Great detector, bad detective?

GodOfRustyNails

Jr. Member
Jul 8, 2007
38
0
South Bend, In
Detector(s) used
Whites M6
I have a M6 from Whites that I have had for a little over one month. I have used it here in my hometown of sunny South Bend In, in Portland Or and in LaJolla Ca. Every place I have gone I have found trash and lots of it. I have also found a little over $4.00 in clad and a few good artifacts. I hate to admit this, but I am getting tired of picking up the pop tabs. Not because I am lazy and don't want to look, I feel that I am doing something wrong. Every time I put the coil to the ground I am inundated with trash, (even when I feel like I have a "solid hit" it is a pull tab). I get confused by the broken beeps, thinking this has to be trash, but what if it isn't? When I use the 7 tone ID I am hearing and seeing the metals underneath my feet jump around like kangaroo at a pogo stick competition (I have no idea where that came from but you get the point).

So, I come back to this site to do a lot of reading trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. What I hear is that you (in general) dig up everything that is in range. Don't chance missing the good stuff. If that is the case would it not be better to purchase a hundred dollar detector from Toys R Us and dig up everything that beeps? How do you decide what to dig? Thank you for your help,
Steve
 

Upvote 0

wildrider

Bronze Member
Feb 25, 2007
1,895
8
Kentucky
Detector(s) used
Nautilus DMC IIb/White's 6000 Di Pro
New people that detect are often overwhelmed by too much information. Try learning your machine and what actually works for you. Rely on the book that came with your machine. Set some coins, a ring and other metal objects in your yard and see what signals the "good stuff" gives you. Try some bad stuff too.

White's machines generally have a very good ID meter and the different tones will indicate what is what in determining certain objects. Try this approach and just dig the stuff you know is good. As you learn your machine, try to find the deeper stuff through trial and error.

Hope this helps some.

Burt
 

Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
When I first got a detector with a visual Target ID display I took one of every coin in my collection and put them in a vinyl flip and spent some time with them on clear ground seeing how they registered. I also began keeping a small spiral notebook with the ID number, depth and denomination/date of each coin I found. Sounds like work, but here is the result.

Now I have much more confidence in what I am detecting before I begin digging. I still dig tabs. Anyone who wants jewelry rings will have to dig some pull-tab rings. That's just the nature of life.

You also have to find spots where coins are before you will find coins. I have hunted spots that were duds where I found nothing but foil, pulltabs and shredded aluminum can pieces. In cases like that the choice is to move on or stick with it in hopes of finding something.

Conditions can be against you, too. Moist soil detects better than dry, and trash can mask treasures. Work an area and then go back on a different day and see if you find something that didn't register previously. And ALWAYS re-sweep a hole (either before you put the dirt back or after). Sometimes you get hits in or immediately beside the same hole.

Don't get discouraged. I probably dig two or three pull tabs to every coin with my Musketeer (only audio output). With my F-75 I can go straight coins but, as you say, I may be leaving jewelry and deeper/older coins by doing that.
 

Attachments

  • F75TIDScale.GIF
    F75TIDScale.GIF
    28.7 KB · Views: 408

cosmic

Hero Member
Dec 31, 2006
882
50
Watseka, Illinois
Detector(s) used
Nokta Fors Core, X pointer, Sunrays
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have a M-6 and am running 0 disc and little above 10 sens.. I balance it on clear ground in auto-trac and then lock it... In the trash I laugh because to me it sounds like a gaggle of geese!! You just need a little practice and make some notes.. You are correct the broken tones are a bad target as are most of the 2 tone ones you hear.. The secret there is to sweep it at the right speed so it can get a good lock on it..Practice on some coins to get the meter to read correct thats how fast to sweep when in doubt.. Listen for those clear tones that hit repeatably..
As far as the tabs go here is what I do, if it isn't a broken tone look at the number if its in the high range of the nickle-pulltab don't dig it.. Grab some samples of the most commontabs and check the numbers on the m-6..If it hits in a lower range number its probably a nickle..
One other point start to check how deep your coins are at and note the year.. This is not a 100% accurate as varying condition but the older finds are deeper.. In the are I hunt the new clad coin and tabs are in the 2-3 inch range and the older wheaties and silver is over 4..
Maybe try to find a fairly trash free site just to practice.. Just dig solid repeatable tones and you'll start getting them!!
Ray
Bye the way George stopped by and said good morning!!
 

