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What does it mean when...

T

TN Girl

New member
the Ace 250 gives inconsistent signals? I was detecting in my yard this evening and found a spot that only gave off a signal while swinging the coil in one direction, and even that was not consistent. I passed over the spot 12 or 15 times and only got a couple of tones. They varied from high to low, as did the visual ID meter (i.e. bottle cap, nickel, pull tabe, and dime). I scanned the spot from every direction, but got no other signals. It was like a dead zone. I finally decided to dig, but never found anything. I just kept getting inconsistent signals. What gives?

Speaking of digging...My first attempt was a complete disaster. I used a Lesche digger to cut a c-shaped slit in the grass, but it still wound up looking like a shallow grave. I'm curious...Did most of you nail it right away or did it take a lot of practice?
 
I noticed when mine did that I found it was eithier a really old sandwich wrapper that deteriorates when dug and very hard to see or a rust pocket. I really can see how a pro pointer would make things a whole lot easier.

My holes look like a shallow grave aswell gotta practice pinpointing more for me :p
 
That's normal.......when detecting with your 250 or any other detector a "good signal" is when you get a consistent and same (i.e. dime) signal in BOTH directions. I always ignore any signals that jump from one target to another (i.e. dime to quarter) Also after pinpointing your target, if you leave the coil in place over the target(after releasing the pinpoint button) and you get a series of "Beeps" ....is a good target. That with keep you from digging a lot of bottle caps. Practice, Practice

Charlie
 
Charlie ... that is a very good catch about the beeps.
Great tip ... Thanks for sharing that with everyone.

Willee
 
It usually means deep junk What kind of depth did it show on the display. Do the "twitch on these signals and they might turn into a good target. Did you raise the coil up six or eight inches to see if you still got a signal. If you still get a signal then you have a pop can or big junk.

Bill
 
Watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liyIUKonpGs

Now watch it again.

It takes a lot of practice. It takes a lot of practice. A good place to practice where you won't do much damage is in bark chips. It takes a lot of practice. Dig only two way signals to start. Sensitivity fairly low. When I started I dug tons of deep cans. In a few months I learned how to tell a can from a coin. It took a lot of practice.

Chris

PS The video was made by khouse who is a real pro.
 
If you get a signal and dig and find nothing, then scan the hole and get nothing, then you have hit a rust pocket.

Bill
 
Uncle Willy said:
It usually means deep junk What kind of depth did it show on the display. Do the "twitch on these signals and they might turn into a good target. Did you raise the coil up six or eight inches to see if you still got a signal. If you still get a signal then you have a pop can or big junk.

Bill
Click to expand...

The display showed 4-6 inches, even when placing the coil in the hole, which was 3-4 inches deep. The signal disappeared as soon as I lifted the coil an inch or so, which made me think that perhaps it wasn't a big piece of trash. I finally gave up on it.
 
Willee said:
Charlie ... that is a very good catch about the beeps.
Great tip ... Thanks for sharing that with everyone.

Willee
Click to expand...

Charlie, I don't recall having heard that, but I'll definitely try it next time. Thx!
 
Uncle Willy said:
If you get a signal and dig and find nothing, then scan the hole and get nothing, then you have hit a rust pocket.

Bill
Click to expand...

Even after scanning the hole and the mound of dirt, I kept getting intermittant signals.

BTW...I forgot to mention that, although iron was notched out, it was constantly displayed at all times. Maybe it was a rust pocket after all?
 
Here's another anomaly to watch out for. It has happened to me more than once. Since your coil also picks up from the edge, targets laying in the grass a few inches from your hole will give a signal that appears to be coming from the hole itself. So if you get a dilemma like this always check the area around the hole. I had a signal like that one time and could find nothing, so it dawned on me to check in the grass aroundf the hole, and sure enough there were three quarters laying there. Just another mystery to encounter when detecting.

Bill
 
It ould have been something tiny. These Garretts will pick up stuff so small ( like an earring post ) that it will blow your mind. Try finding one of those in the hole or a pile of dirt. :)

Bill
 
Yeah I posted about that some time ago. You will usually get a Morse Code signal which denotes a good target. Quarters really sound off. Just leave your coil sit after pinpointing and release the pinpoint button and you will get multiple beeps like Morse Code if it's a good target.

Bill
 
Lots of practice. I started in my own yard for the first month or so and was out 4 times a week. Pinpointing is the hardest once you get that down your on your way. Keep digging!! :thumbup:
 
Like UW said if it was a small signal it could be something good. I found a musket ball and that aluminum Desoto token with that kind of signal so if you think it is "something"...

...dig it!

Don
 
TN Girl said:
Speaking of digging...My first attempt was a complete disaster. I used a Lesche digger to cut a c-shaped slit in the grass, but it still wound up looking like a shallow grave. I'm curious...Did most of you nail it right away or did it take a lot of practice?
Click to expand...

Speaking for myself, when I first started I tried to dig my flap plugs as small as possible which I thought was the best way to do it. But if my target was deeper, or my pinpointing was off a little, I'd have a very noticable dig spot afterwards.

Over time I've gotten better at pinpointing and on deeper targets I'll cut a larger flap and now my plugs are almost always unnoticable after I refill the dirt and pack them back down.

You will get brown spots in the days after you dig a plug, but if you leave the flap attached the spots will go away except in real dry conditions.

If someone gives me permission to dig their nicely manicured lawn, I do it when the soil is reasonably moist and rain is in the forecast.
 
Sounds like several factors may have contributed to my digging disaster:

1) I may have hit a rust pocket. It's hard not to dig when I get a signal. I don't want to take a chance on leaving something good in the ground.
2) I definitely need to practice pinpointing. I may have to buy a Garrett PP.
3) The ground was extremely dry and hard. Waiting until after a good rain should help.

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I must admit that I was about ready to throw in the towel, but after reading your responses, I'm ready to get out there again. For now, though, I'm going to stick with bark chips and sand to keep my frustration level down. :)

Hope you all have a good week!
 
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