Tejon and nickels... can I knock out tabs but keep nickels? It’s the sound?

[Rare_Hunter]

Not sure if that’s possible maybe there is something I don’t know... Can a guy knock out pull tabs however keep nickels? Or do you knock out pull tabs the way it sounds? Doing air tests & killer b headphones I cannot make out a sound difference! Am I missing anything? Thanks.

 

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[John (Ma)]

I actually am using the same set up and just got my Tejon, too. I have done air tests and found a couple of thawed spots today. I don't think that you can reject the tab and keep knickles. You could play with the discrimeter each time, but that is time consuming. I have been in areas that have pull tabs and it is tough. Due to only one tone, it makes it difficult, too.
However, by taking it outside, I am starting to ditinguish the crackling and popping people are talking about. I am finding that it's another ball game. I think it's just going to take time, practice and alot of trash digging to really get to know this machine. I did find a bracellet today with it and there was no mistake that it was a good signal.
The air tests were great to see how the detector works, but tuning my ear is happening out in the dirt. I hope the ground thaws more by next week so I can get back out there. Good luck with yours and I will keep an eye on this post also and I hope some experience with the Tejon will write , too.

 

[SaginawIan]

Yes, sort of. Take a nickel and a sample pull tab from the site you are hunting. Set Disc one to where the sound just barely crackles on a nickel. Set Disc two to crackle and break up on the tab. When you hit a crackle sound in disc one - it is likely a nickel. When you hit a repeatable target in disc one, quickly trigger over to Disc two. If it crackles - you know it's a tab. If it's solid on disc 2 - it's a more conductive target than a tab, which is usually a coin wheat, zinc,silver, etc. Problem is, screwcaps - if those are present, you will be (no pun intended) screwed

I can hear a tab on mine - it's like a sharp edgy beep - on the louder side. A coin is a "round" sounding smooth target that hits small and smooth. Also, pinpointing on a tab is usually more difficult - a telltale sign. Hope that helps,
Ian

 

[Philvis]

Thanks for that info SaginawIan. I will definitely be trying that out this weekend. I am still learning my Tejon and am always looking for more education on it!

 

[sqwaby]

The problem with tabs is there are at least 4 or 5 different types(alloys). Plus there are broken, round and square ones. No matter how you want to try and disc them and keep nickels you will be leaving some nickels behind.

 

[John (Ma)]

I agree with Squaby, I tried playing with the disk and it seems as though I either still get tabs as some react different or I do not get any nicklels. I set it right on where the tab disc out and some make no sound and some crackle. I was digging all kinds to see if I could single it out and I cannot as of yet. Though I am a new user of the Tejon, I have been logging some hours in parks to get used to the disc, ground balance and pinpointing. The woods are still on the frozen side around here anyway.

 

[SaginawIan]

I understand what you guys are saying - and maybe I made it seem too simple or easy. As you guys already know this is not fool proof and it is also a good point that different pull tabs bang differently. That's why I was saying if you tune it with the prevalent tab on your site - you should get close on the tab end. The nickle should be right on. If you have about 5 diffrent types of tabs - you might have to thumb your disc a bit and put a couple of stickies on your dial to find a "tab" range. It takes work, practice, and imagination, but honestly I feel like with the dual disc on the Tejon and some tinkering - you can be EXTREMELY accurate in identifying targets. I've got black marker all over my disc dials . . .

I can only say that this method works pretty darn good - oh yes, you will still dig some tabs(broken, mangled, or odd ones) , but you should save yourself 70 percent of them when you get used to it.

Oh yeah, another thing I do sometimes is dig about 10 tabs and get a sort of rough average of their depth and if it's like 4-5 inches - make a mental note of the tone it made (sound and shape). Then, when you get a similar tone - and combine this with the thumbing of the disc - you can fairly accurately identify a tab. If it's a softer / smaller(deeper) signal, it's likely an older coin.

I feel confident that I can tell the sound of a tab, though. After digging thousands I think it's safe to say that the sound has distinct characteristics. It's a sort of edgy sound - like sort of a "square" sound while a coin to me is honestly quite a "round" smooth sound. I know that's extremely vague - but I think that's the best way to describe it.


The only foolproof way? Go to a site was not occupied after 1960. It's a shame people are such slobs with their pop tabs, isn't it?

Good luck,

Ian

 

[GreenMeanie]

Just a reminder knocking out tabs will leave some gold behind.