Confidence Issue!

[Phishfindr]

Have you ever lost confidence in your otherwise dependable detector? I'm relatively new to this glorious hobby, but I researched a lot before I bought. After getting the one I chose, it worked really well for 4 months. Lots and lots of finds. Nothing over the top, but lots of cool finds. And then it went haywire out of nowhere. (I purchased an inexpensive Plan B in a pinch for vacation, while it was in the shop, that turned out to be really sweet.)

A trip back to the factory, and the "All Clear" sign was given with a new coil and a new control pad. And then I get the ultimate permission last week on a very old and all but virgin site. I scored some really nice things, including my 1st silver and an 1800's button. But the signals are so different than what I've been used to. Weak, choppy, occasionally strong (like they used to be frequently) but ultimately confusing more times than not. Unless it's a solid tone, I get a lot of "garbled" tones to try to determine in my head before I decide to get down and dig. And I end up digging A LOT in very hot weather currently only to find junk.

I try to compensate for the usual suspects with sensitivity setting adjustments, discrimination, etc., but it doesn't seem to feel like it used to. Worse than that, I second guess a lot of signals now. I will dismiss a choppy signal as junk. I think that's costing me a lot of potential treasure! And the site is likely a huge opportunity.

Is it me??

 

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[Diggin-N-Dumps]

I dont know how long you have been doing this total...but when I first started I thought my machine was jacked up for awhile and was missing stuff. It turned out that I really didnt understand what the machine was doing. I seriously still learn stuff after 8 years detecting..but alot of it could do with the place too.

I had permission to hunt an old farm with a log cabin that was tore down around the turn of the century, and I couldnt find squat in months of hunting it. My buddy goes out there and finds a merc within 20 mins...but i was getting werid signals and nothing made sense, I went back out years later and noticed it didnt seem that way.

Of course you want to make sure your machine is good to go. Even when I got my CTX, I thought I was losing my mind thinking it was the machine....but a couple years of it...now its my best freind.

I would try and test in a good clean area and see how it performs.

Good luck!

 

[Phishfindr]

Thanks D-N-D! It's driving me a bit nuts this week...and so is the heat and humidity! Perhaps the fall will yield better conditions...

 

[Nitric]

I have a few different machines, but the one I use the most, is the one I started with. It seems no matter how good the machine is or was supposed to be in the past. Different soils, how moist the ground is, and the depth of the targets,Junky areas, all cause the machine to act funny.

I do it for fun and usually have my machine set sensitive for deep targets, if the are real deep they will register the same as junk. I dig everything usually. That's where I've found deep mercury dimes, Indians, and everything else including junk.

I do set it a little higher when I don't want to dig everything out of someones yard, just go for the strong signals and move on. Even then if I go somewhere else with the same settings? The thing may chirp like crazy and drive you nuts because of the minerals in the soil or whatever.

Like I said thats just my experience with an old machine. But from reading your post, I remember feeling the same way when I first started detecting. I think it's just part of the fun and the hunt.

Added....I also know that when I get excited in an area and start going too fast? I have to tell myself to calm down. That's when you start missing things.

My dad lives in a house built in the 1880's. We have gone over the property at least 100 times. And every year we get the detectors out to play around and find stuff we missed before. Because now the property isn't as exciting to hunt, so we have slowed down and are detecting just goofing around most of the time.

 

[BosnMate]

If you have permission like you are talking about, dig everything, then go back over it from a different direction. I would, there is no telling what you might find.

 

[Javadroid]

not to be missed in your post - congrats on those nice finds you pulled!

 

[mrwilburino]

Since you got your machine fixed, have you used it at any sites that you have hunted before, or just at this new site? Could be that you're dealing with different ground mineralization and (or) trash levels/composition than you are used to. If the machine is behaving differently at sites where it previously worked well, it could mean that it needs another trip back to the factory.

 

[Phishfindr]

I have a few different machines, but the one I use the most, is the one I started with. It seems no matter how good the machine is or was supposed to be in the past. Different soils, how moist the ground is, and the depth of the targets,Junky areas, all cause the machine to act funny.

