Whites XLT question

[Louisa]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and just love the amount of info. I moved from central Florida to Arkansas Ouchita mountains last December and it's a whole different world digging in the rocky ground to find something. I can't use a small shovel so I've been using a claw hammer, lol, to unearth the rocks to get to targets. Here's my dillema. I have always dug everything when I get a target, but here I get burnt out digging through the rocky ground. The Whites XLT is great but trying to dig everything is a pain. I get the icons on my screen for "ring and nickel" I have dug up more rifle shells with those icons than I'd like to admit. I also get the icon for "$1" silver dollar. When I dug one heck of a hole yesterday it turned out to be a an old Chevy headlight backing.

My son found a 1959 liberty bell silver half dollar yesterday by eyesight in a washout on an old road that is no longer accessable. I took the Whites out and found a 1926 Buffalo nickel within feet of his find about 6" down in the layers of slate rock. No telling what else is down there. I almost didn't dig for the nickel because of the crap I've dug out when the "ring and nickel" icons appear. Any suggestions for swiping this area with the Whites without having to dig every target through the rocks?

 

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[SouthCarolinaTeacher]

Go with the 4 X 6 Coil. This will provide with better separation between targets.

Unfortunately, Detectors detect by size as well as metal makeup. If you have a can lid that is in the ground, it will probably detect in the high 80s-90s. Just one of those deals.

BUT. Like I mentioned, if you get a smaller coil, which equals slower sweeping speed in your machine, it gives the processor more time to compute what is in the ground, therefore giving a more accurate VDI.

Ian

 

[U.K. Brian]

Louisa Doesn't really say she's suffering much target masking so she could carry on with the stock coil and just switch off the useless icons. In fact I would also say she should ignore the numbers as well because they are of little use as well. Bi metals or items near other metals will give an averaged out reading thats not correct. Silver and gold depending on size/quality can read anywhere on the meter which is another problem.
Listen for the audio response. Anything long should give a double blip response when swept along the length so iots just a case of sweeping from a few directions before digging and use the bars on the meter. Not where they are but the grouping as the Whites has a sizing feature via the bars that I prefer to the top model Garretts (Coin being one or two bars wide, three at most for a large coin). Squeeze the trigger and check the coil is really being swept over the centre of the target or everything will be out and use this all metal mode to again check the size of the target.

 

[desecrator]

I too use an XLT and I've found my fair share of old coins and far more "junk" than I'd like to. I'd say that you're doing great... To find a Buffalo at 6" in rocky soil means that you're digging the right signals. No matter what anyone may say, you can never, ever differentiate between nickels and pull tabs 100% of the time. You can get really good at telling them apart, but if you want the old nickels, you have to dig plenty of pull tabs. Now, of course, knowledge of the history of the area can help you make the decision about whether to dig or not. Any area where you can find silver halves on the surface is almost definitely virgin to detecting... I'd dig every solid signal and most of the questionable ones too. As far as solid silver signals, dig them all also. You will find can lids and the occasional hub cap , but its worth it. I got a signal earlier this year that I knew was going to be a big piece of junk. It sounded off huge in the 50c range and pinpointed at only 2". Well, it was a 1906 Barber half! Never ignore good signals, even if most of the ones you dig turn out to be junk.

Oh, and don't ignore the icons or the VDI numbers... just don't put 100% faith in them. Learn to use your ears first, but use the tone, VDI #'s, icons and signagraph bars all together to get the most accurate target ID possible.

 

[privet12]

Hi there I live in Mena so I know all about the rocks and dont dig them all up or we wont have anything here but a really big hole in the ground. I have two Whites XLTs and they are great machines and desecrator has gave you some good advise on the Whites. If you think it is an old site then better dig most hits but if you know that it is not an old site then only dig the really good ones. I have been to lots of sites that I know have lots of change but also know that it is going to be all clad and I have got good enough with my machine that I will have 9 out of 10 hits that I dig that will be good targets. Like any machine that you can buy you have to use it a lot and learn what it is showing you and its different sounds. I have been doing a lot of research on some old sites around Polk Co. so if there is anything that I can help you with let me know. Take care everyone and Merry Christmas

 

[Louisa]

Thanks everyone for the great advice, using the M/D in this area over the last year here has been challenging, I was really about ready to give it up until just this week and have been rejuvenated, lol. Today we found a 1907 British penny in the same general area. I'm hoping we can find more.

Privet12, do you have any knowledge on any other British coins found here in Polk county? I live roughly 4 1/2 miles from the Leflore, Oklahoma border. Have you swept the Whilemina Lake area? Are we allowed to M/D that place that you know of? Great to see someone else from Mena here!!!

