Is PA more difficult to detect?

Holly_squirrel · Mar 31, 2013

I'm having some problems detecting. Everywhere I go around here coal and slag set everything off. I went up north this week to extremely remote mountains and something of iron origin set my detector off like crazy... Making it impossible to relic hunt .

Wyomingmedic · Mar 31, 2013

I have that problem here. Friday I was searching around a very old dam site (at one time, the largest horseshoe dam in the U.S.). There are chunks of iron ranging from fist size to truck hood size. I included a pic which really does not do it justice. Fortunately, you can walk all over and explore it.

There were several areas I simply could not hunt. I had to walk a few feet away from an area and start again. Fortunately and even more amazingly, my detector has an uncanny fast recovery and I was still able to pull coins out from around the mess.

Does your machine have a ground balance you can adjust?

Holly_squirrel · Mar 31, 2013

Wow check that out. No mine does not have that. And it went so crazy, I just had to turn it off ... It was possessed.. Lol

ZR2guy · Mar 31, 2013

What MD do you use? You may have to get a DD coil to help with the high mineralization.Ajustable GB would really help you though .I am in southwest Ohio and the soil in most of the areas I hunt has a moderate mineralization according to my Xterra 70.The X70 has manual and auto GB. I am able to use the stock coil(7.5 kHz) and the 3 kHz coil with pretty good success. I also have an 18.75 kHz DD coil in case I encounter the high mineralization that you apparently have. Good luck!

Holly_squirrel · Mar 31, 2013

An Ace 250

jeff of pa · Mar 31, 2013

yes the fruther north you go it can get bad.

Lebanon counties Iron Ore was my biggest problem.

The coal fields up here in Schuylkill Co & north
can be a nightmare with certain detectors also

for the most part multi frequency detectors handle it pretty well,
other then the Sovereign in & around Lebanon . at least for me

ZR2guy · Mar 31, 2013

I agree 100% with Jeff. These situations that arise when hunting in areas of varying mineralization were the basis for me to get a multi-frequency machine this time around, hence, an Xterra.Since you will outgrow the Ace 250 anyway, you should look at the Xterra series of Minelab if you plan to continue MD'ing. You just simply change the coil, change the frequency and hunt everything. :headbang:

spartacus53 · Mar 31, 2013

If you think PA is bad, then don't even consider coming to NJ :laughing7:

Jay In NewKen · Mar 31, 2013

Here in western pa, i tried using the 250 around RR tracks thats were removed years ago. The grunts and hot rocks made it tough. Even after i upgraded, i found enough hot rocks to start my own smelting business. Though not impossible its hard-going.

releventchair · Mar 31, 2013

Not saying you have not,with detector manual review and large piece of iron see how much through use of iron discrimination,modes and sensitivity iron can be avoided and still detect other metals. Then use detector to locate trash pits or piles to search for relics. Some home or seasonal camps had pockets of decent soil to garden,the usual broken pottery,glass,brick,burnt stone might help find less hot rocky sites.

badpenny · Apr 1, 2013

I'm in the heart of the coal region and use an AT PRO which ground balances very well, and it allows me to change frequencies too and that is usually all it takes to give me a clean signal. Of course I do discriminate at 35 on the iron end too. Good luck. And like you, I love to dig OLD stuff up too. And like my pop always said "You never know when a blind squirrel will find an acorn."!