It is a nightmare with the 350. I know I just bought he thing but I should have got a detector with VDI. I am definately upgrading next year.
.... I would rather dig a hundred bottle caps or pull tabs that day than walk away from a gold ring that happen to have a $10,000 diamond sitting in it.....
Well, or you can look at it this way too: If you're at a place (turf anyhow) where you would average "100 bottle caps and pulltabs" for each gold ring, then ...... perhaps that's not the best place to be ring hunting .... TO BEGIN WITH. I can think of blighted turf zones where the ratio would be more like 1000 to 1. So the admonition to someone to "lower your disc. and dig tabs and caps till your arms fall off" as the "recipe for finding gold rings", can border on the ridiculous. There comes a point, in some search locations, where it simply becomes not worth your while. There are some places (underneath junky bleachers for instance) where a persons time is better spent going for the silver, and not trying to be a "hero" and look for gold (or nickels, etc...).
Thus if gold rings were someone's objective, then .... you have to question the location, if you're having such horrible junk ratios. The advice to simply "dig junk till your arms fall off" is NOT the recipe for finding gold rings. Lower disc. levels is already a "given". The REAL factor is WHERE you are hunting. Ie.: location. If gold rings is your objective, you've got to pick locations where it's more condusive to jewelry losses, and less junky, to begin with. Namely: swimming beaches. Your ratios are much better there, than junky blighted ghetto parks. And ...... doh .... sand is easier to dig in
Sorry, they are 95% crown caps. The areas around here have a great number of lower socio-economic population and well quite frankly a lot of slobs.
But there is a lot of American history in this area too, so I guess I will just keep digging. Did hit a soccer field area of a local park and in a 3" x 50 yard area there were over a 100 hits. Dug about 20 coins out and fund a pocket spill of a 50 cent piece and 6 quarts with the oldest being only 1971. There must be 1000's of hits in the field.
Daryn, ok, to analyze your post line-by-line:
a) now that you've told us they are crown caps (and not screwcaps) that are bedevilling you, me thinks you're not using your machine right. Most machines can reject those. If it's true that the 350 is letting them come into any of the conductive categories (even after setting it for "bottle cap reject"), then here's the next step to take: Crown caps (ESPECIALLY RUSTY ONES) will have a very tell-tale audio difference when you alter the sweep speed. They tend to "break up" when you momentarily speed up your swing clip over the spot. Contrast to if it's a coin (or some such conductive target), and the signal will not break up with altered/varying swing speeds. Of course this assumes you've got your target centered good (because it can also "break up" if you're not centered over the strongest spot). Once you're getting your signal clearly on each swing, then speed up the speed to a fast little "whip". If it breaks up, then it's likely a crown cap. Practice a little, dig a bunch after comparing audio, and see if this trick works. This trick was VERY pronounced in the early days of motion discriminators (late 1970s/early '80s). However, the swing speed has been slowed way down. Yet the "trick" is still there, to a lesser degree, but can still be used.
If that doesn't work, then I'd say the 350 is a lame machine and time to upgrade. Because on most machines I've used in the last umpteen years, crown-caps are easily learned and passed (if you so choose to be that picky, that is).
b) If you're digging 100 targets, of which 20 turn out to be coins, and the oldest of them is "1971", then ..... I'd say you have a lame spot (unless you're really turned on by clad). I can go out and dig 100 targets, and have every single last one of them be a coin, if I wanted (if I chose to be that selective). Maybe interupted only by a car key, brass washer, or something coin-like. I suppose though, that you are in low disc. (and thus digging every last tab, foil wad, etc.., right? Or were you in high disc?). If so, then are you trying to be a hero and find nickels and/or gold? If so, with ratios like that, I'd say this is not the environment to be a hero like that (unless you just enjoy digging junk).
The "dig all" relic-mindset is for the beach, or relicky sites (old town demolitions, ghost towns, ruins, etc...). But at junky inner city turfed parks, I'd go for the old coins. Oh sure, you can be a hero and try to get gold jewelry, but .... there are parks that your average will be 1000+ before you'll ever get a gold ring. You'd be much better off to cruize all the sand boxes in your town (or find a swimming beach) if gold is your desired goal.
Or if you really must hunt turf in your quest for gold jewelry, here's another idea: turf that is/was used for picnicking is bound to be MUCH more junky, that turf that was/is used for athletics. Because anywhere that people eat, they're going to disgard foil (foil that wrapped their food, candy, etc...) and tabs and caps (from sodas). And with BBQ pits, there'll be molten globs from people who put their cans on the fire, or cooked in foil, etc.... HOWEVER at athletic fields (soccer, etc...) they're not typically used for people cooking food, sitting at picnic tables eating, etc.... AND they are SPECIFICALLY used for physically aggressive "frolicking" motion (athletic) activities. That bodes much better for jewelry coming off and being flung, dis-lodged, etc... Some turf doubles for multiple things, I know. But if you know of turf that's *strictly* for athletics, your jewelry vs junk ratio will be better.
However, still not as good as swimming beaches. Because the very nature of swimming is the most condusive for jewelry losses. Cool waters shrink fingers. People lathering up with slippery suntan lotion. People thrusting their hands into sand which affords a "pulling" motion on their fingers (pulls rings off). People lying prone on the sand (an un-natural position, as opposed to the normal standing position) to sun-bathe. And my favorite: People taking off their jewelry for "safekeeping" before they swim (and hide it in their shoe or something ). And of course: sand is easier to dig in.
The 350 sucks ive spend alot of hours using mine the only thing you can do with the bottle caps is sweep your coil back twards you and watch for the vdi to bounce to iron ....but it doesnt work on every cap sometimes they just give the steady quarter/dime hit...i wouldnt do this in old sites you will miss the good targets but in the parks by all meens sweep the coil back and watch for the bouncy iron/quarter dime hits then you can see there bottle caps
Not true.I agree with you. Gonna be upgrading to something different next year. Was going to be the ATPro but tried one out and it has the same inherent Garrett issue with tootle caps. Suggestions on a detector in the $600 range with VDI would be greatly appreciated. Mostly gonna use at parks and forests with the occasional beach use.