What does one do in inclement weather

[MarkCZ]

Hey Mark,

Interesting! I for one would certainly have no problem believing that if Whites made that claim. Was there any mention as to how long it takes for a grounds matrix to reform?

No, the read was just really saying that planted targets (test gardens) area really not like natural buried targets.
I even tried to not disturb the ground matrix when I planted some of my gardens.

I used a plugger I made, (see pictures)
I wet the bottom of the whole,
I laid the coins perfectly flat in the bottom and pressed firm into the mud,
I put the plug in one un-disturbed piece back into the hole and even turned it back to its correct rotation.

That didn't work either???
I've read where some people claimed if you put salt water in the hole before you cover the target that that helps.

What's funny is for me down to around the 4" to 5" the test gardens work alright, its beyond that that they weird out.

Mark

 

[WV62]

I just happen to have a plugger that looks just like one of those 3. It is one of those.
I used it to set my 2 coins in my 2 coin test garden. As you guys know I have been playing and testing my new to me F5, so just a couple of days ago I tried it on the test coins buried at 7" in the dirt over a year ago. They are still not showing up on the detector to the point that if I was getting the same reading over in the park that I would dig either of these coins.

I used a nickel and a older copper penny for my test coins and picked 7" because the park that I hunt the silver that I have been finding is showing up pretty close to 6" in the ground. Now if you count the grass you could say 8" or so.

Ron in WV

 

[MarkCZ]

I just happen to have a plugger that looks just like one of those 3. It is one of those.
I used it to set my 2 coins in my 2 coin test garden. As you guys know I have been playing and testing my new to me F5, so just a couple of days ago I tried it on the test coins buried at 7" in the dirt over a year ago. They are still not showing up on the detector to the point that if I was getting the same reading over in the park that I would dig either of these coins.

I used a nickel and a older copper penny for my test coins and picked 7" because the park that I hunt the silver that I have been finding is showing up pretty close to 6" in the ground. Now if you count the grass you could say 8" or so.

Ron in WV

I think yours is the one in the middle.

Mark

 

[Mike Hillis]

It can take several years for a test bed to mature to where coins will respond like you might find them in the wild

HH
Mike

 

[knarfj]

but I think that a target in damp sand or wet wood chips throws a stronger signal than it could at the same distance in an air test...
some of those targets I get in the wet chips or damp sand are really deep!....deeper than the detector should have hit them on an air test..and so deep you dont want to talk about it for the risk of being called a liar!
Mud

Hey Mud I'm a believer! Iv'e had similar experiences. I for one like to believe the extra detectable depth is caused by what some refer to it as the halo affect.

I also feel it possible some of the detector manufacturers are aware of this phenomena and take advantage of it in some way.

But then again, it could be just happenstance that its easier for the detector to detect said coin because of it's metal oxides that have leeched into the surrounding matrix.

 

[MarkCZ]

Metals like silver and Gold do not halo, (silver may in sever conditions).
The only thing I've ever encountered that adds to the detection depth is rusty Iron (ferrous metals) . The reason for this is to the detector the Iron halo makes the object MUCH bigger than its actual size. But, a gold ring, or a silver dime doesn't halo so its size doesn't change. I've never found a lone coin in the soil any deeper than my detector would air test it.

Now, I have proved this to myself on many occasions, cooler weather, slightly dampened soil will cause a detector to run deeper, but still not deeper than I can air test, NEVER!

Now, I can't prove this but I'm fairly certain that in the dog days of summer, and those long HOT summer days the sun charges the minerals in the ground and this causes more ground inference. I've been out on HOT mid summer days and couldn't run enough gain (sensitivity) to get very deep, just to go back in the same spot in the middle of the night and find MUCH deeper targets and a MUCH smoother running detector, but I still wasn't finding coins deeper than I could air test them.

Minerals to a detector is like driving a car in the fog, there isn't anything about fog that increases the distance you can see. if what's between the coil and the target isn't anything like minerals to create the fog effect, then its the same as air.

