those VDI numbers are kinda cool

[dirtlooter]

i had a very short trip to the creek yesterday, found a few sinkers, piece of wire and one penny that the AT Gold rang up as a zinc clunker penny. this morning, after a very late start, I ran out to a small basketball spot and hit it as quickly as I could. I dig most everything but today after numerous pull rings, wire and foil, decided to do the coin only thing to see how well those VDI numbers work. I quickly found that the numbers for regular (non zinc) pennies was really consistent as well as the zinc. Then after the first dime, was pretty certain that I was digging dimes the next four times. I only quit because the sweat was filling my glasses faster than I could wipe them clean. I pasted up a ton of 40's to 50 just for this test and I will go back, hopefully a lot earlier, and thin them out. The more I use this AT GOLD, the more I like it. I did begin digging a hole that first rang up as a weak 90, was pretty excited, even in the heat digging the very hard packed clay. About 10 inches down the signal had changed somewhat and out popped a chunk of some sort of heavy lid. i checked the hole again several times to make sure but that was it, false alarm but still learning so all is well. I keep getting more and more happy with the upgrade. nothing spectacular yet but very encouraging to say the least. still being relatively new to actively pursuing MD, my bucket list is big and empty for the most part, this is a very awesome hobby/sport!

 

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[dirtdigginfool]

Dirtlooter..hang in there !! The silver will come, I have learned that to dig silver...you have to dig A LOT of everything else too. And yes..90 on that machine IS indicative of silver, BUT...there is a lot of metal, junk included, that will ring up high, and the more you get to know your machine the more you will know what is down there. The tone is usually a dead give-away, as coins, silver, and other precious metals will ring "true"..that is, not have a "scratchy" tone to it, or a weird tone right before and after the signal, if you are running the pro/coins mode. There is still a lot of junk-aluminum, lead etc..that rings high and also sounds good, but then again, we ALL dig junk, that's how we find the good stuff. Thanks for sharing..good luck and happy hunting!!...ddf

 

[dirtlooter]

I am running disc 1 at iron 32, yeah, I listen intently to the tones but it takes a lot of reps for me to remember, prior brain trauma makes a lot of things challenging but that is just a crutch that I try hard to work around. it is just so nice to have a great or should i say a broader sense of what is going on in the ground. sometimes we get impatient, but it is a digging thing. an addictive one at that. thanks

 

[rainyday101]

There is a couple of things you can try on these deep iron targets to avoid them.

1. See if it sizes up like a coin. If you pinpoint and and your detector is pinpointing a large area skip it. Notice that when you pinpoint a coin it only has a small sweet spot. Large metal will have a much bigger pinpoint area. That being said I don't pinpoint, I "X" over the area to locate and pay close attention to size.

2. Use a pinpointer like the Garrett. If you get down a bit with your hole and the pinpointer goes off everywhere in the hole, it's large metal. When you use a pinpointer to locate a coin, it is the same as above, it will have a small area that it sounds off with.

Don't sweat it, we all dig trash, and anyone tells you they don't is lying!

You have the right idea though, if you want gold rings you have to dig it all because depending on their size and shape they can be anywhere on the conductivity scale. A lot of those rings fall right in the pulltab range.

Good luck and keep at it!

 

[lookindown]

There is a couple of things you can try on these deep iron targets to avoid them.

1. See if it sizes up like a coin. If you pinpoint and and your detector is pinpointing a large area skip it. Notice that when you pinpoint a coin it only has a small sweet spot. Large metal will have a much bigger pinpoint area. That being said I don't pinpoint, I "X" over the area to locate and pay close attention to size.

2. Use a pinpointer like the Garrett. If you get down a bit with your hole and the pinpointer goes off everywhere in the hole, it's large metal. When you use a pinpointer to locate a coin, it is the same as above, it will have a small area that it sounds off with.

Don't sweat it, we all dig trash, and anyone tells you they don't is lying!

You have the right idea though, if you want gold rings you have to dig it all because depending on their size and shape they can be anywhere on the conductivity scale. A lot of those rings fall right in the pulltab range.

Good luck and keep at it!

A coin spill will read like a large target...leave those large targets and you will never dig a scattered coin spill.

