Vanquish 540 Iron Bias Test

[Iffy Signals]

 

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[67GTA]

Mine falses just like Jerry's. I get a consistent 21-22 on straight square nails and rusty chunks in and out of ground. Newer nails don't false. Mine came from Dicks, so I don't think there is any link there. Was waiting to see if other people had the same problem.

 

[Iffy Signals]

Mine falses just like Jerry's. I get a consistent 21-22 on straight square nails and rusty chunks in and out of ground. Newer nails don't false. Mine came from Dicks, so I don't think there is any link there. Was waiting to see if other people had the same problem.

Thanks for the input. If you do a test like I did with accepting all does it do it?

 

[67GTA]

Just tried and it still falses on every mode and no discrim. I have noticed that the distance from the nail makes a difference. 4-6 inches produces consistent high tone. Any closer/farther and it is just normal iron chirp every few swings.

 

[67GTA]

Haven't seen anyone else complain about this so hopefully it is just a few and not all. Lots of test videos from the UK and no complaints. When the USA people start getting them in hand we will see more info. I know mine falses worse on in ground nails because of the rust halo.

 

[kjernigan]

I just got a 540 for my wife and tried it yesterday in our yard. House built in 1900. It does false on some deep iron, especially old nails with larger heads om them. They don't repeat in the same spot every pass like a good target, but will definitely slow you down checking high tone hits. Changing modes didn't make much difference. Cutting Sens down helps some, but depth falls bad if I cut it below 12:00 on the icon. I don't have the smaller coils to try.

 

[67GTA]

Something else I've noticed Iffy Signals has also shown in his videos. When you are over a good target with iron under the coil, the iron buzz disappears. If it is falsing on nails or rusty halos you will still get the iron buzz with the high tone.

 

[Andy Nunez]

OK, I got my Vanquish on Friday and took it out on Sunday to play around with the settings at a site that was full of iron of all shapes and sizes. It was also heavily hunted (I've been there four times). I was up against two XP users (Deus and ORX). I tried coin mode (in a large field), didn't get a whole lot. Switched to relic mode and wow, what a difference it made! One thing I noted was that the high volume of iron made the Vanquish chirpy at max sensitivity, but if you took your time, the good signals sounded nice and smooth. I dug two relatively modern (post 1900) thin brass buttons that came up as 9 and 10 on the VDI (way below nickel) that sounded solid. I also got a flat button, a cuff button, several bullets and casings, a 1912 wheat penny and a no date Draped Bust large cent. A word on the iron bias. Iron by itself is more likely to fool you than iron next to a good target. I had the iron bias on low, so learned that my Vanquish likes round and square objects because I dug to large iron rings and an iron buckle. However, dug very few iron nails (they were iffy, the only reason I dug them was to see what they were due to the tone). I also see why the iron is silent on the nail board tests. Vanquish does not false on iron if there is a good target nearby. It goes silent on the iron and the only way I hear it is to go to all metal. I dug a tiny cuff button (around 15) and there were two rusty nails in the same hole! Didn't hear them, just the cuff button. The large cent sounded sweet. Way up around 24. I need to work on the settings to get it less chirpy, maybe lower sensitivity. I put some photos on Facebook in the Minelab Vanquish Tips and Tricks folder, but I wanted to report here that the iron bias issues were overblown. I am now looking forward to trying the machine at the beach after getting those buttons so solid in the midst of all that iron at 9 and 10. Think I am going to like this machine.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

OK, I got my Vanquish on Friday and took it out on Sunday to play around with the settings at a site that was full of iron of all shapes and sizes. It was also heavily hunted (I've been there four times). I was up against two XP users (Deus and ORX). I tried coin mode (in a large field), didn't get a whole lot. Switched to relic mode and wow, what a difference it made! One thing I noted was that the high volume of iron made the Vanquish chirpy at max sensitivity, but if you took your time, the good signals sounded nice and smooth. I dug two relatively modern (post 1900) thin brass buttons that came up as 9 and 10 on the VDI (way below nickel) that sounded solid. I also got a flat button, a cuff button, several bullets and casings, a 1912 wheat penny and a no date Draped Bust large cent. A word on the iron bias. Iron by itself is more likely to fool you than iron next to a good target. I had the iron bias on low, so learned that my Vanquish likes round and square objects because I dug to large iron rings and an iron buckle. However, dug very few iron nails (they were iffy, the only reason I dug them was to see what they were due to the tone). I also see why the iron is silent on the nail board tests. Vanquish does not false on iron if there is a good target nearby. It goes silent on the iron and the only way I hear it is to go to all metal. I dug a tiny cuff button (around 15) and there were two rusty nails in the same hole! Didn't hear them, just the cuff button. The large cent sounded sweet. Way up around 24. I need to work on the settings to get it less chirpy, maybe lower sensitivity. I put some photos on Facebook in the Minelab Vanquish Tips and Tricks folder, but I wanted to report here that the iron bias issues were overblown. I am not looking forward to trying the machine at the beach after getting those buttons so solid in the midst of all that iron at 9 and 10. Think I am going to like this machine.