I do it for fun and usually have my machine set sensitive for deep targets, if the are real deep they will register the same as junk. I dig everything usually. That's where I've found deep mercury dimes, Indians, and everything else including junk.

I do set it a little higher when I don't want to dig everything out of someones yard, just go for the strong signals and move on. Even then if I go somewhere else with the same settings? The thing may chirp like crazy and drive you nuts because of the minerals in the soil or whatever.

Like I said thats just my experience with an old machine. But from reading your post, I remember feeling the same way when I first started detecting. I think it's just part of the fun and the hunt.

Added....I also know that when I get excited in an area and start going too fast? I have to tell myself to calm down. That's when you start missing things.

My dad lives in a house built in the 1880's. We have gone over the property at least 100 times. And every year we get the detectors out to play around and find stuff we missed before. Because now the property isn't as exciting to hunt, so we have slowed down and are detecting just goofing around most of the time.

Nitric-I think you nailed it! Thanks for the reply...very helpful!

 

[Phishfindr]

not to be missed in your post - congrats on those nice finds you pulled!

Thanks!

 

[releventchair]

Confidence comes with experience and faith in your equipment. Even then ,some conditions can void a lot of faith.

You need to know your detector is working right each time you use it. Digging a couple iffy targets or more helps.

I once had a custom setting dialed in and kicked butt. Shortly after on another long varied site hunt I had two Lincolns to show for it. L.o.l..

Either your detector was upgraded in components ( or down graded) during service or it still is not right.
A possibility is that with different components than the original , you are learning a new detector....

 

[Phishfindr]

Confidence comes with experience and faith in your equipment. Even then ,some conditions can void a lot of faith.

You need to know your detector is working right each time you use it. Digging a couple iffy targets or more helps.

I once had a custom setting dialed in and kicked butt. Shortly after on another long varied site hunt I had two Lincolns to show for it. L.o.l..

Either your detector was upgraded in components ( or down graded) during service or it still is not right.
A possibility is that with different components than the original , you are learning a new detector....

Thanks. I took mrwilburino's advice and went out into my yard just now with a variety of coins and objects.(from silver, to copper, to junk) I'm almost embarrassed to say that the F22 nailed everything just like it did before repairs. The soil at my new location is basically a huge nursery located on a farm that dates back to the late 1600's. The soil is very dark, dense, and compacted. Very different than anything I've hunted since I started in March. Lesson learned. I feel better about the next hunt!

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

That's why I do a default reset each time I use my detector and also keep a test garden of objects buried in the yard.

So I know it's on-line and ready.

 

[huntsman53]

A person has to have confidence in their' metal detector to do well at finding treasures (coins, jewelry, relics, etc.) just like a Bow Hunter has to have confidence in their' Hunting Bow to make the shot when it matters! If you don't have confidence in your' equipment, it is easy to lose interest. If your' metal detector has a function to reset it back to the Factory settings, you might try that. Also, always make sure that all of the batteries have a full charge and that one or two are not weaker as this can wreak havoc on a metal detector. It is understandable that there may be some changes in a metal detector that comes back from getting repairs, a checkup or tune-up but these changes should not be significant from the Factory settings and the metal detector should function nearly the same as it was new or even better. If it doesn't, then it might be a good idea to return it to the Repair Center with a good write up of the problems. I got my' first metal detector, a used White's 2000-D back in 1979 and it was awesome at finding targets and I got used to the signals and most of the time, I knew it was a good target or just junk. After having it for three or four months, the audio went out totally on it and I sent it back to the White's factory for repairs and asked for a hot tune-up. Well, to give you an idea of what I got back, I offer this: I sent White's my' trusty 1965 Mercury Comet with a "L' six cylinder engine and a automatic transmission, what I got back was a 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback with a turbo charged 428 cubic inch engine and a 4 speed transmission with a Hurst shifter. While it was a great metal detector before the audio went out, it was a super metal detector when it came back and stayed that way until I sold it in 1985 or 1986 because I needed some money for bills. Selling that metal detector was one of the biggest mistakes I have made in my life!


Frank

 

[b3y0nd3r]

Change just one thing and see what happens. Sweep speed, sensitivity, discrimination, frame of mind, or anything. Just one. See what difference that makes. Get used to the change and then make another.