Sensitivity level for my 6X8 coil??

[Happa54]

Hello MD'ers;

I am running my SEF 6X8 coil at a sensitivity level of 16.

For those who have the same, what would you recommend in high trash areas?

Do you reset the sens levels when you get into less trashy areas?

Lately, I'm getting signals crossing over each other and having a difficult time separating the tones.

I have been picking up silver but at depths of no more than 6". After that I seem to lose the target and end up closing up the hole.

Thank you for your input.

 

[sasquache]

That's why I run in Auto sensativity Happy the ground changes so much that the unit needs to change as well but I have a 6x8 and haven't used it yet I've been using the stock fbs coil even in trashy area's. So what are you getting for depth with the 6x8 coil?

 

[Goldstrike]

Also, remember to ground balance irrespective of what coil you have mounted, especially as the terrain changes. It does help with increased depth even though it may just sometimes be a slight increase

 

[Happa54]

Thanks for your response Sasquache and GS...

Since using this 6x8 coil it gives me much to analyze.

I'm picking up silver now on just about every outing. I'm not sure if it's because of the smaller coil or my perseverance/time with the Safari.

I have over 300 hours with this machine and I'm still quite perplexed in the way it works.

Here are several observations and I'm still coming up with more every time I go out.

First of all I hunt heavy traffic, trashy parks in and around the City of Los Angeles.

At sensitivity level 16, I'm getting clear digable signals at about 6" - 7". And at this depth I'm always on top of the coin.

Prior to the 6x8, I was getting too many overlapping sounds and ID's all over the place and digging nothing but clad, corroded zinc and of course lots of TRASH.

With the 6x8, most of the chatter has been reduced to tolerable noises and I can more identify with what's in the ground. I guess this is what you call "separation"...right?

In fact, I'm getting a lot of clean high tones and if I dig them all I'll burn out within an hour or two. I've learn to be more selective with what I dig albeit I'm sure that I'm missing some good targets.

I ground balance/noise cancel every 20 minutes or so and especially when I observe changes in the landscaping no matter when the last time I did it.

Now to my issues with sensitivity levels...

Many in the forums recommend going to max levels to get every possible target under the coil. Some say to tone it down due to falsing. So now I'm caught somewhere in the middle of it.

In Andy Sabich's handbook he says "setting your sensitivity too high will actually produce less detection depth and more distortion of signals from actual targets and result in less coverage due to the falsing that requires constant rechecking of signals".

He further states, "the detector will be more stable and less susceptible to falsing and chattering in AUTO. This smoother operation will allow you to more easily hear those targets that may be at the edge of your detector's detection depth without having to continually recheck pops & chirps resulting from having the sensitivity set too high".

And in his tips & techniques section he states "unless you have a good deal of experience under your belt, do not run sensitivity any higher that the point at which you start to get falsing and chattering, 16" or 17" max in most cases".

Although I've read Andy's book several times now, I have not heeded his advice on sensitivity possibly due to my lack of focus in the more important areas of this machine. Too much too learn, many things to think about when working with this machine.

I get a lot of faint high tones that identify with silver. These tones could possibly be deeper than I should be digging. At times I will dig 10" - 12" and my TRX Bullseye keeps screaming away and I see nothing. I bury the hole after much sweat and labor and ask myself why the high tones, positive pinpointer sounds, digging and then NOTHING. I'm now coming to the conclusion that my sensitivity levels are not set to pair up to this 6x8 coil.

It pays to re-read Andy's book over and over because you can get lost in the science of the Safari from one chapter to the next although it's there plain and simple and easy to understand. But the more time I spend in the field, reading Andy's book and staying in touch with the pro's in the forums, the better quality of a detectorist I become.

My next outing this Friday, I will set my sensitivity to run in "AUTO" and report back the changes, if any.

Thank you for your feedback.

 

[sasquache]

Can't wait to hear your results in auto.

 

[Tony from Tidewater]

The last time I ran my Safari with the 6 X 8 coil, I ran the sensitivity as high as I could. I was able to run it at 18/19 without falsing. I will have to try Auto. I think in good ground you will loose depth, but in bad ground it will payoff.

 

[kschae4]

My go to sensitivity is set at auto for the detech 8x6 coil ... no regrets.

 

[Happa54]

Here's my report after approx 12 hours (2 days) in auto sens.

Seems I couldn't get any deeper than 4-5" on anything.

No good targets identified.

Maybe it was just an off day but I was doing far better in manual 16.

I went back to manual 16 yesterday and got a couple of good wheaties.

digging targets at my normal depth of 8" again.

Thus far unless proven wrong, I will stay in manual sens mode.

What a learning curve this machine is.

Thanks for all the feedback fellow MD'ers.

 

[cashmole]

Here's my report after approx 12 hours (2 days) in auto sens.

Seems I couldn't get any deeper than 4-5" on anything.

No good targets identified.

Maybe it was just an off day but I was doing far better in manual 16.

I went back to manual 16 yesterday and got a couple of good wheaties.

digging targets at my normal depth of 8" again.

Thus far unless proven wrong, I will stay in manual sens mode.

What a learning curve this machine is.

Thanks for all the feedback fellow MD'ers.

I was out detecting the other day with everything disc'd out except 32 up to 40. Hunting in Auto mode. A 6 inch penny was coming in as a 37 but with a little chop to it. I may try using your sensitivity setting for awhile in slow mode and see how it goes.

 

[Happa54]

Cashmole...

Yes I think the "sensitivity" setting is something I will be playing around with for some time to come.

I'm hunting extremely trashy parks and the landscape changes from one end to the other.

I'm also struggling with ferrous mode and what needs to be disc'd out vs what I'll be missing due to high trash.

