Testing the Trash

[dahut]

Trash is everywhere, and detectors seem to think it's always something else.
Or sometimes not.
So I took the trash out of my pouch (yes, I save it) and air tested it with a Lone Star.
This Bounty Hunter is not a precision ID detector, but more of a "ID range" instrument.
Which is what I wanted to show - what range trash items may fall into.



The ranges are, from L to R...

5c
SCR1 (SCRAP 1)
SCR2 (SCRAP 2)
Zc
Coin

NS (no signal)
=======================
5c - The nickel range covers a wide span on the Lone Star, from nickel through many of the tabs. Newer, rounded stay tabs predominate. Of some note was that no matter how low I turned the DISC control, the detector would hardly detect foil. Only can slaw was seen as nickel.

SCR1 - some pull tabs, mostly the older square stay tabs.
SCR2 - none of the pull tabs came in here. Only a corroded tag of some kind.
Zc - the only screw cap I had hit here, along with some copper welding rod and a brass nut.
Coin - large aluminum bits were here.

NS- most interesting was what the Lone Star
DIDNT detect. No iron and none of the small foil was seen in the DISC mode. In the field it's very similar, except large iron that has been buried for a long time will give sporadic high tones.
But, I've yet to detect much tiny foil (gum wrapper, candy, etc.) with this
model. That's maybe a good thing, or not...

 

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[topdogintampa]

Now that's just a ugly pic...sorry for your time spent but it proves a point imo...discrimination isn't all that bad...

T

 

[dahut]

Now that's just a ugly pic...sorry for your time spent but it proves a point imo...discrimination isn't all that bad...

T

I didn't use a lot of discrimination collecting this trash over three hunts. The reason is, I knew there was a chance for jewelry... And I got some, a couple of costume rings.
I'm one of those guys that isn't in a hurry, who usually digs a signal if it repeats cleanly.
I'll keep this up at least until I have a feel for the "trash suite" at a site.

Most jewelry I've ever found, both good and costume, has come just below and just above nickel, and around screw cap/Zc, so I tend to focus on those two zones. Do I get trash? Sure. But I soon learn how a detector acts over trash. Fortunately, I can't think of many jewelry pieces that have been in what is here called, "SCRAP."
For the record, both recent rings hit as zinc cents.

 

[cudamark]

The reason you haven't found jewelry in the scrap range is that your machine won't alert you to it. If your machine ignores small foil, you'll miss small platinum and gold rings.

 

[dahut]

The reason you haven't found jewelry in the scrap range is that your machine won't alert you to it.

I went through a sampling of collected jewelry and found that most of it did NOT land in that void between nickel and Zc. This is fairly consistent with experience in the field, also. This at least supports the idea that there just aren't as many good items in this range as we might hope. Either way, the reason I have so much trash is simple: I'm not afraid of digging it up. If it's a repeatable signal, I'm almost always on my knees recovering it.

If your machine ignores small foil, you'll miss small platinum and gold rings.

Yes, that remains my one concern. After 21 years chasing coils, I've found that most small rings which fall into the foil area do so JUST below nickel. Ive found this detector will signal small gold loop earrings in this range. So, hope yet remains for this detector.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

I've tested my M6 also to see what it says on various targets. Depending on settings small gold rings read as foil. I've often wondered what it would read on huge gold -large foil?

An interesting thing I've found out is I can tell the difference between a nickel and a screw cap/ pop top. The nickel VID always (so far) reads 18-20 if it is a higher # it's a screw cap/pop top.

On mine anything that bounces around in coin range should be dug!

 

[dahut]

I've tested my M6 also to see what it says on various targets. Depending on settings small gold rings read as foil. I've often wondered what it would read on huge gold -large foil?

An interesting thing I've found out is I can tell the difference between a nickel and a screw cap/ pop top. The nickel VID always (so far) reads 18-20 if it is a higher # it's a screw cap/pop top.

On mine anything that bounces around in coin range should be dug!

Yes that is one thing about a good numerical VID - it tends to be predictable. It also prevents you from digging, if you rely on it.

It IS that foil zone that I ponder most. It's possible my little tot lot Lone Star will get small gold rings, even as it ignores the scattered signals from foil.
Rings are single loop inductors, and couple the signal much better than foil. I do detect small rings of lead wire and small bits of the same, so the jury is still out.
Thanks for the input.



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