Was on the wrong end of a butt kicking....

[goldencoin]

Hello

Went to the local fair grounds with two other MD'ers from the south. They welcomed me in and we all set about MD'ing. I had a DFX against their Explorers. They started coming up with silver and wheats my dfx ws skipping over. They even had me run my MD over their holes and it didn't make a sound. By the time i left, they had about 10-12 silvers between them, most mercs, and a walker. I ended up with 2 bucks in clad, an earring that i can only hope is silver or gold, a clown token, and a medalion i'm pretty sure is silver


Right now i'm thinking about getting a bigger coil or tweaking a program...

Any ideas?

HH
-GC

 

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[vpone]

i owned a DFX (great machine) but after some time using it was feeling maybe there was something better out there - that went deeper, ID'd targets better etc, etc ... after some research i sold it and got an Explorer SE

for what it's worth, see my post in the Minelab forum for the comparisons :

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,88277.0.html

hope this helps

vp

 

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[Stormtrooper154]

I am a former DFX owner. 35-40 trips out with DFX = a few wheaties and 1 silver dime Then I traded my DFX straight across for a Minelab SE. 6-8 Trips out with SE = 30+ Wheaties, 6 Silver Dimes, 5 Indian Head, 2 Buffalos. I like the DFX, but it dosent even come close to the SE in the Depth Dept. IMHO

 

[Ron B]

Hello GC!
I think it's time to "turn the other cheek!"

You've got one of the best detectors made; I wish I had one. But, I'm also glad I kept my SE. I've only had mine since April and, although very frustrating to figure out, I've done it. Pinpointing is secondary now. The SE will find them deep for sure. Coupled with the right size coil, it is one machine hard to beat.

Personally I think you need to look at expanding ownership of various size coils designed for your DFX, it's the less expensive alternative for sure. The new 12 incher is getting rave reviews??

GRB

 

[wgmarq]

You might want to try this. I copied it from DFXOnly. But the best suggestion I can give you is get a Eclipse coil for the DFX, I couldn't even find a pull tab with my stock coil !!!! Just pick the right one for the type of hunting you plan on doing.

(This is from the COIN program, but the concept will work for other programs)

PREAMP 4 (or as high as it will go and still run stable)
AC 85 ('''')
DC 40 ("") Keep in mind that this only affects results when pinpointing
BOTTLECAP REJECT 0 (unless you HATE digging deep iron)
HOT ROCK REJECT 0 (unless this is unstable - depends on your conditions)
SWEEP SPEED 1 (and SWEEP SLOWLY!)
RECOVERY SPEED 10 (these last two interact -- you must sweep slowly or this recovery time will cause you to miss deep targets.)

 

[mobrigade]

My XP Goldmaxx, never lies, doesn't get confusing, wet grass is not a concern, no programming, great discrimination, and great depth. I love my machine....

 

[lucky1777]

Hey GC, don't get discoraged. Just keep practicing and get to know your machine. I believe your DFX is one of the best machines on the market. As for all the Minelab owners telling you to sell your machine. I have hunted beside them and did better than them, so don't pay any attention. I still believe it is how well you know your machine. I own an MXT and would not trade it for any other machine.

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Go to findmall.com register, come in the dfx classroom...see you there!

 

[Jonesin]

Goldencoin,

Plant a test bed at various depths, mark them with golf tees and try different settings. Here is a program that I use at local parks, it may not be right for you, but it could be a starting point.

BASIC ADJUSTMENTS
Target Volume-55
Audio Threshold-15
Tone-231
Audio Disc.-on
Silent Search-off
Mixed-Mode-off
A.C. Sensitivity-80
D.C. Sensitivity-50
Backlight-0
Viewing Angle -25
PRO OPTIONS
Audio
Ratchet Pinpoint-off
S.A.T. Speed-5
Tone ID-on
V.C.O. -on
Modulation-on
G.E.B. / Track
Autotrac-on
Track View-off
Autotrac Speed-8
Autotrac Offset-0
Trac Inhibit-on
Course G.E.B.-auto
Fine G.E.B.-auto
DISCRIMINATION:
Disc. Edit & acc +18 thru +94
Block Edit
Learn Accept-off
Learn Reject-off
Recovery Speed-16-20
Bottlecap Reject-1
Hot Rock Reject-12
Sweep Speed-1
Ground Filtering-5
DISPLAY
Visual Disc.-on
Icons -your pref
V.D.I Sensitivity-66
D.C.Phase-on
Graph Averaging-off
Graph Accumulate-on
Fade Rate-5
PRE-AMP
Preamp Gain-3or4
MULTI-FREQUENCY
2 freq. Best Data-off
2 freq. Correlate-off
V.D.I Normalized-on
1 freq. (3 kHz)-on
1 freq. (15 kHz)-off


Play with the A.C. Sensitivity & preamp gain so the DFX will run stable, I run the VDI sensitivity low for a more accurate VDI reading, if you take this up some it will give you a little more depth. Give it a try

Tom

 

[Hardy]

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Goldencoin,

Plant a test bed at various depths, mark them with golf tees and try different settings. Here is a program that I use at local parks, it may not be right for you, but it could be a starting point.

