Still confused ??

[saanich2018]

There is a local school with a large playing field. I played on this field when I went to this school as a kid. I believe the school opened in the mid 1960's.

I have been going over, using the field as a learning location for my new Nox 800.

Generally, I think I am getting the hang of the basics, but I am still confused on some things.

First example: I got a strong hit and tone. It registered 19 at about 6" down. When I dug it up, it was part of ten penny nail covered in rust.

This was fine. However, I dropped the nail and when I ran the detector over it, laying on the ground, it did not pick it up. After several passes, it came up with a very faint tone and showed a 2. I had the unit in Park 1, with the iron discrimination turned on. When i turned it off, I got a signal for the nail and a slightly higher tone. When I changed to park 2, it picked it up a little better. Then I ran the unit over my digging knife and sometimes it indicated it was there and sometimes it did not. Why would it pick up the nail under ground but not on the surface?

Second example: Old pull tab rings off of old style soda cans. I found four that I dug it and they all had a high tone and showed between 18 and 20. Is this normal? I thought these would hit in the single digit numbers?

Third example: I was going along when suddenly I was hitting between 24 and 39 on everything. Ever time you would swing the unit it kept bouncing and giving a high tone. I finally stopped and a did FP and it cleared up. Why would it do this? I did the Noise cancel and ground balance like normal.

Tonights find was two pennies from the 1960's, two dimes (1971 and 1999), a crushed metal can, one ear ring (not gold or silver), a 22 caliber bullet, a metal button and one air needle to fill a soccer ball.

Thank you for your time and help.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Honest Samuel]

I ben confused since birth.

 

[smokeythecat]

The first thing I can help you with. A rusty nail in the ground will lose molecules around it if undisturbed for some years, and forms a metallic "halo" around it in the soil,. A lot of nails, especially forged ones, with ring up nicely on a variety of machines. That explains why it sounded good in the ground. Now why the machine didn't pick it up on top of the ground, even as a negative # and had problems with your tool, well, that beats me. Since you did a FP, it sounds like the machine got "confused" or "lost its mind" as I sometimes say about some of my machines.

If it stops acting up, just let it go. If it continues, time to call Minelab. That's all I can tell.

 

[Whyme]

Dig it all!

 

[saanich2018]

My first two questions (examples) have been pretty well answered.

What are your thoughts on the third example question?

Thanks

 

[Whyme]

As you move along a beach/land the ground changes, also outside interference can change. Sometimes both change a little, sometimes a lot. Sometimes you need to set the sensitivity down, other times you need to ground balance again. Sometimes you need to find a frequency that gets the least interference where you're hunting. It takes time to learn things like this.

This is right from the manual:

Noise/False Signals


The detector may pick up unwanted noise signals, either through the air or from the ground. These false signals can be reduced by using Noise Cancel or Ground Balance. Turing down Sensitivity will also allow you to operate the detector effectively in difficult (or noisy) locations.

 

[Inspector]

I agree with Whyme on the machine sensitivity maybe to high and when you did the FP, it cleared up because the reset took it to a lower setting.

 

[smokeythecat]

And if what Inspector says doesn't work, time to call Minelab and see what they have to say.

 

[saanich2018]

When I did the noise balance, it was set on 1.
I did the ground balance and it set it at 3, and then I set it for auto.

The field is about 50 yards by 100 yards and is the same ground type throughout.

Last week I went over this same general area and it worked fine.

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

I have a different take on learning this detector. Your sport field is a perfect testing ground. Keep it in Park1, start at sensitivity 18, don’t turn on the Horseshoe button, noise cancel and don’t mess with any other setting. Just look for perfect signals, Nickel 13-14, zinc penny 20-22, copper penny 23-25, Dime 26-29, quarter 30-31. Look for the perfect signals, not too strong or too big. You should not be able to lift your coil more than 10” and still here the good signal, in pinpoint mode it should only be a small 2-4” swing in 4 directions that gives a tight tone. Go out for 2 hours at a time and see how few pieces of junk you can find. Pass on all the iffy and crazy signals. Your ratio of coins to junk should continue to improve as you truly learn a good target on the Nox. You’ll have fun, dig a handful of coins and maybe a ring or 2. Once you can swing a target and call out what it will be with some confidence then start digging the non perfect targets, but maybe only one dig factor is bad at a time.

The Nox can be squirrelly. Hoping this keep it simple method will help you crack this nut! Good luck!

