Sweeping speed

[jf504mp]

Hi all and thanks for you advice and tips in advance. Is it true that the slower you sweep the better results you have?
I have a few months before I can get back out there. I have never had any great luck at finding anything much older than one 1946 Merc.

I have tried what I thought was a pretty slow sweep. would like pros and cons........

 

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[Frankn]

It's not the sweep speed that counts, it's training your ears to catch the brief blips of sound. The refresh rate of your detector also plays a big part. I scan fast with my XLT and Surfmaster PI on ground and sand.I cover a wide sweep fast. If you go fast, you cover a lot of area so you are more likely to find something. That slow scan was required for old detectors with a slow refresh speed, but not the latest vintage. It has become an old wives tale. Frank

 

[TORRERO]

Hi all and thanks for you advice and tips in advance. Is it true that the slower you sweep the better results you have?
I have a few months before I can get back out there. I have never had any great luck at finding anything much older than one 1946 Merc.

I have tried what I thought was a pretty slow sweep. would like pros and cons........

I know that I am going to get beat up for this, but the slower you sweep, the more inconsistent the signal becomes.
The faster you sweep the the better more crisp a signal becomes.
We are not talking about swishing like the grim reaper, but a relatively fast sweep will give you a
clean consistant signal as a slow "stop over the noise" kind of sweep will give you an inconsistent
sound.
Except for Pulse machines, all machines are "Motion Detectors" where a target has to be moving under the coil to even get a signal.
your machine monitors the return signal something like 400 times a minute or 8 to 10 times a second.
you can not swing fast enough to outswing that circuit.

but a good average speed swing works best, and for me, once I get a signal if I speed up the swing
and the target becomes eratic, then it's most likely a trash signal or very deep.
But coins or good targets will continue to sound good or better the faster you sweep the coil over them.
My 2 cents..

 

[Jason in Enid]

It depends on the detector you are using. The E-Trac can handle an incredibly slow sweep speed, but others NEED a higher sweep speed. The best advice is to read the recommendations in the owners manual.

Every detector has an optimum sweep speed, but can tolerate a little slower or faster sweep. Sweeping faster in some machines will get you a little cleaner target response (if they can handle the speed). Sweeping slower can help separate good targets close to trash (if they can handle the slower speed).

It has nothing to do with old wives tales of antiquated detectors.

 

[jeff of pa]

It depends on the detector you are using. The E-Trac can handle an incredibly slow sweep speed, but others NEED a higher sweep speed. The best advice is to read the recommendations in the owners manual.

Every detector has an optimum sweep speed, but can tolerate a little slower or faster sweep. Sweeping faster in some machines will get you a little cleaner target response (if they can handle the speed). Sweeping slower can help separate good targets close to trash (if they can handle the slower speed).

It has nothing to do with old wives tales of antiquated detectors.

XLT May work Fast, My Coinmaster was Better Fast.

My sovereign was deepest almost non Motion.
just Natural Nerve Shaking of my arm.

 

[TerryC]

Frankn's answer is good! I have found... over the last 40 years or so, that slow is good but.... Take a dime and air test it past an upheld coil. Sweep it past slow then fast. You will find that you can sweep fast... further from the coil and still get a good signal. All in all, slow (moderate?) is better. TTC

 

[niffler]

The XLT likes a faster sweep speed, is what the dealer told me when I bought mine. He said it went deeper that way. I had to set up my DFX for faster sweep, the factory C&J program was driving me nuts because the signal seemed to lag behind my sweeps. Niffler

 

[TORRERO]

Lets be clear here...
we are talking about Sweep speed not walking speed
I would never advocate that you walk fast while detecting.... you certainly miss targets.
But a swing speed on a machine, well if I get a good sounding target and it becomes eratic
when I increase my swing speed over it... then it's less likely to be a really good target.

 

[TORRERO]

Electromagnetic waves used to detect metal, travel at the speed of light.... (I think)
and so as such you can not swing fast enough to out pace the signal being sent into the ground.
That said, the electronics may see a target differently at differant swing speeds...

(I know you all will jump on me for this if I am wrong... about the speed thing)

 

[Jason in Enid]

Lets be clear here...
we are talking about Sweep speed not walking speed
I would never advocate that you walk fast while detecting.... you certainly miss targets.
But a swing speed on a machine, well if I get a good sounding target and it becomes eratic
when I increase my swing speed over it... then it's less likely to be a really good target.

That may be true for YOUR detector, but not for all. This is why it's so important to master the detector that you own.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Electromagnetic waves used to detect metal, travel at the speed of light.... (I think)
and so as such you can not swing fast enough to out pace the signal being sent into the ground.
That said, the electronics may see a target differently at differant swing speeds...

