Have any of your detectors seem to perform better?

cjon455

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2012
9,207
11,541
Northeast PA
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac
Garrett Propointer
Garrett Propointer-AT
Sampson T handle shovel
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
hey quick question, I have an ace 350 and it seems like some days its sketchy on depth and pinpointing and then I have days like yesterday where I was able to accurately pinpoint down to a 3 inch round hole. Yesterday i dug 10 targets at an old home (5 wheats, 1 v nickel, and clad) and it was ridiculously easy. My holes were so small i was barely able to put my hand in them. Anyway, im just asking if all of you have this happen with your detectors. Mine seems moody, lol
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
This is not brag, just facts. I bought an XLT a bit over 10 years ago brand new. From day one, If I can pick up a target, I can pinpoint it dead on. That is, on a coin, I can insert my probe in the ground and touch the coin. Now with larger targets at say 2', I can move in on the edge and outline the target. I think it's all a matter of how much quality you want to pay for when you buy. That XLT was top of the line when I bought it and as far as I am concerned, it still is. Frank
 

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Keppy

Gold Member
Nov 19, 2006
8,318
2,870
N.E. Ohio on lake Erie
Detector(s) used
** WHAT ONE I FEEL LIKE ON HUNTING DAY *****
Primary Interest:
Other
I don't know all i know is that all my METAL detectors find METAL..............
 

releventchair

Gold Member
May 9, 2012
22,402
70,743
Primary Interest:
Other
Seldom cut a plug(flap on rare sod) bigger than my hand. Like your yesterday. Duplicating yesterdays settings on unit and same soil conditions should duplicate results. Of course a large or unfamiliar target can confuse. Enough hours with your detector you may like myself not keep track of what was dug at what depth or where it registered. Seems fine till your looking for an material you have been trying to avoid!. Any unit you run you,ll need to be familiar with. First two tries pointing with a 350 i missed by 3 or 4 inches. Now its usually spot on.(pinpointing on my unit registers every thing at 2 inches.) Sometimes i mess pinpointing up by not keeping coil on ground or get too far off target. ny doubt i repeat before digging. Being it worked yesterday my guess is a few more hours with it you,ll be smiling .h.h.
 

edat

Greenie
Jul 16, 2012
10
6
Louisiana
Detector(s) used
whites 2 box lorenz pulse
Primary Interest:
Cache Hunting
Hey guys. I am looking into purchacing a Makro pulse induction machine. do you know if it is good or hype. All adds are decieving if you dig enough. but do any of you know anything about it
 

Joe Dirt

Jr. Member
Sep 22, 2012
91
33
Silvertown, Indiana
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, Sun Ray DX-1 Probe, Vintage late 70's Radio Shack junker.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My MXT is moody IMO.. One day it will be right dead on & some days it seems to have difficulty pinpointing. Now that being said usually larger targets are harder to pinpoint than smaller targets no matter what on my MXT. I also hunt trashy ground so I think what's happening is the trash causes the inaccurate pinpointing, when you have a good target with a lot of iron or foil or trash around it pinpointing can & does get thrown off.
 

seekandfind

Full Member
Jul 7, 2012
181
37
northwest Indiana
Detector(s) used
bounty hunter 101/505
ace 350
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hi, Ive got an ace 350 and am having a heck of a time learning it. I actually have gone back to my bounty hunter because when it beeps I can generally be assured I will find something when I dig. Now the ace 350 with the double d coil I pinpoint with it and everything and come up empty many ,many times. I have had the thought that maybe the machine is set too sensitive but I backed that up and no succeess. It gets very tiring digging eight inch round holes six to eight inches deep and coming up empty handed. However I did run into another detecter at a park he told me about training with a piece of cardboard(big) on floor now its my fallback when I get frustrated with the ace 350 which is quite often.with coins under it then detect them so you have a general idea(sound wise) what your detecting. Good advise but doesnt solve my depth issue,and yes I have been out with the machine quite a few hours. trying to hookup with a detector in the area who has an ace 350 for some tutoring, we will see. Also got an auto max pinpointer, personally I think its broke (shipped thar way) or once again I need training, hmmmmmmmm seems to be a familiar thread running thru this story(me neeedum training) lol. Well there it is if anybody has any advise or thoughts(nice ones) please send them my way. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Funny thing the bounty hunter I used to swear at and dislike is a very good machine for as cheap as it is, in three months Ive found a good amout of clad and quite a bit of kiddie jewelry with that tool.
 

seekandfind

Full Member
Jul 7, 2012
181
37
northwest Indiana
Detector(s) used
bounty hunter 101/505
ace 350
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
P.s. good luck and happy hunting to all of you addicted metal detectors out there. GET ER DONE(detecting) winters a coming. hh
 

