Repeatability of Targets?

[Monty]

As most of you know I have a new detector and am trying to learn how to operate it properly. I am having problems of getting targets to repeat. In other words I will be swinging slowly as per the manuel in an area and get a "hot" signal. When I go back to where I got the signal, I can't get it to repeat. It's as if the object has disappeared! Is this the "chatter" I am reading about and if not, what gives? I can approach the same spot over and over, from several different angles and ....nothing!

Second question: How do you hunt pea gravel around playground equipment? I can't swing the coil a consistent distance above the gravel as it has valleys and peaks from footprints. Result? Inconsistent signals and lots of false hits. I dig, dig, dig and nothing there! The gravel beneath the surface is usually really wet and once the first two inches or so of dry gravel is removed the signal sounds different.... from the moisture I suppose?

Suggestions? Comments?

 

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[jeff of pa]

sounds to me Your Detector is having problems Discriminating Properly, & giving false signals, when you stop & check closly, it is then functioning properly & removing the signal from the Ground. this could be caused by one of several things. or a combination of 2 or more. Ground Balance (conditions), Disc. setting, Operator , or machine.? ..................... on your other Question. Wet Ground Definately is different thed Dry. Wet is more Conductive. . I don't hunt play Grounds, so can't answer the rest

 

[1320]

Get a scuff cover and hug the ground, forget about a consistent distance above the ground.

I have one machine that will give me false signals when I have it set to "Max Boost", lowering the boost corrects it.

Have another machine that will chirp and burp when the humidity is high.

Sometimes just shutting the machine down for 30 seconds seems to work, sometimes a new battery....placebos?!

One thing is certain, if you're not confident with the machine, you'll never realize your potential with it.

We are quick to blame our machines but I'm willing to bet it's technique.

I've had nickels that "disappear" once they were removed from the ground and I'm sure I've had other targets over the years that have done the same. Just gotta keep looking....

Hang in there, you'll hit the machines sweet spot eventually. Try some different settings, experiment.

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

Hello Jimmileo, ?I will try to give you some insight and see if this will help you. ?In theory, a repeatable response will indicate a good target, and one that will not repeat will be a trash target. ?Chatter will be the popping sounds that you hear and they can be caused by the detector responding to a target just below the level that you have set your discrimination at or a response due to improper set up of your detector.

I would suggest that you go to an "open area," and dig both repeatable signals as well as non-repeatable signals in order to learn how your detector is working. ?You might have to use the all medal mode to pinpoint the non-repeatable signal, or lower your discrimination setting. ?You must remember that parks and schools are heavily hunted, and there is lots of trash at those sites, thus lots of non-repeatable signals on trash items like pull tabs. ?

In regards to not finding an item in the pea gravel, the item may be falling to the bottom of the pea gravel or moving with the pea gravel as you are searching for it. ?

You did not state if your detector was a fixed ground balance or adjustable ground balance type. ?If it is a adjustable ground balance detector, it must be properly ground balanced or you can lose depth of detection as well as have erratic operation of the detector. ?

If you have a local dealer in your area, you might consider seeking personal help from him. ?If you bought the detector from him, he should be willing to help you. ?If you did not buy the detector from him, offer to pay him for his services, it could be money well spent. ?You could also see if a friend with lots of experience in your area would give you some help.

Hang in there, just a matter of time and you will be finding lots of good things! ?Kelley (Texas)

 

[Monty]

Kelly, it has adjustable ground balance and I usually balance it before I get started. It also has adjustaable descrimination and a "voice" adjustment which I haven' figured out fully yet. I found some errors in their manual and they haven't sent me a corrected copy yet. I'm sure the problem is not the machine rather the operator. I can't do much about the machine so I am working on fixing the operator!

 

[Lowbatts]

Another possibility is the medium. You said pea gravel, that very often means coins on edge. So if your original post referred to good targets giving broken signals at first, then with a bit of digging or a foot swipe you get repeatable audio indication, and do find a coin, most likely you have flattened the plane of the target in the gravel or brought the coil close enough to give the repeatable indication.

 

[slow sweeper]

Hello all. Here's my two cents worth. I'm still using an old Classic III and the few times I've come across pea gravel I've gotten nothing but false signals. No matter how I tweaked the old girl I could not get rid of the false signals. I chalked it up to the pea gravel being extremely mineralized. After I get my new detector I'll go back and try again. Dave.

 

[Vingamel]

I did a test with my very thin white gold ring. I buried it so it was standing on edge, and I got the same non-repeating beep. I had to literally scrub the spot to get the signal to finally beep. What I did find was that if I tilted my loop up, I could get the signal better. So now, when I get those mystery beeps, I tilt my coil all around, trying from different angles.