Minelab Vs. DFX Real World

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Possibly simply because the overlying soil is less disturbed?? When you dig a hole you don't get the soil back in the same order the surrounding soil was deposited at. So . . . ground balancing is easier and more effective if the ground has "rested" for 50 or 100 years over the coin

Lots and lots of reasons.

I believe! I believe! There certainly seems to be something that we describe as a "halo effect" for lack of a better term.

Air tests are better than nothing but the proof is in the dirt pudding.

 

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[DFX-SE Gregg]

So showing a dfx air test past 8-9 inches would be a lot better then just saying it...anyone?

Here you go! Sorry for the size but it was a quick video and I'm still learning to compress these puppy's.

It's cold outside so I did this in my living room so the DFX's stability is not optimal, but it should be good enough to clearly see it does pickup this 10k gold ring beyond 9" using only the factory coin/jewelry program.

http://www.detectorplace.com/detecting/dfxdepth.mpg

That does appear close if not right at 10 inches...could you do it with the bottom of the coil....also what are those animals in the background? Blurry...were they cats, pups, or did the bears come out of the woods?

 

[Digger]

That does appear close if not right at 10 inches...could you do it with the bottom of the coil....also what are those animals in the background? Blurry...were they cats, pups, or did the bears come out of the woods?

Yes I plan to do it again only outside where I can get a better video. My camera doesn't do so well in low light. Besides, I also want to show I can turn up the PAG and get that same ring at 12". I've seen a few posts saying that turning up the PAG and or AC Sensitivity gains no depth, only makes it more unstable. I gain roughly 2-3" when I turn up just the PAG.

I have 4 critters roaming around the house. 3 dogs and 1 cat. One of the dog is a pure blood Welsh Corgey named Relic. She will be my detecting buddy when she gets a bit older.

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

That does appear close if not right at 10 inches...could you do it with the bottom of the coil....also what are those animals in the background? Blurry...were they cats, pups, or did the bears come out of the woods?

Yes I plan to do it again only outside where I can get a better video. My camera doesn't do so well in low light. Besides, I also want to show I can turn up the PAG and get that same ring at 12". I've seen a few posts saying that turning up the PAG and or AC Sensitivity gains no depth, only makes it more unstable. I gain roughly 2-3" when I turn up just the PAG.

I have 4 critters roaming around the house. 3 dogs and 1 cat. One of the dog is a pure blood Welsh Corgey named Relic. She will be my detecting buddy when she gets a bit older.

The video is a little blurry...I was more amazed at the animals in the background...I was sitting there thinking (of course it was 2am, my night off) damn what the hell is that on the couch and under the table! Looks like your dfx is working well.... but how do we know you are not making the noises in the background! (Signal responses)...just kidding...

 

[MonkeyBoy]

About the deepest I've recovered anything with the DFX and stock coil is 7". Adding the 12" coil you may gain a few inches on Discrim depth and a few more on All-metal depth. I assume you hunt in all metal for relics. So a large item might be picked up deeper. My DFX only reads to a depth of 13.5 inches. Not saying that a target won't be picked up and be dug from a deeper depth. It'll be a larger item that gets picked up at depth.

With the ac sens cranked to 85 and the pre-amp at 4, the a setting of 45 dc sens filters at 3, you'd have to have a spot that had no interference what-so-ever. Otherwise stability would be a problem. Now, neutral soil will allow deeper depths to be had. Florida soil is one of these soils. In the red clay soils you'd have more trouble with depth due to the ground mineralzation. In Ohio you may get 9" with a super 12". Soil does make a difference. I'm sure you could pick up a large object at 14" with a super 12, if you're looking for an old gallon paint cons or something of that size.

This sounds along the line of my thinking...but I would also say a signal at 16 inches with a dfx would amaze me..especially because the visual display stops at 13.5....as Kas and I have previously stated....how do you know it is 14, 16 whatever...again what is your depth reading on the display...is it showing 13.5... I already learned the se will go past a foot or so I have been told with a clear bar indication on the depth reading.

