"Iffy" Signals

Yep today. I was getting some kind of interference and the f-75 was going crazy on the display. Had dug some aluminum can slaw and tabs that hit good. Dug a couple of fired enfield bullets that were way iffy. The iron junk and wire sounded much better. Bullets would not lock in.Then my pin pointer was falseing on everything it touched so went old school and swept my dirt past the coil.
Arghh Yeah it happens!
 

unfortunately you have to weed thru those signals. today I kept digging trash and started to bypass a couple but gritted my teeth and went back. they were trash but sure as the world, they could have been something good. its the same thing with the pull tabs and nickle signals, about the time I am certain that it is just another pull tab, it turns out to be a gold ring. but it still gets rather old to this old wore out body
 

Just makes a guy wonder if he doesn't need to belly up and spend his stash and get a "better" machine??
 

I don't know that you can avoid iffy signals regardless of how much you pay for your machine. A deep coin on edge, a good target sitting with junk, or something at the edge of your machines ability to detect, may give a questionable signal. I think familiarity with your machine and its responses is the most important thing when it comes to deciding to dig or not.
 

I don't know, do they make a machine like that? I thought that iffy signals were regardless of the quality of the machine although most cheaper machines tend to struggle with targets that are very deep (those on the verge of their abilities). there are so many variables to cause a signal to be iffy
 

Iffy signals are inevitable and I have found lots of good stuff by digging them. I will say that I don't dig them if I am just cherry picking but if I am serious detecting then I will dig more iffy signals.
 

Thats the beautiful thing about being a newbie, EVERY signal is treasure!!
 

I think my reward has already come. I got my first detector about 3 weeks ago and took it out for a couple of hrs. Have not seen bare ground since! Brings back childhood memories of Christmas eve, only the treasure is under snow instead of a tree!
 

Got to dig them all! when I first get to a new site like a cellar hole I check for good signals first, good indication of whats there, using discrimination. After that I switch to all metal and dig it all. found my CW cartridge case plate on iffy signal last year at 10-12" , pretty much the limits of my machine and the third time I detected the cellar hole! I guess time is the factor-also the amount of ground you want to cover. All machines get tempermental at times, the trick is to know your machine and adjust as best as you can. Good Hunting! JR
 

I dig iffy signals. But it all depends on the site I'm searching, if I have had good items from there then they get dug on a new site I would probably leave them, it can be a tough choice.:BangHead:

SS
 

JrMack said:
Got to dig them all! when I first get to a new site like a cellar hole I check for good signals first, good indication of whats there, using discrimination. After that I switch to all metal and dig it all. found my CW cartridge case plate on iffy signal last year at 10-12" , pretty much the limits of my machine and the third time I detected the cellar hole! I guess time is the factor-also the amount of ground you want to cover. All machines get tempermental at times, the trick is to know your machine and adjust as best as you can. Good Hunting! JR
Click to expand...

This is kind of how I do it. I cherry-pick it first, then go over it again and again using less and less discrimination and different modes, then I finally wind up in all metal. If I had a PI I would go over it all again. Its amazing how much you can learn about the area you cover by doing this.
 

Higgy said:
This is kind of how I do it. I cherry-pick it first, then go over it again and again using less and less discrimination and different modes, then I finally wind up in all metal. If I had a PI I would go over it all again. Its amazing how much you can learn about the area you cover by doing this.
Click to expand...

Layer by layer...inch by inch.
 

Once in awhile the T2 will give a crappy signal because something is down deep and right on the edge of detection range. I always remove a couple of inches and rescan. If it's a good target it will clean up. If it's not it will normally stay crappy. Trust me I would have left some great finds in the dirt if I didn't do this....including my avatar
 

You kinda have to dig those iffy signals to find out what it is then if there are too many you may skip them but you still risk passing up a goodie.
On my machine nickels ID at 20 or lower while bottle cap ID higher and that is true 90% of the time, but that 10% depends on how tired I am and if my knees, back or other parts are screaming at me!
 

I've dug a few "iffy" signals that turned out good. I'd prefer to refer to them as "different". An example is one time I was swinging the coil under a swing in a park and got a signal that definitely didn't sound like a good one, nor did it sound like the typical trash signal, just DIFFERENT from what I'd expect for either. Didn't register in a good range on the tid as well. In fact I walked past it, thought a moment went back and dug. It turned out to be a very small .975 silver scotty dog from a charm bracelet. Since then, any signal that doesn't quite fit inspires me to retrieve it. Most of them aren't anything special, but once in a while it is.
luvsdux
 

Some of the worst-sounding signals could be a delicate gold chain, or a diamond stud. I'm a firm believer that patience and a steady-paced tortoise approach gets the good stuff every time.

I had a detecting buddy who is no longer a detecting buddy. He'd always find a reason for me to drive my vehicle, not help wit gas, be conveniently broke when it was lunch time, and when we got to every site he'd just out of the truck and start cherry-picking like he was looking for a time bomb. This went on for a while, and I finally stopped asking him to go. He found some good coins, but it wasn't until I went back and deliberately and thoroughly MD'ed the site, did I find any really good finds, especially deep stuff.
 

Even the "better machines" get iffy signals. A lot plays into the iffy signal, The dirt you are in, The junk near the target, the depth and the orientation of the target. You have to dig them all!!!
 

Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

finally got to go play in the mud and had a duh moment

⬅️ Previous Thread

Does Anyone Use 4-Wheeler or Mtn.Bike to Access Deep Woods Sites?

Next Thread ➡️

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
We Dig Metal Detectors

Latest Discussions

Back
Top