Attachments

  • 1geo.JPG
    1geo.JPG
    33.9 KB · Views: 405
  • 1geo.JPG
    1geo.JPG
    33.9 KB · Views: 384
OP
OP
GodOfRustyNails

GodOfRustyNails

Jr. Member
Jul 8, 2007
38
0
South Bend, In
Detector(s) used
Whites M6
Wow! Thank you for all of the quick feedback! I can honestly say all replies up to this point have been EXTREMELY informative. I will be studying the "graph" (for a lack of better word) starting now. Thank you very much.
Steve
 

K

Kentucky Kache

Guest
Man, that is an ugly baby. I wouldn't have any more if I were you. ;D
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
Sounds like you need to find less trashy hunting grounds. I've hit some ruins sites, that had no activity after the 1840s, so we find no aluminum. Every signal will be old. Yes maybe old junk (slag, rivots, etc...) but "fun" junk :)

But if you don't have good sites lined up, and you are forced to hunt junky modern parks, don't be afraid to crank the disc. up. Yes, you would miss a small gold ring, but you can still get silver coins. This is sometimes the only way to hunt junky urban parks. Some persons will bristle at the thought of missing nickels or gold rings, but after 2 hrs. of digging tabs, (or 100 to 1 ratio of aluminum foil/tabs per nickel), they would leave anyhow (or get embarassed by the shear amount of holes they are digging). So there sometimes is a strategy to go for the silver, in spots where there is simply no other realistic choice, barring strip-mining.

If you are near any ocean beaches, you can hit them after storms erode them, and often times all the light-weight stuff is pulled out, leaving only the heavier items. So for example, a tab TID could never be a light-weight tab. It will be a key, or small fishing wieght, gold ring, etc....
 

Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
GodOfRustyNails said:
Wow! Thank you for all of the quick feedback! I can honestly say all replies up to this point have been EXTREMELY informative. I will be studying the "graph" (for a lack of better word) starting now. Thank you very much.
Steve

Remember: that chart is for a different make & model of detector. But it's a good starting example and probably a relative representation. Conductivity is conductivity and that's what detectors detect.
 

rcasi44

Full Member
Jul 24, 2006
143
0
NE Illinois
Here's the numbers for an MXT, the M6 is the same for VDI numbers. Just remember this only works some of the time. For example nickels will usually read 18 - 20 on our detectors but I've found them as low as 16 and as high as 24.


In an area with a lot of nails you may want to lock the tracking as the MXT will track the nails and miss some good target. Also if in tracking mode and you go over a good target enough times it will track it and you will lose the signal .
Coins and other non-ferrous (not magnetic) targets tend have sharp pinpoints and go from nothing to max to nothing very quickly,. Iron junk tends to have large broad pinpoints, they go slowly up to max and then down .
Most men’s wedding bands and ladies gold rings read in the 10 to 30 range in my soils.
Larger men’s rings and “class” type rings usually read in the 30 to 53 range. My best gold ring read57
Nickels usually read in the 18 to 22 range in my area soils.
Silver rings are usually not ignored by detectors as they usually read in the dime to quarter range A VDI number between 30 to 55 it is almost always a square pull tab or aluminum screw cap.But not always

Pay particular attention to those signals which register from +10 to +20. Probably 95% of all potential gold ring finds will register there. Rob

VDI Range Some Possible Targets found in this VDI Range:
-95 to - 20 Antique iron relics, Iron nails, rusty iron junk, hot rocks
-20 to 0 Small gold nuggets, gold earrings, gold chains, small bits of iron, gum wrappers, small bits of foil
0 to 15 Platinum rings, smallest gold rings, gold earrings, gold nuggets, sterling chains, larger foil pieces, gum wrappers, bits of chopped aluminum cans
15 to 30 Most gold rings, Gold nuggets, Gold $1, Nickels, oval pull tabs, bent tabs, bits of chopped aluminum cans, zipper tabs
30 to 45 Largest gold rings, larger gold nuggets, Gold $2.50, Copper Nickel cents (1856 to 1864), Silver War Nickels, most square pull tabs, iron bottle caps, small aluminum screw caps, Costume jewelry
45 to 60 Gold $5, Corroded zinc cents, 3 cent silver, zinc pot metal junk, costume jewelry, brass keys, small aluminum screw caps
60 to 70 Indian Head Cents, small sterling earrings, zinc cents, hot wheels cars, larger aluminum screw caps
70 to 78 Gold $10, modern copper cents, half cents, two cent pieces, small sterling rings and sterling jewelry, hot wheels cars
79 to 81 Gold $20, sterling silver rings, clad or silver dimes
82 to 88 Clad or silver quarters, heavy sterling silver rings, Sacajewea “golden” dollars, SB Anthony dollars, buried brass sprinkler heads
89 to 92 Clad or silver halves, large cents, buried brass sprinkler heads
93 to 94 Clad Eisenhower or silver dollars, large copper pipes
 

