Why an area is never hunted out.....

[Flbchbm]

Had some time today and decided to play a little with my MX Sport to see how coin orientation affects TID. Used High trash with no discrimination, sense at 6, Mild sandy soil , ground balance at 62. Using the 6" Detech coil. Planted a clad nickle flat ( horizontal ) at 5". Sweep TID left, right, left, right, etc. was 26 24 30 24 26 20 30 22 24 30. Now, I often cherry pick coins. When I dig nickles, they are almost always in the 16-20 TID. Square tabs are usually in the 20 to 30 range. I would not have dug this nickle if I was cherry picking. I would not have thought anything of moving on because not only was the TID too high but the number was too variable. My assumption would have been that the target was not symmetrical and therefore giving a wide ranging TID. Probably can slaw or a square tab. So, being a little confused about the higher than expected TID, I placed the nickle in the same orientation at 2". Same settings, same coil, same ground balance. Left, right, left, etc sweep: 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20. Would have dug it all day every day. Lessons learned: First, be aware that variable TDI and depth can be related, even at 5". Two, which I was already aware of but thought it started deeper than 5"- MXS up-averages TID at depth. Three, nickles are a b*t*h to cherry pick unless they are shallow.

So, time to move on to the nickle on edge at 5". Same settings, same coil, same ground balance.Sweep perpendicular to the face of the coin, left, right, left, etc: 18 35 18 4 16 8 16 8 16 12/4 14/14 35 18 22. The #/# were double beeps that I caught both TIDs in a single sweep. There were several other double-beeps but I didn't catch both TIDs. So, usually I note double beeps on shallow targets. I would not consider a nickle at 5" a shallow target. Lesson: A coin on edge at depth can give a double beep. Next, sweep the coin at 5" parallel to the face. Same settings, same coil, same ground balance. Sweep left, right, left, etc. : 96 - - - - - - - Where - equals no beep/no TID. Upping the sensitivity did make that coin appear but I did not pursue that for this investigation. However, moving the coil back away from the axis of the coin made it reappear. Sweeping parallel to the face of the coin but about 4" away from the coin perpendicular to the face, left, right, left, etc.: 71 18 0 60 45 50 73 60. Interesting. Also, got a series of TIDs about 4" perpendicular to the opposite face of the coin. I did not record those TIDs but they were similar to the previous TIDs in range and variability. Okay, what about pinpointing? The coin pinpointed about 4" away from actual location , perpendicular to the face of the coin, on both sides of the coin, at 7.5 inches. So, if you locate a target that fits this situation, you want to locate the two pinpoints, draw a line connecting them, find the center point of that line and this is approximately where your target will be. Expect it to be shallower than the displayed depth. Had I pinpointd this taget at only one point I very well may have missed it because I try to keep my holes small (park hunting). Truth is, I probably never would have dug it in the first place, writing it off as junk.

Looking at all this it is easy to see how many coins are being missed by anyone who does not "dig it all". This doesn't even take into account comingled targets, TIDs affected by heavy iron soils, etc. Add into this the pendulum swings of many detectorists, the lack of overlapping sweeps, poor pinpointing of tagets (I have found some nice old coins in or next to holes others have dug). Will I start digging it all now. No. Bad back and bad knees, hunting in public parks, and HOT Florida weather combined with limited time to hunt most days equals selective digging. However, I will dig more iffy signals when they show depth and the possibility of being something good.

Hope someone finds this helpful. Happy hunting!

 

[pescadore]

Interesting read, thanks for posting. I also have bad joints and won't be digging it all especially in the places I detect but still interesting.

 

[Architex]

Good stuff. Thanks for posting.

 

[Monte]

But I did note two things. Unless Detech has made another coil for the MX Sport and MX-7, the DD White's offers is a 7" coil. Also, you mentioned you hunt in HOT Florida weather. I also hunt in some high-heat summer weather out here in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, etc., but I think you forgot to add HUMID to your Florida weather? I only hunted Florida on one trip around the state and it was definitely more humid than anywhere I hunt 'out west.'

I have the 7" Detech DD mounted on my 2nd MX-7, and have matching settings with my main-use MX-7 with the 6½" Concentric coil mounted. That's because I am spending a full month or two hunting with both devices and doing side-by-side, in-the-field comparisons on naturally located targets. When the production 6½" Concentric comes out I hope you will get one, then visit the very same locations and use a US 5¢ nickel coin buried at the same depths and orientations you just related. Compare the performance and visual TID responses.

Until you get that opportunity, get out and enjoy all the detecting you can during these winter months and best of success to you.

Monte

 

[Flbchbm]

Yes, Monte, you are right on both counts. The coil is 7", and Florida is hot and humid. As they say, it's not the heat, it's the humidity. Summer detecting here is a lot like winter detecting up north- you can do it but you have to be a die-hard to put up with the weather. Most of my summer detecting is at the beaches where I can jump in the water and cool off, as needed. I am looking forward to getting the small concentric when it comes out. I will definitely test it out with the nickle as above. Thank you much for the kind words, sir. I wish you all the same in return.

 

[doc holiday232]

The Reason a place is never hunted out is because reliance on a meter to tell one when to dig is toooo unreliable.

 

[MackDog]

You should only dig the perfect signals you know are going to be good. You’ll always get good stuff and not dig junk. Leave those other nasty signals in the ground for pathetic people like me (LOL)

 

[IDXMonster]

You should only dig the perfect signals you know are going to be good. You’ll always get good stuff and not dig junk. Leave those other nasty signals in the ground for pathetic people like me (LOL)

I do! And you’re welcome!

 

[Mega]

I never rely on what a screen tells me,audio is far more reliable and also at great depth than what any screen will tell you,if i have any doubt it has to come out,i can never walk away from a iffy signal,some of my permissions are still producing finds after many years,as ploughs get more powerful and of course ploughs get deeper then new finds usually come up.

Also i use as minimum amount of discrimination as i can and also prefer to select the right detector/coil combination for that specific site that i am detecting on that day,what works one week may not work on another permission another week.

 

[woody]

How could anyone say that a site is hunted out? Think about it, how could they know that there's one more coin right below at the deepest level they've dug. Hope this makes sense.

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

One has to learn how to use the meter properly. It’s a great tool.