Falsing on Grass

[Trapper John]

No. I am not referring to the 420 version soon to be legal here in Orygun.

What I mean is the signal I frequently get when the AT PRO standard coil bumps either the ground surface or comes in contact with a single blade of grass - something I have read about elswhere in this forum. Here's a bit of background.

I am a newbie and coming up the learning curve with less than 100 hours on my md. I am perfectly happy with learning as I go, especially with all of the help and information available on this site and on youtube. I have been detecting on beaches along the Columbia River. So far nothing found but clad. I am operating in pro mode, either coin or zero. I check my coil connections frequently as I have found that my machine is prone to loosen up after a few hours of use. I keep the connection finger tight and do not want to over-tighten the coupling. When I get a questionable hit I vary modes and change my sweep angle relative to the target.

I generally dig everything that sounds coinish and am getting better at avoiding bottle caps. Here's my question:

I have the opportunity to work an old home site that is overrun with periwinkle vines. I can dig but do not have the option of whacking away the 6" high vines. (Besides, even if I did my heart would probably attack me before I got the area cleared.) Since the PRO is falsing on single blades of grass I imagine that trying to bull my way through the vines and sweep reasonably close to the ground will result in sounds reminiscent of the bells of Saint Mary's.

Given my willingness to dig anything that sounds good, I can imagine myself going quietly beserk amongst the foliage. I will use a 5x8 coil to cover this ground, but any advice that experienced Diggers might share under these circumstances will be appreciated. I can live with this if it is a simple fact of life but it sure will slow me down to do so.

 

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[RobRieman]

Is your coil cable beating against the shaft? I have the first foot Ty-rapped straight up the shaft and then wound the rest of the way and have never had falsing on grass or weeds. I've heard others with the same problem though. Does it happen everywhere you hunt and with both coils?

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello,
Hello Trapper-John,

RobRieman has a point about the coil wire. I use black electrical tape to secure the first 14 inches of the coil wire to the lower shaft. I also use 1" Velcro wraps purchased at a local store and secure any loose coil wire. For me this has resulted in smooth operation. You are right about the loose coil wire securing nut, but just check before each hunt and all will be well. The 5X8 coil will work and if trashy use the sniper coil, its small, round, light and gets decent depth. This may help in your present vine ridden hunting area.

Regards,

 

[Trapper John]

Thank you gentlemen, for the good input. RobReiman, I had previously secured my coil wire with a single wrap at the 14 inch point. Both of you have suggested a more thorough wrapping and will most definitely add velcro strips to that end. Prof, I will also look into getting a sniper coil as the form factor may be just the trick for the vine-covered area.

Rob, this has happened with both coils but is more pronounced with the larger one. I have noticed that I hit pockets of high mineralization along the river and mostly on the surface or top three inches. I deduced this from carefully doing shallow digs and checking with my pinpointer. I comb through the material and find nothing in spite of indications to the contrary from the pointer. Since I have run into swaths as large as 2'x6' I conclude that such spots are heavily mineralized. They almost always coincide with dark sand deposits - a fact which makes me wonder if the mineral could include trace amounts of gold.

The Columbia is far from pristine and loaded with ferrous objects that may have disintegrated and left ghosts. I have no idea what the half-life of clad coinage is in fresh water but I have pulled out many pennies that are severely corroded to the point of being barely recognizable. In any case figuring all of this out is part of the fun for me and I appreciate your input.

 

[RobRieman]

Sometimes the easiest way to check your detector is too find someone with the same model and compare how the act in the same location. It also gives you a chance to swap coils to do a test. If you can find someone with a AT near you maybe you could do a comparison test. These things go bad just like every other piece of electronics and some seem to perform different in the same location. Good luck!

 

[John-Edmonton]

Turn your sensitivity down a bit. Sensitivity doesn't equate to depth. In fact, if the area you describe as having a fair amount of oxidized metal scattered about, you will actually be able to get better target separation, thus more targets with a lower sensitivity.

Good luck!

 

[RobRieman]

Good point John. I get in a habit of assuming things like sensitivity settings and I shouldn't.

 

[gordonquixote]

Are you wearing steel toed boots? If I hop out of my truck to hit a quick spot in my boots, it sounds like that.

