Listen Listen Listen... Lookn4Seated inspired me to write this.

[chukers]

I posted this on another thread but I felt it was good enough to make a thread of its own...

I am the type of hunter that will go over a site several times... at first I'll get a lot of trash and some keepers... then the subsequent times I get less trash and less keepers but they are still there... after hunting a place 5 or 6 time I start after the "iffy" signals... and there are still coins there... not all coins sound like coins for many reasons...

coins on edge do not sound like coins sometimes...
coins next to pull tabs
coins next to nails or iron targets
one way coin signals (they only ring up good on one pass of your swing)
moisture in the dirt effect how a coin sound or lack of moisture

also if you can get a "constant" signal not all signals are what they say they are... I have found many buttons or tokens or dog tags keys and watch fobs whey it rang up as a pull tab... I even found my first and only 1853 seated half dime that rang up like a zinc penny but it was consistent so I dug it!

The only time I look at my v3i screen is after something "SOUNDS" good...

like Lookn4seated said LISTEN to your detector... its excellent advice!


Chukers

 

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[tmanfromtexas]

Very good advice. I was hunting a park in NOLA this weekend. I was swinging my etrac slow and overlapping. It got a beep on the swing and when I say beep I mean it was a 1/4 second peep. It was a high tone and it stopped me in my tracks. I swept over it again and got a little bit better sound. I could tell it was deep because it was broken up. I finally looked at my screen and first looked at the depth, 8 inches, nice, the numbers were ferrous 9-22, conductive 40-45, BUT the tone was the high tone of silver. I dug it and got a 1902 barber dime. I didnt find anything else in the hole to mask it other than the ground was dry. The second barber sounded better and the 2 reale sounded like a quarter and high numbers like a half. So, make sure on the etrac you slow down and listen for what it is telling you. TMAN...

 

[Cranman]

I've got to ask....does your MD's really give good repeatable info? What I mean is mine (before I broke it, new MD on the way) was very erratic. One pass it says .25C 4in deep, next pass it jumps from 25C to 50C and the depth may change. This is a Prizm 4 I am talking about. Is it a matter of my MD is a "inexpensive" less accurate item, or is that the nature of MD's in general. Lastly if you were to swing once left to right, and get a good high tone mid swing, will your MD display what it "hit on" last? Mine just seemed so jumpy. I think part of it though was my inexperience with that MD and in general, I still have alot to learn. Hence the questions

 

[chukers]

I've got to ask....does your MD's really give good repeatable info? What I mean is mine (before I broke it, new MD on the way) was very erratic. One pass it says .25C 4in deep, next pass it jumps from 25C to 50C and the depth may change. This is a Prizm 4 I am talking about. Is it a matter of my MD is a "inexpensive" less accurate item, or is that the nature of MD's in general. Lastly if you were to swing once left to right, and get a good high tone mid swing, will your MD display what it "hit on" last? Mine just seemed so jumpy. I think part of it though was my inexperience with that MD and in general, I still have a lot to learn. Hence the questions

well if you can not get a consistent signal ever then there is something wrong... even the inexpensive ones should get a constant signal on a coin. unless something is wrong.


with all the detectors I have used a "coin signal" is VERY obvious... 90% of the time... at 4 inches is should read exactly what it is. most detectors have no trouble telling if its a coin. Now if its an "iffy" signal that is what I am talking about what I posted was some reasons why that could be happening...

have you tried a test garden or some air tests?

Chukers

I hope I answered your question... and that what places like this is for to learn and get questions answered.

 

[kayden]

Good advice chukers!

 

[Cranman]

Chuckers- I have not tried a test garden, I think that would be a good idea. This weekend when I am trying out my new Fisher F2 I will do that first, should help me get a feel for the MD. Thanks!

 

[TheRockDoc]

I've got to ask....does your MD's really give good repeatable info? What I mean is mine (before I broke it, new MD on the way) was very erratic. One pass it says .25C 4in deep, next pass it jumps from 25C to 50C and the depth may change. This is a Prizm 4 I am talking about. Is it a matter of my MD is a "inexpensive" less accurate item, or is that the nature of MD's in general. Lastly if you were to swing once left to right, and get a good high tone mid swing, will your MD display what it "hit on" last? Mine just seemed so jumpy. I think part of it though was my inexperience with that MD and in general, I still have alot to learn. Hence the questions

I will add my two cents here, just because if I were asking that question in your postition, I would appreciate this feedback-plus I am also very new sp I can relate. I bought an etrac in september as my first ever detector-no expirience prior. I can tell you for sure that the difference between the etrac(higher quality machines) and the lower end machines is immeasurable, if thats a word. You cannot measure the difference-hows that? Majority of the time, I get a very solid, consistent, repeatable signal. (probably 80% or more of the time). AS mentioned, there are many variables, like moisture, or if your target is next/close to iron, or any other metal for that matter... depth. I have noticed on my machine that when I detect any type of spent bullet (just the trajectory, not the casing at all) it seems like they will make my machine crazy all over the place, many of them sound very different, but many of them make the inconsistant, jumping all over the place that you speak of-So I am guessing different items will have different affects on machines too. Also, I have noticed that your surroundings will or I should say can, have an affect. Like for instance, if you are in a yard with a metal fence and you get too close, or anywhere close to siding, wires, pipes, metal sprinklers, under low hanging power lines etc...

