A little confused??? A little long.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I just got an Exp. ll a few weeks ago and am trying to learn it. I hit an old yard the other day and found some good coins though not really old. I know it has to be there to find it. Then I thought for the heck of it I would go over the same area with my MXT. I pulled out a number of coins from the exact same spot! This has happened more than once...other times with the DFX. My question is...does anyone else feel the signal doesn't hit very hard on the Explorers??? Everything seems to be soft and ran together. Coins 3-4" down just seem iffy to me. I have been detecting for years and no, I am not hard hearing. I know the power of the machine by what is posted on the forums. I have even "learned" JUST coins and even then the signal seems less than strong. I have had Explorers before and always seemed to sell them due to frustration and then buy them back again thinking that some day the way to hunt with it will hit home. I'm not trying to start a brand war, but on the DFX and the MXT signals seems to lock on when a target is hit and catch your attention. The numbers seem to stay close together and give you a good idea of rather to dig or not. The numbers on the Exp. seem to jump around and take a long time (in relation to the DFX and MXT) to show you the ID. I feel I am sweeping right over targets with the Exp. and the signal isn't pronounced enough to get my attention. I am in mid Missouri and don't know if coins are deep enough to warrant a deep machine. I think you can kind of catch what I am trying to say by now. Other than practice, what are the steps I need to take to master this beast??? Thanks!!!

One more question...I am getting a lot of fairly strong hits on the far right side of the screen that go about 3/4 of the way up the screen. They have a high tone. I am in ferrous mode. What could they be??? Should I be digging them?

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know what the DFX and MXT sound like, but with the Explorer both the "pitch" of the coin tone as well as the "quality" of the signal are equally important. It is not a beep and dig detector. It will take longer than a couple weeks to get the hang of it, especially if you are comparing it to other detectors along the way. Some people describe a deep coin tone as "flutey", and if I can add to it, it is flutey with no gaps in the flute tone. 3 or 4 inch coins are usually too shallow to be flutey, and any detector can usually reach these.

Personally, I never look at the numbers, so I don't care where they hit. I only care about the tone pitch and quality. If all signals sound soft, raise the gain up to 10, then everything except the deepest signals will be loud. Assuming everything is working properly (no shorts in the connections), maybe you need to try different headphones to hear the signals better. But I've used cheapies and they all work OK.

Regarding "learning" just coins, it will result in choppy hits for deep coins.

Regarding those tones that hit 3/4 of the way up the right side, they are either hot rocks hitting hard with your sensitivity too high, or crown caps (too high of a sensitivity causing them to spike up).

 

[Joe G]

That's interesting because I have had the exact opposite experience. I pulled 2 quarters out of a mulch playground last that were in the 10" plus range. The signal was amazingly strong. I kept digging and digging thinking all the time it was one of those phantom targets. I was really shocked when I dug them in. I usually run my gain around 8 to boost the deepies volume. I think running it in Audio 2 "smooths" out the signal and really locks in on the target.

I usually run in digital, but as was stated before, I mainly go by tone. The digital is merely a little backup.

 

[Cody]

The factory preset for audio gain is 5. The audio gain works a little different in that at 5 or below deep coins sound faint and shallow coins sound very intense and loud. This is sometimes called a modulated audio signal. Some users go by the faint or intense loud sound to guage depth. If you go to the Advanced Mode and increase Audio Gain to 10 then increase sensitivity on the push pad to about 28 you should should get hits at 8 to 12" on a dime that will ring your ears. After a little use you may want to back the Audio Gain down a little for your preference. You will also notice the pinpoint signal is much strnger when the Audio Gain is set to about 8 to 10.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Chance are if they are 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up on the very right hand side of the screen in ferrous tones will sound good, but they are pieces of rusty tin cans I have found. these are not the alum cans, but the older tin cans. If it is close to the bottom of the screnn then those are the older rusty crown caps. I use digital mostly and if the conductiviry is lower than 21, but has the high tone of a good target I will not dig these as they have been rusty cans or pieces of them.


Rick

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep chugging along and get the hang of it someday. I'm sure I need to "SLOW DOWN!" Let me know if you have any other suggestions. Thanks again.