(I know you all will jump on me for this if I am wrong... about the speed thing)

I don't think anyone was confusing the term for walking speed.

This isn't reflecting a light off a mirror. The coil emits radio energy. When that energy meets metal objects and some mineralization it gets absorbed. That absorbed energy is then emitted back, but it's different. The detector compares the differences to figure out what the return signal is from.

For some detectors, if you move too slow you don't the proper phase shift. Same with moving too fast. Moving too fast can also rob your detector of sufficient data sampling points to make a guess. It all depends on how your detector is made and programmed.

 

[deepskyal]

Electromagnetic waves used to detect metal, travel at the speed of light.... (I think)
and so as such you can not swing fast enough to out pace the signal being sent into the ground.
That said, the electronics may see a target differently at differant swing speeds...

(I know you all will jump on me for this if I am wrong... about the speed thing)

I tend to agree. I swing what I consider average as I walk along. When I get a signal I'll stop, swing faster to get a better ID, and also swing from different angles, then determine if I want to dig.
Sometimes I get a better ID, sometimes it's identical, but whichever, I do get different responses to different speeds at times.
Been doing this for years, it's how I was taught...works for me and that's all that's important.

Al

 

[Frankn]

Don't forget, if you have access to your refresh rate, set it faster so you don't cover the next target. Frank

 

[Ism]

The modern VLF detector works on the induction balance principal. In other words, the detector is balanced to its surroundings, any metal that is brought into the surroundings creates an imbalance. There is some compensation to gradual change so the detector doesn't respond to a mild imbalance right away. When we sweep the coil slow, a deep target may not shift the detectors circuitry to a level where it responds.
When we sweep faster, there isn't time for compensation and the detector responds to the target. This works up to a certain sweep speed and then we see a drop off in detection depth. Everything is relative though, in highly mineralized ground, slow may be the way to go.
An analogy would be to think of it as temperature change. A gradual change won't attract our attention as quickly as a sudden change.
The higher the disc setting, the more pronounced the effect. Even my Minelab Sovereign GT shows improved response with a brisk sweep when in disc.

The funny thing is we naturally sweep faster when we get over a target. Either by wiggling the coil or by briskly swinging the coil in short strokes knowing it will improve the signal magnitude.

Hat tip

 

[XL-PRO PRO]

Where does coil size figure into sweep speed? It seems that a smaller coil could be swept slower with the same effect as a larger coil swept at a faster speed due to the smaller detection pattern.Or am I just imagining this?

 

[Jason in Enid]

Where does coil size figure into sweep speed? It seems that a smaller coil could be swept slower with the same effect as a larger coil swept at a faster speed due to the smaller detection pattern.Or am I just imagining this?

You need to re-read Ism's post.

 

[worldtalker]

Sweep speeds vary!!!<object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></embed></object>

 

[spartacus53]

I've played golf for years and I found out you can't swing it like a driver

Actually, I find it best to swing at a moderately quick pace, until you get that first tone and then you can slow it down a bit.

 

[Tuberale]

By now you've read several differing responses to your initial question jf504mp. And each answer is good for an individual machine.

I see you are using a White's XLT. I use a White's Coinmaster Pro.

If you really want to know, create your own test garden. Bury coins at given depths and mark each one with a golf tee or other wooden, non-responsive marker. See how fast your machine responds at speeds you determine. Each machine (and perhaps each individual machine within a given make) will respond differently. Targets often vary with depth and aspect, i.e. a coin on edge vs. a flat coin perpendicular to the coil.

The bottom line is while we can suggest what works for us, you have to determine what the answer is yourself.

Sorry to be vague.

If you want the best performance from your machine, you are going to have to become the "expert" on handling it as well. If you don't like the performance, you will need to address what you do want on your next detector.

 

[47thelement]

Best answer EVER!!!!!

By now you've read several differing responses to your initial question jf504mp. And each answer is good for an individual machine.

I see you are using a White's XLT. I use a White's Coinmaster Pro.

If you really want to know, create your own test garden. Bury coins at given depths and mark each one with a golf tee or other wooden, non-responsive marker. See how fast your machine responds at speeds you determine. Each machine (and perhaps each individual machine within a given make) will respond differently. Targets often vary with depth and aspect, i.e. a coin on edge vs. a flat coin perpendicular to the coil.

The bottom line is while we can suggest what works for us, you have to determine what the answer is yourself.

Sorry to be vague.

If you want the best performance from your machine, you are going to have to become the "expert" on handling it as well. If you don't like the performance, you will need to address what you do want on your next detector.