 

[U.K. Brian]

You will note that Desecrator doesn't have any gold coins displayed under the post about gold coins found. If your digging coins more than a few inches deep, or ground mineralisation varies, the use of tone and numbers will mean you miss a large percentage of wanted items. Icons I won't even refer to as each bad icon could also be indicating an even wider range of the most sort after finds.
Wrong I.D. from tones/numbers at more than a few inches depth runs at over 70%. First thing to ask those who pay much attention to meter I.D.'s is how many platinum rings they have found.

 

[bazinga]

First thing to ask those who pay much attention to meter I.D.'s is how many platinum rings they have found.

And then you have to ask yourself.... How many platinum rings are there to be found? There can't be very many, if any at all in the areas that I am hunting. I work for several auctioneers and have attended hundreds of estate auctions. Maybe 1 out of 50 auctions around here actually has a platinum ring in their jewelry collection. Then what are the chances that they also wear it. Then add the odds in of them actually losing it while they are wearing it.

If you are on the beach, different story, but in Middletown, America, you probably aren't going to find it.

 

[desecrator]

You will note that Desecrator doesn't have any gold coins displayed under the post about gold coins found. If your digging coins more than a few inches deep, or ground mineralisation varies, the use of tone and numbers will mean you miss a large percentage of wanted items. Icons I won't even refer to as each bad icon could also be indicating an even wider range of the most sort after finds.
Wrong I.D. from tones/numbers at more than a few inches depth runs at over 70%. First thing to ask those who pay much attention to meter I.D.'s is how many platinum rings they have found.

Well, in the US, gold coins are EXTREMELY rare. In the UK, you have about 2000 years of gold coins under your feet. I don't, for one second, believe my lack of gold coins is because of my user error. I have found gold rings. I have found other gold jewelry. I hunt mostly parks and schools in a 200 year old industrial community in western NY. Most of the people here most likely never saw, let alone possessed any gold coins. I dig pretty much everything above iron when I'm on old ground. Unfortunately, I can't necessarily explain how I know what will be a good target (especially with old nickels, corroded indians and yes, gold) but experience has taught me, and most of the time, I'm right. Its a combination of all the mentioned indicators. But I will say that ignoring the tones and sounds of your XLT is bad advice IMO. And I'd be willing to bet that most other successful hunters here will agree that the sounds of their machine are the first, and most important indicators of what is actually in the ground. Brian is actually the first White's user I've seen that uses the graph bars as his primary indicator. But he has gold coins, so who knows?

 

[Jason in TN]

I say dig it all if it were easy every one would do it and there would be nothing to find.

 

[U.K. Brian]

Sorry not to have got straight back on this but I was away for Christmas. Re platinum rings I had seven when I was last over in the States (two years ago). Most seem to miss them whatever they use and I don't think that motion machines are as good as some of the old VLF/TR's on these targets. I also had U.S. gold coins and several 16th century Spanish (pictures on the Friendly forum) so its not a case of the U.K. being littered with them and none in the States.
Its not an attack on the XLT which I use myself, or its metering system, just a comparison of results with different machines on gold, silver and platinum (in a twenty year old test bed) more than a few inches deep in medium and high mineralised ground.
The majority of I.D.'s made are wrong. With the Whites it tends to indicate bad, when in fact its a good but deep target, use a Fisher CZ and things go the other way with deep ferrous being indicated as good. Its true in the U.K. there are a couple of thousand years of gold and silver finds to be made that you don't have in the States. This means you buy the best machine you can afford (or more normally three or four) and the most used/successful don't have a meter though you would think that the extra few thousand years of scrap metal, nails etc would mean meter I.D. would be essential.

 

[bazinga]

Sorry not to have got straight back on this but I was away for Christmas. Re platinum rings I had seven when I was last over in the States (two years ago). Most seem to miss them whatever they use and I don't think that motion machines are as good as some of the old VLF/TR's on these targets. I also had U.S. gold coins and several 16th century Spanish (pictures on the Friendly forum) so its not a case of the U.K. being littered with them and none in the States.
Its not an attack on the XLT which I use myself, or its metering system, just a comparison of results with different machines on gold, silver and platinum (in a twenty year old test bed) more than a few inches deep in medium and high mineralised ground.
The majority of I.D.'s made are wrong. With the Whites it tends to indicate bad, when in fact its a good but deep target, use a Fisher CZ and things go the other way with deep ferrous being indicated as good. Its true in the U.K. there are a couple of thousand years of gold and silver finds to be made that you don't have in the States. This means you buy the best machine you can afford (or more normally three or four) and the most used/successful don't have a meter though you would think that the extra few thousand years of scrap metal, nails etc would mean meter I.D. would be essential.

What type of sites were you finding all of these platinum rings and gold coins?