Why aren't you looking forward to trying it at the beach? It should perform just as good, if not better, on a salt beach...

 

[Andy Nunez]

Ooops, typo. Should read I am NOW looking forward to the beach.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

Ooops, typo. Should read I am NOW looking forward to the beach.

I figured that, but had to clarify just in case...

 

[Andy Nunez]

I am wondering if turning it on over the bad iron would quiet it down during the noise cancellation process. It wasn't that noisy in my backyard. I am think the iron was just too thick. Thanks guys! Going out Saturday somewhere!

 

[67GTA]

The noise cancellation is only for electrical interference. Not much you can do about the iron except lower your sensitivity. One trick I like to use is to stick my shovel in the ground and pull back slightly to break up any iron halos that cause the chirps without actually digging a plug. If you can disturb the halo and the high tone stops then you know it's iron.

 

[Andy Nunez]

Hmmm, I might try that. The iron is tough but we have pulled out several coppers from it, including a nice Virginia half penny. I got that nearly smooth Draped Bust, a Shield nickel and numerous buttons. Only a Barber dime has come out in the silver department, but there must be more with all that copper coming up.

 

[vferrari]

OK, I got my Vanquish on Friday and took it out on Sunday to play around with the settings at a site that was full of iron of all shapes and sizes. It was also heavily hunted (I've been there four times). I was up against two XP users (Deus and ORX). I tried coin mode (in a large field), didn't get a whole lot. Switched to relic mode and wow, what a difference it made! One thing I noted was that the high volume of iron made the Vanquish chirpy at max sensitivity, but if you took your time, the good signals sounded nice and smooth. I dug two relatively modern (post 1900) thin brass buttons that came up as 9 and 10 on the VDI (way below nickel) that sounded solid. I also got a flat button, a cuff button, several bullets and casings, a 1912 wheat penny and a no date Draped Bust large cent. A word on the iron bias. Iron by itself is more likely to fool you than iron next to a good target. I had the iron bias on low, so learned that my Vanquish likes round and square objects because I dug to large iron rings and an iron buckle. However, dug very few iron nails (they were iffy, the only reason I dug them was to see what they were due to the tone). I also see why the iron is silent on the nail board tests. Vanquish does not false on iron if there is a good target nearby. It goes silent on the iron and the only way I hear it is to go to all metal. I dug a tiny cuff button (around 15) and there were two rusty nails in the same hole! Didn't hear them, just the cuff button. The large cent sounded sweet. Way up around 24. I need to work on the settings to get it less chirpy, maybe lower sensitivity. I put some photos on Facebook in the Minelab Vanquish Tips and Tricks folder, but I wanted to report here that the iron bias issues were overblown. I am now looking forward to trying the machine at the beach after getting those buttons so solid in the midst of all that iron at 9 and 10. Think I am going to like this machine.

If you try iron bias on high (the default) you might get less falsing.

You can also hit the horseshoe button (no discrimination) and listen to rpferrous grunts in synchrony with the falsing to also verify iron. The problem with Vanquish is it's default fixed ground balance settings which means, depending on your soil's actual ground phase, that you may be have a positive or negative ground balance bias which results in ground noise (-9, -8 TID iron grunts even with no iron present) with the "all metal" horseshoe pushbutton engaged. To fix this, you can manually adjust the discrimination pattern for whichever mode you are using by just accepting all but the bottom 2 segments and saving that "custom" mode in the custom mode slot and use that as your all metal/horseshoe mode.

