Compadre On Basalt(?) Rocks

[DukeBoxer]

Today I picked up a Compadre at a great price to try out since I've read so many good things about Tesoros. I brought it home and played around with it a little in the yard. I think I've cleaned out my yard of good targets so I was just listening to the tone. Then walked into the garden against the house. I got a hit where I've been over multiple times before with an AT Pro and I bent down to check it out since it sounded like it was right on top. I moved a rock out of the way and probed around with the pinpointer and nothing. So I scanned the spot again and there was no beep and then I started scanning around thinking I moved whatever it was when I brushed away some dirt. Come to find out it was the rock itself that was making the detector beep. Here's the weird part...I had rolled the disc all the way up to max and it still beeped. I bent down and put the pinpointer against the rock and nothing. I went inside and grabbed my AT Pro and scanned the rock and again nothing. I thought it was weird and walked away. Then a little later I went to a park in my home town and was checking the playground with the mulch/woodchips. I found a dime and a zinc penny, both gave good repeatable tones and I had the disc set to the "N" in iron. Then I walked out of the playground and started checking around the edge in the normal dirt and was getting beeps all over the place. I turned disc up to max and again was getting beeps from rocks of the same type. These rocks are ignored by the AT Pro, the Garrett Pro Pointer AT and a Whites CoinMaster Pro that I had before



I'm pretty sure these rocks are called basalt, they are brown on the outside and if you crack them open they are pretty solid and uniform and a blueish gray color in the center and a lighter ring around the outside. I'm also pretty sure they are high in iron and of volcanic origin (I learned about them years ago in grade school). I can upload a picture and a video of the Compadre hitting on them if anyone wants.



I guess my question is for people using this machine, how do you deal with these type of rocks, do you learn the subtle nuances of the beep given off by these rocks compared to say a coin or junk or do you just try not to hunt in areas where they are concentrated? I honestly bought the machine to try and learn it and probably use it in playgrounds and tight junky areas. I don't see myself using it in fields or anywhere wide open since it has the 5.75" coil on it.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

The story you tell, makes me think your machine needs servicing if you can't disc out a hot rock at Max.

 

[DukeBoxer]

I was thinking that. Should I make a video of it to show whats going on?

 

[Terry Soloman]

I was thinking that. Should I make a video of it to show whats going on?

I would call the factory in Prescott 928-771-2646 and explain the problem. Then after talking with Nathan or Rusty, you can decide what to do.

 

[DukeBoxer]

Terry, I called and they told me I can send it in along with the rock and they can tune it for me. I'll hang on to it and use it around the playgrounds since I know it is quiet in the bark chips and if it becomes a problem then I'm definitely going to contact them again and send it in. Thanks for the help!

 

[CaptEsteban]

Maybe that is why you got a " great price " on it. I have some basalt stones & my Compadre will not hit on them AT ALL . Maybe there is a little foreign metallic substance in the rock setting it off . Time for a tune-up.

 

[DukeBoxer]

Yup! I've been reading and reading about what might be going on. Maybe they opened it up and adjusted ground balance or sensitivity trimmer. I made a video of it beeping with the rock and then I cracked the rock open. It definitely has iron in it, it's a common rock around here which makes it a problem. I really wanted to see what it would do if I cranked the disc to max and just did a little coin shooting but it beeps like crazy!

Here's the video: https://photos.app.goo.gl/zpbHRl4dijokFvby1

 

[Terry Soloman]

Wild!

 

[DukeBoxer]

If only I lived somewhere with meteorites! I bet it's a hot machine for them haha

 

[galenrog]

Many basalts are very high in iron. Some reaching 80% iron. To find a few that set off a detector, regardless of settings, is not unusual.

Way past time for more coffee.

I should add that I have a basalt gravel driveway. Much of it can be picked up by a common bar magnet.

 

[DukeBoxer]

Ok, I fixed it. Here's my solution just in case anyone else is having thins problem. From the video above you see that the detector is in "Max Disc" and is still hitting on the rock that I assume is basalt and is high in iron. I took off the face plate and adjusted two screws, the ground balance and the sensitivity. See this photo (found on the internet)...



First I turned on the detector and set it to "IRON" and adjusted the "Ground Balance" screw CLOCKWISE until the rock no longer gave a signal, it was a very minimal adjustment. Then I took out coins and started testing them. I have some Costa Rican coins and passed those and they all gave a beep (They are bronze and aluminum coins) then I took out a large cent, a silver Roosevelt dime, a silver Washington quarter, my silver chain with solid silver pendants and a generic .999 silver 1 ounce round. The reason for the .999 round comes in to play later and I did this after reading "Monte's Power Balancing" and his story of a detector not hitting solidly on a walker half. The large cent hit perfectly, nice loud tone to about 5-6 inches. The silver dime hit good at about 4 inches. The quarter wasn't hitting great until it was about 3-4 inches from the coil which seemed weird and the .999 1 ounce round was only hitting very close to the coil.

I then adjusted the "Sensitivity" screw COUNTER CLOCKWISE, turning the sensitivity up high until it started beeping erratically, then i adjusted it back CLOCKWISE (lowering) until it was silent again. After this adjustment I then went back to the ground balance screw (trimmer I guess is the correct word) and adjusted it COUNTER CLOCKWISE until the rock in question was giving a signal. From there I again adjusted CLOCKWISE until the rock wasn't giving a signal and tested all the coins again. Now the silvers are hitting perfectly as they should, along with the Costa Rican coins and my silver chain. This is my solution for my problem, it might not be everyone's solution but it did work for me. I wasn't able to find a clear problem/solution online but instead pieced together from many sources what might work and it did. The only thing that is different now is when I adjust the Disc from zinc to max it gives a little beep but so far it doesn't seem like a problem.

 

[doggoneitdignit]

Can someone post some information or a link for the type of rudimenterary and sedementary rocks that contain a significant amount of iron to set a dectors off with respect to the sensitivity and descrimination besides if you are continously GB your machine more often vs the auto GB machines. I don't want to get into a discussion on GB, just more so with science around the rocks themselves. Is there a nice book that goes over what types of rocks for example as what was mentioned already with Basalt to watch out for the common detectorist?