Explorer XS Nulling issue

[Iron Patch]

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.

So you are hunting in conductive? It sounds like it, but unless you answer all my questions I can't help because I can't put myself behind the wheel or suggest what to do to prove the detector has a problem. Anyway, for me this goes right back to the twenty second copper thing because that's proves there's a problem right there. There's no way a copper should null before it signals high. Whether that's causing you to dig iron it's impossible to say because we have no idea what type of sounds you're chasing... which is why we need as much info. as possible.

Also... what type of site? If the ground has never been disturbed iron is going to sound off a bit better than a field that gets plowed time to time. But still, Ironmask -5 should keep the detector fairly quiet until you get over something that isn't iron, with the exception of the larger iron chunks.

oh, one last question... Are you using the Minelab battery pack?

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Yes Minelab Battery pack with energizer batteries. Clean the ends of the battery pack because they were dull looking. Hunting in conductive, switched to ferrous to try and see if it made a difference(I didn't notice a difference. Listening for high tones and im chasing decent signals that aren't nulled by -5 IM. Usually digging signals that are high and center just past IM. Using Deep on. Auto Sens at about 29. Field had soy been stubble in it so Id imagine it has been farmed recently. Ground frozen in many areas with mostly snow cover. Using stock 10.5" coil. 40 degree weather. Taking IM off definitely quieted the machine down.

 

[Iron Patch]

Yes Minelab Battery pack with energizer batteries. Clean the ends of the battery pack because they were dull looking. Hunting in conductive, switched to ferrous to try and see if it made a difference(I didn't notice a difference. Listening for high tones and im chasing decent signals that aren't nulled by -5 IM. Usually digging signals that are high and center just past IM. Using Deep on. Auto Sens at about 29. Field had soy been stubble in it so Id imagine it has been farmed recently. Ground frozen in many areas with mostly snow cover. Using stock 10.5" coil. 40 degree weather. Taking IM off definitely quieted the machine down.

ok, that eliminates the battery idea. Unlike a bad coil, a bad Minelab rechargable battery pack falses high and not low. But now we know the batteries most likely have nothing to do with it.

In auto 29 you're detector is definitely not operating anything close to that sens. because it is adjusting constantly. You're probably creating a little more noise by keeping it near maxed, so drop it to 24 or so. It will still probably be running much lower than that in the areas with iron.

I'm feeling a little better it might now be the detector, but question how you could be finding small iron because at -5 it should really just be larger pieces. Are you digging a bunch of one way signals? The vast majority of times they will be iron, but with experience you can hear a little tone change when it's something else. You are very far from being there right now.

If you can wave a small button under your coil and hear a low sound in conductive that tends to say the detector is ok and it's you, or... the detector has some type of issue with the electronics that discriminate. Still hard to say at this point but a couple more times out will probably start to tell the story. I think you should hunt somewhere, anywhere, that has better targets to get a better feel for things. I started with my explorer at a very hunted site and it's not a good place to learn.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Thanks IP that makes sense. The buttons depending on size and metal type are usually down and right. South East and center. I was digging a bunch of one ways trying to stretch it to a diggable signal I believe it may be user error and will report back when the fields aren't frozen. Maybe Ill hit a tot lot just to learn ....

 

[Iron Patch]

Thanks IP that makes sense. The buttons depending on size and metal type are usually down and right. South East and center. I was digging a bunch of one ways trying to stretch it to a diggable signal I believe it may be user error and will report back when the fields aren't frozen. Maybe Ill hit a tot lot just to learn ....

Forget the screen! It's like running through the woods at night with this guy leading the way!

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Thanks IP that makes sense. The buttons depending on size and metal type are usually down and right. South East and center. I was digging a bunch of one ways trying to stretch it to a diggable signal I believe it may be user error and will report back when the fields aren't frozen. Maybe Ill hit a tot lot just to learn ....

Forget the screen! It's like running through the woods at night with this guy leading the way!

lol!

 

[stasys]

hello again I would suggest send us your xs photo with screen, its very hard to say what is going on.

 

[Iron Patch]

Jim... here's the best tip your going to get on this thread so make sure you remember when you get out again.


The Explorer has VERY accurate tone ID for the low range signals, so if you hear a repeatable low tone in conductive it will almost never be iron. The only exception tends to be deep pieces of thin flat iron, but even those give you a hint, and it doesn't happen often.

So now with that as a guideline any place you're not finding low targets, but digging iron, chances are there's not a whole lot to find. That very well might be what's going on and giving you the problems, but now that you know how killer the Explorer is for the low sounding small targets like buttons, pieces of copper and lead etc., you can move on to another site to see if they turn up there. In other words low targets will not fool you into digging iron, so as long as you are finding them, it's worth hunting the site. Or I guess another way to put it is the low sounds will be very obvious and nothing close to a coin signal or the part signals you're chasing which is turning out to be iron. There... pretty sloppy explanation but it will solve your problem if it's you and not the detector.