 

[dirtlooter]

i have had a nickle read all over the hole i was digging, i think that if a metal is oxidizing, the oxidized metal seeps into the surround ground. but to me, most of the time when i have a hole where my pin pointer hits all over, it is either rusty or a chunk of can, something tin or aluminum. i usually dig until something tells me otherwise. i do check how long a target might be to see if it is the size of a can or a section of wire. i dug the usual pile of pull rings and tabs today as well as a pile of pencil heads, chunks of wire, foil and clad. you gotta wade through the crap to get to the good stuff, it is a mind set to keep going and not give up. the rewards? all kinds of them in various forms and types. yeah, I love this AT GOLD... got a lot to learn, just have to adjust to the heat like everyone else. thanks again for the info

 

[Frankn]

You have a bit to learn! Those ID's are pre programed into your detector computer chip based on lab tests. The numbers mean a certain coin at a certain depth made of a certain metal. You have got to realize that a large piece of iron at say 10" might indicate a coin at say 3". You also have to realize that mineralization in the soil will alter those readings. You may pass over some great finds to avoid the trash.
You would be better off using your ID to Identify repeated trash. Say you find a pull tab that reads "XX" at a field. It is likely that other pull tabs at that field will also read "xx". Using the ID this way, you will loose fewer good targets. Frank...-

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Lookindwn- if it were a coin spill wouldn't there be a good tone instead of scratchy that he could tell by? Just asking because on my M6 a coin spill would jump around on my screen but only in the coin range, telling me they were coins or coin type metal. If it were junk it would jump all over the place, meaning it was junk. Wouldn't the AT Pro do about the same thing?

 

[lookindown]

Lookindwn- if it were a coin spill wouldn't there be a good tone instead of scratchy that he could tell by? Just asking because on my M6 a coin spill would jump around on my screen but only in the coin range, telling me they were coins or coin type metal. If it were junk it would jump all over the place, meaning it was junk. Wouldn't the AT Pro do about the same thing?

Yeah, it does the same thing. A coin spill will jump around reading the different coins but the numbers will be coin numbers. I was saying not to leave a target just because it scanned big.

 

[dirtlooter]

yep, i know that i have a lot to learn. the numbers are kind of like a guide, not a sure thing, that is why i only avoid certain numbers like the ones from a lawn mowered can in an area where the chunks are scattered. even then i double check to make sure that they are truly possibly from the same can. I pulled four dimes in a row the day before on an 81 reading, today it was a penny. i do really appreciate the advice that i get, i also weigh the pros and cons of what is said because everyone thinks that they are right, and who am i to say that any given person isn't an expert when i am virtually ignorant of them in the first place. i respect the help and also respect their backgrounds or qualifications so to speak. any edge or useable knowledge gained is another step forward in becoming a better detectorist myself. thanks for the help.

 

[dirtlooter]

i was going to add, i hardly ever look at the depth anymore, i quickly check with the pin pointer to see if it is in fact a surface find before i start. this is a result from some metals reading deeper than they were, usually tin, pieces of soda cans or even foil. the more solid targets seem to be correct on depth. I am more of a tone guy but do check the numbers out of curiosity. sometimes i skip an iffy target with plans to check it out later, especially on the hot days... you know when it is cooler. i now understand about how a deeper signal can sound like it is actually deeper and that the numbers may not even register or register correctly.

 

[signal_line]

If you find a jar lid, better dig down and make sure. Watch out for broken glass. Yeah, the AT Gold is a sweet machine. I tell everyone to learn the All Metal mode. When you get the deep targets, the ID numbers are not accurate (will read lower) so you need to listen for the small, sharp hits.

 

[dirtlooter]

thanks, i had read that the deeper signals might not register. you had better believe that when i do find a jar lid, i will be checking for more signals. as a kid i knew of an old man that had died years earlier, back in the fifties, alone. i had heard that he had never trusted the banks and that he most likely had buried some of his money. of course the land is posted now and the owner lives elsewhere but i hope to someday be able to hunt it. i know that he wasn't alone in doing this, people were like that everywhere, it is just being fortunate enough to stumble upon them. the more i use this machine, the more i love it, no it isn't a magic miracle machine but it is definitely a worthwhile up grade.

 

[dirtlooter]

on one of my earlier post, i meant to say that some of my hits have been a lot shallower than indicated, so i check with my pin pointer first to see before i dig. today i actually had a small coin spill, 4 coins, the AT screamed dig me at 81 and 83... quarters and dimes and a memorial. that had me thinking silver but no cigar! oh well.

 

[lookindown]

yep, i know that i have a lot to learn. the numbers are kind of like a guide, not a sure thing, that is why i only avoid certain numbers like the ones from a lawn mowered can in an area where the chunks are scattered. even then i double check to make sure that they are truly possibly from the same can. I pulled four dimes in a row the day before on an 81 reading, today it was a penny. i do really appreciate the advice that i get, i also weigh the pros and cons of what is said because everyone thinks that they are right, and who am i to say that any given person isn't an expert when i am virtually ignorant of them in the first place. i respect the help and also respect their backgrounds or qualifications so to speak. any edge or useable knowledge gained is another step forward in becoming a better detectorist myself. thanks for the help.

Some things you will learn from manuals, some things from other people and some things you will figure out yourself...its all fun and like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get.