 

[saanich2018]

I have a different take on learning this detector. Your sport field is a perfect testing ground. Keep it in Park1, start at sensitivity 18, don’t turn on the Horseshoe button, noise cancel and don’t mess with any other setting. Just look for perfect signals, Nickel 13-14, zinc penny 20-22, copper penny 23-25, Dime 26-29, quarter 30-31. Look for the perfect signals, not too strong or too big. You should not be able to lift your coil more than 10” and still here the good signal, in pinpoint mode it should only be a small 2-4” swing in 4 directions that gives a tight tone. Go out for 2 hours at a time and see how few pieces of junk you can find. Pass on all the iffy and crazy signals. Your ratio of coins to junk should continue to improve as you truly learn a good target on the Nox. You’ll have fun, dig a handful of coins and maybe a ring or 2. Once you can swing a target and call out what it will be with some confidence then start digging the non perfect targets, but maybe only one dig factor is bad at a time.

The Nox can be squirrelly. Hoping this keep it simple method will help you crack this nut! Good luck!

This is exactly what I have been doing. I have not been trying to be cute and adjust settings as I really do not enough know enough to even begin adjusting things. Maybe I bought "to much" of a machine to begin with, but that has never stopped me before. I am an Industrial Designer - which can be considered a bad thing, as I want to learn and figure things everything.

Right now I am trying to decide if it is the 800 or me, that is causing it to go into the weird crazy modes. It has done it several times now.

I will keep playing in this field and trying to learn the basics before trying advanced stuff. Plus, as you say, I will find a lot of stuff including over $5 in coins just from this field.

I have been digging everything. This field is over 50 years old. I spent two hours the other night and covered about 20 square feet as there is so much stuff in this ground. Good stuff and trash.

 

[saanich2018]

Called Minelab this afternoon and told them the issue I am having my 800.

The first said it was because of trash in the area. However, I explained I could do a FP and stay in the exact same spot and the problem would clear up, so it did not make sense for it being trash or power lines etc. Plus, it did at two different locations (different schools).

So they said when this happens to increase the recovery speed and lower the sensitivity. Does this make sense? Will this not reduce the sensitivity of the unit?

They also said if it keeps happening, it could be a short in the coil.

Thoughts? Comments?

 

[JoeInMO]

My comment is that you no longer have confidence in your current NOX. I'd recommend calling Minelab and explaining that you're sure it's broken (don't be unsure with them) and ask what the warranty repair process is. Send it in and let them check it out. From what I've heard they offer good service and they have the knowledge and technical tools to make sure it works right.

Then when you get it back you can begin to regain confidence in the NOX.

-Joe

 

[FloridaSon]

My 2 cents from my experience. Cell phone? It will chatter if too close you may have left it hime but I find if it in your back pocket farthest away it is fine. I also turn off wifi just because.

re nail: when on the ground were you still in AM horseshoe mode?

WIFI, that school certainly has wifi and it will affect the NOX if close enough.

The intricacies of this machine and learning the limits are the fun part! Like above, I had to learn to change slowly and experiment with know finds, coins, rings and jewelry I had on hand.

Hope these help.

 

[saanich2018]

It is not I have lost confidence, it is more of what am "I" doing wrong and how do I fix it . Plus, if there is something wrong with the unit, I would like it repaired. I will do what Minelab suggested and see what happens. Plus, I am going to the beach in a few weeks and I do not want to send it back in right now in case I do not get it back in time.

As for my phone, I carry it in the small of back behind me. Yes, the wifi is turned on - I will try turning it off. As for the schools WIFI, the playing filed is beside the school, but in a valley below it. You go down 110 steps to the field, so I doubt it is the school wifi. I do not get a signal from the school on my phone even standing beside the school outside, so I doubt I am getting anything on the field.

As for the nail, I had the "horseshoe" turned off when I found it underground. I could not get a signal on it above the ground until I turned the horseshoe on.

 

[vferrari]

They usually turn repairs around in a week or less depending on where you are located.

 

[RustyGold]

Although not mentioned, could it be another target in the hole? I’m sure you would of run the coil back over the hole.
If this is a repeatable condition then I would probably send it into Minelab. Good luck!

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Hi Saanich2018. I will be in Atlanta April 7-9, for an event at the GWCC. I would be willing to meet up with you for a couple of hours one evening and give you some tips and help trouble shoot your issues.

 

[devldog]

Congratulations on the new Nox and here's hoping you can get the problem taken care of soon from a fellow Georgian just East of you on I-20 in Covington.

 

[eman1000]

I experienced this when I would be at a park and running sens above 20 especially if your at 22/23. I would recommend running at 18 or less to see if that clears up the issue. Also I would noise cancel with your pinpointer on. My Nox would get very erratic after I turned on my pinpointer for the fist time.

The nox is in my opinion a very stable machine with a smooth threshold around emi. Funny my two whites machines don't mind the pinpointer but hate power lines.