I think Im missing things with my Garrett 250

[Bev]

I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Good morning,
I went to a beach nearby that I could almost guarantee has not been metal detected before. I immediately started getting signals and dug my fair share of pull tabs. I realized I may be near the location of a garbage can because of how many were in one area. Eventually I got out of the area with so many but I was still digging them more than anything else. I need a little experienced advice:
What I dig usually comes up being between 4-8 inches, rarely being 8. I always recheck the hole after retrieving my pulltab. Unless somebody reburied every pull, no one else has been there with a detector so there just has to be something there that's good. I have it customized to signal everything but iron. Because of so much talk of finding stuff that came up as pulltab I wont eliminate anything else at this time mostly because I'm still learning.
When I heighten the sensitivity (right now it's a little less than half or for you Garrett owners- 3 bars) I just seem to get tinier pieces of metal (once I dug 6 inches down, had the pile of dirt that was signaling only to find half a needle.) I'm not getting coins, etc that are deeper like I'd expect, just smaller junk objects.
It's got to be pilot error. I know there are tons of threads on pulltabs and I apologize, but I guess I'm thinking that under the level of pulltabs there has to be something worthwhile. How do I get there and know that what I'm digging for is bigger than a 1/2" long pin or smaller?
Just to prove I'm taking trash with me, this is what I got from a 45 minute hunt. (another question- why do modern quarters turn so red?)

 

[liftloop]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

that's it your doing it... get that junk out of the way... then go over with a better detector and you mite find that deeper silver if it's there....all that trash could be masking the good stuff....keep at it your doing great.

 

[ThTx]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Bev,

You're getting coins plus the junk. You're doing it right. You can't expect a gold ring everywhere you look. To set your mind at ease, look at the area of the beach you're detecting. Then think about a the size of a lost ring. Now think of the size of your coil. You have to pass your coil over the ring. The only way to get the odds on your side is to keep detecting. I don't know where on the beach you are detecting, but try close to the water line at low tide. Most rings/jewelry are lost from wet hands.

Also, your detector is fine. There is nothing wrong with the 250.

ThTx

 

[Bev]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Thanks- Yeah I know it's me and not the 250- definitely me!
I was just concerned that I was setting it so that I'm getting pulltabs at a level but totally missing something better, deeper. Of course it's raining today so anything I learn today will have to keep! I've found one gold ring where some people never have so I know I'm lucky and I'll do my time while waiting for the next one.
Those detectors that give not only signals but a number...do pull tabs come up a specific number or do they have the same problem that they will come up the number for pulltab but could be something else? I know absolutely nothing about those!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

"those detectors" will also not be able to differentiate the difference between a tab and a gold ring either. They may go deeper than your 250, and maybe handle bad ground and wet-salt better than your 250, but they can not tell aluminum vs gold. Unfortunately, the technology we have, in all our detectors (no matter how expensive or riddled with bells & whistles) all go by conductivity, to tell highs verses low conductors. And unfortunately, gold (unless it's 24k) and aluminum share the same conductive range, given respective target sizes.

your best bet to lower your light weight aluminum junk count, verses your gold count, is to watch for when storms raise swell heights, and waves batter your beaches, and combine with high tide times. When erosion occurs, the beach (if you know when and where to go), the beach can become a natural riffle board. Mother nature can potentially take all the light-weight stuff out to sea (kiss tabs, foil, and zinc pennies goodbye), leaving only heavier dense objects. At times like that, you actually relish the low conductive sounds, as you know what you're about to dig can't possibly be aluminum

 

[calisdad]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Hi Bev,
Your coin to pull tab ratio isn't too bad. A few have suggested using the 250 in jewelry mode tho I haven't tried it yet.
Good Luck,
C-dad

 

[Bev]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

...I get it.... ok. I didnt know if having a detector that gives you those numbers were more accurate to what it may be picking up.

When it's not "fun" I stop. When it feels too much like work or I start to get frustrated, I take a break. I'm working on "fine tuning" my skills so that I can find stuff like you all do!

I appreciate your help, all of you, very very much! Now if this rain will stop I can go practice again!

 

[ThTx]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Hey Bev,

Put a rain cover on your 250, get a cheap poncho and go enjoy the rain!

ThTx

 

[Bev]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

LOL... I'm close... I'm really close to doing that!

 

[TerryC]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Bev, You're doing fine. Suggestion... one of my more productive areas of a beach is the "crest" of the sand, just before it slopes down to the water. Most people put their blankets and towels there. Also, the areas around the lifeguard stands. It's good that you are removing the pulltabs and junk. If you are returning to this beach, you have less stuff to get in the way. Good job! Gl. TTC

 

[Bev]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

This is a fresh water small beach maybe 60 x 100 foot area, there is a path that goes part way around the pond. I figure this place can keep me busy for a bit so why would I want to dig up the same pull tab over and over! There is only a 20 x 30 foot area of sand and the rest is a mossy cover. It's easy to see where they would lay blankets so I think it will be a good place to practice and may pick up some things. Thank you for your encouragement, you're always saying something nice TTC!

 

[bigscoop]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Bev,
Try this while you're learning your machine.
The only real difference between pulltabs and gold rings, as far as how they respond to your machine, is the denseness of the material, pulltabs are usually thin and light while gold rings are usually thicker and heavier...or "more dense". There is a tactic you can apply that will often help you, and your machine, differentiate between these pulltabs and pieces of aluminum and gold rings. It is not 100% foolproof but as you get to know your machine it can help you decrease the amount of pulltabs and aluminum that you dig. It's something you may want to play with a bit to help you see the effect of what I'm about to explain.

