Phantom signals

[Matthews940]

I've got a Gold Monster 1000 that I'm still getting used to. I've become more comfortable with sensitivity settings based on the ground I'm sweeping. I don't have any problem identifying hot rocks now. They suck. But here is what I can't figure out. I will sometimes get a very strong signal from a target. Sometimes as if it's barely below the surface. So I dig it up and re-check for a signal and it's not there anymore. I sweep every bit of material that I've moved or disturbed and I still don't have that strong signal. I check for hot rocks. I keep moving the dirt around to see if the angle of the target is not in my favor. Nothing. As if nothing was there to begin with. Is there something that I'm missing? I'm making the effort to dig up all the targets that I get. They are naturally mostly square nails. I'm becoming discouraged with this phantom signal. Which in turn leads me to only dig up non-ferrous targets. Which I don't always want to do. Any advice on this?

 

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[leadnugget]

bc1969, i don't have a pic of the more sliver gray schist i was telling about. but i have this pic in more of a blue rock that is similar.
this is what they look like. limonite or Goethite after Pyrite, 1/2 inch cubes. they call them devil's dice in Australia.

 

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[oneguy]

No doubt there is value in the electronic advantage a vlf brings to detecting. Im just saying as a person starting out, with very limited knowledge, It is best to dig everything. even if it is not gold, it still gives you clues. I think we could agree that the main goal is to be on gold bearing ground. And to do that reliably it takes knowledge and skill. I gained those by doing things the wrong way until I figured out how to do it the right way

With the way the OP has tried to explain his questions, what he's experiencing and struggling with I agree with you guys now that dig-it-all would probably be the best way to learn what the Monster can and can't do? I sure hope he's actually on detectable gold ground? In time he'll learn the full potential of that machine once he gets a few nuggs and more time in the field. Good luck OP and keep after it....it'll come. Patience and persistance........

 

[BC1969]

bc1969, i don't have a pic of the more sliver gray schist i was telling about. but i have this pic in more of a blue rock that is similar.
this is what they look like. limonite or Goethite after Pyrite, 1/2 inch cubes. they call them devil's dice in Australia.

Looking at your photo, I'm not certain those are pyrite cubes.
I'd think more like Garnet.
Garnets with schist are somewhat common.
I don't have access to my collection as its in a storage unit, or I'd take a pic of mine.

 

[Matthews940]

I sure hope he's actually on detectable gold ground? In time he'll learn the full potential of that machine once he gets a few nuggs and more time in the field. Good luck OP and keep after it....it'll come. Patience and persistance........

I sure hope I am too! I've recently received a promising tip on some good gold baring ground nearby. I'm planning on getting out there this weekend to check it out. At least that's the plan unless theres a fire, or the smoke from the current fires around us keep me indoors. This summer is off to a brutal start.

 

[Matthews940]

I got a chance to get out early this morning to try my luck. No gold. Just old bullets. But I am becoming more comfortable with deciphering targets from mineralization. The ground was super hot. I spent most of the time progressing from the 3rd to the 7th setting. I wanted to rely on the sensitivity more, rather than blocking out the noise.

 

[cpomike13]

Best advice I got from you- tuber (sorry forgot who it was)said to collect all your metal target that was not gold and save the then later use that to compare their sounds against the sound of small nugget, noticing all the small differences in pitch, tone and volume. I still dig em all, but I play a game where I try to guess what they are.

 

[beekbuster]

I got a chance to get out early this morning to try my luck. No gold. Just old bullets. But I am becoming more comfortable with deciphering targets from mineralization. The ground was super hot. I spent most of the time progressing from the 3rd to the 7th setting. I wanted to rely on the sensitivity more, rather than blocking out the noise.

If you got a target from that spot you put your coil on ground no one else has. So that is a good thing. You should be finding bird shot too. sweep like youre looking for bird shot, heck, go there with the intention of finding a hand full of bird shot, and youll greatly increase your chances of finding something else.

 

[Matthews940]

That bird shot was driving me crazy. More so than hot rocks and soil. I guess if I can find shot that small, I should be finding gold.

 

[oneguy]

That bird shot was driving me crazy. More so than hot rocks and soil. I guess if I can find shot that small, I should be finding gold.

You'll get the coil over some gold eventually...keep on the grind, it'll happen!

 

[meMiner]

I had the same problem when swinging a GPX5000. I was getting horribly frustrated with what seemed to be good targets that disappeared when digging. Problem solved when I panned out the dirt I had been digging. Small gold in the pan.

 

[beekbuster]

I had the same problem when swinging a GPX5000. I was getting horribly frustrated with what seemed to be good targets that disappeared when digging. Problem solved when I panned out the dirt I had been digging. Small gold in the pan.

I did that at a spot with my sdc. Was a day it was running smooth as glass. any warble at all id just scoop up dirt and put it in the pan til the warble was gone. got some nice color doing that.

 

[minerjosh]

I did that at a spot with my sdc. Was a day it was running smooth as glass. any warble at all id just scoop up dirt and put it in the pan til the warble was gone. got some nice color doing that.

Once I put my "waterproof coil" tesoro lobo in a creek at an inside bend. the water was about a foot deep. I got multiple chirp, zips, hiccups..i got 2 shovel fulls in my big pan, the signals were gone. I had almost a gram of gold in a single pan, several pickers and a lot of fines and flakes along with a few lead shot

 

[Matthews940]

Once I put my "waterproof coil" tesoro lobo in a creek at an inside bend. the water was about a foot deep. I got multiple chirp, zips, hiccups..i got 2 shovel fulls in my big pan, the signals were gone. I had almost a gram of gold in a single pan, several pickers and a lot of fines and flakes along with a few lead shot

I going to give this a try. The association has a new claim we're checking out next weekend.

This morning I tried to get up to an old mine, but there was way too much overgrowth to reach it. I spent my time along a dirt service road, where all I found was more lead and rust. Some old rounds that I thought are cool. Every time I come home after detecting, my son always meets me in the garage to ask we what I found. First, did I find any gold. No. Then it's bullets. Yes, lots of them. He's always excited to see them. He keeps asking me to take him with me. Someday I tell him.

 

[beekbuster]

my son loves going with me. But it requires a creek for him to poke around in while im swinging, so it limits the places I can go. this spring he found a Shasta black salamander with salt specks. Its an endangered species and where he found it is outside of its known range. Way cool..... just stay close and emphisize the need to watch out for snakes. bring your dog along too. they always seem to find the snake first... though I have never ran into one in all the years Ive pounded the woods. I do steer clear of likely snakey spots and walk slow.

 

[Matthews940]

Yea, a water source is key for him also. I took him out to SMPA's new claim on Rush Creek yesterday and he was fine for six hours just digging, throwing rocks and hunting with his bow and arrow. He didn't want to leave. He doesn't have the attention span or patience to process a whole pan yet, but he's ok with that. As he gets older and stronger, he'll want to help more. No matter what, the memories he'll have are priceless. That's all that matters.