Hey I have a great idea...one of you guys ait testing a dfx at 12 inches could you do a short video and show all the dfx users that depth on the display?

I did a quick air test in my yard with the 12" Spider coil... not as hot as I run the machine in stable fields... and I got "good" signals( a beep) at 12" to 13" on a .69 three ringer and 19" + on a US buckle.. and with my 10 year old helping.. I had pinpointing audio response (i.e. all metal) at 20" to 21" on the buckle... once the weather turns a little for the better.. I will take the setup.. machine.. yardstick and camera out to a nice quiet field.. properly ground balance with higher settings and post the video.. now these were audio responses I could hear just standing there at the opposite end of my machine.. no headphones.. not running as high as I can in some fields.. so I think I'll get better results there.. my yard still has a lot of trash.. a 1790s house.. so I am glad the 12" coil even ground balanced!!!

MonkeyBoy

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Well up to now one of you has come close...looks like 10 inches with wild animals roaming the house is possible! Monkey Boy you are saying even deeper! If you get a chance how about the 12 inch air test I thought would be amazing On video

About the deepest I've recovered anything with the DFX and stock coil is 7". Adding the 12" coil you may gain a few inches on Discrim depth and a few more on All-metal depth. I assume you hunt in all metal for relics. So a large item might be picked up deeper. My DFX only reads to a depth of 13.5 inches. Not saying that a target won't be picked up and be dug from a deeper depth. It'll be a larger item that gets picked up at depth.

With the ac sens cranked to 85 and the pre-amp at 4, the a setting of 45 dc sens filters at 3, you'd have to have a spot that had no interference what-so-ever. Otherwise stability would be a problem. Now, neutral soil will allow deeper depths to be had. Florida soil is one of these soils. In the red clay soils you'd have more trouble with depth due to the ground mineralzation. In Ohio you may get 9" with a super 12". Soil does make a difference. I'm sure you could pick up a large object at 14" with a super 12, if you're looking for an old gallon paint cons or something of that size.

This sounds along the line of my thinking...but I would also say a signal at 16 inches with a dfx would amaze me..especially because the visual display stops at 13.5....as Kas and I have previously stated....how do you know it is 14, 16 whatever...again what is your depth reading on the display...is it showing 13.5... I already learned the se will go past a foot or so I have been told with a clear bar indication on the depth reading.

Hey I have a great idea...one of you guys ait testing a dfx at 12 inches could you do a short video and show all the dfx users that depth on the display?

I did a quick air test in my yard with the 12" Spider coil... not as hot as I run the machine in stable fields... and I got "good" signals( a beep) at 12" to 13" on a .69 three ringer and 19" + on a US buckle.. and with my 10 year old helping.. I had pinpointing audio response (i.e. all metal) at 20" to 21" on the buckle... once the weather turns a little for the better.. I will take the setup.. machine.. yardstick and camera out to a nice quiet field.. properly ground balance with higher settings and post the video.. now these were audio responses I could hear just standing there at the opposite end of my machine.. no headphones.. not running as high as I can in some fields.. so I think I'll get better results there.. my yard still has a lot of trash.. a 1790s house.. so I am glad the 12" coil even ground balanced!!!

MonkeyBoy

 

[Kas]

I'm still skeptical. I'd like to see your DFX program set up, edit by edit.

I want to try it. Sweet Home told me me DFX worked just like it should. Their tolerences can't be that far off from detector to detector.

 

[RaptorSE]

Man, I still get really confused reading these comparisons and airtest posts.

I am airtesting plenty , the same as MonkeyBoy. Gold ring and Clad quarter to 13+"
Silver dimes to 10"+ ( ruler measured ) Using Super 12 fyi.

I think we gotta understand that Air conditions vary probably more than ground conditions.
If you are near powerlines, electrical equipment in homes, within a mile of Antenna towers and
cell phone towers etc etc... your gonna get less performance for sure. EMI gets picked up
by your coil just like it was ground. Coils gather "everything" up and the computer trys
to sort it all out. If you have all sorts of overpowering information spewing into the computer,
the little dime signal might not even be noticed as a worthwhile disturbance, until it gets strong
enough ie: closer to the coil.