Taking a CZ-20 as example, this machine has three tones, high, medium, and low.....both gold and aluminum will typically respond somewhere in the high and medium range. But pulltabs are often more susceptible to response variation because they are not a dense item and they usually don't have a consistant shape. So play with this......after you have centered your target practice applying a rapid up and down vibration to the coil. If the target is a pulltab or thin piece of foil many times you will receive a varied response that jumps back and forth from high to medium, and sometimes these changing responses will even include the low tone. Gold, on the other hand, is more dense and during this vibrating of the coil the signal will tend to be more steady because the item is more dense with a consistant shape. Like I said, this isn't fool proof and when in doubt you should always dig, but this little tactic can sometimes save you the effort. Of course, many older coins will also remain steady, while others, like the newer "junk" coins we're seeing today will tend to jump all over the place. Most often junk jewelry will also respond with very erratic tones. In time your ear will get a better feel for the responses it's hearing.

One other thing, pulltabs also tend to signal a "false pinpoint", meaning they are quite often off to the side of the spot that you originally pinpointed. Have you already noticed this? At any rate, this is a good tactic to learn and by applying it you can often save yourself a lot of uneventful digging. Just remember, it's not 100% foolproof so when in doubt always dig. Good Luck!

 

[Bev]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

"...after you have centered your target practice applying a rapid up and down vibration to the coil." You mean just gently shake it over the target?

I can't believe you said that about tabs being off to the side! Exactly!! I thought I just was really crappy at reading just where to dig!!

Ok, I'm going to go try for a few minutes inbetween rain drops... I just have to give it a shot!

Thanks!

 

[dld]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Bev
you are doing better than me on my last hunt he beach
I got a dime 2 nickels and a penny, and 35 beer caps and 20 pull tabs

if you don't dig everything you will have to decide each time you go there to dig or not
because you will hear a beep every time you pass over it in the future. Get the trash out of there

set your 250 to jewelery mode and go at it.

Once you have cleaned out all the trash you will have a better chance of finding the good stuff,
remember the good stuff has to be there and you have to put the coil over it then dig it.

there is no magic bullet you have to go through all the steps.
You can cherry pick and use the coin mode and notch out nickels but you might be passing
gold and silver by doing it.

Good Luck and don't get discouraged the picture you see of finds often don't show all the trash
you dig, plus all the dues they paid

 

[Bev]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

Kind of like the casino- Everyone is ready to tell you that they won, but not so ready to admit how they spent three times that amount to get it!
I went out near the bike path which was the railroad tracks a long time ago and found a metal thing, a penny and a piece of sheet metal. No pull tabs though- the real test will be back at that little beach.

This is the bike path I'm talking about. It's pretty interesting really. It goes past a few key places and nobody has bothered me yet. If you copy and paste this address it will bring you to the google map:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...89661&spn=0.358658,0.583649&z=10&source=embed

 

[ivan salis]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

the older beaver tail type tabs mimic a ring often * (due to the round " pull ring" you even get the double blip- just ike a real ring laying flat would give off) by the way you are doing fine by the way with your ace 250
-- a delta 4000 (made by teknetics)--- is a 0 to 99 type display "numbers type" machine ($279) it can be a bit finer in its "sorting" since in effect it has 100 numbers "slots" to sort finds into vs 8 blocks on a ace 250 -- but for what you are using ( the ace 250) your doing great --- all a numbers machine will do is tell you the conductivity range number of the metal it "thinks" it found is --- now due to the fact it has a larger "spread"-(0 to 99) into which to sort things into vs a ace 250's 8 blocks --it can sort things a good bit finer --- say a 10 k item or ring is 58 --a 60 or so is many pulltabs --and 67 is a 14 k item -- where as with the ace 250 they might all "ring up" in the same block .

by the way I have both a ace 250 and a delta 4000 ( and have had several bounty hunters as well)--and have used them all quite a bit. (due to ill health --i was forced to looking into the "light weight" type models)

 

[bigscoop]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

"...after you have centered your target practice applying a rapid up and down vibration to the coil." You mean just gently shake it over the target?

I can't believe you said that about tabs being off to the side! Exactly!! I thought I just was really crappy at reading just where to dig!!

Ok, I'm going to go try for a few minutes inbetween rain drops... I just have to give it a shot!

Thanks!

Yes, over the target once you have the target centered. Hard to discribe, just sort of a vibrating up and down motion, sort of like that sudden little rumble you feel on a bumpy road. Play with it a while and you'll get the hang of it. Find a piece of clean ground and try it with several different objects, including a gold ring, pull tab, nail, dime, quarter, penny, and a nickel. See what happens as you play with the vibrations a bit. Better yet, bury the items 3 or 4 inches and give it a try.

 

[TerryC]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

I remember a freshwater swimming hole that I hunted in NC. I found a fire opal earring about 15 feet from the water's edge. I found the other one at the edge of the water. She struggled, for sure, but I think she got dunked! Local swimming holes are hit pretty hard if there is a detectorist in the neighborhood. Try up off the sand. Look for those "secluded" spots where the clothes might be comming off. ;-) TTC

 

[Monty]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

The last gold ring I found was bouncing back and forth between nickel and pulltab on my ACE 250. I figured it was a pulltab, but got fooled. I now dig any signal that bounces like that. Also on the ACE 250, your sensitivity never needs to be above 4 bars. Anything higher usually gives you some falsing. Monty

 

[allen]

Re: I think I'm missing things with my Garrett 250

I love my ace 250 but the pinpointing on it just sucks.
Anyways take a gold ring and run your coil over it and
see where it hits on the meter and then do the same thing
with a pulltab and see what it reads.
Then bury one of each and see where they read and see if
this can help you differentiate between the two.
Good luck