AT Pro VDI numbers and beeps all over the place

[borntohunt460]

Ive read quite a few threads and posts on this but id like to reopen this to get a clearer answer.

Im detecting a house and barn built in 1881. My opinion is that any site that has history of constant occupation will have loads of trash and iron right along with all of the goodies.

As im detecting parts of this property I am swinging until I hear a high pitch tone so that I can stop and check it out. Almost always (even if its a coin) I get , for example, an 81 VDI jumping down into iron range and the mid range and back to the 81. I hear a repeatable high pitch signal from multiple angles but it jumps in number and tone. Is this because of the large coil hitting adjacent targets?

Now some have said that if repeatable then dig it but id like to be allowed to come back to this property and not piss him off because the plugs are changing color due to dryness I suppose.

I am using the stock large coil and will be getting a 5X8 soon. will this fix it?--- also, after being frustrated of finding a clad as my only coin for the day, I dug the hole a little deeper and put the dime about 7 inches down and replaced the plug. The At pro barely picked it up --when I made the hole a little more shallow the dime was picked up but jumping in the vdi and tone. Is this because I already broke the ground or from adjacent targets?


I just wanna find a barber---or even a silver Washington lol

 

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[Sapper724]

Could be many things. It could be hot rocks, a lot of trash, a bad coil or connection, etc. Does it jump like that in other areas? If not I would guess electric interference, hot rocks, or just trash. Ground balance is also key. As for depth, it depends on soil conditions, mineral content, and ground balance. To get greater depth, do your auto balance, then drop the number by 10 or 15, sometimes that helps. Also, just wondering, are you usind 1.5V batteries?

Im sure more will chime in soon. Good luck!

 

[Tucson Dan]

I just went through this exact issue with my ATPro. I'm new to this machine and the learnibg curve is much more involved that my 350. I will tell uou the advice and guidance received from the fine fellow hunters here was to ground balance. It quieted down the constant noise that was really annoying. Good luck.

 

[bzbadger]

Be glad to give you some pointers using the ATP. First if the signal jumps back and forth it can of course mean two things-1. it is a good target next to trash(switch angles, walk in a circle) 2. it is total trash(more than likely it is trash). I suggest when you find a target like that first raise your coil up 6-8 inches and if still ringing loudly it is trash, also use the iron audio and if you hear a grunt it is trash, you can slow your swing way down and listen closely for the roll tone-the low high low sound or you will hear a faint click before or after the good sound---these are ways to determine if it is worth digging and wasting time. someone already mentioned to ground balance--auto balance it first and once you get it so you hear no chatter hit the GB button once and using the toggle button above, drop the balance down by 5 and then hit the GB button again.. take a swing see how it sounds... if no chatter repeat the steps and drop another 5 but don't go crazy the max you should go is 20 in normal conditions. When you do this it will make the targets scream out, it makes the already deep scanning ATP go even further..I personally have done this and found a silver 18" deep, found a pea sized lead fishing weight over a foot deep in wet sand at the beach. Somehow either by using a zip tie, Velcro strap etc. keep your coil wire tight to the lower shaft but do not start immediately coiling it from the coil up, keep the coil wire straight for a foot up the lower shaft then tie it down then start coiling it. It was learned that by doing so clears up chatter, gives a much better/cleaner detection and allows for deeper scan. I tried it and it worked very well. Also get yourself a decent set of headphones or use a single line, volume control ear buds.. the headphones that came with the ATP are crap and you really don't get the full benefit of the audio based ATP. I bought a set of Koss P9 earbud headphones with an inline volume control and it works great. Lastly if you want the VDI #s for the ATP so you know what they mean please PM me and I will give you the site but due to rules on this site I cannot openly show another site here. Sorry so long but a lot of info.

 

[Fletch88]

Come on now, 18" with an AT? What size silver?

 

[bzbadger]

Sorry fletch didn't see the reply till now. I found a 61 or 62 half dollar. My ATP, club presidents ATP picked it up and had 2 minelabs come over to try, a 705 and a 3030 both were very slow at picking it up but did manage to I'd say the 3030 was much quicker and had better ability to decipher what it was but then it should for $2500. No joke on this because we just went back to that same property this past Saturday and ppl were still talking about that hole dug so deep by the giant oak tree on this old plantation. Someone found a 4 real, a 1 real and the landowner plowed up a union soldier in his field. Imagine being told by the cops to just rebury him out of the way, talk about disrespectful. The owners built a nice box and buried him back at the edge of the woods which would have been the back of the plantation main house. Sad when you think about it.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[gfordtx]

I always Relic hunt with the Large coil on Pro Zero mode with Iron around 20 as I consider much of the Iron your avoiding to be Relics also as many things back in the CW era were Iron or heavy gauge steel and register as Iron. Many coins at a deep level may register as junk also and should still be dug. I am about to do my Great Great Grandfather's church from 1870 and will use Pro Zero mode around it and in the surrounding woods and pasture.

 

[bzbadger]

Well gfordtx, I wish u the best on your hunt. I too relic hunt when im alone and don't have to worry about time or others. Others meaning those in a club hunt and all looking for coins etc.so I coin shoot first and I have a list of items im trying to find in coins can't do that of the others are finding them while im pulling relics. Relic hunting is awesome to me because of the history that comes with it, its the story that I want along with that item.

Get your facts first, then distort them as you please-Mark Twain

 

[gleaner1]

Give more weight to the tones and do not look at the screen ever, at least for now. Use pro mode zero scrim. Turn sense down to three, maybe four. Use a smaller coil in heavy trash if you insist, I dont. Slow the sweep speed down a notch until you get a feel for the recovery speed. Dig two hundred targets this way. Dig every high pitch tight signal for now, ignore low and mid. You will learn the pp on the machine this way. You gotta learn to crawl before you can walk, and you gotta learn to walk before you can run. The numbers on the screen mean nothing to me and I rarely look at them so take my word for it and dont look at the freakin screen especially when you are learning metal detecting. Listen to the crap in the ground, dont look at crap on your screen. You can "see" crap in the ground with your ears and coil. I have had some perplexing results doing tests burying coins in the ground, dont give any weight to these tests. And air tests are not indicative of true field results either. You will find 6" deep small copper cents with an atpro with big and small dd very easily. If you just listen for them.

 

[Sapper724]

Give more weight to the tones and do not look at the screen ever, at least for now. Use pro mode zero scrim. Turn sense down to three, maybe four. Use a smaller coil in heavy trash if you insist, I dont. Slow the sweep speed down a notch until you get a feel for the recovery speed. Dig two hundred targets this way. Dig every high pitch tight signal for now, ignore low and mid. You will learn the pp on the machine this way. You gotta learn to crawl before you can walk, and you gotta learn to walk before you can run. The numbers on the screen mean nothing to me and I rarely look at them so take my word for it and dont look at the freakin screen expecially when you are learning metal detecting. Listen to the crap in the ground, dont look at crap on your screen. You can "see" crap in the ground with your ears and coil. I have had some perplexing results doing tests burying coins in the ground, dont give any weight to these tests. And air tests are not indicative of true field results either. You will find 6" deep small copper cents with an atpro with big and small dd very easily. If you just listen for them.

What he said...