Explorer XS Nulling issue

[SouthJerseyJim]

Ok It's been snowy and cold here in NJ and I can't get out back to make a test garden for my new Xs. I am having an issue with it. I have the stock coil on it now and when I first turn the machine on it goes through the startup screen and I first hear the threshold I can wave a large cent in from of it for a good 15-20 seconds before it "wakes up" and starts making non ferrous beeps instead of a dead null. I am air testing it in my computer room. Its almost like it has to warm up before it is ready to go. This happens on Auto and Manual sens. Is this common? After the initial 20 seconds or so the nulling turns to a nice high to the right sound. I just want to make sure it doesn't start nulling while im out and not know it.

 

[stasys]

its look like your test coin on the border discrimination-switch to all metal and make less discrimination or in other word less black screen and you will hear it. other maybe you wave you coin to much away from your coil?. anyway I suspect everything is ok with you xs and inside hose you can got quickly wrong do to EMI. good luck Stasys

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Im using a nice copper Large cent with IM at about -8. I can scrape the copper on the coil for about 20 seconds til it kicks in. I have fast and deep on. It happened when using factory resets after a re boot too. Is this bad? Or does my XS just have to "Heat uP" before it decides to not null copper

 

[stasys]

yes its look strangely not very promising. if it would powered by steam I would say put more coal and wait for pressure , but in this situation I suggest few things, try your cooper?coin and other different targets in all metal in -14 -16 in conductive and without discrimination in ferrous, if its will not work ,take coil cover look for surprise under, if no surprise under coil cover, take coil from shaft connect to detector and hold in hand when testing, looks like somebody did joke and instaled some iron coil bolt. try another coil, if its still not work last straw is take quickly battery off when detector is working, some people suggested this can help. let me know if you will succeed. and if its still not good health I looking for one sick oldie for organs. good luck Stasys --- maybe your cooper coin is fake and just cooper plated? try different coin! I defenitly start to beleave that your coin is iron, if you wave 20 seconds and appear some signal, looks like some sort steel -iron? its possible to make this thing on some iron in the ground, its like when you sweep coil you get not clear signal, but when you star to wave on the strange not clean signal--usually some rusted iron you receive signal. it some sort generated signal buy waving.. so to me your situation looks similar. before doing something try another target ,spoon, coin,etc.
test your cooper coin with magnet! now china makes all possible silver plated metal coins!

 

[Iron Patch]

There's something up because there's no way you should get a null at all. I agree with trying it again in zero disc. to see if it happens again, but it's pretty clear something is wrong. If you bought this used, and it needs a circuit board.... ah-oh.

 

[Captn SE]

I am air testing it in my computer room.

You need to be very, very careful testing your XS inside your house, especially a computer room. There's lots of EMI(Electro Magnetic Interference) inside houses. And there's plenty of iron, and other large metallic objects (iron, steel, etc.) underneath the flooring and all around the house also. It's not easy to airtest a Minelab inside the house. Do you have the coil completely suspended in the air, away from all sources of conductive items? Even if you have your coil hanging over the edge of a table, don't assume you're not close to a piece of metal.

Put your machine on very low sensitivity (5 or less) so you don't amplify any sources of nearby EMI, and so your coil doesn't pick up larger metallic objects nearby. Even before you swing your large copper over your coil, you should be hearing a smooth, constant threshold tone. If you don't, your machine either has a problem or is falsing(nulling) on a nearby piece of iron/steel.

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

 

[Iron Patch]

I am air testing it in my computer room.

You need to be very, very careful testing your XS inside your house, especially a computer room. There's lots of EMI(Electro Magnetic Interference) inside houses. And there's plenty of iron, and other large metallic objects (iron, steel, etc.) underneath the flooring and all around the house also. It's not easy to airtest a Minelab inside the house. Do you have the coil completely suspended in the air, away from all sources of conductive items? Even if you have your coil hanging over the edge of a table, don't assume you're not close to a piece of metal.

Put your machine on very low sensitivity (5 or less) so you don't amplify any sources of nearby EMI, and so your coil doesn't pick up larger metallic objects nearby. Even before you swing your large copper over your coil, you should be hearing a smooth, constant threshold tone. If you don't, your machine either has a problem or is falsing(nulling) on a nearby piece of iron/steel.

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

I can't imagine a situation for an airtest regardless of how bad that blocks a large copper a couple inches under your coil. If this is the case, he probably did something that I would have to try very hard replicate.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Spent about 5 hours with the machine today at an old farm field that was diggable in areas do to the warmth. I am starting to believe my machine is working just fine but in the wrong way. It loves Iron. Every tiny bit of it. I found 100 pieces to 1 piece of non ferrous. Signals sounded good but were border line in the iron mask. Some jumped right to left. Best signal I got was a can way down there. I am thinking the machine is ok it's the coinless/buttonless field that was giving me hell. I imagine an irony field with little to no coins or buttons is hard to learn your second time out with an explorer. I caught myself cheating and turning discrim on so the horrbily sneaky signals wouldnt tease me anymore. How does one learn to look through the iron without stopping at every signal that sounds good. And After hearing a nice signal seeing it on the screen makes my decision to dig. Is that a no no?

