Slow method

[Mikel]

It there some technique to use to tell when your slow sweep speed is just right? I mean different sized coils sweep speed should be proporinate to there size so to speak.
Can you go too slow? Or too fast? I,ve gota XS and recently a 5x7 excellerator. Its easy to sweep too fast with that one so what I need is some method to use to keep from getting a ticket in the school zone so to speak.
Any suggestions from you XS users?

 

[James N.D.]

If you are working an Old Site that you know has Older Coins Deep, then try and time yourself with each sweep. I would have to say a good 3-4 Seconds for each sweep should be slow enough. It also depends on Iron Content, Trash, Length of your Arms, etc. You can still do very well even if you just swing the Coil at a normal speed. You just have to listen for those Blips more when you swing faster. You will have to find out for yourself at what speed you can use with success because I am sure that my Ground Conditions are most likely not the same as your Ground Conditions. Hope this helps you out a bit. Good Luck and HH.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Lay say a nickle dime and a quarter on the ground in what you would consider your normal sweep zone....of course a distance apart to simulate what would be the start and middle and end of the sweep and just see how slow you have to go to pick up the targets..and it should give you a good idea. Once you establish what works best try to stay in that zone. Unfortunately an Explorer is a slow sweep unit especially for the deep ones..Keep in mind, your headphones, hearing and setting may cause your sweep to vary a tad from your buddies....
I guess theoretically you could sweep too slow and I know unless your swinging an XLT too fast is surely possible especially if your after deep targets...Many manuals or field tests mention it in seconds but try the above and am sure it will put more targets in your pouch...

 

[Mikel]

Thanks Dan, so simple I didn't think of it. I pulled a nickle in haevy trash around 5" with the 5-7 the other evening but gewaud it was creeping. Yur sur not gonna cover much ground at that speed but just maby threr is still plenty to find like that. I remember fishing next to Grandpa. We had the same plastic worms, he used a spin cast reel with about 2or3 to 1 retrieve ratio and I used a spinning reel
with 6 to 1 retrieve ratio. I would watch him slowly turn the handle to inch that worm along, twitching the rod tip. It was not possible to make my spinning reel retrieve that slow and I certainly did not have the patients to use a spin cast reel like that even if I went out and bought one, so at the end of the day-almost always his stringer was heavy with catch and mine was still just a string.

 

[Mikel]

Thanks James, I'll give that a try. maby someone can come up with a headphone with a time ticker to help check your speed. Of course you would be able to turn it off when you don't want it.
Would that be yet another bell and whistle? LOL.

 

[Chris(SoCenWI)]

Mikel,

The explorer actually detects deeper when it is swung at a fast pace. Try swinging the coil over targets fast and slow. The problem is that the electronics are slow and when there are many targets present the explorer might not see each and every target.

In moderate or medium trash you can move at a pretty good clip. If I find a coin spill in a trashy area I will slow way down and hit the area from a zillion angles.

Sometimes a big coil will see when a small one won't, or visa versa.

Sometimes a fast sweep will see when a slow one won't, or visa versa.

Sometimess changing a certain setting will help, sometimes it won't.

Sometimes a new flavor of chewing gum can help, sometimes not.

There is no one magic coil, sweep speed, setting, etc.

Chris

 

[swingman]

With 7 years experience on a Sovereign, and ~60 hours with the SE, I'd say you can't swing too slow unless all you want is stuff in the top 4-5 inches (like on a summertime beach).
For deep stuff, it takes time for the machine to process a signal beofre it goes over a second target. (Though the new SE is faster in this respect.)
I love the challenge of older, hunted-out sites. SLOW is best, for the stuff others have missed, literally one foot per second.

 

[jeff & Maria]

You swing at what is comfortable, but not like you are trying to beat the impending rainstorm. When you hear that tiny "chirp" STOP! Now slow way down and hit the spot from all four directions. If it is a good target it should improve and become more "flutey" sounding. With the ground being moist this time of year small deep iron can trick you though. But you came out to dig, so dig and see what caught your attention. In the worst case it will be junk and a learning experience.

 

[Knipper]

The chart in the manual seems to indicate that in "normal" mode, there will be a short null at the end of the sweep when a target has been detected.

The other response modes offered by the Explorers, except pitch hold, appear to get rid of that short null, at least according to the chart in the manual. The chart seems to indicate that instead of the null, the sound would return to the threshold right away.

So, my question is, if one were to use the "Long" or "Smooth" mode of response, wouldn't that tend to help the machine recover more quickly after a target is located?

Of course, I realize that a target that was discriminated out will still produce a null, but it appears to me that "long" or "smooth" would really help and also tend to allow a slightly faster sweep speed without missing adjacent targets. Any comments?

I still have yet to accumulate hours on my new SE due to crappy weather here, but have been detecting with other top of the line machines for 31 years. I can't wait to put the SE through it's paces!