Thats how I envision it anyway LOL

Well, thats all I was trying to say, that even airtesting can be an improper comparison, unless
you are doing them side by side, in the same place. However, I can fully agree with MonkeyBoy
on Airtest performance. My numbers would probably go "much" higher on pure DC All Metal.
Ive only airtested AC Motion however.

I have a digital cam, and some editing software - but there is 6 inches of ice and snow outside,
and my detector is disassembled and in its box currently. So video proof will just have to be from
someone else at the moment.

Good discussion - keep it up

 

[MonkeyBoy]

Yes, DFX_Gregg, I am saying deeper ;-) on video.. with audio.. ;-) It is a coming!! I shot some last night as a test in my workshop but the only working video I have is a Nikon camera that I swapped out the internal filter to shoot in the infrared spectrum.. looks weird and I could not get a very stable setup in the middle of my metal filled wood wookshop!! I need to dig out my Sony handycam and shoot, convert and all that.. but yes.. yep.. ah huh.. the US Buckle rang out.. with a audible beep at 18" and 19" !!! I am also testing the setup with a 1$ Gold, Buff, Merc, Silver Quarter, 2 Reale, Half and a Large Cent just because... form my setup last night...

Factory preset relic mode Tweaked Relic
$1 5 1/2" 6" to 7"
Merc 7 1/2" 9"
Buff 8" 10"
Quarter 8" 10"
Half 9" 12"
Reale 9" 11"
Large Cent 10" 11"
Buckle 18" 19" +

Now, like I said.. the machine was not really stable.. would pop and everything.. but that was sitting on a 3' x 7' workbench.. that has screws in the underside and in a old Tavern, yes.. I own a old Tavern!! ;-), full of metal... I need to get out side and try it there.

The adjustments I made to the machine.. off the top of my head during the test were..
AC 76
Recovery Speed 10
BC Reject 1
Hot Rock Rej 0
PAG 3.... 4 was not happening inside!!!
Filters 3

I would not call this a valid test at all... inside.. no ground balance.. no head phones.. so... what I went by was and absolute audio response when I was testing.. where I could tell for certain it was the object I was waving around...

So I will have something shot and posted maybe tomorrow.. or Monday... I am going digging all day today..

MonkeyBoy

Well up to now one of you has come close...looks like 10 inches with wild animals roaming the house is possible! Monkey Boy you are saying even deeper! If you get a chance how about the 12 inch air test I thought would be amazing On video

About the deepest I've recovered anything with the DFX and stock coil is 7". Adding the 12" coil you may gain a few inches on Discrim depth and a few more on All-metal depth. I assume you hunt in all metal for relics. So a large item might be picked up deeper. My DFX only reads to a depth of 13.5 inches. Not saying that a target won't be picked up and be dug from a deeper depth. It'll be a larger item that gets picked up at depth.

With the ac sens cranked to 85 and the pre-amp at 4, the a setting of 45 dc sens filters at 3, you'd have to have a spot that had no interference what-so-ever. Otherwise stability would be a problem. Now, neutral soil will allow deeper depths to be had. Florida soil is one of these soils. In the red clay soils you'd have more trouble with depth due to the ground mineralzation. In Ohio you may get 9" with a super 12". Soil does make a difference. I'm sure you could pick up a large object at 14" with a super 12, if you're looking for an old gallon paint cons or something of that size.

This sounds along the line of my thinking...but I would also say a signal at 16 inches with a dfx would amaze me..especially because the visual display stops at 13.5....as Kas and I have previously stated....how do you know it is 14, 16 whatever...again what is your depth reading on the display...is it showing 13.5... I already learned the se will go past a foot or so I have been told with a clear bar indication on the depth reading.

Hey I have a great idea...one of you guys ait testing a dfx at 12 inches could you do a short video and show all the dfx users that depth on the display?

