A little please

[Rob (IL)]

I went back to the street tear up site and I could tell it was being hunted. There were these telltale little holes every where and I saw a guy swinging a Fisher. I found another Indian head 1905 and a 1946 dime. This Indian isn't that clean.

OK, here my question. All the sidewalks have cinders under them. Maybe thats why I found a railroad spike. Really these cinders play h*** with the detector. A lot them are hot. It must have been the norm in my town to use them instead of gravel under the old sidewalks. So what would be the best set up for the MXT to hunt this situation. The Fisher wasn't having an easy time either. I talked to the guy and he had just come from another site in town and the cinders where there too. Rob

 

[chumline]

a 4 x 6 shooter coil or anything small and compatable should help!

 

[Nancy-IL]

Congrats on your Indian and silver finds. I love to see the Indians come out. One would think since all the Indians found, more would find a Flying Eagle cent. WOW....wouldn't that be a find! That's one of my goals.

OK, hunting the dreaded cinders: The smaller the coil, the better. S-L-O-W-L-Y. Possibly locking in the ground balance. I've never heard of using cinders before either. Good luck and hope you find some more keepers. Keep us posted!!!!

HH to all, Nancy

 

[Rob (IL)]

Thanks, if I get back I'll give my little 5" a try. Rob

 

[steelheadfever]

Cinders were a popular base for sidewalks and streets years back at least in my areas anyway. When I hunt areas with lots of cinders I find the detector is less noisey using a small coil and using less gain. HH Dennis in Idaho

 

[Canewrap]

Turn your sensitvity (gain) down until the noise smooths out and then turn the threshold up a little. I would use relic mode with the switch in the middle and keep the disc. low (2 or less). You don't say just how bad the noise is. Does it sound like somebody is shaking a bag of marbles next to your head or is it just occasional noise?

 

[Rob (IL)]

The cinders are full of metal. I put the 5" on and was hunting in relic with disc around 2. I put a penny in a hole in the cinders about 3" and got nothing. It was completely masked. it's a shame I'll bet there is a lot hidden. There are tons of nails, hinge parts, and melted metal. Lockport like Chicago was destroyed in a fire. I wonder if this fill was from that?

While I was there I had a women ask me if I would like to hunt her yard. I told her I would be back. It was built in 1925, it was not a total loss. I'll let you know how it turns out. Rob

 

[Canewrap]

Sorry to hear about the cinders being impossible to hunt (it does happen sometimes). However, I'm really looking forward to hearing how it went hunting the 1925 house, should be some good silver there.

 

[cosmic]

Yea, many of Chicago's alleys were cinders..They had to do something with the cinders after the coal was spent.. I don't have a MXT but have you tried the prospecting mode? Since its used in highly mineralized soil might work a little better.. As suggested GB and then lock.. Good Luck..

 

[Rob (IL)]

Thanks guys, nothing can see through the metal in the cinders. If you put a penny in a hole and covered it with nails it would be the same thing. Rob

 

[John 'n' W.Va]

I have been in the market for a new detector with GB. I am sorry to hear that the MXT has such a problem with cinders. It seemed like a good detector for my type of hunting. Here in WV. it is a part of life MD'ing in cinders. I have had people on Find's Forum tell me that the MXT doesn't work well in WV. They say it works good in highly mineralized ground, but not in WV. Maybe because of the cinders. I wish that there was someone that lived near me so I could try the MXT out before I invested in one. I have been MD'ing here for a year and have never seen anyone else MD'ing here. To find out it doesn't work here would be a waste of money.
The cinders hit in the silver zone on my Ace and yes pennies can disappear under the coil in cinders. Sometimes when I move the soil the penny will disappear and it is only in a little bit of dirt. Maybe because it turned on it's edge. People don't understand it, but it can be very frustrating. I can get a cent at 6"in most of the soil here, it's hard and the ID is way off. If it makes a beep, I dig it. For reference in Fl. I can detect a cent at 8+. One place I go in WV. the cinders are real bad and 4" is the max for a cent. I have to turn down the sensitivity to do any good. I have found many good things, but if I could only get some more depth. I mainly do old home sites and I have a lot of them. I also have a large CW. encampment nearby and can easily go detect it. First, I need a good quality detector that WORKS here in my soil.
I know most of the hype on the different detectors. I was leaning toward the MXT, but I need something that works in coal, cinders and coke.