newbie has a question

[fastfingers]

I just bought a Prism IV and have used it a few times. (I do love it). I was MD'ing in the back yard where I grew up as my sister told me she lost a ring my grandmother gave her from Italy 30 years ago there. ( I did get permission from the owner.) FOUND A 1943 silver quarter !! My First !! After detecting for two hours I took off my ring and threw it on the ground. the MD showed a ring on the display. Then I buried it four inches down and NOTHING showed on my MD, not one sound. I felt like I wasted two hours of MD'ing. Am I doing something wrong. I Had all the discrimination off except for the nails and the sensitivity way up. HELP !!! I was hoping to find that ring, but now I'm not sure if I've already swept over it and I've missed it. Thanks for the help

 

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[jeff of pa]

Freshly Buried items don't detect as deep.
Even gold.

I'm not familiar with your detector, but
4 Inches don't sound too deep.
even for a freshly buried Ring.
unless the ring is Tiny.

Do you have sensativity Settings ?

do you use Headphones ?

Don't trust Meters.

 

[GarrettDealer]

It "should" have found it. I've never been a big fan of the prism series though. I sell both and compared to it the Ace 250 is all that and a bag of chips. If you buried it at 4 inches and had the discrimination and sensitivity set as you said thats just not right. Are you scrubbing the ground with the coil or are you waving it side to side like a pendulum?

 

[fastfingers]

I don't know what you mean by scrubbing. I was waving it like a pendulum. I had no headphones on. Sensitivity was set high.

 

[fastfingers]

Tried buying my ring again.

and at four inches down it still wasn't getting picked up by my Prism IV. It picks it up on the ground, but when I bury it down a few inches, nothing. Any ideas? I have the sensivitivy way up

 

[GarrettDealer]

By scrubbing I mean that if your coil is ever not FLAT to the ground and sitting RIGHT on top of it (not hovering above) then you are not getting maximum depth. Imagine that you are trying to smooth out an imaginary layer of sand on the ground while you scan with the detector.

 

[fastfingers]

QUESTION FROM NEWBIE

Just started MD'ing. Spent all afternoon in the backyard where I grew up looking for a ring my sister lost 30 years ago. After a few hours I decided to throw my wedding ring on the ground, which my Prism IV picked up. I buried my ring 4 inches down and covered it with dirt. My MD went right over it without a sound. Had the sensitivity way up. Buried it a couple more times and still silence. Tried my other rings and the same thing . Any ideas why it's not picking up rings

 

[TreasureTales]

Did you bury your ring on edge or flat? Did you set your detector to all-metals? Unfamiliar with your particular machine, but most work about the same. Get some headphones when you can - they will extend your battery life, make fewer enemies (people don't like to hear something peeping all the time), and make the deeper and fainter signals easier to hear. As far as your detector not picking up your ring, I'd say you just need to experiment a little more and re-read the instruction manual. It's amazing what we can learn from it after we've tried using the detector for a little while. Good luck!

 

[GarrettDealer]

I'd say you just need to experiment a little more and re-read the instruction manual. It's amazing what we can learn from it after we've tried using the detector for a little while. Good luck!

http://www.whiteselectronics.com/manuals/2004_Models/Prizm Combined Manual.pdf

 

[jeff of pa]

Are you searching With a Slight tone
Or silent search ? (No tone till you get a signal)

You need a slight tone & Headphones.

& as GarrettDealer says. No air between the Coil & the Grass.

 

[fastfingers]

Just remember I'm new to this, I don't know what you mean by a SLIGHT TONE. The MD only beeps when I hit a target and I dont use headphones. How do I search with a tone ?? Thanks. PS. I think I did have air between the grass and coil.

 

[GarrettDealer]

Just remember I'm new to this, I don't know what you mean by a SLIGHT TONE. The MD only beeps when I hit a target and I dont use headphones. How do I search with a tone ?? Thanks. PS. I think I did have air between the grass and coil.

I'm pretty sure that the prism 4 doesn't have a tone mode(threshold hum mode). The closest thing to it is pinpoint mode. Also if you had some air then you weren't getting max depth.

 

[fastfingers]

I was NOT in all metal mode either. I discriminated against the nails. I'm going out in the backyard and burying my ring again. I'm sure the ALL METAL MODE with pick up the ring, along with everything else, but I really want to find that ring for my sister. THANKS EVERYONE. I've learned A LOT just with this one question AND I did find a 1953 Silver Quarter to boot !!!

 

[TreasureTales]

Congrats on finding the silver coin. Now go find that ring for your sister!!! And please post pictures if you find it, we love pictures!!! Happy hunting and good luck!

 

[slow sweeper]

Maybe the ring has already been found. But the fact that you found two silver quarters makes that unlikely. Another detectorist that might have found the ring most likely would have found the two quarters as well.
Rings are generally a fairly small target. It could be that it is being masked by a nearby trash target. One option would be to reduce your discrimination and clean up some of the surface trash to enable your detector to "see" a bit deeper.
And don't worry about the quality of the Prizm IV. White's has been around a long, long, time. You don't last in such a competitive business without manufacturing a quality product.
The reality is you just may never find that ring. But congrats on the two silver quarters. Good job!

 

[HaveFaith]

I own a Prizm II and I have found that I can actually go pretty deep with it, I have dug down at least 8", But that was the only time I have hit that depth. I think that thePrizm line is good. Of course, with that being said, it has been my only MD'or. I haven't had any trouble at all, it's super easy to use, and I have found some really nice finds with it. Good Luck and HH!!!

Eileena

 

[piggman1]

I recently found my first gold jewelry after many years of searching. My old detector, a Compass X-100, I would set to not pick up most pull tabs. That was the reason. Now I have a Whites Spectrum and I can set it up to detect in the gold range (low on the discrimination - accept +1 to +23) and reject most pull tabs (reject +24 to +59) and accept (+60 to +94). This saves me alot of digging trash and brings in mainly coins and silver rings. The gold I found was in the low accept range of +8. This low end acceptance allows for gold up to nickels. The high acceptance allows for pennies, dimes, quarters, and silver rings. If you have a notch type of discimination on your unit, you might want to try that. There was one one my Compass X-100 but I never used it and that's why I never found the gold.

 

[Tricia]

Have a prizm II and it's sensitive enough. When I was just learning how to use it I dug 14 inches into sand to find a crushed soda can. Thought I had me the lost pirate treasure with the way the thing was beeping. Hahaha

During that same outing I thought I hit the mother load again when the beeps were strong but the sensitivity was turned way down. Was detecting under a pier at low tide. Yup, you guessed it....I found the pilings that held the pier up.

I have since resigned myself to the fact that I probably won't be finding the lost fleet's lost booty but it is a nice way to spend an afternoon. Get exercise and I clean up the parks. Hey they parks should be paying me to dispose of their slightly buried trash.

Don't worry, you'll figure out exactly how to use that machine to your advantage.