 

[Iron Patch]

Spent about 5 hours with the machine today at an old farm field that was diggable in areas do to the warmth. I am starting to believe my machine is working just fine but in the wrong way. It loves Iron. Every tiny bit of it. I found 100 pieces to 1 piece of non ferrous. Signals sounded good but were border line in the iron mask. Some jumped right to left. Best signal I got was a can way down there. I am thinking the machine is ok it's the coinless/buttonless field that was giving me hell. I imagine an irony field with little to no coins or buttons is hard to learn your second time out with an explorer. I caught myself cheating and turning discrim on so the horrbily sneaky signals wouldnt tease me anymore. How does one learn to look through the iron without stopping at every signal that sounds good. And After hearing a nice signal seeing it on the screen makes my decision to dig. Is that a no no?

So you're using no discrimination and wondering why you are digging iron?

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Well started at -10. Got frustrated -5. Frustated Iron mask Off My question is how can you tell the diff between Iron and an almost coin signal. Some of those horseshoes rang real high. but stayed pretty dead center and UP.

 

[Iron Patch]

Well started at -10. Got frustrated -5. Frustated Iron mask Off My question is how can you tell the diff between Iron and an almost coin signal. Some of those horseshoes rang real high. but stayed pretty dead center and UP.

Was it just big iron that was giving you the problem?

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Big Iron sounded better but all Iron was ringing unusually center and high. You'd think the -5 Iron mask would null out most iron. Some of the Iron was tiny. BUddy found an IH and it sounded just like some of the iron I was passing up.My understanding is Iron left part of the screen. Coins/silver Top right. IH's middle and right. Buttons anywhere from top right to bottom. This iron thing is screwing me up.

 

[Iron Patch]

Big Iron sounded better but all Iron was ringing unusually center and high. You'd think the -5 Iron mask would null out most iron. Some of the Iron was tiny. BUddy found an IH and it sounded just like some of the iron I was passing up.My understanding is Iron left part of the screen. Coins/silver Top right. IH's middle and right. Buttons anywhere from top right to bottom. This iron thing is screwing me up.

At iron mask -5 you should not be having any problem with small iron. The detector most times would null, and at most give a false signal. You should be going by sound only because the screen is useless around iron.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Thanks that does help. So repeatable high tone solid signals around iron should be dug regardless of what the screen says. I just dug so much damn iron that it seems like I will always have to dig iron because it sounds good to me. I did great with my Shadow, only big iron sounded somewhat decent and I knew what everything sounded like. I guess Im just going to have to use the minelab until it sticks. It will go deeper than the shadow. But I will dig more Iron I suppose.

 

[Iron Patch]

Thanks that does help. So repeatable high tone solid signals around iron should be dug regardless of what the screen says. I just dug so much damn iron that it seems like I will always have to dig iron because it sounds good to me. I did great with my Shadow, only big iron sounded somewhat decent and I knew what everything sounded like. I guess Im just going to have to use the minelab until it sticks. It will go deeper than the shadow. But I will dig more Iron I suppose.

Yes, but using an iron mask setting of -5 should give you mostly nulling over iron, and very few high signals, just the large pieces. What you describe sounds very far from a properly working detector. That or you're digging every possible hint of a high tone and in a way finding out how good the Explorer disc. is.... because it's not like other units, a part signal, or one way signal is usually iron.

Are you hunting in ferrous or conductive, and how are you doing with things that would tend to come in low, like small buttons? If you are in conductive these should be no brainer type signals. (meaning they shouldn't fool you because they aren't high tone) The last question is, are you hunting a site that's beat to depth and you're trying to find something from nothing?

 

[stasys]

I suspect you use it without discrimination on conductive. if on your detector screen no any black line -discrimination you will pick all the iron in the world. its possible you maked discrimination in iron mask and after switch to another blank screen? without discrimination? you have all the time see black line on your left side in discrimination. screen -10 is half black half open . check what you do

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Stasys, -5 only covers about 1/8 of my screen. 0 IM covers half. I guess what I consider high signals is garbage. Always middle of screen up top and I have to stretch to get both sides of the swing to repeat. Im looking for a coin type signal that pins more to the right of the screen. I do not know a coin signal yet out in the field because Ive been digging all iron. But an Indian head penny came up mid screen and high. So what if Im missing those if I decide not to dig. This field must have been pounded IP. Very few of anything was found.

 

[Don in SJ]

Jim, not quite sure but sounds like something is amiss, hope not. Anyway, look at the screen samples done a few years ago by Mike Moutray (A TNet member) and see if this helps you understand some of the readings. He has examples of what should be seen on the screen.


http://www.frontiernet.net/~jvokes/exscreens.htm

Don

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Thanks Don. That is a good reference. I dont know if it was the snow covered icy field that is screwing me up. My friend Mark was having very similiar problems on his explorer II. Needless to say but we were both frustrated. Everything looks good on the chart. most of my iron was doing the top center thing. I am probably over thinking this and just need to get out and practice. I don't believe there is anything wrong with the machine. I dug very deep for some of those horse shoes. Just have to train my ear.

 

[pinebarrens1]

try the factory reset .........and then do your test