AT Pro and bottle caps.

[Desert Don]

I've been using the Garrett AT Pro for about 8 months now, and I like it very much. But there is one thing that I would like it to do better. And that is to not hit so many darn bottle caps. I recently found a place that was once an old rest stop and gas station dating back to the 1920s or earlier. There is nothing left but rock foundations. I know that it predates Pull tabs, because I can not find even one on the ground. However, there are hundreds of bottle caps on the surface. Can anyone make a recommendation for the settings for the Pro that would take out bottle caps, and only leave in Pennys, dimes, and quarters or above. I'm not too worried about nickles or gold rings and such. I doubt there are many there anyway.

I still have my old Bounty Hunter Pioneer 505, and with that machine I could easily notch out bottle caps. Any suggestions?

Desert Don

 

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[John-Edmonton]

I only use concentric coils, for that very reason. They give more accurate discrimination ID, including bottle caps. All DD coils have a difficult time properly identifying bottle caps as such. If the mineralization is not to bad, a concentric coil is the way to go. If the mineralization in your soil is high, you might lose a little depth using a concentric coil over a DD, but will gain better ID capabilities.

Garrett has a nice article with photos on search coils. Garrett's Searchcoil Tech Sheet | How Searchcoils Work

 

[Murray8144]

i'm by no means an expert with the atpro (been using for about 6 months), but if the machine is run full blast (pro zero, no discrim) i often hear a dropoff in the tone on the sides when the target is a bottle cap. now granted, i still dig most targets that i think are bottle caps b/c i can't stand the chance that they're a seated half. but more often than not if i get that solid dropoff in tone both ways, it's a bottle cap. also fwiw i don't care how lousy the signal is if it's deep. if it's deep and repeatable it's gonna get dug up.

 

[pencil5757]

Great info! Thanks

 

[Desert Don]

I might just give a concentric coil a try...

DD

 

[Opie]

This first part of my post will sound real crazy, "but" I would collect the bottle caps if the location is that old. Some old bottle caps are actually getting a renewed interest from collectors. (A 1950's Pepsi cap in mint condition is listed for $1,200 on ebay) Not a lot of money in it for beat up caps, but enough to cover your battery cost.
Now if you want to drop them out use the discrimination same as your Bounty Hunter. Also the Iron audio feature will give a lower grunt sound just before the high tone and after in Pro mode on bottle caps. John is right with the concentric coil idea, but the target separation will slow down in heavy clad target areas. (Small puck concentric would be great) I would also work it to my advantage on collecting a few bottle caps to use in a test garden. Bottle caps have been made from different materials through the years and are a hard one to get around. Good Luck! Stay Gold!!

 

[Oo-v-oO]

Are you using Pro mode or standard?

 

[Bizzo]

I recently hunted a site very similar to this, I managed to pull a handful of coins out and only dug 4 bottle caps. I just run in pro zero, no discrimination, and sensitivity at max or 1 bar down. Just go really slow and when you get a nice solid high tone check the VDI, if it hits below 80 at all chances are it's not a coin. Some smashed up bottle caps will sound good and hit into the 80s, but they're usually not a very solid faint signal. Coins also have more defined edges than most bottle caps. If you use the wiggle pinpoint method, then 99% of coins stop giving a signal the second you get off the coin. Bottle caps get weaker and weaker before they disappear. There's a chance you'll miss some coins by cherry picking, but they likely won't be silver.

 

[K1DDO1979]

Usually only takes a second to check but most times with a lot of DD coils if you pull the coil away so the target is away from the middle and it's just able to pick up the target on the coils tip a beer cap,etc. will drop to a bad low jumpy signal but a coin will still stay a great high repeatable signal the whole time. If that makes any sense the way I wrote it! Haha

 

[digger460]

What Murray said

 

[Desert Don]

Are you using Pro mode or standard?

