"dig em all" is this rule now obsolete with equinox

[boxxxer]

Did someone say dig it all...when going to a site where do you start. its overwhelming sometimes. I have spent months at sites that keep producing. hunting for silver coins and then hunting for silver rings then gold or relics I have been using eq 800 since march for dirt and water on average of 40-60 hours a week parks, home sites and lakes fresh water and salt water beaches and have several rules to follow. the first is to dig it all I can't stress this enough, numbers from 1 to 40 and remember tones. second is to dig all strange signal tones they can be some of the best targets, third is to have patience and take a breath, your not gonna find all targets in the first visit, may take 20-40 visits and then a friend goes in and finds the one you missed. but above all have fun and learn something new every time out. fourth and final bring a bigger shovel...

 

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[Happa54]

When in extreme trashy parks, I disc out what I don't want to hear/dig and cherry pick til the next visit (process of elimination)...no way I could dig all in these sites. At sites where relics are mixed in, I hunt in all metal and dig signals that I wouldn't dig at the parks. For me, the "dig all" method is site driven.

 

[Calabash Digger]

Amergin, if you get too picky you'll leave stuff behind, especially when relic hunting. And the Equinox is not exempt. Neither is my XP Deus. I just dug a Mercury dime that was deep in horrible mineralized ground with the Deus, and was an awful tone. It was next to a broken old horseshoe. Most folks probably would have skipped it. Now if you are just a cherry picker type of digger, then by all means jack that discrimination up and only dig the higher tones.

WHAT THE CAT SAID!!!

 

[Wild Colonial Boy]

your 100% right, I have been doing a lot of practicing in the field, since I started that post, on this subject
now my 6" coil is working again I returned to Celler hole sites I did before with both coils, i concentrated very close to house, tones of nails, i go slowly and only expect to cover maybe 400 -600ft sqft in 2 hours, any good chirp or repeat vdi amongst iron I open hole and test it again, if the iffy signal remains with positive mixed in I continue until the solid gets better or it turns into a grunty and minus mess, I have uncovered a lot of stuff sometimes taking 8-10 nails out and finding 2 or three relics in one hole. its great and I really enjoy taking my time on a small area

 

[Iron Buzz]

The more I get to know and trust the signals and IDs on my detector, the fewer really interesting artifacts I dig. It is easy to get too smart for your own good with this hobby.

 

[HighVDI]

your 100% right, I have been doing a lot of practicing in the field, since I started that post, on this subject
now my 6" coil is working again I returned to Celler hole sites I did before with both coils, i concentrated very close to house, tones of nails, i go slowly and only expect to cover maybe 400 -600ft sqft in 2 hours, any good chirp or repeat vdi amongst iron I open hole and test it again, if the iffy signal remains with positive mixed in I continue until the solid gets better or it turns into a grunty and minus mess, I have uncovered a lot of stuff sometimes taking 8-10 nails out and finding 2 or three relics in one hole. its great and I really enjoy taking my time on a small area

Be careful with this too. I've dug many wheats and even silver coins that rang up like iron or no signal at all after the plug was dug! Crazy hobby but it's the unexpected that keeps us driven.

 

[dirtlooter]

I have dug too many good things that I thought was going to be say, a penny but turned into a silver merc. too many surprises and very nice ones at that not to dig some anyways. and I agree, What the Cat says!

 

[pulltabfelix]

As a spin off from IFFY SIGNALS iron discussion.

I just want to know if the old motto "dig em all" really applies to the new Technology of the Equinox

from my experience, It should now say "dig if you get a repeat solid number mixed with iffy signals"

I have to say I find the technology dependable and honest in regards when i doubt a signal with high tones but jumpy and still dig it is Iron every time

I would love to hear what others have experienced in regard to successfully iffy signals

Just finished reading Clive Clynick's new book #2 on the Equinox the Advanced one. He goes into great detail on using the Equinox properly with all of its features, settings and coil swing techniques to show you how to become more expert at recognizing and not having to dig junk signals. But with that said, he also says this can vary depending on your digging site characteristics. So basically my take is that an Equinox especially the 800 can reduce your number of digs of iffy signals but not totally eliminate the need to dig some of them. But a caution here. I have just finished reading and have not practiced them in the field yet. Waiting for the rain to cease here in the south.

 

[pulltabfelix]

Amergin, if you get too picky you'll leave stuff behind, especially when relic hunting. And the Equinox is not exempt. Neither is my XP Deus. I just dug a Mercury dime that was deep in horrible mineralized ground with the Deus, and was an awful tone. It was next to a broken old horseshoe. Most folks probably would have skipped it. Now if you are just a cherry picker type of digger, then by all means jack that discrimination up and only dig the higher tones.

.... and leave some good stuff for guys like smokey. He, he.

