Hunting a farm field with CTX 3030

[jbc465]

While hunting a farm field which had an old home site with a couple of grave markers dating to 1920. There had been a low spot on the property where ducks and geese would gather. That is how I found the place while hunting the birds. Now I have been hunting this spot on and off with my metal detector. I have found shotgun brass minus the paper, some old center fire and a few rim fire pistol cartridges. I have found a war nickel, couple of wheaties from the 40's, a 20 centavos, mercury dime from the 20's and today found a copper rowel from a spur. Also digging lots of aluminum can slaw. I have been hunting using the relic mode and the coin mode. I have been ignoring a lot of the iron signals. Looking for mainly the signals in about the 12.01 thru the 12.46.
If there was a post hole bank, coins in a coffee can, or maybe in a piece of cast iron pot. Would the signal be in the iron area of the screen or would it show the coins value.
Any help here would be appreciated. Thanks John

 

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[Pointman]

That is a good question. I am not sure if I can give you an affirmative or proven answer, but I feel that the can will mask the readings from the coins. I don't think there is a detector invented that will read through a complete iron mask. I think that some, like the CTX are better at picking between good targets and junk, like a nail sitting on top or close to a coin, but I don't feel that it will read through a scenerio as you explain.

With the CTX, the readings can be off if a coin is in the presence of iron, or more typically the numbers will jump back and forth where it is reading one or the other separately. If you can get somewhat of a stable reading in the coin range, always dig it. Sometimes switching over to an all metal mode briefly will clean up the jumping signals or at least make the sounds more distinct between the iron and the high conductive targets even for second to enable you to get a good pinpoint to dig. Also try and approach from a different angle while doing the above will clean up some signals.

Another interesting thing that I have just recently learned from the Thomas Dankowski video is what is called "silent masking". He takes a small staple and puts it directly over a coin. A few inches deeper he buries a coin. The staple's signal actually causes the signal to mask over and around the coin, not giving an audible reading. I would think that there would still be a broken threshold, but I don't think it would illicit someone to dig. Essentially it causes an "umbrella". I am not totally sure if all machines are affected 100% by this, but I am sure that it will cause problems to a certain extent on all machines.

 

[Jackalope]

If there was a post hole bank, coins in a coffee can, or maybe in a piece of cast iron pot. Would the signal be in the iron area of the screen or would it show the coins value.

The magnetic field would be drawn to the higher permeability of an iron pot or can, driving the field lines through the metal surface. The can/pot will respond to the field but the coins inside will not. The response you'll receive depends upon the metal makeup (alloy) of the container, oxidation state of the metal, its orientation, depth, and soil mineral concentration.

A deep iron object can appear as non-ferrous due to the larger surface area able to produce eddy currents (R). At the same time its iron nature will bend the field energy giving a different impact on the receive coil (+X). The net effect is likely to produce a jumpy TID with high FE values jumping but also higher CO values, unless the target is very rusted, in which case the stronger reactive signal would cause high FE with low CO.

Make a container that you suspect mimics the state of the target container and bury it at the depth you'd expect ... see how it would respond.

Jackalope