I did a quick air test in my yard with the 12" Spider coil... not as hot as I run the machine in stable fields... and I got "good" signals( a beep) at 12" to 13" on a .69 three ringer and 19" + on a US buckle.. and with my 10 year old helping.. I had pinpointing audio response (i.e. all metal) at 20" to 21" on the buckle... once the weather turns a little for the better.. I will take the setup.. machine.. yardstick and camera out to a nice quiet field.. properly ground balance with higher settings and post the video.. now these were audio responses I could hear just standing there at the opposite end of my machine.. no headphones.. not running as high as I can in some fields.. so I think I'll get better results there.. my yard still has a lot of trash.. a 1790s house.. so I am glad the 12" coil even ground balanced!!!

MonkeyBoy

 

[MonkeyBoy]

I'm still skeptical. I'd like to see your DFX program set up, edit by edit.

I want to try it. Sweet Home told me me DFX worked just like it should. Their tolerences can't be that far off from detector to detector.

Kas,

I posted the mods I did to the factory preset relic program above... but it is not friendly inside.. but it gets the point across...

MonkeyBoy

 

[MonkeyBoy]

So, how about some video of some airtest with the SE? Not sure why it is just the DFX's that are validating the depth when this whole thread started as a call for comparisons between the two?? I am fully satisfied that the DFX is picking up relics to the 18" mark.. and under better conditions will go deeper on things like buckles and eagle plates.. I'd like to see he same with the SE if possible??

..and for the record.. I do not talk trash.. ;-) if I say something.. it is because I have seen it with my own two eyes and it is a repeatable thing.. the proof will come with the video. I do want to point out that the greatest depth is hitting on a US buckle and that is a lot of brass and lead not exactly a 1 gallon paint can.. but pretty good mass of metal. I am not sure what a fair comparison is in the coin world.. maybe a whole roll of silver quarters?? dimes?? We should come up with some like item to test...

MonkeyBoy

 

[Digger]

I'm still skeptical. I'd like to see your DFX program set up, edit by edit.

Hopefully I can redo a video today outside where my camera does much better.

I understand you being skeptical, but I assure you have have noting to gain by intentionally misleading anyone. I'm not a Whites dealer and my only concern is that people get the detector thats right for them. I know it can be tough when you're buying a detector and you wade through tons of posts about how this detector is better than that detector. Just as with the DFX vs Minelab SE, "whats best" depends on your needs. The DFX has it's strengths and weaknesses just as the SE does, or any detector for that fact.

Yesterday I was telling one of my hunting buddies about this thread, and that I wanted to do a video down in the park showing the recovery of coins at 9-10" with the DFX because some people didn't believe it would go that deep. His exact response was "Thats BS. I've personally watched you dig lots of coins that deep."

Again, I couldn't care less which detector you choose as long as you know you got whats best for you. If someone in Minnesota is only getting 7-8" out of their DFX and you live in Minnesota, then the DFX may not be for you, but here in southwest Kansas, I stand behind my claims of 10+" and plan to show it in my videos.

Besides, I'm in the middle of writing a book about metal detecting. The last thing I want is to have people think I'm intentionally misleading anyone.

I would like to see a video with air tests or in the field of the SE

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

But will you have the same visual affects as the first video shown, I told my wife that was a baby bear that had wondered in the house on the couch! She believed me! I told her under the table...the other pet was an owl... she said "my god! this guy just lets animals roam in and out of his house That was funny.... My answer >>>YES!!!! She shook her head and walked away... I said but honey what about the depth...(she had seen me squeeze out 8 inches with mine)...not sure she believed it after the animals roaming around!!!

Man, I still get really confused reading these comparisons and airtest posts.

I am airtesting plenty , the same as MonkeyBoy. Gold ring and Clad quarter to 13+"
Silver dimes to 10"+ ( ruler measured ) Using Super 12 fyi.

I think we gotta understand that Air conditions vary probably more than ground conditions.
If you are near powerlines, electrical equipment in homes, within a mile of Antenna towers and
cell phone towers etc etc... your gonna get less performance for sure. EMI gets picked up
by your coil just like it was ground. Coils gather "everything" up and the computer trys
to sort it all out. If you have all sorts of overpowering information spewing into the computer,
the little dime signal might not even be noticed as a worthwhile disturbance, until it gets strong
enough ie: closer to the coil.

