I am still fairly new with the Safari - I have gotten pretty good with it to the point where just about all of my holes have something in them - and 9 out of 10 tens what the detector was detecting. And I am getting good at what not to dig. But NAILS! These are what I am getting good solid 36-39 signals on, digging expecting a coin, and more times than not - it's a nail. I hunt in an old trashy yard. What am I doing wrong?!?!? Any advice?
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Safari help with nails please!
- Thread starter jdeiana
- Start date
Are you sure that nails is all that is in those holes. If you are in coin or coin&jewelry you should'nt be hitting on many nails. Even in all metal nails don't come in that high on my machine. I'm sure you checked the holes again but it sounds like a good target may be close by. I have found nails and other trash items in holes with good targets. That's what I like about my Sun-Ray probe if my Safari hits on 38 or 39 that probe is looking for a dime or quarter. You will get feedback on that question. But I have'nt had that problem. Hopefully someone can help you more than me. Good Luck. 
I also have gotten rusty nails, wire and other rusted metal objects that came in at 36 to 39. Usually 36 is a penny, 38 & 39 is silver. Not sure why but the rusting of the metal objects seem to change the metallic ID. I also have gone after what I thought was silver, found a rusted nail with a dime a couple of inches below the nail. Always check your hole well, something else may be lurking below.
Press coins & jewelry use the + touchpad to move the curser to the + 40 position and press accept / reject touchpad to reject that segment, by eliminating +40 will reduce the number of false signals, I have had nails hit high, but on closer inspection the nails were made from copper. I agree with Hershey 1, nails don,t come in that high (unless they are copper ones) re check your holes I am sure you are leaving some good stuff behind. Oh , and get Andys book Mastering the Quattro. Good Luck. Les.
They are extremely old square nails with a very thick coating of rust. the places I hunt are full of them. I am very thorough at rescanning the hole and then even making it slightly larger in order to give it another go with pinpointer - after recovery of the nail. Then of course I rescan the area with the detector to see if the signal was gone. I always am sure to make sure I recovered the target I am after. So maybe there is no magic answer. I do think someone who is better than me - can do much better at figuring it out. By determining the shape of the object with the detector - and learning to pay attention to the erratic readings on the target often associated with nails. No magic answer I guess - just good ears and experience. Chief390 seems to know my expierence - if a certain type of nail is corroded enough - it can read in the 36-39 range - and I happen to have a lot of them in my detecting area.
I am using an x-8 - I do not think I am missing targets amongst the trash - Just pretty sure some of the very old nails are hitting numbers and tones very similar to coins - which causes me to dig. I do then recover the nail - rescan the hole - and the signal is gone. It may be somewhat unique to the 100 plus year old nails my area that are severely corroded and funky. I would actually be more concerned if all of my holes were empty or if my machine was blanking near trash and failing to pick out other goodies nearby. I am getting lots of old coins too. Mostly wheaties.
I save some of the items that I have dug and give me trouble, like rusty nails, pull tabs etc. In my leisure time I lay them out and scan them with the Safari. I also have good items available to scan and I experiment with both. Placing them close together, separating them etc. I selected the Coin mode, scanned the bad stuff and locked it out and saving the setting in Coin mode. Now I have as clean a mode as possible to work with. You can toggle between the factory setting and your own to see how the different objects react. The more you play with the items that cause you to dig false signals the more you learn. Also.......listen to the beeps.......they may be different at the same target ID reading with different objects.
Have you scanned the nails on their own to make sure that the numbers you are getting are from the nails ? ......This is important to check to make sure that the nails are NOT masking something else ..... If they do fall in the coin range, there is not much you can do but dig them up ....Don't get lazy !!!.....I made the mistake of going out on the beach for the first time, and I got tired of digging number 15 pull tabs .....The very last dig of the day on the beach I did NOT dig the number 15 and left it for a friend ....I told him he could have my last pull tab of the day, and it turned out to be an 11 gram titanium mens wedding ring !!!....... THAT will haunt me the rest of my life !!....Jim
PS...The smaller coils allow you to hear individual targets a LOT better than the stock coil ....You can also turn the sensitivity up on them more to allow for more depth ....Move slower and more methodical , but have an easier time of I.D. ing the individual targets and much less masking ..