 

[Andy Nunez]

I tried it out again Saturday. I am thinking of switching to jewelry mode because the recovery speed is (I think) a little faster than relic mode. Coin mode is fastest, but I am afraid I am losing depth there. It's also a matter of me learning new sounds after years of the "Garrett Sound of Money". I got the tiniest little brass stud Saturday. It was half the diameter of a thumbtack head but read nice and smooth in the tones. I got lots of tiny stuff I wasn't used to getting, little lead shot, bits of wire and furniture tacks that might have been missed. My best target was an 1879 IHP. I have been hitting hunted out, heavy iron spots to see what I am missing, and what I am missing is tiny stuff, which makes me think I really need to go to the beach, but sadly, it will be empty until the virus passes. For 7 years I have been listening to nothing but Garrett tones, so this is a new experience for me and I see the potential for this to be a powerful machine once I get settled into how to get the best results. I like the iron bias on low because it is supposed to unmask better. It's a tossup. Iffy Signals just put out a video where he did the same thing and got similar results. Little iron was masked, but he dug a saw blade. So,yeah, high bias, less falsing, but low bias, supposed to separate targets better. Thanks for all the tips guys. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.

 

[Iffy Signals]

If you try iron bias on high (the default) you might get less falsing.

You can also hit the horseshoe button (no discrimination) and listen to rpferrous grunts in synchrony with the falsing to also verify iron. The problem with Vanquish is it's default fixed ground balance settings which means, depending on your soil's actual ground phase, that you may be have a positive or negative ground balance bias which results in ground noise (-9, -8 TID iron grunts even with no iron present) with the "all metal" horseshoe pushbutton engaged. To fix this, you can manually adjust the discrimination pattern for whichever mode you are using by just accepting all but the bottom 2 segments and saving that "custom" mode in the custom mode slot and use that as your all metal/horseshoe mode.

Exactly. I learned that from the beginning using the vanquish. Pumping it on clean ground gave a iron tone due to the set balance. Notching out the first two will get rid of all of the mineralization ground false that can be a real pain to deal with and you still hear most of the iron. Using the Vanquish when notching the first two segments is the perfect combo for this machine. Not sure how the 440 and 340 will get on with less segments but it works perfect for the 540. I get the same false iron tone on the Nox when left at zero GB.

 

[Iffy Signals]

I tried it out again Saturday. I am thinking of switching to jewelry mode because the recovery speed is (I think) a little faster than relic mode. Coin mode is fastest, but I am afraid I am losing depth there. It's also a matter of me learning new sounds after years of the "Garrett Sound of Money". I got the tiniest little brass stud Saturday. It was half the diameter of a thumbtack head but read nice and smooth in the tones. I got lots of tiny stuff I wasn't used to getting, little lead shot, bits of wire and furniture tacks that might have been missed. My best target was an 1879 IHP. I have been hitting hunted out, heavy iron spots to see what I am missing, and what I am missing is tiny stuff, which makes me think I really need to go to the beach, but sadly, it will be empty until the virus passes. For 7 years I have been listening to nothing but Garrett tones, so this is a new experience for me and I see the potential for this to be a powerful machine once I get settled into how to get the best results. I like the iron bias on low because it is supposed to unmask better. It's a tossup. Iffy Signals just put out a video where he did the same thing and got similar results. Little iron was masked, but he dug a saw blade. So,yeah, high bias, less falsing, but low bias, supposed to separate targets better. Thanks for all the tips guys. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Glad my videos help bud. TC, Mike

 

[Andy Nunez]

I always recommend people watch your videos because you're just a regular guy learning his machine. There's a guy in Pittsburgh that did some Vanquish tests I liked, too, but I subbed to your channel because you are using the Vanquish consistently, so learn by watching and then trying to apply what I learn in the field. Right now I feel I am swinging too fast for relic mode, so will try jewelry mode next or create the custom mode that you all suggested. Thanks!

 

[Iffy Signals]

I always recommend people watch your videos because you're just a regular guy learning his machine. There's a guy in Pittsburgh that did some Vanquish tests I liked, too, but I subbed to your channel because you are using the Vanquish consistently, so learn by watching and then trying to apply what I learn in the field. Right now I feel I am swinging too fast for relic mode, so will try jewelry mode next or create the custom mode that you all suggested. Thanks!

Thanks Andy! Appreciate it.