Chris

 

[Gord SW Ont]

Up here, we also find a lot of nickel based modern Canadian coins along the right-hand edge about 1/2 to 1/3 of the way up as well (ie between silver at the top and crowncaps at the bottom). These coins are crappy and can be found in other locations as well depending on the circumstances.

Be careful about this though ... if yOu get a signal that's along the right-hand edge and it is in the upper half or third of the screen I'd dig ... too many silver (often of higher denominations or multiple coins) have been found here. Funny thing is that, in my experience, the higher denomination silver coins seem to be lower than the higher denomination ones.

HH ... Gord SW Ont.

 

[Anonymous]

Should you be digging them - for a short period of time - yes - you tell us what they are.
As most people will tell you they are probably junk but as you state you're personally in the learning mode so why not "Explore" your specific, site, soil and setting configurations.
If you're serious about learning the intricacies of the EX why not keep a notebook with you - document the readings before you dig - play a game with yourself - guess what it is - scrap - pull tabs - tops - coins, etc. Note sound pattern - 3 fluty like tones, cuts out quickly or with harshness, low growl, high but short, etc., etc. - however best makes sense to you so you can recognize it again. Kinda like different folks trying to write down a bird song - was it "peter, peter, peter" or "taheet, taheet, taheet" - who cares - whatever works as long as it makes sense and is repeatable for you. This gives you some personal reference base to work from and refer to. Plus on those days when you get skunked at least you can feel satisfied that you are better informed than when you left that morning. Plus gives you something to ponder and think about in your downtime - makes it more fun and interesting - plus you've documented where you've been and when and what you've found. Now this is only if you really want to get involved - if you just want to go out and coin shoot for an hour a couple of times a month it's not worth it. I just found out that I was very slow on the uptake and if I didn't refer to my notes at first I found myself re-learning the same things over and again and not progressing. After a while you write less and find more but then again I've already forgotten what I wrote in the first sentence here - just my 2 cents.

 

[Anonymous]

Let me say from the start that: I'm sure different detectors will find different stuff at different depths in different ground. That's just the nature of the beast called treasure hunting and why the emerging debate over which machine is the best will remain alive.

I have found that the beauty of the Explorer is more in its power to drive through some tough ground to find stuff. In due respect to White's I have said their machines are pure, very clean on the easier stuff- that for some reason an Explorer might skip over.

The reason for this (in my opinion) is in the processors, one being quicker than the other. I have buried stuff at 8 inches in my yard that when moving the Explorer coil over very quickly I missed. When I went back over the same area moving slowly there was no problem.

My guess would be that you move your MXT and DFX fairly quickly and then apply that speed to the Explorer, even though that machine is heavier. Try going as slow as humanly possible over the same missed coin ground and see what happens with the Explorer.

Lastly but firstly from my subject response push your sensivity up as high as you can go and the 6 inch coin should come in fairly loudly. Try upwards of 28. If not you might want to send the coil/machine in to be checked. It seems to take the Explorer longer to kick in.

aloha johny mc.
www.theadventurelodge.com

 

[Bill W.]

I would try a few things. Move your gain up to between 7-10. I am not sure why you're using Ferrous sounds. I am interested in what kind of sites you're hunting. In alot of area conduct sounds are the way to go. In ferrous a pulltab sounds like a IH... in conduct a pulltab sounds different than an IH or silver. You also said in your post that you learned coins. IMHO, that can severely limit depth in most soils. I personally would recommend taking the Explorer to a non-trashy site and detect not discrimating anything. Dig by tones to learn what each tone is... the Explorer's Sound ID is far, far more accurate than the LCD. Once you learn your sounds you will really start to excel with the Explorer. I would also recommend trying not to overdrive the sensitivity on the Explorer. Doing that can make good sounds sometimes sound crappy in my area. Just remember you're used to using your MXT and DFX. That in itself can make a difference. The Explorer is a slow but deep machine. Take time in your sweep speed and it will make a huge difference. Just remember go by sound, go by sound, go by sound...

-Bill

 

[cspene]

Tell me how you feel about the ratio of finds/per hr. of hunting if you need to go that slow with the Explorer. I am self employed and do have some time to hunt but it is limited. I know some newer coins aren't that deep and it looks like a faster sweep machine would clean our plow if you have to go that slow. It looks like a person needs two machines...one to quickly scan an area to clean up recent coins and the Explorer to go slow and get the deepies. What do you all think about the ratio I mentioned above?