So, my point is that what you are expiriencing is the difference in quality of machines based on cost. I am only 3 months in, and couldnt even really detect hardly until the last month, I am already to the point where I can tell just by the tone/sound of the target what I am about to dig on many targets (zinc pennies, copper pennies, wheats-which surprisingly sound different, dimes-especially, pull tabs etc. I have a long way to go (obviously one can never be right all the time, due to the factors already mentioned.) This is why we always hear people say- "Dig everything". -At first I thought they all said that so you could learn what your machine is saying thus getting you to the point where you didnt have to "dig everything"... Nope, gotta Dig it All... I know I would hate to be the guy who is out digging pennies, dimes, etc... just to pass over that "pull tab sounding signal or zinc penny signal" just to leave that gold ring for the next guy... I do not want to be that guy.. so I dig everything.

Good luck.

 

[chukers]

Chuckers- I have not tried a test garden, I think that would be a good idea. This weekend when I am trying out my new Fisher F2 I will do that first, should help me get a feel for the MD. Thanks!

let us know what you figure out... glad to help

Chukers

 

[chukers]

I've got to ask....does your MD's really give good repeatable info? What I mean is mine (before I broke it, new MD on the way) was very erratic. One pass it says .25C 4in deep, next pass it jumps from 25C to 50C and the depth may change. This is a Prizm 4 I am talking about. Is it a matter of my MD is a "inexpensive" less accurate item, or is that the nature of MD's in general. Lastly if you were to swing once left to right, and get a good high tone mid swing, will your MD display what it "hit on" last? Mine just seemed so jumpy. I think part of it though was my inexperience with that MD and in general, I still have alot to learn. Hence the questions

I will add my two cents here, just because if I were asking that question in your postition, I would appreciate this feedback-plus I am also very new sp I can relate. I bought an etrac in september as my first ever detector-no expirience prior. I can tell you for sure that the difference between the etrac(higher quality machines) and the lower end machines is immeasurable, if thats a word. You cannot measure the difference-hows that? Majority of the time, I get a very solid, consistent, repeatable signal. (probably 80% or more of the time). AS mentioned, there are many variables, like moisture, or if your target is next/close to iron, or any other metal for that matter... depth. I have noticed on my machine that when I detect any type of spent bullet (just the trajectory, not the casing at all) it seems like they will make my machine crazy all over the place, many of them sound very different, but many of them make the inconsistant, jumping all over the place that you speak of-So I am guessing different items will have different affects on machines too. Also, I have noticed that your surroundings will or I should say can, have an affect. Like for instance, if you are in a yard with a metal fence and you get too close, or anywhere close to siding, wires, pipes, metal sprinklers, under low hanging power lines etc...

So, my point is that what you are expiriencing is the difference in quality of machines based on cost. I am only 3 months in, and couldnt even really detect hardly until the last month, I am already to the point where I can tell just by the tone/sound of the target what I am about to dig on many targets (zinc pennies, copper pennies, wheats-which surprisingly sound different, dimes-especially, pull tabs etc. I have a long way to go (obviously one can never be right all the time, due to the factors already mentioned.) This is why we always hear people say- "Dig everything". -At first I thought they all said that so you could learn what your machine is saying thus getting you to the point where you didnt have to "dig everything"... Nope, gotta Dig it All... I know I would hate to be the guy who is out digging pennies, dimes, etc... just to pass over that "pull tab sounding signal or zinc penny signal" just to leave that gold ring for the next guy... I do not want to be that guy.. so I dig everything.

Good luck.

Yes TheRockDoc is correct... I forgot to add that one DEPTH of the target does effect how it sounds too!


Chukers

 

[TORRERO]

I think the question was this
"does your MD's really give good repeatable info?" Information... I have a DFX and the real answer is yes and no...
Yes the vast majority of signals that are good will give a solid repeatable signal (95%)
does the info read constant? well no not really... (also a lot depends on soil)(sand is best/clay is worst)
If I am within 6-8 inches of a target, it is very consistant, but the numbers may fluctuate as much as
5 to 10 numbers, so in my head I do an "average" on what the machine is telling me....
If the number fluctuates from 65 to 75 and is consistant, then it's a penny...
Quarters come up anywhere from 82 to 86 but more at 85/86
dimes can be 75 to 82 bust mostly 79/80 and nickels... somewhere between 15 and 23 but mostly
21/22 range..... the signal is solid and what is the average... give's me the most likely target.
Never guaranteed of course but that's the fun...

 

[m bryan]

Good info guys....