Highly mineralized soil?

[Discrimination Dave]

How do you know, or how can you measure the mineralization in the soil in a particular area?

Last year when I bought my first detector, my wife would only allow me to spend peanuts. I bought the bottom of the line bounty hunter. I cleaned up on Japanese Yen clad last Fall and Winter. Japan has no dollar (equivalent) bills or 5 dollar (equivalent) bills, but those currencies are in coins. That is a great advantage for saving up to upgrade my detector, those 500 Yen coins ($5 US) add up fast on popular beaches.
I got in a hurry and bought the ACE 250 a couple of weeks ago in preparation for this Fall. Haven't been to the beach yet, but not having much luck figuring out any signatures in the public parks. I am beginning to fear that I should have waited until I could have upgraded higher. Maybe this soil in Japan is my problem.

I`m not a geologist but i am feeling a little stupid for not suspecting that a volcanic island just might have high mineralization.
Anyone know for sure?

dave

 

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[Ant]

Volcanic soils will produce a highly mineralized soil matrix. If the machine won’t balance or find a targets under the surface the area is highly mineralized, that is as long as you are not having any other interference such as electrical.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Hey Ant,
I see you own the Minelab explorer SE.
THAT is a great machine for messed up dirt like mine I've heard.

 

[Ant]

Hey Ant,
I see you own the Minelab explorer SE.
THAT is a great machine for messed up dirt like mine I've heard.

The SE works very well on silver and coins. I think an upper end beach machine would be suited best for valchanic soils.

 

[Discrimination Dave]

A beach machine? Ok. I'll try to research that.
What does it mean to get the detector to "balance"? Is that just : settle down and act right? or is there a better definition for that term?
thanks again

 

[Ant]

In layman’s terms it’s just like discriminating out metal targets, except the targets are minerals like iron and salts. Around here I find lots of iron in volcanic soils. Oh, I think the ACE 250 automaticly balances itself.

 

[Sandman]

Balance is about "settle down and acting right." It is also called Ground Balance where you adjust the detector so it makes the same threshold sound near the ground as it does when you raise the coil a foot higher. If the sound volume goes up, you turn the knob one way. Sound goes down, you turn it the other way to balance it. The ACE 250 has a set ground balance so it won't do well in minerized ground. It also won't do well on the beach in the wet saltwater sand, but it helps some to turn down the Sensitivity.

Many of the lower end detectors have a factory preset GB. Some manufactures you can send in the detector and they can reset the GB for you, but it is never quiet right. It is best to have a detector where you can set GB yourself. The more features it has, the more the price.

For a beach detector where your at a PI type should work very well for you, but they love to find small iron deep in the sand. Luckily sand is easy to dig unlike grass.

One way to hurry the OK to get a detector is to give the wife a ring you say you found at the beach.

Good Luck,
Sandman

 

[Discrimination Dave]

Sandy,
You have all sorts of good advice! And I do mean all sorts. Thank you I understand. On the beach and at home. Thank you for explaining balancing.
What is a PI machine?
I still want to find relics and old coins, Though I am still researching historic sights and I think I need a better machine. Maybe riverbanks near old bridge locations or parks near the "kofun" (keyhole burial mounds).
The Minelab E-Trak looks and sounds awesome. I couldn't go wrong with a machine like that here? or could I? I understand they take a while to figure out but it wouldn't scare me off to take it on.

D.

 

[Sandman]

A PI detector is a Pulse Induction one. They are very deep and they work well in bad ground, however they are best suited for beaches and deserts for tiny gold nuggets. In a park or school ground now, you'd probably wrap it around a tree as they love finding trash.

I have no experience with the new E-Trac yet so I can't help you with that one. I always thought it was best to skip all the lower featured detectors and go for the big boys and grow into it. We are doing this for fun and part of that fun is learning new things. Why hinder ourselves swinging a detector that isn't up to the task.

 

[liftloop]

sandman is right.