PS...The smaller coils allow you to hear individual targets a LOT better than the stock coil ....You can also turn the sensitivity up on them more to allow for more depth ....Move slower and more methodical , but have an easier time of I.D. ing the individual targets and much less masking ..
synthnut - good post thanks - they are giving the 36-39 signals but i am learning they are erratic signals - 36-37 one way - then 32-33 at another angle - maybe no tone at another angle - but most of the coins i am digging in this range are solid all the way around. i need to just dig more solid consistent repeatable signals ans stop chasing rainbows in the dirt.
diggindowndeep
New member
Hi- I use the Safari's stock 11" pro coil and I have TID 38 both ways and recovered only old rusted nails in the hole on numerous occasions. Each time I have thoroughly re-checked my holes with my Safari & Garrett Propointer and nothing else is there. I then air tested the nails and 38 was showing on my display. I have read elsewhere on the Internet that old rusted nails will indeed give a 38/silver TID on the Safari. From my understanding the rusted nail's halo effect/footprint that's leaching into the surrounding soil can do this. But like I said before, the recovered nails are giving off the same signal out of the ground. Go figure... I hunt in Coin & Jewelry with ferrous tones and maybe I should only hunt in All Metal with very little to no disc. I have found the majority of these nails/38 signals in my trashy yard which is a homestead that dates back to the mid-1800's. The soil in my area is mineralised iron, maybe this plays a part. Either way, I am going to buy a Sunray X-5 and just save my Pro coil for the beach or wide open less trashy areas. By no means am I an expert, this is just my experience, that's all.
HH!
-John
HH!
-John
I'm not sure what you could really do in this case ....Getting readings of mid to upper 30's would surely draw some attention in my ears !!..... If the site is an older site, and you're pulling nails that date back , you might also be hitting on a nice Silver coin that dates back too .... If your numbers are jumping around a lot , that could be an indication of a nail, as the Silver coins are a pretty soid hit on the Safari ....However , that could change too if the coin is deep .... Nails could also be masking the coin ....The fact that the coins are coming in at that high a range number wise really makes it tough to diferentiate ..... I thiink I would have to dig no matter what to cure my curiousity .... You will be kicking yourself if you think that you just passe up a bunch of nails when in reality you passed over an nice bunch of Silver coins !!..... Please ALWAYS remember my pull tab/Platinum ring story ..... Every time I see that sign for the area where I passed by the ring, tears come to my eyes !!....
PS.....I do seem to get stronger and better readings in "All Metal" mode ....You will have to train your ears to hear that higher pitched tone out of the many sounds that you will be hearing ....I disc -10 and -9 on the low end , and 40 on the high end .... There is a LOT of ground noise that goes away on the low end , and a lot of falsing tones go away on the high end ...This is the pattern I hunt most of the time when I am in trashy areas .....I also put my trash sensitivity on HIGH because the recovery is so much faster that way, and I can seperate my targets much better this way .... I also hunt slowly and continue to go over the same ground ..... This pattern does take time to get use to with all the targets you will encounter , but once you get those higher tones set in your head , you will pretty much cancel out the other tones unless an unexpected low tone comes along which could reward you with a gold ring or something similar ....Hey, it can happen !!....Jim
PS.....I do seem to get stronger and better readings in "All Metal" mode ....You will have to train your ears to hear that higher pitched tone out of the many sounds that you will be hearing ....I disc -10 and -9 on the low end , and 40 on the high end .... There is a LOT of ground noise that goes away on the low end , and a lot of falsing tones go away on the high end ...This is the pattern I hunt most of the time when I am in trashy areas .....I also put my trash sensitivity on HIGH because the recovery is so much faster that way, and I can seperate my targets much better this way .... I also hunt slowly and continue to go over the same ground ..... This pattern does take time to get use to with all the targets you will encounter , but once you get those higher tones set in your head , you will pretty much cancel out the other tones unless an unexpected low tone comes along which could reward you with a gold ring or something similar ....Hey, it can happen !!....Jim
jdeiana,
I am a relic hunter and not a coin hunter and nails are a definite problem. In my experience, old rusty cut nails will frequently give a good signal. If the nail is bent or curved it can give a perfect, repeatable 32-34 with a high tone that sounds just like a bullet. Generally though, the signal changes as you rotate your swing to a different angle. Increased soil mineralization seems to increase the false readings.
Another rusty nail phenominon that I have seen is the "moving target" syndrome. You get an iffy target, pinpoint and start digging with the target in the center of your hole and once you get down 8-10 inches the signal suddenly moves to the edge of the hole!. Widen the hole and the signal continues to move to the edge until you finally unearth a very rusted cut nail at 6 to 8 inches from where you pinpointed! A good bud with an F-75 has seen the same exact thing happen numerous times and we now have a theory. We have noticed that when this happens, the initial false signal is frequently downhill from the actual target. Could the rust be causing the halo effect and, as gravity causes the rust to slowly flow downhill the edge of the target moves away from the actual target? I had noticed that on large rusty items the target is at the edge of the item and not in the center. Example: I recently dug a 14 inch piece of a plow disk that was laying perfectly horizontal, about 6 inches down. When I passed over the item I got a small sized but very loud signal (32, good tone) and started to dig. The target was the very end of the fragment, I dug and started prying it out of the ground and realized that it was more than a foot long, but only the tip was giving me a signal?!?!?!?