I have not used the Pro on the site I mention as of yet. Wanted to get some ideas first. But I have used it in other bottle cap infested areas in both Standard and Pro mode. In that case I just dug everything that sounded good. But there are so many at this new site, that I think I would get tired really fast. They are all very old, rusted and very damaged. Many are visible on the surface. I have not started to search this site yet. Will probably do so this coming weekend. I stopped by the site yesterday on my way home from work. I picked up a handful of caps to experiment with.

You guys are giving me some really good information and tips here. Sure do appreciate it.

DD

 

[Oo-v-oO]

Sounds like that will be a challenging site, but on the other hand all the bottle caps may be hiding good targets that others had given up on due to the caps.

Pro mode offers the big advantage of giving a low-high-low tone over bottle caps, most of the time. Standard mode just gives a high tone. The manual explains this. Once you recognize the signature sound of a cap it will make things a little easier but I have a feeling that you'll need to work the site many times, removing a certain percentage of the caps each time.

Good luck! Patience and perseverance may pay off.

 

[HenryWaltonJonesJr]

Regular Bottle caps are not a problem for me, it seems the ribbed edges always give off that tell-tale signal jump.
The ones that get me are the twist-off caps. Especially in parks that have a lot of homeless that drink this cheap beer.

I feel like GI-Joe...When I dig them, D*** You Cobra, you've struck again!

 

[cruiserkev]

I just dig them all up and check the hole again for good targets. I have found many coins and tokens that were hidden underneath this way. More work but worth it. Even found a full bottle of lucky beer the other day that apparently had been buried since the 70's by digging the bottle cap signal. Oh well, another one for the bottle collection. HH! ☺

 

[Chad1972]

If you have one of those broom magnets with the wheels and a long handle, you could run it around and clean up the area some.

 

[Desert Don]

If you have one of those broom magnets with the wheels and a long handle, you could run it around and clean up the area some. View attachment 1265395

Now that is not a bad idea...

DD

 

[Desert Don]

I went by the site today on my way home from a service call in the mountains. I was working and didn't have the detector with me. But I picked up these caps that were just on the surface. They were all within about 12 inches of one another. As you can see, they are pretty old. And I don't see one pull tab, aluminum cap, or pop top.



DD

 

[John-Edmonton]

I just dig them all up and check the hole again for good targets. I have found many coins and tokens that were hidden underneath this way. More work but worth it. Even found a full bottle of lucky beer the other day that apparently had been buried since the 70's by digging the bottle cap signal. Oh well, another one for the bottle collection. HH! ☺

Of course you gave given the best answer! Not all targets sounding similar to caps or coins are such. Lots of surprises show up and you are right on the money (pun intended) with bottle caps sometimes masking what's below.

 

[K1DDO1979]

Of course you gave given the best answer! Not all targets sounding similar to caps or coins are such. Lots of surprises show up and you are right on the money (pun intended) with bottle caps sometimes masking what's below.

Very true but if time is not on your side you may only be able to cherry pick the signals. I find in a lot of those old spots the good stuff is always somewhat deeper than the shallow caps. If it's sounds right and is the right depth then dig unless it's shallow and perfect sound then dig also of coarse. If no time for a long hunt then skip the 2"caps and go for the 4" coins, etc.! [emoji2]

 

[Desert Don]

Very true but if time is not on your side you may only be able to cherry pick the signals. I find in a lot of those old spots the good stuff is always somewhat deeper than the shallow caps. If it's sounds right and is the right depth then dig unless it's shallow and perfect sound then dig also of coarse. If no time for a long hunt then skip the 2"caps and go for the 4" coins, etc.! [emoji2]

Yes...time is sometimes the problem for me. I carry my detector in the car with me while I travel around the desert on service calls. Sometimes I'll see a good spot and will stop for just a few minutes. I am being tracked by GPS on my work phone, so I don't like to take any chances. I can always just say that I have stopped for my 10 minute break. I've done this many times, and so far nobody has said anything to me about it. They don't bother me much, as long as I take care of the customers first. Saturday and Sunday are the only days I can really get out there and spent time.

DD