samandnoah
New member
Several days ago, I was testing out an accessory for another metal detector I own (had gotten the Ron's meter for my Sov GT, and had the 5" sun ray coil on it). So I found a clear spot in my front yard, threw down a quarter, and started swinging. The meter worked like a charm. Out of curiosity, I wondered how much depth I would get, and started to raise the coil. It wasn't very deep, but adequate.
Quick interruption: I'm not writing this to incite an "air testing" riot. I'm not making any claims about absolute performance, or air vs. dirt, etc. I'm aware of the limitations. It was just a simple matter of satisfying my curiosity. OK, back to the story...
So then I, of course, wondered, hmmm, how would the Deus do? I had the 9" coil on it, and I grabbed it. I was able to raise the coil substantially more than the 5" sniper. No shocker there. BUT, here is what did hit me...
1. As I got to the limits of the Deus coil, I listening to how the tone changed. And got softer. And then I realized, THIS IS A WHISPER SOUND! Duh! THIS is what I need to be listening for! It is distinct from some of the other "iffy" sounds I've chased before (sometimes with good targets, often not).
2. I noticed how the VDI changed, and became further and further from what I knew to be "the truth". How many times have you guys shared with us that the VDI isn't accurate at depth? 100 times? A thousand times? I heard you, but I wasn't ready to learn what you meant until I was ready to learn it, if you know what I mean. Suddenly the heavens parted and the sun shone, and I got it.
I've gone on 2 short hunts since then. I've been focused on the soft tones, and basically ignoring the VDIs if the horseshoe depth gauge is less than half full. I have been digging many more targets. I've dug a curled up "tail" of a beavertail pulltab at approx. 7". I found a .22 casing. I've also been rewarded with a few copper pennies, including 1 wheat. Nothing spectacular other than realizing I was missing half of the world's targets!
I also have to confess that I dug some targets that failed my 12kHz vs. 4kHz bottlecap test. And you know what? There were some non-ferrous targets I would have missed. They were junk as it turns out, but it could have been a ring, or a coin. AT DEPTH is the key. The test has still never failed me with bottlecaps in the top 1" - 2", where most of mine seem to be. But when I applied it to deeper targets, I was missing the point about the VDI is not accurate, and even the relative VDI readings may not hold.
I know I've been rambling, but this really was eye-opening. Sometimes you need to take a step back, and try some of the things you more typically do when you first get a detector. Sit on the sofa and swing a dime past your coil at different depth for 5 minutes. Listen to what's the same, and what's different. Then do it with a quarter, or a ring, or whatever. But I think going back and repeating some of these exercises helps you (or at least helped me!) learn new subtleties that you had no way of being prepared to understand when you did those things the first time. OK, end of sermon. Go out and hunt, and have some fun!
Rich
Quick interruption: I'm not writing this to incite an "air testing" riot. I'm not making any claims about absolute performance, or air vs. dirt, etc. I'm aware of the limitations. It was just a simple matter of satisfying my curiosity. OK, back to the story...
So then I, of course, wondered, hmmm, how would the Deus do? I had the 9" coil on it, and I grabbed it. I was able to raise the coil substantially more than the 5" sniper. No shocker there. BUT, here is what did hit me...
1. As I got to the limits of the Deus coil, I listening to how the tone changed. And got softer. And then I realized, THIS IS A WHISPER SOUND! Duh! THIS is what I need to be listening for! It is distinct from some of the other "iffy" sounds I've chased before (sometimes with good targets, often not).
2. I noticed how the VDI changed, and became further and further from what I knew to be "the truth". How many times have you guys shared with us that the VDI isn't accurate at depth? 100 times? A thousand times? I heard you, but I wasn't ready to learn what you meant until I was ready to learn it, if you know what I mean. Suddenly the heavens parted and the sun shone, and I got it.
I've gone on 2 short hunts since then. I've been focused on the soft tones, and basically ignoring the VDIs if the horseshoe depth gauge is less than half full. I have been digging many more targets. I've dug a curled up "tail" of a beavertail pulltab at approx. 7". I found a .22 casing. I've also been rewarded with a few copper pennies, including 1 wheat. Nothing spectacular other than realizing I was missing half of the world's targets!
I also have to confess that I dug some targets that failed my 12kHz vs. 4kHz bottlecap test. And you know what? There were some non-ferrous targets I would have missed. They were junk as it turns out, but it could have been a ring, or a coin. AT DEPTH is the key. The test has still never failed me with bottlecaps in the top 1" - 2", where most of mine seem to be. But when I applied it to deeper targets, I was missing the point about the VDI is not accurate, and even the relative VDI readings may not hold.
I know I've been rambling, but this really was eye-opening. Sometimes you need to take a step back, and try some of the things you more typically do when you first get a detector. Sit on the sofa and swing a dime past your coil at different depth for 5 minutes. Listen to what's the same, and what's different. Then do it with a quarter, or a ring, or whatever. But I think going back and repeating some of these exercises helps you (or at least helped me!) learn new subtleties that you had no way of being prepared to understand when you did those things the first time. OK, end of sermon. Go out and hunt, and have some fun!
Rich