Mark

 

[mudpuppy]

Try this...set up your machine over lets say a 5 or 6" deep target, keep reducing sens until you cant hear the target anymore with a normal gentle hunting swing speed,...then zip across it really fast...It works on the F70 with the 11"dd I'm telling you!
You will get a signal with the fast sweep, but it will not sound off on the normal slower hunting sweep...and, You cannot relocate the target unless you go over it again fast, or increase sens.
Happens all the time for me running a low sens, 40 ish -3 thresh, 1 disc, DE mode, DP tones...hunting for surface to 4" targets on sportsfields...

you may be able to duplicate this with an air test too...never tried it though, can a FASTER coil speed light up a target that is just a little more out of range than the machine is set up for? It does for me!. ...pass the target across the coil with greater distance until you cant hear it, then pass it across very fast, and see if it does?
Mud

 

[MarkCZ]

Try this...set up your machine over lets say a 5 or 6" deep target, keep reducing sens until you cant hear the target anymore with a normal gentle hunting swing speed,...then zip across it really fast...It works on the F70 with the 11"dd I'm telling you!
You will get a signal with the fast sweep, but it will not sound off on the normal slower hunting sweep...and, You cannot relocate the target unless you go over it again fast, or increase sens.
Happens all the time for me running a low sens, 40 ish -3 thresh, 1 disc, DE mode, DP tones...hunting for surface to 4" targets on sportsfields...

you may be able to duplicate this with an air test too...never tried it though, can a FASTER coil speed light up a target that is just a little more out of range than the machine is set up for? It does for me!. ...pass the target across the coil with greater distance until you cant hear it, then pass it across very fast, and see if it does?
Mud

Yes, most of my detectors do the same thing, But I don't think you can actually hunt that way because of all that is going on in the ground. (some spots maybe) Air testing you only use a single target, so you can forget recovery speed of the detector, forget about minerals, other proximity targets.
So, I pay close attention when I'm air testing that I don't use a faster sweep speed than I do when I'm actually hunting, if you do then your likely to stretch your distance results. I can get 13" on a US quarter with a 1270, but in a real sweep speed I get more around 11" I would NEVER post the air test of 13" if it wasn't done at a normal hunting sweep rate.

Mark

 

[mudpuppy]

I agree, theres a time and a place for really quick brooming...not in heavy trash or searching for deeper targets with multiples under the coil...but on a big beach, or wide open field, a fellow can flat out fly trying to pick up freshies or finding the lane..even with the coil a few inches off the ground, a guy knows it will ping on targets 5" deep or deeper depending...sometimes a guy only has a little time to cover a big place and this speed hunting tactic helps narrow down the drop zones....if the F's were not as light and ergonomic as they are, it would be tough swinging.. .glad to hear this phenomenon occurs with other machines, and I'm not as crazy as I thought.
Mud

 

[knarfj]

Hey Mark,

Some years ago (Back in the middle ages I believe it was) I hunted a location were I dug more than a few really deep coins, many were silver. This was from an area that was wet year around, and not just damp. The soil in this area was deep dark loamy soil and I suspect very acidic judging from the dark colored oxide coating on the silver coins that came out of the ground.

I have no idea if the coins were being detected deeper than they would have during an air test but they were much deeper than any silver coins I have dug sense. I personally believe the more than usual amount of surface oxidation on these coins including the silver aided in there detect ability, just as in your ferrous metals example, but obviously to a lesser extent. And yes, I

 

[mudpuppy]

Good info on the EMI regarding the chatter from the sun... Everything seems to be very quiet in the morning hours and just keeps getting more noisier throughout the day....cool,! even at a good site theres very few perfect days out of the year to hunt it, and then theres very few perfect hours out of that particular day to do it in...up and gone before the dawn brothers!
Mud

 

[IBdiggin]

Maybe since it is cool over night to the point there is dew, the electrical continuity in the soil is better and makes the good signals stand out.. Kinda like standing in a water puddle and grabbing a live wire Later when it warms up the sun will burn off the moisture leaving more noise than good signals.

 

[knarfj]

I

 

[IBdiggin]

Thanks a lot for rubbing it in knarfj. I'm having severe withdrawal here, been weeks now since I swug anything but a ham sandwich. Heck my old rotor cup injury is even starting to feel better. And to top it all off, the wind and cold air gods are sooooo pissed here,( from the Packer loss I presume), that we are looking at -24 with 25 mph winds equal to -51 this morning. Gonna get up to -41 by noon. Everybody out there take care and have a happy-happy.

 

[WV62]

Boy my weather here makes me want to go hunting it's like 13 degrees here. I should have said hunting polar bears.

Hang in there guys, it will warm up again.

Ron in WV

 

[knarfj]

Yes your weather we've been watching it play out on the news. I can't even begin to imagine weather like you and much of the rest of the country is experiencing.

By comparison, here in western WA, I'm beginning to feel a bit sheepish for having complained a few times on the forum about our rain and the comparatively small amount of snow we get, that's usually gone by noon. :blush:

I'd mention that I'm going to spend some time today playing in my coin garden with the F70 but that would be in poor taste so I won't.

Hang in there IB, springs a coming.

 

[mudpuppy]

This is a good thread to re-read...lots to think about in here.. Might just give some more ideas for another topic to get us through the weekend too!
Mud