 

[stasys]

look how screens looks on my explorer XS. with -5 you will not hear any nail only big iron.

 

[Iron Patch]

look how screens looks on my explorer XS. with -5 you will not hear any nail only big iron.

Yes it should be very quiet at -5.


Jim, if you have some of the small pieces of iron you dug I'd be interested if they still give any form of a high tone in an airtest. Even if they don't it still wouldn't completely rule out a problem because I once had an explorer II that air tested perfect, was killer on coins, but couldn't hit a small target at more than a few inches. It didn't make sense, but was just a freak problem going on with that particular unit. So when it comes to an Explorer you really have to keep an open mind until the issue is solved.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Hey IP just got off the phone with mom. Asked her to turn her machine on and right after hearing the threshold during boot up wave a coin in front. She did and it immediately picked it up. I turn mine on and right at thresh hold boot up I get a null from any metal for about 15-20 seconds. Unfortunately I think I have something wrong with the machine and need to send it out to be fixed... This null happened with the stock 10.5" and the 15" WOT.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

Of course Im making a liar out of myself because it is working right after I turn it on. When I switched to discrim it didn't pick up my lead fishing weight anymore just nulled.?? Something has to be wrong. How much is a new circuit board again?

 

[Iron Patch]

Hey IP just got off the phone with mom. Asked her to turn her machine on and right after hearing the threshold during boot up wave a coin in front. She did and it immediately picked it up. I turn mine on and right at thresh hold boot up I get a null from any metal for about 15-20 seconds. Unfortunately I think I have something wrong with the machine and need to send it out to be fixed... This null happened with the stock 10.5" and the 15" WOT.

Yes, there is DEFINITELY something wrong when you start up the detector, and if you read one of my posts above you'd see I said that would be very hard for me to do even if I tried. (impossible with normal settings) The question is if it's messing you up in the field, and all this thread is for is basically just about being 100% sure before you send it in. Better to know what's wrong than to let Minelab service roll the dice and see.

Now that you've repeated the nulling problem when powering up it only makes sense it could be less then 100% in the field. Try resetting a bunch of times, and repeat the coin-nulling test. I once had a glitch that took me at least 10 times to snap the detector out of it. Try this too... when you hold the power button in to go back to factory settings, while the tune is playing yank the battery out. Then put it back in and hold the power button to go back into factory presets. Then try the copper test. If you can't snap the detector out of it I think you might have a pretty expensive fix on your hands... so give it a good damn try. Many tries.

 

[Cuerno]

Do you have an Sunray X-1 probe on this unit, is so bypass it.

 

[SouthJerseyJim]

No Sunray probe. I try resetting it a couple times a night. Clean the battery etc. I called ML but they did'nt call me back. I dont want to send it out and have to pay 300 for a new board when I already spent 500. It works find after 20 seconds, I will test it further when the ground thaws. Shame I saw a perfect condition 2008 Explorer II for 600$ today.

 

[Iron Patch]

No Sunray probe. I try resetting it a couple times a night. Clean the battery etc. I called ML but they did'nt call me back. I dont want to send it out and have to pay 300 for a new board when I already spent 500. It works find after 20 seconds, I will test it further when the ground thaws. Shame I saw a perfect condition 2008 Explorer II for 600$ today.

Neither a bad Sunray probe or battery contacts would do that. (unless a loss of power created a glitch - but a reset would almost always fix it) All Minelab is going to tell you is there's a problem and to send it in. It might appear to work fine after the 20 seconds, but the problem is when the detector has to deal with the ground and start rejecting targets. Do you have any old rusty small iron to test for the heck of it? I asked you this before, and would be curious if your detector will ring in well on it, compared to a properly working one that will null. If the detector has a problem with iron rejection I don't see why an airtest wouldn't show you this. It seems like after the 20 seconds is up your unit wants to sound off on everything. So do some tests on small rusty iron and see if it sounds off, and if so, see how how you have to raise the Iron mask to eliminate it. It will be a drag if you have it all Winter only to confirm it needs service... but that's sure looking like the way it's going to be.

 

[stasys]

if you switch explorer its starts to work after 5-10 seconds -dont know exactly never checked, can it be that this is problem for you, my proposal is to take your explorer to any dealer or metal detectors shop-club and meet people who is experienced, no need to think or try to solve problem if you dont know how to even explain what is wrong. you can contact me on Skye and I by sound will tell you if something wrong or not.