A/CMan

Hero Member
Apr 2, 2012
590
105
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
It kinda depends on several factors, does the area have tons of iron debri that gives a halo effect is the sens to high , some days you just do better than others , maybe use a smaller coil when this happens, myself this is the second 350 I had and love it, I do have a sunray probe on it , and it does help , but the ace350 is a great machine and I full confidence in it, last I would say it could be electrical interference like power lines, cell phones , just hang in there, AC
 

releventchair

Gold Member
May 9, 2012
22,402
70,743
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Other
O.k.,i,ll try to be nice! Detector brand vs users confidence. The more familiar detector usually gives greater confidence. Same with pinpointer. The 350 with stock coil i (my opinion my own not forcing it ) reserve for "clean"areas or covering to much ground in a hurry for a specific target (rarely). Besides the lower weight of 5x8 coil and better(for me)target separation , my 350 can find some awful tiny stuff. Yes ,time searching plug and removed soil with pinpointer sometimes pushing itty bitty stuff around. Don,t want to know record amount of time spent on hardest to find! But till i confirmed something was there a couple times i was confused,having studied manual and practiced in yard. Usually its a small piece of lead or wire. Get 5 or 6 pieces or different things in as many inches and tell me whats there we can start some arguments! If you use one only you should do better learning it. Other for back up. Pick a challenge at a time . Feel free to p.m. if manual and practice don,t solve them. Your machine trying to find for you! Sometimes rust dust can be found. Smile!
 

SpiritRelic

Hero Member
Sep 16, 2012
899
117
cjon455 said:
hey quick question, I have an ace 350 and it seems like some days its sketchy on depth and pinpointing and then I have days like yesterday where I was able to accurately pinpoint down to a 3 inch round hole. Yesterday i dug 10 targets at an old home (5 wheats, 1 v nickel, and clad) and it was ridiculously easy. My holes were so small i was barely able to put my hand in them. Anyway, im just asking if all of you have this happen with your detectors. Mine seems moody, lol

I have read post on this subject.As some were talking about the high volume emi time periods,Lighting in the far distance,Cars put out emi etc...Some claim they go detecting at night and get more dept etc...Some of this is probably true. ;-)
 

spartacus53

Banned
Jul 5, 2009
10,503
1,073
Whiting, NJ
Detector(s) used
Ace 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
seekandfind, you might want to consider replacing your batteries.. Sometimes that's the problem :tongue3:
 

Joe Dirt

Jr. Member
Sep 22, 2012
91
33
Silvertown, Indiana
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, Sun Ray DX-1 Probe, Vintage late 70's Radio Shack junker.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
seekandfind, you might want to consider replacing your batteries.. Sometimes that's the problem :tongue3:

This is also good advice, I do notice low batteries make my detector less reliable in every way!
 

Viddy

Sr. Member
Aug 16, 2011
447
220
Harrisburg, PA
Detector(s) used
Xterra 705, F2, Etrac, T2, V3i, AT Pro, CTX3030, Equinox 800, Vanquish 540, Go-Find 66, F5, Q60, Apex
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Depends on a lot of factors, assuming that you are using the same detector/coil... it's like people were saying....
-electrical interference
-ground moisture (rain/dry)
-iron in the ground
-other mineralization
-battery charge
-etc....
 

bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
13,373
8,689
Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
None of my detectors perform the same each time out, even in the exact same environments. I don't understand it, but sometimes they locate gold, sometimes they don't. :icon_scratch: :laughing7:
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
The way the XLT pinpoints is using the depth reading. The center of the coil gives the lowest depth reading when it is directly over the target.

Now Every DD coil that I have tried does not read the target at dead center, so on DD coils it is best to move the SIDE of the coil towards the target slowly. When it sounds off, the target is right under the lead EDGE hand print-2_edited-6.jpg of the coil. Do it again 90 degrees off original scan and you will have an exact pinpoint. Frank
 

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cjon455

cjon455

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2012
9,207
11,541
Northeast PA
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac
Garrett Propointer
Garrett Propointer-AT
Sampson T handle shovel
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi, Ive got an ace 350 and am having a heck of a time learning it. I actually have gone back to my bounty hunter because when it beeps I can generally be assured I will find something when I dig. Now the ace 350 with the double d coil I pinpoint with it and everything and come up empty many ,many times. I have had the thought that maybe the machine is set too sensitive but I backed that up and no succeess. It gets very tiring digging eight inch round holes six to eight inches deep and coming up empty handed. However I did run into another detecter at a park he told me about training with a piece of cardboard(big) on floor now its my fallback when I get frustrated with the ace 350 which is quite often.with coins under it then detect them so you have a general idea(sound wise) what your detecting. Good advise but doesnt solve my depth issue,and yes I have been out with the machine quite a few hours. trying to hookup with a detector in the area who has an ace 350 for some tutoring, we will see. Also got an auto max pinpointer, personally I think its broke (shipped thar way) or once again I need training, hmmmmmmmm seems to be a familiar thread running thru this story(me neeedum training) lol. Well there it is if anybody has any advise or thoughts(nice ones) please send them my way. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Funny thing the bounty hunter I used to swear at and dislike is a very good machine for as cheap as it is, in three months Ive found a good amout of clad and quite a bit of kiddie jewelry with that tool.