 

[DiggerGal]

I have had the same issue with the stock coil, and found the following:
1) Make sure to wrap your coil wire snugly starting clockwise in the front of the shaft first.
2) check the "O" ring seal at the connection to the box, if it is not sealed it will false.
3) I use Velcro straps sold at Home Depot to secure my connections at the base, middle;below the cam locks and top.
4) ground balance often.

I hunt in pro 0, 35 Disc and sensitivity at 3-4 below the top.
Once I checked all of the above, the falsing ceased.
Good luck and HH!!!!

 

[Trapper John]

Again I thank all for the valuable advice. I will try all of your suggestions in the spirit of "continuous improvement.

Gordon, I wear soft shoes and have double-checked to make sure lace eyelets are not messing things up. Rob, if I find an AT PRO digger near byI will most certainly follow your advice.

 

[gleaner1]

I have had the same issue with the stock coil, and found the following:
1) Make sure to wrap your coil wire snugly starting clockwise in the front of the shaft first.
2) check the "O" ring seal at the connection to the box, if it is not sealed it will false.
3) I use Velcro straps sold at Home Depot to secure my connections at the base, middle;below the cam locks and top.
4) ground balance often.

I hunt in pro 0, 35 Disc and sensitivity at 3-4 below the top.
Once I checked all of the above, the falsing ceased.
Good luck and HH!!!!

it does not matter which direction you wrap the coil wire.

 

[DiggerGal]

it does not matter which direction you wrap the coil wire.

Actually, according to Garrett;
"Wrap the cable snugly about the stem with the first turn of the cable over the stem"

 

[gleaner1]

Actually, according to Garrett;
"Wrap the cable snugly about the stem with the first turn of the cable over the stem"

Counter clockwise is okay too. The first turn. About the stem. Snugly. And stuff. I run mine straight up with o rings for easy adjustability. But it dont matter how you run it. As long as its not flapping around like my big stupid mouth. No, really.

 

[pkb]

with detector on hold the coil up in the air and jiggle it. If it falses and suggestions above have been performed you have a bad coil. Happened to mine

 

[OldJerseyGirl]

Mine has done that for as long as I have had it. If you touch a stick or small stalk in the field it will give a high beep. I am so used to this I just ignore it. I do know I was hunting with someone else that had an AT Pro and I remember telling him that it drives me crazy that it beeps if you touch something, and he said his does the same thing. I will say it is not like a good signal, so I have just ignored it. Also, if you go very slow it does it less often.

 

[Trapper John]

Thankfully my coil passes the test suggested by pkb. OJG, your remarks are appreciated because they may point to idiosyncrasies of our particular machines. That would probably be worth discussing with Garrett. Given the popularity of this particular machine I have to believe that a design/production flaw would be reported by more diggers so as you point out it may just be an issue of learning my detector. Still, I am the kind of person who tends to dig first and talk later.

If this hobby was idiot-proof, there would be many, many more idiots out there competing for the good stuff. It sure helps to be able to kick ideas around on this forum!

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

Sometimes , it's an indication that the sensitivity is too high, but in your case, you are running 3-4 bars below MAX. Most of the time, wrapping the coil over the top of the rod first helps.If it's ground balanced, wrapped right, and not at max sensitivity, I'd suggest a call to Garrett. Blades of grass should not effect it, but twigs and branches might.

Wayne

Metal Detector Sales and Rentals | Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, White's ? Metal Detecting Stuff

 

[Turbo21]

Turn your sensitivity down a bit. Sensitivity doesn't equate to depth. In fact, if the area you describe as having a fair amount of oxidized metal scattered about, you will actually be able to get better target separation, thus more targets with a lower sensitivity.

Good luck!

What am I missing here? Higher sensitivity would give you deeper readings.

Lower sensitivity may give you better separation. But you would miss some deeper items

 

[RobRieman]

What am I missing here? Higher sensitivity would give you deeper readings.

Lower sensitivity may give you better separation. But you would miss some deeper items

Too high of sensitivity causes falsing in trashy areas.

 

[gleaner1]

Mine has done that for as long as I have had it. If you touch a stick or small stalk in the field it will give a high beep. I am so used to this I just ignore it. I do know I was hunting with someone else that had an AT Pro and I remember telling him that it drives me crazy that it beeps if you touch something, and he said his does the same thing. I will say it is not like a good signal, so I have just ignored it. Also, if you go very slow it does it less often.

Something is wrong with your machine. Atpros are rock stable.