Clearly Im doing something wrong here.

[trillionagesprout]

Clearly I'm doing something wrong here.

Okie, I'm starting to get kind of frustrated here.

I took my metal detector out for the first time the other day, and I've been using it every day since. The problem is that, well, I can't seem to be able to dig up whatever my detector is picking up.

I take my detector out to the backyard(it's an ace 250 for reference), and I hear a bell sound. So I go over the area several times with the detector, to make sure that there's actually something underground, and I point at the spot from different directions. And when I figure out where the center of my coil's pointing at and, presumably, where the cash in question is, I get to dig.

And I dig, and I dig, and I dig... and there's nothing there! Nothing! I spent a freaking hour digging up the last thing I picked up, and didn't find a thing!

I did manage to find some things, two weird trash items and this penny I buried out there so I could figure out how to use my detector. When I think about it, whenever I dug the holes, the items in question were always just outside of the hole, if you get my meaning -- I pulled one trash item out of the side of one hole I dug. Because of that, I'm not necessarily sure if it's me or not.

So, umm, any help?

 

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[Darod]

Re: Clearly I'm doing something wrong here.

Trillion,

Lonewolfe has offer some very good advice and info for you just above. What I would add is that when you work out a technique to search the soil/plug you dig up, you don't necessarily have to wave the soil/plugs "under" the coil to see if the target is in the dirt,....you can waive the soil/plug "OVER" the coil just as easily. Waiving the dirt over the coil is actually easier in most cases. ALSO, make sure the hand your holding the dirt in doesn't have any rings on the fingers lol I very simple mistake that could happen to anyone.

Another point,...when using your 250 you should find that the pinpoint is very good on the machine. To be honest with you I have found the pinpointer on the 250 to be about the best I have ever seen for a built in pinpointer!

If you watch the signal strength meter and stop when it is pegged, then you should be directly over the center of the target. The spot under the coil that is the center of the target is the small cutout "half circle" directly in the middle of the coil. See how that works for you. You can test this by simply placing a coin on the floor and then using your pinpointer to see where the signal strength is pegged out and see where that coin is in reference to the coil placement at the time.

OH, one more thing. When you pinpoint with the 250 make sure you DON'T press the pinpoint button while your directly over the suspected location of the target! This will not work at all! You should swing the coil to the side about 6-8 inches and THEN press the pinpoint button and hold it down until you see the meter peg out! And there the target should be

Hope this helps you and doesn't just get you all confused.

Rod

 

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[JW]

Re: Clearly I'm doing something wrong here.

I have a handheld pinpointer for finding the object at the bottom of the hole...don't know how I ever found anything without it!

Also check to see that the cable from your coil isn't giving you false hits as well.


HH
JW

 

[aj_chicago]

Re: Clearly I'm doing something wrong here.

I have had an ACE 250 as my first detector for the last month. Have had it out in the parks a few times and have already got a "good hang of it". I will vouch for what someone said earlier that the half-moon notch in the center of the coil is "thee spot", but you will have a hard time testing that on the carpet. In the field, I have found that the center of the coil at that half-moon notch is the sweet spot, not inside the heel or the toe of the coil. I find pinpointing, following the instructions and good advice given here to be right on with the ACE 250. Depth is usually good on a coin, but I have also dug a crushed aluminum can at 6" that registered solidly as a quarter at 2". It's not perfect, but it's damned good! If it registers a dime or quarter solidly, without jumping a notch, you can bet it's a dime or quarter 90% of the time. I, too, have found that running sensitivity at half or 4 notches is best. What I have done at times is swing it over ground next to a sidewalk or paved driveway. If the sensitivity is too high I usually get a single false bleep. I crank it down a notch until no bleep close to or over the sidewalk/driveway. Four notches on sensitivity seems to work good everywhere.

 

[Monty]

Re: Clearly I'm doing something wrong here.

One thing I have found out is that the bigger the coil the harder it is to pinpoint. My standard procedure when I am on a serious dig and not just practicing is to: Lay out a grid and limit the size to one you can work within an hour or so. There is a tendency to make your grid too lare if you intend to cover the area thorouighly. I then go over the area quickly with my larest 10" or even my 8" coil and mark the hits with a flag ( like one used to mark utilities). I then go back with my small 4" coil and seperate and pinpoint the various hits. Onlly then do I start digging. The 4" coil will pinpoint a target very precisely and is much easier to use for that purpose. Although it sounds time consuming I find that I spend a lot less time than trying to slowlly expand a hole when I miss a target.

 

[another _novice]

Re: Clearly I'm doing something wrong here.

my suggestion - use electrical tape to tape the wire to the stem just above the coil. When the wire is loose, I get a lot of signals just as you have described.

Okie, I'm starting to get kind of frustrated here.

I took my metal detector out for the first time the other day, and I've been using it every day since. The problem is that, well, I can't seem to be able to dig up whatever my detector is picking up.

I take my detector out to the backyard(it's an ace 250 for reference), and I hear a bell sound. So I go over the area several times with the detector, to make sure that there's actually something underground, and I point at the spot from different directions. And when I figure out where the center of my coil's pointing at and, presumably, where the cash in question is, I get to dig.

And I dig, and I dig, and I dig... and there's nothing there! Nothing! I spent a freaking hour digging up the last thing I picked up, and didn't find a thing!

I did manage to find some things, two weird trash items and this penny I buried out there so I could figure out how to use my detector. When I think about it, whenever I dug the holes, the items in question were always just outside of the hole, if you get my meaning --? I pulled one trash item out of the side of one hole I dug. Because of that, I'm not necessarily sure if it's me or not.

So, umm, any help?

 

[Monty]

Re: Clearly I'm doing something wrong here.

Well wouldn't you kjow it? I went out this morning to a park where there is a playground surrounded by pea gravel, a basketball court and a softball diamond. I took my new 10" coil to cover the ball field as it was quicker on a large area. I worked all along the sidelines where the fans sit and the teams use for a dugout, around the backstop and in the infield. To my surprise the targets were very easy to pinpoint with the 10" coil and I didn't miss a one! I take back what I said before. By using the "X" method I found ever target dead center of the coil! I wouldn't have thunk it!