 

[smokeythecat]

I have come to that conclusion also. Before buying my Nox 800 I was impressed by everyone talking at the time about how it really found targets among the iron trash using the faster recovery speed and iron bias. Well at that time not many were talking about the problem of iron falsing. So now I have a detector that I thought would allow me to trust my ears and TID. Foolish me. I am back to when relic hunting digging everything. At the trashy parks, I have an easier task with the 800 cherry picking since most of the trash is pull tabs and pop tops and foil but not so much iron. And of course tot lots and volley ball courts are a piece of cake, but then a bounty hunter jr will find anything in those two types of sites.

So we are still waiting for the magical detector that will tell us what really is under our coil when relic hunting.

Dig it all. You nailed it. Lots of people bought the hype. The machines are great in salt water and good otherwise. They are not magic wands, NO machine is, and if you get picky and leave the iffy signals, just give me the map coordinates where you were digging and I'll come by and get all the silver and gold you left behind.

 

[HoboFett]

My new equinox comes in the mail tomorrow, but in the places I hunt I am pretty sure I will dig everything. Most of my hunting will be on Padre Island in South Texas (not on the national seashore, of course.) There's a lot of trash that washes up or gets dropped by tourists. When I was a kid my sister and I were digging in the sand and I sliced my hand open on a buried beer can. So, if in the course of my treasure hunting, I can remove a little trash and keep some other kid from getting cut it's totally worth it. I've also found a few syringes out there.

Sand is different than dirt,of course, so I may not do that in parks/fields etc... With soft sand, even if it's buried, doesn't mean someone won't cut themselves on some rusty metal.

 

[smokeythecat]

Here's the bottom line: You cannot ABSOLUTELY trust any VDI, ANY machine, EVER. 100% faith in a VDI is folly. There are just too many variables in the equation. I sincerely doubt in my lifetime ANY machine will let you know what you have before you dig it. And please send me your coordinates to dig sites if you totally rely on the VDI or any given machine. I'll gladly clean out the rest of the stuff you left. (no not really, but that's the reality of it.)

 

[jeff of pa]

Why would Anyone ignore a Target, unless the Detector X-rays the ground
and shows you the Exact item you swing over ?

Not only would it be Boring to know before you Dig.

But that Aluminum Signal may be a Cool Valuable Token.


that Iron / Tin Signal May be a Box.

And the Screw Cap may be a Deep Mason Jar

Yes it's Fun to play with Disc & Make Guesses at What you will see when you dig it up.
But Personally The Surprises When I'm wrong, Can be more Fun

I lost count of How many Zincoln Signals ended up being Indians.
and Wouldn't want to be Sure it was a Zinclon.
Because no matter what......
I've also Dug Nickles there was a chance they were can tab tongues.
again without xray vision so good you can read the date on a dime.
What if It's Not what you think
What if it's Better

& What if you had Xray Vision. Would be Boring walking around all day Not seeing anything you wish to dig

 

[smokeythecat]

Boxxxer, to answer your question directly, where to start depends where you are diggings. At a beach, I start at the high tide mark, and it really depends on the beach. I don't especially like going in the water. In a park, start anywhere, especially near swings or benches. Work one area then when it gets thin move on. At a site for relics, start most anywhere. Once you get a good hit. Mentally mark the spot and go in a 20' area around it, then move on. Remember, especially with a private permission, it can take numerous YEARS to work the site. After the 2nd year on one of my farms we got TWO Confederate belt plates! We were up there this Sunday and had trouble getting many signals then BAM! x 4, four silvers in 10 minutes. That's how it goes sometimes.

 

[A2coins]

no chance

 

[HighVDI]

I actually hope technology doesn't get to the point of making it too easy! Honestly, IMO it would shatter the fun!

 

[smokeythecat]

HighVDI, if that does happen, we won't be able to afford it anyway.

 

[vferrari]

Why would Anyone ignore a Target, unless the Detector X-rays the ground
and shows you the Exact item you swing over ?

Not only would it be Boring to know before you Dig.

But that Aluminum Signal may be a Cool Valuable Token.


that Iron / Tin Signal May be a Box.

And the Screw Cap may be a Deep Mason Jar

Yes it's Fun to play with Disc & Make Guesses at What you will see when you dig it up.
But Personally The Surprises When I'm wrong, Can be more Fun

I lost count of How many Zincoln Signals ended up being Indians.
and Wouldn't want to be Sure it was a Zinclon.
Because no matter what......
I've also Dug Nickles there was a chance they were can tab tongues.
again without xray vision so good you can read the date on a dime.
What if It's Not what you think
What if it's Better

& What if you had Xray Vision. Would be Boring walking around all day Not seeing anything you wish to dig

I actually hope technology doesn't get to the point of making it too easy! Honestly, IMO it would shatter the fun!

Agree with both of these trains of thought. Basically consistent with what I said in post 15 above.

 

[HighVDI]

HighVDI, if that does happen, we won't be able to afford it anyway.

LOL Smokey....so true.

 

[smokeythecat]

It's ok, I'm going detecting this weekend, and next week and on and on as long as the ground isn't frozen. Every day is vacation day now!