Thats how I envision it anyway LOL

Well, thats all I was trying to say, that even airtesting can be an improper comparison, unless
you are doing them side by side, in the same place. However, I can fully agree with MonkeyBoy
on Airtest performance. My numbers would probably go "much" higher on pure DC All Metal.
Ive only airtested AC Motion however.

I have a digital cam, and some editing software - but there is 6 inches of ice and snow outside,
and my detector is disassembled and in its box currently. So video proof will just have to be from
someone else at the moment.

Good discussion - keep it up

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Is there any way you can have wild animals running around in the video/picture?? My wife really thinks Digger leaves his doors open and wild animals come in and out! I told her they smell the food and he always starts cooking and then makes videos to make it look like he is outside...oh I forgot her first question was...How is he finding things with the detector on the table!

Yes, DFX_Gregg, I am saying deeper ;-) on video.. with audio.. ;-) It is a coming!! I shot some last night as a test in my workshop but the only working video I have is a Nikon camera that I swapped out the internal filter to shoot in the infrared spectrum.. looks weird and I could not get a very stable setup in the middle of my metal filled wood wookshop!! I need to dig out my Sony handycam and shoot, convert and all that.. but yes.. yep.. ah huh.. the US Buckle rang out.. with a audible beep at 18" and 19" !!! I am also testing the setup with a 1$ Gold, Buff, Merc, Silver Quarter, 2 Reale, Half and a Large Cent just because... form my setup last night...

Factory preset relic mode Tweaked Relic
$1 5 1/2" 6" to 7"
Merc 7 1/2" 9"
Buff 8" 10"
Quarter 8" 10"
Half 9" 12"
Reale 9" 11"
Large Cent 10" 11"
Buckle 18" 19" +

Now, like I said.. the machine was not really stable.. would pop and everything.. but that was sitting on a 3' x 7' workbench.. that has screws in the underside and in a old Tavern, yes.. I own a old Tavern!! ;-), full of metal... I need to get out side and try it there.

The adjustments I made to the machine.. off the top of my head during the test were..
AC 76
Recovery Speed 10
BC Reject 1
Hot Rock Rej 0
PAG 3.... 4 was not happening inside!!!
Filters 3

I would not call this a valid test at all... inside.. no ground balance.. no head phones.. so... what I went by was and absolute audio response when I was testing.. where I could tell for certain it was the object I was waving around...

So I will have something shot and posted maybe tomorrow.. or Monday... I am going digging all day today..

MonkeyBoy

Well up to now one of you has come close...looks like 10 inches with wild animals roaming the house is possible! Monkey Boy you are saying even deeper! If you get a chance how about the 12 inch air test I thought would be amazing On video

About the deepest I've recovered anything with the DFX and stock coil is 7". Adding the 12" coil you may gain a few inches on Discrim depth and a few more on All-metal depth. I assume you hunt in all metal for relics. So a large item might be picked up deeper. My DFX only reads to a depth of 13.5 inches. Not saying that a target won't be picked up and be dug from a deeper depth. It'll be a larger item that gets picked up at depth.

With the ac sens cranked to 85 and the pre-amp at 4, the a setting of 45 dc sens filters at 3, you'd have to have a spot that had no interference what-so-ever. Otherwise stability would be a problem. Now, neutral soil will allow deeper depths to be had. Florida soil is one of these soils. In the red clay soils you'd have more trouble with depth due to the ground mineralzation. In Ohio you may get 9" with a super 12". Soil does make a difference. I'm sure you could pick up a large object at 14" with a super 12, if you're looking for an old gallon paint cons or something of that size.

This sounds along the line of my thinking...but I would also say a signal at 16 inches with a dfx would amaze me..especially because the visual display stops at 13.5....as Kas and I have previously stated....how do you know it is 14, 16 whatever...again what is your depth reading on the display...is it showing 13.5... I already learned the se will go past a foot or so I have been told with a clear bar indication on the depth reading.