ok seekandfind, I had the same trouble w my 350 when i first bought it, i literally wanted to wrap it around a tree and had garrett on the phone twice saying a few choice words to the guy on the phone lol bad temper. Anyhow as i learned from many people on here is turn the sensitivity down a bit (yeah i know, the whole reason we bought 350s was better depth) trust me it works. I dug about 100 wheaties with it with the sensitivity down about 3 notches from top in some crappy areas. I bet when your frustrated you HATE hearing people say "log some hours with it" "practice" i get it, but however, they are right. The ABSOLUTELY best advice i got and can give about the 8 inch round 6 inch deep holes is, when you get these "signals" saying 8+ try holding the coil off the ground about 6" and if you still get that reading, you can leave that ALUMINUM CAN or other crap in the ground. Ive only owned my 350 since july and have 13 silvers, a nice little tribe of indian head pennies, and some pretty sweet v nickels, hang in there, dont quit it and practice your butt off with it, youll love it in the end. My question was basically answered for me, the site i was at was simply the difference in my detectors "mood" the awesome keeper coins were everywhere and only about 5-6 inches down. Best of luck to ya.... HH
 

Joe Dirt

Jr. Member
Sep 22, 2012
91
33
Silvertown, Indiana
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, Sun Ray DX-1 Probe, Vintage late 70's Radio Shack junker.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
ok seekandfind, The ABSOLUTELY best advice i got and can give about the 8 inch round 6 inch deep holes is, when you get these "signals" saying 8+ try holding the coil off the ground about 6" and if you still get that reading, you can leave that ALUMINUM CAN or other crap in the ground. Best of luck to ya.... HH

What a minute here... Or when you pass over that "aluminum can" or other "crap" in the ground you might actually be passing over a big or small jar of pennies or silver coins or worse a jar of gold coins. While single coins might only be 5-6" deep where you go a buried stash/cache will probably be 8" to 10" or even 12" deep if not more & will show up like a large can would or big trash. Also if it is just a can that can could very well be masking a good target very close to it. DIG it all if possible, I've been hunting trashy grounds alot & twice just 2day I found a penny within a hole with 2-3 large old iron nails. One of the pennies (59'D) & 2 nails were deep like a good 8" deep & in same hole I found 3 very small metal button/snaps (all 3 of em put together are smaller than the penny).

Bent rusty big old Iron nails were trying to mask the good targets but I knew from experience there were was going to be good & bad targets in that hole from the way my detector acted.
 

LuckyThirteen08

Hero Member
Sep 17, 2012
742
197
Grundy VA
Detector(s) used
Fisher F4, Teknetics Delta 4000,Teknetics Omega 8000,Teknetics Gamma 6000,Minelab Pro-Find 25 Pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
What a minute here... Or when you pass over that "aluminum can" or other "crap" in the ground you might actually be passing over a big or small jar of pennies or silver coins or worse a jar of gold coins. While single coins might only be 5-6" deep where you go a buried stash/cache will probably be 8" to 10" or even 12" deep if not more & will show up like a large can would or big trash. Also if it is just a can that can could very well be masking a good target very close to it. DIG it all if possible, I've been hunting trashy grounds alot & twice just 2day I found a penny within a hole with 2-3 large old iron nails. One of the pennies (59'D) & 2 nails were deep like a good 8" deep & in same hole I found 3 very small metal button/snaps (all 3 of em put together are smaller than the penny).

Bent rusty big old Iron nails were trying to mask the good targets but I knew from experience there were was going to be good & bad targets in that hole from the way my detector acted.

I second joes advice with digging those junk signals,especially can sized targets or larger.Alot of caches that are recovered at old home sites were detected and dug due to the detector giving a return signal on a metal jar lid,Not the contents of the jar itself,But thats just MHO and everyone has there own preference on what to dig/not dig while in the field!!

Good Luck and HH!!

John
 

Joe Dirt

Jr. Member
Sep 22, 2012
91
33
Silvertown, Indiana
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, Sun Ray DX-1 Probe, Vintage late 70's Radio Shack junker.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I second joes advice with digging those junk signals,especially can sized targets or larger.Alot of caches that are recovered at old home sites were detected and dug due to the detector giving a return signal on a metal jar lid,Not the contents of the jar itself,But thats just MHO and everyone has there own preference on what to dig/not dig while in the field!!
Good Luck and HH!!
John


Not to mention if the cache is inside an old iron coin bank or a small iron kettle... Don't dig it & you might miss out on the find of a lifetime!
 

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