Safari depth meter issues?

[Happa54]

Hello MD'ers;

Anyone having depth meter issues with their Safari? I may have read a post or two about this somewhere down the road.

Here is my problem;

It consistently tells me that target is 6" deep (half way on the meter) when upon digging it is really 2" - 3" inches deep.

If the coin is on top then it reflects as such. But other than that, I'm constantly digging a deep plug only to find I needed to dig a couple of inches into the ground.

It wasn't all that accurate with the stock coil but now since I put on the 6x8 butterfly it has worsened.

This machine has never giving me a read of 2, 4, 5, 8, 9" as an example.

Do you think I have a defective machine or do I need to do some tweaking of some sort that I may not know about?

I've had the Safari since November 2016.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[Champ Ferguson]

Given that size can matter to the depth reading, I'd say its fairly common on shallow targets. At least I think I have experienced what you are describing. Another thing that may be causing an inch or 2 extra on the reading is the coil not being exactly on the ground over the target. Whatever it is, on a shallow target i'll just test the spot with my pinpointer and anything 2"+/- will let me know its a shallow target and to just dig a shallow plug..

 

[Elton]

I always figured it was more of a range meter than actual precise depth. The sound is the key.

 

[Happa54]

Thanks for your quick responses.

I may have posted this sooner than I should have since I have just spoken to a technician at Kellyco who are now doing warranty/repair work for Minelab.

After describing my depth meter issues to the technician he tends to think I may have a faulty machine.

He advised I do a factory reset, which is pretty easy. If problem is not resolved after this then I have to ship it to Florida for repair which takes them approx 2-3 weeks to turn it around.

Well okay.... what choice do I have.

I just hate knowing that I may be without my honey for awhile. I just don't know if I can bear it.

I'll let you know how things work out for the benefit of everyone.

 

[Happa54]

I did a factory reset today. Seems to have worked.

This action will erase your custom settings if you any and sets all 4 modes back to factory.

But no big deal... it only takes a minute to customize the settings.

I cross saved conduc to relic and set minor disc and works just fine now.

The depth meter moves with the depth of my target.

This should be of help because I know some people have had issues with the depth meter.

Good luck!!

 

[Champ Ferguson]

Glad its working properly! Go Git Sum!

 

[clv]

Typical a reset will fix those problems.

 

[kschae4]

Good job. I try to remember to factory reset 2x a year (daylight savings and daylight standard time change).
The Sabisch books indicate the target depth is calibrated for coin sized objects..