Great signal when swinging over deep target, but cant pinpoint

[Juice in the hole]

Great signal when swinging over deep target, but can't pinpoint

I was out yesterday collecting rusting junk for my recycle bin, when I got a great hit at 11". I could replicate the hit from several angles and even changing up the speed of the swing, but when I went to pinpoint mode I had nothing. I had already dug enough deep junk at that point that I wasn't interested in chasing a crazy signal. Couple that with the fact that I was on my last dig of the day. You know that point in the day when you really should be heading back, but you want to dig just one more "good" thing? I know the metal detector was working fine as I found some great stuff the entire weekend (more on that in another post) and literally minutes before. I decided to pass on that target and instead hit a 1966 dime about 15 feet away and at 6" deep.

I'm using a White's VX3 with the D2 coil (coil is brand new & recently replaced by White's...THANKS!!) with the HI-PRO mode basically unmolested save for turning RX gain up to level 13. I made sure that the unit was ground balanced and I know it was working well for other targets only feet away, but shallower. The only other target in the area was coming up iron and it was about 2.5 feet away.

So I'm thinking that my detector may be picking up very deep targets while swinging, but they are lost in pinpoint. After rereading the manual last night, the only thing I can come up with is that the AM (all metal) level on the HI-PRO setting isn't set as high as on other modes. Could this be the discrepancy between Disc mode and Pinpoint? AM Sensitivity setting in HI-PRO mode is 60...should I turn it up and to where?

 

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[Frankn]

First a note: Whites DD coil is not great at pinpointing. There concentric is the great pinpointer, dead center.

Now there are two possibilities.
-You are reading junk all around nothing and then trying to pinpoint the nothing area.
-You are reading a large round object like a wagon rim and trying to pinpoint on the center area.
Just some thoughts. Frank...

 

[Juice in the hole]

Thanks for the response. I think my OP might have been a bit rambling and incoherent. Let me try to clear up what I'm asking; have you ever dug a target that you couldn't pinpoint and is it possible for the metal detector to "see" a deep target in DISC (swinging) mode versus in pinpoint? If so, could the lower setting of the HI-PRO AM sensitivity be the culprit? What is the purpose of having the AM setting lower in HI-PRO than DEEP SILVER, PROSPECTING and RELIC? Several questions, but I appreciate and will listen to experienced opinion. Thanks!

Huh...I've had marvelous success pinpointing with it over the 950 concentric, but much of that may have more to do with our mineralized soil here than which is actually a better pinpointer.

There is a ton of junk all around, but I was getting two very distinct hits several feet apart and at different depths. I never considered the wagon wheel though.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

Thanks for the response. I think my OP might have been a bit rambling and incoherent. Let me try to clear up what I'm asking; have you ever dug a target that you couldn't pinpoint and is it possible for the metal detector to "see" a deep target in DISC (swinging) mode versus in pinpoint? If so, could the lower setting of the HI-PRO AM sensitivity be the culprit? What is the purpose of having the AM setting lower in HI-PRO than DEEP SILVER, PROSPECTING and RELIC? Several questions, but I appreciate and will listen to experienced opinion. Thanks!

Huh...I've had marvelous success pinpointing with it over the 950 concentric, but much of that may have more to do with our mineralized soil here than which is actually a better pinpointer.

There is a ton of junk all around, but I was getting two very distinct hits several feet apart and at different depths. I never considered the wagon wheel though.

Juice, I'll take a stab at your question, but you're maybe not going to like the answer.

The issue of dissapearing signals, or variations like yours, that beginners hope to clear up by asking about them on forums, ...... when you think about it ........ all have to do with "sounds". Right? I mean, when you get right down to it, you're asking help with something to do with signals, which is ... basically .... sounds. So here's the problem with that:

There is utterly no way, in printed text, for you to convey what you're hearing, and utterly no way, in printed text, for someone to grasp what it is you're doing wrong, or how to fix it, or what it might be, etc...

Let me give you an example: If I asked you to describe the sound of C minor in printed text, to another person, you couldn't do it. Right? The only way to know the sound of C-minor, is for someone to actually hear it. No amount of printed text reading about it, is ever going to convey to someone else, that sound. So too is it for things/questions like this, I'm afraid to say.

One time I had a person on a forum, deduce that I lived a mere 45 min. from him in our state. So he pm'd me asking for help. Seems he was having a "dissapearing signals" issue. So we exchanged multiple emails back and forth, while I tried to help the fellow with the problem. And in the meantime, he'd even sent his machine back to the factor for "repairs" 2x, and each time, they sent it back saying "there's nothing wrong with it", and told him "he must be operating it wrong" The poor fellow was FIT TO BE TIED Because he took that to be an insult, like .... he can't read instructions, etc.. He'd read them several times over, but to no avail.

Eventually, he and I decided to meet up. It took me all of 2 minutes to realize the problem: He had a 6000 di pro, and .... whenever he'd get a signal, he'd "slow down" to hear it better. But alas, it would "disappear". So he'd move on, and get another signal. Slow down to hear it better, and ... so too would the next one "dissapear". The only things he could ever find were very shallow ones, yet all others "dissapeared". Because, you see, he had a motion discriminator. And the 6000 is a fast motion, at that. So whenever he'd slow down on anything deeper than 3" or so, he'd loose the motion required to trigger the motion mode into sounding off. So I asked the guy: Didn't you read the instructions where it had CLEARLY said "motion required"? He said yes, but that he had thought that merely meant you had to swing the coil, from side to side, as you walked. And he had even thought "that's a silly instruction, I mean ..... duh ... how ELSE is someone supposed to ever progress through the field, UNLESS they're swinging the coil, and walking in motion". Needless to say, NOW he understood what that instruction meant. And you see, no amount of printed conversations, back and forth, could solve this. I had to be there to see and hear what he was doing, to diagnose it.

Don't get "lost in the example". I'm not saying that specific example is your specific case. Just saying that ..... the best way to diagnose anything that involves sounds, tones, signals, etc..... is to hook up with someone proficient in your area. Preferably who uses the same machine. Watch the way he swings. Listen to what he's passing versus those signals he decides to chase. Trade off flagged signals. If he says "I'd pass it", ask him why. Listen to what he's trying to isolate. Watch the way he pinpoints. See how he retrieves, etc....

In my opinion, that's the best way to diagnose such things.

 

[Frankn]

Is that a C-?
just kidding Tom! Frank...

 

[AusTexDude]

Piece of thick copper wire bent in a circle and buried deep. The same thing happened to me drove me crazy until I finally dug it out