 

[Anonymous]

and I'm not suggesting that other companies' machines are the reason for that.
Some stuff is just hard to find and some is deeper, and some is masked.

In relation to your post though:by going slower and maybe doing a smaller area you will increase the quality of your finds. Personally I could care less about clad. I'd rather hunt a corn field and find one button than go to a park and find $3 in clad. That's just me and god bless the clad-handers. Each to his own. You may spend more time digging, but again its what you are looking for. If I wanted a clad vacuumn I certainly wouldn't put an Explorer at the top of that list. Too slow, too heavy. I'm not a big fan of two detectors unless its an awesome area and you have two different reasons for switching.
So you are going to get what you are after....
aloha- johny mc.
www.theadventurelodge.com

 

[Anonymous]

I used to feel that way too. I wanted to cover a lot of ground fast but I just couldn't bear the thought of those potential treasures further down that I might be missing - the lure of the deep will get to you as it has to us all - slow is good, deeper is better - repeat after me......

 

[Bill W.]

I've never been much of a clad person. But, I have no problem going fairly fast and picking out coins. I run the Explorer at IM-13 and IMHO that might make the Explorer 'faster' at producing a sound. When you're running your detector with a learned screen with tight notches the Explorer is going to miss coins especially going at a faster pace. It's just the nature of the Explorer. With the Explorer at IM-13 or so I would think you wouldn't miss much. But, for a beginner Explorer user all of the sounds coming from the Explorer at IM-13 can be a challenge to pick out coins. The more you use the Explorer the easier it is to pick out coins in all kinds of situations. I've always ran all of my detectors with nothing notched out for the most part. Using a detector with nothing notched has helped me know when to slow down and speed up. I've used the Explorer at a park last year that had coins in the 7 inches and over range. I was pretty much tripling everyone else's finds at this park even though two of the people I was detecting with use Explorers. I even set their machines up identical to mine and I could still could do it. The only real difference I could see in watching them hunt was how different our sweep speed were and my experience on the Explorer. The Explorer is one of the most adaptable machines around... bar none. It really comes down to what kind of coins you are looking for... clad or old coins. There are probably better 'clad' machines out but like I said my interest is in old coins. Clad has always been viewed as a pain... I am not sure if I answered your question... What kind of sites are you hunting?

-Bill

 

[Steve(MS)]

you can use faster sweep speeds with fast and audio 1 and keep up with the fast sweepers. Just turn down your headphone volume because the signals will be busier. Also you can use the program of your preference. Then you can go back over the area at another time using slow sweeps as time allows,
Steve(MS)

 

[cspene]

Hi Bill,

I usually hunt old parks and old homesites. I've been trying to go slower, but it just seems like it is taking a long time to learn the machine. I'm not sure we have coins very deep here in central MO. All of the tones seem to run together and I can't seem to know a good tone when I hear it. It seems get a number of hi tones but they usually turn out to be bottle caps!

HH
Chris

 

[Charlie (OR)]

not sure if you have the XSII but here is what helped me

audio

set under tone
th tone at 7
variability at 9 (this makes the iron a little higher than silver on mine)
limits at 8

set under volume
max limit 10
gain 8

sounds conductive

I also use audio 1 to help extend the tone for my poor hearing

Good luck

Charlie

 

[cspene]

and the depth gauge isn't always right. Going very slow did help. Targets that are close to the surface seem to make the tones go wild! I know it's just a learning process. I have the detector set up the way most of you have said to do. I guess I'll just keep trucking and just let it "click" when ever it is time. Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[Charlie (OR)]

with the gain set a little lower you will hear a little difference, coins at 4 inch or less will be loud but as they get deeper they get softer, so I would say lower the gain a notch at a time till you get an understanding.

Charlie

 

[Captain Kirk]

This is especially true if the coil is not centered directly over the target. With extra effort in the pinpointing process, then the gauge seems a bit better. I have gotten to the point that, when the sound suggests that the target is shallow, then I use the X1 probe to check for a shallow target before digging.

HH,
Glenn