In conductive and manual sens mode I'm doing okay but I'd like to fine tune my skills on this machine by learning to hunt more often in ferrous/AM. But then, my hunting grounds may not allow for me to consistently hunt in ferrous.

Further, Sabich's book suggests to hunt either in auto or manual sens 16 to 17 max. And then he mentions a variety of reasons for hunting in either mode.

My interpretation of what he is saying is that "auto" is stable but possible loss of depth where as manual 16 to 17 could be more unstable on the target and potential falsing.

Based on my 12 hours of "auto", I'd prefer to put up with a little bit of falsing, if any, and dig more deeper targets because it seemed that in auto, I was not getting the hits that I was expecting.

Someday........

 

[EtracTom-AdirondacksNY]

Here is what's happening friends. I used to have an Explorer 2 and couldn't come to grips with it and the stock large coil until I saw a video on you tube these machines the setting of 16 in AUTO means that it starts at that setting and only will adjust downwards to get to a smooth operating spot that the machine decides on. Won't go higher like in an E-Trac whichgo higher or lower but yours won't. If you set it to manual 16 that is where it will run period. Same on my E-trac. So on the video I saw him in Manual starting at 16 sweep and slowly go down on the sensitivity setting manually til it hit a smooth operating level which on my Explorer 2 happened to be 9or 10then it was happy and I started to find things and not just hear a bunch of noise as it was giving out a lot at 16 but only target sounds at 9-10. If your in good ground try setting it higher then run it in Auto and start at 21 which I think was the Highest setting and it will self adjust from there or run in Manual and be sure of where it is at.

Your in Auto 16 with 6x8 coil and don't know where the machine settled at it could be 9 or lower for all you know hence less depth. Try setting it manually at 12 and see if it is smoother and still getting depth with 6x8 and try an find a target manually and switch to Auto to see if you pick it up and how much higher on sensitivity you need to set the machine. Play around with that idea and see if you can find a happy Auto spot and it should run smoother and still get you depth.

 

[Prep1957]

Here is what's happening friends. I used to have an Explorer 2 and couldn't come to grips with it and the stock large coil until I saw a video on you tube these machines the setting of 16 in AUTO means that it starts at that setting and only will adjust downwards to get to a smooth operating spot that the machine decides on. Won't go higher like in an E-Trac whichgo higher or lower but yours won't. If you set it to manual 16 that is where it will run period. Same on my E-trac. So on the video I saw him in Manual starting at 16 sweep and slowly go down on the sensitivity setting manually til it hit a smooth operating level which on my Explorer 2 happened to be 9or 10then it was happy and I started to find things and not just hear a bunch of noise as it was giving out a lot at 16 but only target sounds at 9-10. If your in good ground try setting it higher then run it in Auto and start at 21 which I think was the Highest setting and it will self adjust from there or run in Manual and be sure of where it is at.

Your in Auto 16 with 6x8 coil and don't know where the machine settled at it could be 9 or lower for all you know hence less depth. Try setting it manually at 12 and see if it is smoother and still getting depth with 6x8 and try an find a target manually and switch to Auto to see if you pick it up and how much higher on sensitivity you need to set the machine. Play around with that idea and see if you can find a happy Auto spot and it should run smoother and still get you depth.

Great answer,Right On Tom very few people know that about Minelabs.,Happa I do not know your soil conditions but up here in Northern Illinois I run 6X8 high as I can in manual and I am finding most of my coins at 10 inches,Crotal Bells to 15 inches.Fruit Jar lids at 20 inches.Before you dig 12 inches and give up take a small stainless steel probe about 10 inches and probe bottom of hole and see if you hit something I found a very nice jar of money that had,no coins that was in fruit jar with large paper bills and One Time Silver Sheriff Badge along sidewalk strip, I too was doing what you were doing these targets were at 15 inches deep.

 

[Happa54]

I had to revisit last month's post with my Safari sensitivity testing and hope to get educational feedback.

Going back and forth from the field to various forums regarding sens has kept me focused in this area, as I've been hung up on this subject for awhile now.

I hunt the Los Angeles and suburban parks, for what its worth.

The consensus on these 2 settings seems that the majority of MD'ers favor the auto setting, while others are saying to crank up the sens just short of falsing.

My last several outings, I've been toggling back and forth from manual 16 to auto and I'm more convinced that manual 16 (less or more) is where I need to be.

After burying silvers 6" deep in auto I'm picking up the target. But when I bury them beyond this range, I cannot pick up the signal unless the coil is creeping along at a snails pace (and I don't think anyone can swing this slow without falling asleep).

Now, adjusting sens to 16, I can hear the target at 8". More adjustments upward allows me to hear a louder signal, although it gets chirpier/choppier as the sens is increased.

Many people seem to indicate or say that they are digging targets at 8" in auto. Really? Maybe I have a faulty machine or should I blame it on soil conditions at my locations.

Recently, I saw a post in the forum that showed a row of several coins taken in auto vs another row where only 2 coins taken in manual sens. I don't get it!!

Since owning the Safari, I've always felt I was being shorted at the end of the day when in auto sens. I always felt that I was getting more and deeper finds in 16.

Many say that when in auto, it is quieter and less chirpy, talkative, etc. Sure I'll admit that I hear more noise in 16 and probably dig more trash or digging a target to no avail, but at the end of the day, I have more to speak for. The proof is in the quality of coins that I have while hunting at 16. I also have a few relics that I have dug up in this setting as well.

Also, I toggle back and forth from conduct to ferrous and for my hunting goals, conductive works out best due to the ease of working with coin tones.

Can you please share your thoughts, experiences with manual vs auto on the Safari?

Thank you so much for listening.