I am running my Safari in manual sensitivity and usually set the level at a couple of notches above "stable", basically replicating the ETrac "Auto +2 or +3" setting. I have actually had targets that turned out to be the rusty remains of a long ago dissolved piece of iron. When you dig the plug, the target is there, but when you break the plug into smaller pieces it goes away. Put the pieces back together and the target returns, and if you carefully examine the plug you can find the rusty stain left by the now missing piece of iron.
At any rate, my point is that rusty nails can give you a false promise, but if you don't dig them you will never know what you left in the ground. I would rather have my machine sensitive enough to sometimes fool me with a piece of junk rather than have the machine not sensitive enough and miss the deep targets.
Just a humble opinion,
TomH
I am a relic hunter and not a coin hunter and nails are a definite problem. In my experience, old rusty cut nails will frequently give a good signal. If the nail is bent or curved it can give a perfect, repeatable 32-34 with a high tone that sounds just like a bullet. Generally though, the signal changes as you rotate your swing to a different angle. Increased soil mineralization seems to increase the false readings.
Another rusty nail phenominon that I have seen is the "moving target" syndrome. You get an iffy target, pinpoint and start digging with the target in the center of your hole and once you get down 8-10 inches the signal suddenly moves to the edge of the hole!. Widen the hole and the signal continues to move to the edge until you finally unearth a very rusted cut nail at 6 to 8 inches from where you pinpointed! A good bud with an F-75 has seen the same exact thing happen numerous times and we now have a theory. We have noticed that when this happens, the initial false signal is frequently downhill from the actual target. Could the rust be causing the halo effect and, as gravity causes the rust to slowly flow downhill the edge of the target moves away from the actual target? I had noticed that on large rusty items the target is at the edge of the item and not in the center. Example: I recently dug a 14 inch piece of a plow disk that was laying perfectly horizontal, about 6 inches down. When I passed over the item I got a small sized but very loud signal (32, good tone) and started to dig. The target was the very end of the fragment, I dug and started prying it out of the ground and realized that it was more than a foot long, but only the tip was giving me a signal?!?!?!?
I am running my Safari in manual sensitivity and usually set the level at a couple of notches above "stable", basically replicating the ETrac "Auto +2 or +3" setting. I have actually had targets that turned out to be the rusty remains of a long ago dissolved piece of iron. When you dig the plug, the target is there, but when you break the plug into smaller pieces it goes away. Put the pieces back together and the target returns, and if you carefully examine the plug you can find the rusty stain left by the now missing piece of iron.
At any rate, my point is that rusty nails can give you a false promise, but if you don't dig them you will never know what you left in the ground. I would rather have my machine sensitive enough to sometimes fool me with a piece of junk rather than have the machine not sensitive enough and miss the deep targets.
Just a humble opinion,
TomH
The silver ping you get is on the outer fringe of the rusty nail.
You will notice that it is chopped and then nulled where as a coin is not.
Bury them 5-7" down and compare them side by side.
The problem is a rusty nail sometimes sounds like a rusty nail next to a silver coin on edge.
You will notice that it is chopped and then nulled where as a coin is not.
Bury them 5-7" down and compare them side by side.
The problem is a rusty nail sometimes sounds like a rusty nail next to a silver coin on edge.
Hi, although i am not very experienced with the Safari yet, i have been digging quite a few rusty nails also. But i have realised that most of these signals (about 95% of them) have something in common, as someone else has already mentioned, when approaching the target from different directions the signal does seem to vary, i find that the tone is very inconsistent. On approaching the target from one direction a two-way signal can be heard, yet from another only a one-way, & the tone varies from a mid to high pitch rather 'erratically', whereas with a good target you may also receive a one-way signal when approached from certain directions, BUT WITHOUT the erratic variations in tone. I still dig these signals at the moment just to prove to myself that they are what i think they are, and so far, without fail, the target has either been a rusty nail or a short length of rusty wire.
When i used my Safari the first couple of times i was pestered something chronic with the little mastitis tubes, i dug around 40 in one session! all gave a nice consistent tone with TID 26-29, probably the first 10-15 tubes caught me out, after that it became rather pleasurable to actually guess what the target was going to be the next time the same signal rang through!
In my opinion it always pays to just keep digging those 'iffys' until you are driven totally round the twist with them, i find it is the best way to 'tattoo' it on my brain! i am currently still doing the same with nails. After all, it's better to dig a nail to satisfy yourself, than it is to go home wondering what you have left behind, isn't it?
When i used my Safari the first couple of times i was pestered something chronic with the little mastitis tubes, i dug around 40 in one session! all gave a nice consistent tone with TID 26-29, probably the first 10-15 tubes caught me out, after that it became rather pleasurable to actually guess what the target was going to be the next time the same signal rang through!
In my opinion it always pays to just keep digging those 'iffys' until you are driven totally round the twist with them, i find it is the best way to 'tattoo' it on my brain! i am currently still doing the same with nails. After all, it's better to dig a nail to satisfy yourself, than it is to go home wondering what you have left behind, isn't it?