Copper pennies thinking they are quarters . .....Jim
BTW ...If you ever get really lucky, a large Platinum ring lands in the nickel range ........
Jim,the Sovereign is a great beach detector.I have a CZ-20 that's great also,but the Sovereign works better for me.The big money is in the medium to large gold rings.Good Luck
I've got to say, that in my sites I don't run any discrimination at all other than the "inbuilt". I even took a tip off another thread on the forum and turned iron mask off for the first time this week.
Considering I would imagine some of my sites are more infested with a more wide variety of junk than the majority of USA sites (at least inland anyway), I've found the gt's performance to be excellent. The only things undesirable that fool it are large pieces of iron buried deep, and by that I mean 8inches plus of iron buried more than 8 or 9 inches in plough soil; and foil/aluminium. The foil has got to practically be touching the search coil, but there is nothing to stop the aluminium. Over here we have lots of hammered silver coins, found a Charles the First silver sixpence two days ago C1640, and they give the identical signal to foil/aluminium, so to notch it out would be suicide.
My best setting are now - Iron mask Off, No discrimination, no notch. I've found that I can at last get the gt to work out of auto now I've got iron mask off, and it's improved the depth and sensitivity no end! Thanks to Jim (I think?) who recommended it on another thread. I'm now finding small targets ie 5mm diameter hammered silver coins, in trashy plough soil at 5inches plus. Not bad over here and much better than my previous xterra 30 was managing! My detecting buddy uses an xterra50 and also has good results although he can match sensitivity, he can't match it at depth.
Honestly, if you've never detected in the UK and have the chance, do it. There is nothing better than pulling out a roman coin or hammered silver coin which are anything up to 2000 years old. What a fantastic hobby we have gentleman.
Considering I would imagine some of my sites are more infested with a more wide variety of junk than the majority of USA sites (at least inland anyway), I've found the gt's performance to be excellent. The only things undesirable that fool it are large pieces of iron buried deep, and by that I mean 8inches plus of iron buried more than 8 or 9 inches in plough soil; and foil/aluminium. The foil has got to practically be touching the search coil, but there is nothing to stop the aluminium. Over here we have lots of hammered silver coins, found a Charles the First silver sixpence two days ago C1640, and they give the identical signal to foil/aluminium, so to notch it out would be suicide.
My best setting are now - Iron mask Off, No discrimination, no notch. I've found that I can at last get the gt to work out of auto now I've got iron mask off, and it's improved the depth and sensitivity no end! Thanks to Jim (I think?) who recommended it on another thread. I'm now finding small targets ie 5mm diameter hammered silver coins, in trashy plough soil at 5inches plus. Not bad over here and much better than my previous xterra 30 was managing! My detecting buddy uses an xterra50 and also has good results although he can match sensitivity, he can't match it at depth.
Honestly, if you've never detected in the UK and have the chance, do it. There is nothing better than pulling out a roman coin or hammered silver coin which are anything up to 2000 years old. What a fantastic hobby we have gentleman.