Hey I have a great idea...one of you guys ait testing a dfx at 12 inches could you do a short video and show all the dfx users that depth on the display?

I did a quick air test in my yard with the 12" Spider coil... not as hot as I run the machine in stable fields... and I got "good" signals( a beep) at 12" to 13" on a .69 three ringer and 19" + on a US buckle.. and with my 10 year old helping.. I had pinpointing audio response (i.e. all metal) at 20" to 21" on the buckle... once the weather turns a little for the better.. I will take the setup.. machine.. yardstick and camera out to a nice quiet field.. properly ground balance with higher settings and post the video.. now these were audio responses I could hear just standing there at the opposite end of my machine.. no headphones.. not running as high as I can in some fields.. so I think I'll get better results there.. my yard still has a lot of trash.. a 1790s house.. so I am glad the 12" coil even ground balanced!!!

MonkeyBoy

 

[rebelLT]

The never ending whites vs. minelab debate again :P. I guess it would depend on the coil, the soil, and the target. I've owned an XLT, DFX and an EXII. The real test is to take them out and swing over the same targets in the "wild". Thats the only real test that matters. Find a good coin signal with one and try it with the other. my experience (coins, not relics) is that the dfx and xlt will know something is there, though it wont ID the target even remotely correct at anything over six or seven inches. The explorer is better at IDing deeper coins (again, dont know about relics). I think another reason that we hear of a lot of "deep" finds with minelabs is the depth display on the screen. I think you are more likely to pay more attention to an iffy target if you can see that that iffy target (or any target) is 8 or 9 inches deep right away. If anyone cares to give it a head to head comparison I have an old EXII and an old XLT (I sold the DFX long ago). Lets go find an old park somewhere and compared signals. I think it would be interesting to compared the two in "wild".

 

[teverly]

In the real world, there is little difference in depth between each and every detector over a $200 price tag.

Gary's Detectors of Great Britain and Joan Allen both tested current Tesoros, Minelabs, Fishers, several European detectors, and White's all against the big and powerful Nexus. They say basically the same things as did Erik Foster, Keith Wills, George Payne, and Jack Gifford of Tesoro. Anybody who is serious about metal detecting knows who these chaps are and that they are the ultimate experts on the subject of metal detectors. They know what they are talking about.

The only VLF detector that could actully find a dime-sized British coin placed in the ground through the side of the hole at 10 inches so as not to disturb the ground matrix was the Monster Nexus with it's larger coil. The only other detector that could even produce a weak sound at all besides the Nexus was the Bristish version of the Silver uMax with a 9X8 coil (if I remember correctly). Not one other detector could find a coin that size at 10 inches. According to George Payne we would be extremely hard-pressed to find any penny sized coin in average soil past 8 inches. This same size-orientation also closely applies to slugs, sabots, round-ball, coin sized fishing weights, etc.

Also, the above people stated that there is absolutey zero measureable "halo effect" on any targets that are other than iron or iron ores, including tin. Gold has almost zip in bleedoff (leaching into the soil) and neither does silver. Copper has almost as little and lead has even less. In effect, there is no halo effect save for iron and steel targets and that takes a bit of time to evolve anyway.

They also said that an air test is the biggest and best rough determination of a detector's propensity for obtaining a certain depth, but that there is NO VLF detector made that can find a coin deeper in the ground than it does in the air, unless it is an iron coin.

I went to the White's factory and discovered that the DFX, the MXT, and the Explorer SE and II all got within 1/2 inch of each other in air depth AND in the ground. There was no constant either. Some got 1/2 inch better is the air, and some got 1/2 inch better in the ground, regardless of which ground the searching was done in. There was so little difference in their depth potential that any of the detectors we tested would do as well as the other. No Fishers were matched, but I feel very comfortable that the same results would have been achieved. All the above detectors measured around 12 inches in an air test, give or take 1/2".

