How deep will your detector read?

[damz68]

I got a minelabs xterra 30. I was playing around with it in the house and decided I would do some test on coins and get the number on each to help better identify. I could not help but notice that I would not even get a reading if 4 or more inches above the target, a S.B.A. Dollar! Is this normal, I cant help but think that 4" inches is not going to hit much of anything that is not clad. I also tested it on a gold ring, it gave me a reading of 24 and only sounded at 3" or closer. I cranked the sensitivity up to 10, it was on 7, and I was getting a lot of false readings. I guess it would be better to try it out outdoors, but even so it just seems like it would hit at least 6".

Is this normal for Minelabs?

 

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[Spitfire Reddie]

Air test are different than actually in the ground test.

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

yeah, i agree about the air test, but, i am no expert. it does work well for air tests when you first buy the machine and then pass it over several visible objects for learning purposes. it is very dead-on for that.

i have the BH 3300. good machine. it doesn't lie, but, it goes just about as deep as i want to dig. 8" i BELIEVE is the max depth on it. any time there is liquid content in sand mine will say 8" but it actually goes as deep as 24". shoots through rocks and pebble piles saying 4"-5" but it is usually only surface to 1", mulch conditions it reads pretty accurately. but the one rule i try to live by if at all possible......if it beeps, dig it until it doesn't.

do your machine do that? or is it more accurate. my kinda has a learning curve to it i guess. took a while for me to get used to it. that's why i gave it up right after i started a couple years ago.

 

[Ocean7]

yep Minelab does not like air and does it's best work in the field surrounded by a soil or sand matrix. Make sure adjusted correctly. I've dug coins at 12" and use EX II. Don't bother with air tests - see what happens out there in the field. Good luck!

 

[damz68]

Ya, I just barried a coin at 8" and did not even get a hint of a signal. I turned the sensitivity up to 10 and got all sorts of false signals. I only got a good signal at 4" maximum and that with a SBA dollar.

 

[Sandman]

Don't worry about how deep your machine detects in the air. Most will detect lots deeper when the coin is in the ground. The also will give different readings in air than targets in dirt. The only things you learn by air testing is the volumn, Battery check and to make sure where to set the discrimination so as to accept or reject pull tabs or something else. If you set the sensitivity to high most detectors will give false signals. High sensitivity doesn't always get you more depth either. At high sens. the coil sees more ground matrix and has to balance out some more of it, hense you could lose out on it telling you a target is under the coil.

Sandman

 

[damz68]

Hey Sandman, I figured the air test may not be to conclusive so I burried differant coins at differant depths and got the same results. 4" deep is as far as it will go on a coin and still get a somewhat clear signal. I just visited the Minelabs site and read a story about someone who was hitting coins at 10" deep with my detector, either this is false info or my machine is not working right. I guess it could be user error but this is highly unlikely since it is a "turn on and go" detector and you only have control over sensativity and discrimination.

 

[Blackjack77]

Recently buried coins react differently and depth is not usually as great. Something to do with the way metals react to the soil. Stuff buried longer can USUALLY be detected deeper. Also- i think several manuals I've looked at suggest burying objects
1-4" deep for a test.
HH

 

[Born2Dtect]

Air tests are good for giving you a general idea of the target ID or VDI number. The depth of detection needs to be done in the ground under conditions like you would be dectecting in.

Ed D.

 

[Carson Karma]

Damz,

I am in the market for a new detector. The sad truth is I cant get an understandable answer from a sales representative.

I am beginning to think they might now be fully informed.

Good Luck,

Carson

 

[grizzly bare]

A couple of months ago I inadvertently bought two MineLab Quattros. I took one to my coin garden. Registered every target correctly. In the exact center of the garden, I have a dime at 12 inches. Quattro read it perfectly.
I love this machine. I had an ExplorerSX but wasn't smart enough to use it. The Quattro is a good 'turn-on-and-hunt' machine.

Jim Johnson
grizzly bare

 

[Real de Tayopa Tropical Tramp]

HI: for the record, I have never found an object deeper than 2-3 ft. If it was buried by a single person, obviously he would only dig as deep as he could easily climb out of.

If it was say 4 ' deep, then any object that he put in it would be less since it would be sitting on top of the floor.

Also remember, if it was a pirate, bandit, or during a war, they probably did not have much time. and as for a farmer, most deposits were simply a form of a bank for money, which was withdrawn from time to time.

A thumb rule is that the bigger the hole, the harder it is to hide it.

Sooo, go from there on detector sensativity.

Tropical Tramp

 

[skierbob]

Here's a deep reading I got with the Explorer II

 

[Gribnitz]

Too be honest, I think all machines can come out of the factory as 'cold machines'. Some register really hot, others so-so, and others are plain dogs and all the same model. I sent one machine in to get tested and they sent it back saying it was within parameters. Sold that one and bought another of the same machine and the difference in depth was like night and day....way deeper. When I bought the new one, I asked the store owner to test it for me before he sent it out to make sure I didn't get another bum machine.