Shortstack
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2007
- Messages
- 4,305
- Reaction score
- 419
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Detector(s) used
- Tesoro Bandido II and DeLeon. also a Detector Pro Headhunter Diver, and a Garrett BFO called The Hunter & a Garrett Ace 250.
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
- #1
Thread Owner
Today, while testing my new RatPhones, I picked up a couple of new tips to remember.
With Disc set on Iron and Sens at 4, I was using a 1966 clad quarter and a 24kt yellow gold-plated memorial coin about the size of a half-dollar--smooth edge. The quarter is epoxied to a wooden paint stir stick (several test targets are epoxied to individual stir sticks for ease of handling), The gold plated piece is in a clear hard-plastic coin holder. These were the basic pieces and were placed on the ground in a grassy (fresh cut) area of my back yard. I was swing the 9x8 coil at 2 seconds and faster speeds and at 6" and 8" distances.
Now, the findings.
(1) The quarter lying flat gave a solid Notch at the Silver / Coins position with a steady 95. As expected, huh? Well, when I turned the quarter on edge, things changed big-time. Using 2-second swings; going across the edge produced a 95 with an occasional jump to mid-40's and right back to 95. The notch was mostly Silver/Coins with a smear at Zinc and Tabs, corresponding to the jumps to the mid-40's. Each swing would give a double-beep as expected. If I increased the swing speed slightly, the number would go steady at 95, notch at Silver/Coins with a very small smear at Zinc.
Swinging the coil along the edge would give a single beep with smears all across the window with half-sized notches jumping from Zinc to 5cs to Silver/Coins and the numbers ranging from 10 to the mid-30s; mid-70s, and an occasional 95. Basically, the numbers matched the notches/smears. These readings stumped me for a minute. Then, I realized that the coin's edge showed copper as well as the silver alloy. That ragged edge of mixed metals caused the strange meter reactions when sweeping WITH the edge. Increasing sweep speed did not lock-in the readings the way it did when going ACROSS the edge. The indications just moved quicker.
(2) Now for the gold-plated coin. It was minted to celebrate the 100th birthday of the VFW and was produced for the Arkansas division of that group. It's about the size of a US half-dollar and I was told, when I bought it, that it's plated with 24kt gold. So, since there are no "real" gold coins in my collection, I was using it to see what the DeLeon would do with it. If anyone has a REAL gold coin, please give us a comparison.
Lying flat on the ground, Mr. DeLeon said, full notch at Silver/Coins and a solid 95. Sweep speed changes had no effect. I wasn't expecting that. I'd been thinking 95 with a notch at the 5ct position would be shown. But, nope, didn't work that way. Xing all around and changing sweep speeds gave consistant, solid 95/Silver/Coins.
Turning the "coin" on edge gave the solid 95, BUT with the expected notching swapping between 5ct and Tabs when swinging the coil WITH the edge. Swing the coil ACROSS the edge caused the notches to jump between the 5ct, Tabs, and Silver/Coins and the numbers to jump from 95 to 32 to 95 to 27, etc. Again, changing sweep speeds had no effect on the readings.
I hope this info helps decipher some of those mystery signals you may run into.
With Disc set on Iron and Sens at 4, I was using a 1966 clad quarter and a 24kt yellow gold-plated memorial coin about the size of a half-dollar--smooth edge. The quarter is epoxied to a wooden paint stir stick (several test targets are epoxied to individual stir sticks for ease of handling), The gold plated piece is in a clear hard-plastic coin holder. These were the basic pieces and were placed on the ground in a grassy (fresh cut) area of my back yard. I was swing the 9x8 coil at 2 seconds and faster speeds and at 6" and 8" distances.
Now, the findings.
(1) The quarter lying flat gave a solid Notch at the Silver / Coins position with a steady 95. As expected, huh? Well, when I turned the quarter on edge, things changed big-time. Using 2-second swings; going across the edge produced a 95 with an occasional jump to mid-40's and right back to 95. The notch was mostly Silver/Coins with a smear at Zinc and Tabs, corresponding to the jumps to the mid-40's. Each swing would give a double-beep as expected. If I increased the swing speed slightly, the number would go steady at 95, notch at Silver/Coins with a very small smear at Zinc.
Swinging the coil along the edge would give a single beep with smears all across the window with half-sized notches jumping from Zinc to 5cs to Silver/Coins and the numbers ranging from 10 to the mid-30s; mid-70s, and an occasional 95. Basically, the numbers matched the notches/smears. These readings stumped me for a minute. Then, I realized that the coin's edge showed copper as well as the silver alloy. That ragged edge of mixed metals caused the strange meter reactions when sweeping WITH the edge. Increasing sweep speed did not lock-in the readings the way it did when going ACROSS the edge. The indications just moved quicker.
(2) Now for the gold-plated coin. It was minted to celebrate the 100th birthday of the VFW and was produced for the Arkansas division of that group. It's about the size of a US half-dollar and I was told, when I bought it, that it's plated with 24kt gold. So, since there are no "real" gold coins in my collection, I was using it to see what the DeLeon would do with it. If anyone has a REAL gold coin, please give us a comparison.
Lying flat on the ground, Mr. DeLeon said, full notch at Silver/Coins and a solid 95. Sweep speed changes had no effect. I wasn't expecting that. I'd been thinking 95 with a notch at the 5ct position would be shown. But, nope, didn't work that way. Xing all around and changing sweep speeds gave consistant, solid 95/Silver/Coins.
Turning the "coin" on edge gave the solid 95, BUT with the expected notching swapping between 5ct and Tabs when swinging the coil WITH the edge. Swing the coil ACROSS the edge caused the notches to jump between the 5ct, Tabs, and Silver/Coins and the numbers to jump from 95 to 32 to 95 to 27, etc. Again, changing sweep speeds had no effect on the readings.
I hope this info helps decipher some of those mystery signals you may run into.