HMMM wonder why a whites factory would say that??
I wont question the validity of the gentlemen who did these test..but in my real world experience the air test sucked.I started out with a fisher cz6a.......pennies read at less than 6" with the machine maxed out and quarters were around 7".And while hunting i found indian head pennies 8" to 10" .
I have been using minelabs since they came and i will put it up against any machine out there.I think the biggest thing is knowing and using your machine properly.
Even with a small 5" coil in trash i have dug targets at 6"....I have buddy that uses tesoro and there have been times when we have both found targets that the other missed..
Having said this i also agree with buckleboy and others that the type of hunting you are doing has a lot to do with what signals you dig.Also in general in my 14 yrs of detecting i will say that a majority of the targets recovered,say at least 80% were from 1" to 8".
So as always if possible try several machine and see which one you hunt best with and which one works for you.

 

[FortBedfordbob]

Wow, lots of info here ! I've got both machines, had them since 2001. I don't claim to be an expert with either. I think if you could combine they best features of each you would have one great machine. There's times I'll take both but have never stressed over if I was missing targets with one or the other. Out of the box the Minelab is deeper, no question. One has to remember it also has a bigger coil. Target Id, I would give the advantage to Whites. I added a Jimmy Sierra Hot Shot ( 12 inch ) to the DFX and in my opinion it will out do the Minelab with the stock coil. Add a bigger coil to the Explorer and then ? I will say that if the Iron mask is set to high on the Explorer you can miss Relics, I had mine set too high one time and couldn't even hear a horse shoe my brother in law dug !! ( I think it was the factory pre set ) That might be great for a coin hunter but not for me. I backed the Iron Mask to about nothing and have been happily diggin iron again. Monkeyboy if you want to test drive an Explorer, I've got 2 and might be up for a drive HH To All, BB

 

[FortBedfordbob]

One more thing : I detected an old stage stop with an Eagle Spectrum, beat up on it bad. Then got the Explorer and DFX went back for 2 more days of detecting, one with each machine. Didn't find anything great ! A few extra modern bullets maybe a button or 2. That was it . No more Large Cents, Reales, Musketballs or Historical buttons. So was it worth the $2000 I had invested in the new machines ? Still have the Spectrum and don't plan on parting with it. HH

 

[Kas]

I just did my own air test with those settings in relic mode. I don't hunt relics but here's what I got on different coins. 9.5 coil.

8 reale- 11" vdi 92

Barber half 10" vdi 89

Silver dime 8" vdi 80

Nickel new and V 7" new 1976 Vdi 17 V nic VDI 20

Large cent 8" VDI 86

Indian head 1865 through 1906 the older coins did better. VDI from 1906 vdi 42 rest from 51 to 54 7" to 8"

2" crotal bell 12"

Wish it worked that well in the field.

The test came out better than I thought, and with tone. Anything beyond those depths just distrubed the electromagnetic field. I couldn't see if it gave a signagraph display because I was on the coil end away from the screen.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

I just did my own air test with those settings in relic mode. I don't hunt relics but here's what I got on different coins. 9.5 coil.

8 reale- 11" vdi 92

Barber half 10" vdi 89

Silver dime 8" vdi 80

Nickel new and V 7" new 1976 Vdi 17 V nic VDI 20

Large cent 8" VDI 86

Indian head 1865 through 1906 the older coins did better. VDI from 1906 vdi 42 rest from 51 to 54 7" to 8"

2" crotal bell 12"

Wish it worked that well in the field.

The test came out better than I thought, and with tone. Anything beyond those depths just distrubed the electromagnetic field. I couldn't see if it gave a signagraph display because I was on the coil end away from the screen.

so... take in to consideration that relic hunting leans more towards digging everything.. and that you were using a stock 9.5 coil versus a 12"... you ready to start thinking 14" to 16" is true? Just wondering... ;-)

The spot I dug today was clay.. and noisy!! The deepest thing I dug was a three ringer at 8" with the 4" x 10" coil and a nice vest size Eagle "I" button at about 7" everything else was more shallow. Sooo.. not like I'm sitting here claiming to walk out and dig stuff at that depth everytime.. every place I go.. good day though.. these relics were dug just off the site of a small 2 day battle in Northern Virginia..

MonkeyBoy