BASIC ADJUSTMENTS
Target Volume-55
Audio Threshold-15
Tone-231
Audio Disc.-on
Silent Search-off
Mixed-Mode-off
A.C. Sensitivity-80
D.C. Sensitivity-50
Backlight-0
Viewing Angle -25
PRO OPTIONS
Audio
Ratchet Pinpoint-off
S.A.T. Speed-5
Tone ID-on
V.C.O. -on
Modulation-on
G.E.B. / Track
Autotrac-on
Track View-off
Autotrac Speed-8
Autotrac Offset-0
Trac Inhibit-on
Course G.E.B.-auto
Fine G.E.B.-auto
DISCRIMINATION:
Disc. Edit & acc +18 thru +94
Block Edit
Learn Accept-off
Learn Reject-off
Recovery Speed-16-20
Bottlecap Reject-1
Hot Rock Reject-12
Sweep Speed-1
Ground Filtering-5
DISPLAY
Visual Disc.-on
Icons -your pref
V.D.I Sensitivity-66
D.C.Phase-on
Graph Averaging-off
Graph Accumulate-on
Fade Rate-5
PRE-AMP
Preamp Gain-3or4
MULTI-FREQUENCY
2 freq. Best Data-off
2 freq. Correlate-off
V.D.I Normalized-on
1 freq. (3 kHz)-on
1 freq. (15 kHz)-off


Play with the A.C. Sensitivity & preamp gain so the DFX will run stable, I run the VDI sensitivity low for a more accurate VDI reading, if you take this up some it will give you a little more depth. Give it a try

Tom

I whole heartedly agree about the testbed for practice. Trash items and good targets at various depths. And some beside and below buried nails and pulltabs as a real test.

The rest of it? Hokie Smokes, Bullwinkle! I don't usually get to spend that much time hunting in a given day as it would take to program all of that! I can drive a five-speed stick and take pictures with a Pentax K1000, but at some point manual settings become a burden.

 

[Jonesin]

Takes 10 min. max to program that in, and you can always save it to a custom program with the DFX. But if everone ran the machine the same, we would only need 1 machine with all the same settings. It's all part of the fun.

Tom

 

[goldencoin]

Ok everyone, i wrote down all your seggustions on a piece of paper and i intend to find my ol' friend barber at the fair

HH
-GC

 

[Jonesin]

Let us know how you make out

Tom

 

[LI Tom]

If you shift over to the Whites forum you will see a very intresting thread from Greg at Trans Bay ,a Whites dealer in Ca. about a hunt in Golden Gate Park where the only detectors to clean up wih old silver was the Explorer.As a note ,I got no dog in this hunt as I use a M6 and fisher ID Excel.But I Will think about an Explorer,despite of the price and weight issues.There seems to be no equal for old,deep coins.

 

[Ima Swinger]

This all makes my head hurt.

Good luck buddy,

Ima

 

[Monty]

You must have had the machine set up wrong. I hunted a club hunt a while back and was hunting silver dimes and quarters behind a guy with a DFX. I was using my ACE 250. I found 5 or six coins he had went right over. I heard him talking later and he said he had forgot to do something with his program and had tuned out dimes. I don't have a DFX so I haven't a clue what he was talking about. I do know the DFX is an awsome machine and shouldn't miss much of anything unless there is a problem. Monty

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

If you shift over to the Whites forum you will see a very intresting thread from Greg at Trans Bay ,a Whites dealer in Ca. about a hunt in Golden Gate Park where the only detectors to clean up wih old silver was the Explorer.As a note ,I got no dog in this hunt as I use a M6 and fisher ID Excel.But I Will think about an Explorer,despite of the price and weight issues.There seems to be no equal for old,deep coins.

No equal for headaches either Go into some explorer sites and read about pinpointing issues, inaccurate depth readings and falsing issues. I see some posting their problems on one forum then pretending not to have problems on this forum. I have seem people bragging about their explorer finds and maybe forgetting what they said And saying something different on another forum. Is the explorer a deep machine....from everything I have read from those I find believable >yes! But there seems to be a few who have gotten the right idea and a lot who are very confused with their explorers. Up to now I have decided to hold tight and not embarass anyone!

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

You must have had the machine set up wrong. I hunted a club hunt a while back and was hunting silver dimes and quarters behind a guy with a DFX. I was using my ACE 250. I found 5 or six coins he had went right over. I heard him talking later and he said he had forgot to do something with his program and had tuned out dimes. I don't have a DFX so I haven't a clue what he was talking about. I do know the DFX is an awsome machine and shouldn't miss much of anything unless there is a problem. Monty

He was talking about >>>Accept/reject...block/edit

 

[Colonial KirkPA]

I agree with my uncle, Silver Zeus! These programs are just a bunch of buttered beef loaded up with chocolate syrup. Zoyboy, Zeus, and I all swing the White's Pro-XL and I would have to say that it is one of the better machines. When others allude to the fact that these Minelabs can find more, I solely see this as a slap in the face (to my metal detecting abilities).

I have witnessed Zeus yank Colonial coins out of the ground at 10" deep, plus a Merc dime at 9". But, overall, the key to success is understanding your machine. If Zeus didn't understand his detector, let alone the subtle variation in his signal tone, I don't believe he would have dug those deepies.

So, before you dudes harp on about these Minelabs kicking some serious but-tocks, consider these other dudes detecting skills.

Peace out, dudes!

Kirk from PA

 

[WheatbackDigger]

No comparison here where I hunt. Minelab will shoot deeper on coin size targets. Being an exDFX user, I can say this for a fact. The DFX was a fine machine, but it does not find coins as deep as an Explorer. Other parts of the country (or world) may be different, but in Illinois, the Explorer is the way to go. Stock vs Stock, Explorer wins