luvsdux

Bronze Member
May 16, 2007
1,767
690
Lewiston, Idaho
Detector(s) used
Multiple Tesoros and Whites
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I recently bought a slightly used MXT. I've had a good deal of experience with detectors so I was starting from a better level than a beginner. The MXT I bought came with the 4x6 shooter coil and a 5.3 coil as well as the standard 9.5. Okay, so the first time out, I went to a local park that is trash city. Had the same difficulties as mentioned in the original post on this thread and was somewhat discouraged. Went back to my vehicle and put on the 4x6. Man what a difference. Still finding plenty of trash targets but the smaller coil reads less at a time and I began getting good ids and digging coins. I still had to learn the machines reaction to some of the trash, but the smaller coil let me work thru the trash fairly smoothly. It worked so well that I expect that I will seldom, if ever, use the larger coil (s) in any areas other than those that are relatively trash free. Also, because smaller coils cover less area, one is forced to hunt a bit more slowly and for most of us, that's actually a good thing.
Dig often, Dig deep,
luvsdux
 

OP
OP
GodOfRustyNails

GodOfRustyNails

Jr. Member
Jul 8, 2007
38
0
South Bend, In
Detector(s) used
Whites M6
Okay,
took some of this well placed wisdom and took it on the road. I found a nice little spot right outside the Notre Dame campus and found a wooded spot. First spot I tried was trashy. I drug myself away from that area and went into a wooded area near by. The hits were definitely not as frequent and different...a lot different. I found several bullets, buckshot shell, a 1959 Roosevelt dime and (the highlight for me) the cap to a tin that had "3 Merry Widows Agnes - Mabel - Beckie." Turns out this is an old condom tin...no, not a tin for your used condoms, but they came (sorry) 3 to a tin. I am not sure who Agnes - Mabel - Beckie are, but I am looking forward to meeting them. I will post picts tomorrow if I can (I left the treasures at work). Thank you for your advice and help. It definitely made a difference and will continue making a difference.
Steve
 

Rowdy

Full Member
Jun 11, 2006
135
3
Virginia
Detector(s) used
Whites M-6
Steve,

Sounds like you are making progress quickly! As you probably noticed, the tones from the coin, and bullets were clear, and crisp. From what I have found, that is THE key to a good target. I have yet to dig an iffy signal, that wasn't junk!

I also just got the 4 X 6 coil for my M6, the difference between it and the stock coil in trashy ground is unbelievable! Remember, if the stock coil is over two targets at the same time, it may read either, target, or a combination of both.

If you get an iffy signal that is bouncing around, a lot of times if you work your way around it, it will change enough to let you identify it as trash.

Last thing, VDI numbers can vary from location to location. For examble arcasi44 said he gets pull tabs in the 30-55 range. Around here, for me, they are in the 14-20 range.

Keep working with it, there's a lot of info coming out of those headphones!
 

LI Tom

Bronze Member
Oct 19, 2006
1,035
169
The M6 is one of my 2 detectors and is a very good coin shooter.It sounds like you hunting in very trashy areas, when starting with a new unit,it is much better for your sanity to start is less trashy area,until you learn your unit,yes when the tone breaks up or double beeps its usually trash,but sometimes the trash is masking a good target.Some places are so bad each swing sounds like a machine gun.In this case am I going to dig every sound?No I'm going to play the odds and me a lot of frustration and cherrypick.In a place with less trash I can usually tell a nickel from a pulltab and I will dig.It's from using and learning your machine.It will come.The M6 is really fairly easy to learn.
 

John (Ma)

Silver Member
Jul 12, 2007
3,637
8
Western Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excal 1000, Tesoro Silver Umax, Tiger Shark and Whites MXT.
Steve, I don't know if your detector came with a video or not, but on White's website under videos they have very good video clips on the M6 on how to run and detect with your M6 detector.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top