A question for you Xterra Xperts!!!!

[rentasquid]

I recently had the opportunity to do some metal detecting in the midwest. I live in the Northwest, and my X-50 has been doing adequately for me. On my trip, I ran into an unusual problem for me. While hunting in all-metal and disc. mode, I would come across targets that sounded very nice. These were targets in the 4-6 inch range. I would get a nice high tone, with the readout moving between 39 and 42. It wasnt a real super strong signal, but very steady. I dug down and laying in the bottom of the hole at 5" was a beavertail pull tab. I thought "what the heck" and rescanned over the hole. And that is what it read again...39 to 42. So I picked it up out of the hole and waved it across the coil and it read 15, right where the others that I dug had been. I rescanned the whole...nothing there. I scanned the plug...nothing there. The only target was the beavertail. I was using the stock coil. The detector was properly GB'ed. Sensitivity was 16. I had a friend that had his EXII there, and when I saw the tab at the bottom of the hole, he came over and scanned it saying that it came out solidly pull tab for him.
This actually happened Three separate times, with the numbers showing a little lower(copper penny range) the other times. I tried resetting the detector, turning down the sens., reground balancing, etc.
Can anyone help with this conundrum?

J. Brown

 

[Treasure Nut]

I'm no expert, but, I've experienced the same with my X-Terra 50. Some items like pop tabs and pennies registered higher on the scale than when pulled out of the ground. I have noticed that all these items (when dug) were found close to being on edge. And with all the rain we were getting in the beginning of the summer seemed to also have an affect on the readout from the wet ground. Lowering sensitivity a lttle has helped some to register proper and still reach those deep targets. This is just my experience on the field.

HH

 

[rentasquid]

from16-17 to 12-14 and it didnt seem to matter. The one target that was down in the bottom of the hole was laying completely flat, so that didnt really have an effect. Oh well...thanks for the input!

 

[nero_design]

I can assure you that your junk targets are often going to identify quite differently before and after you dig them up. Same applies to legitimate targets sometimes. As TreasureNut has already pointed out, the TID of a target will often read higher than they do after they're extracted. Something else you should do is "cross your target" by approaching it from a different angle (usually 90 degrees) from your first approach. An item lying flat is going to read more accurately than a target at an angle. Also, the smaller the surface area (when looking at the target from above), the more unlikely the target is to be identified by a detector. If you approach a ringpull that is lying flat, it will give you a different signal to one lying edge on. This is usually the result of the electromagnetic field emitted by the detector being able to strike a narrow area rather than a larger surface area on the target. Lead, Aluminum and Tin Foil (for example) usually sound like great targets at first... until you dig them and find out what they are. Dropping the tab back into the hole probably ensured that your friend was detecting an exposed tab which was also lying flat... which is much easier to ID than one at an angle in a filled hole with tightly compacted earth.

* Try crossing your target or read your manual to explain this method.
* Remember to scrape away the first half inch of topsoil before re-scanning your target.

Often the signal will change dramatically when you scrape away just the top layer of soil from a signal and then scan it again. Sometimes, even the soil composition will interfere with a signal.

 

[Treasure Nut]

n/t

 

[montanagold]

I have had this happen with my 50 also but the few times this happened it was a rusty square nail but. i find that if i am getting a mixed signal but its mostly reading in the good you almost have to dig it. my best story this summer i was in this park that i had been doing well in and i hit a good but choppy 42 on the detector one way would read a weak 42 and when i turned 90 deg it was a 15 so i figured what the heck and dug I'm glad i did cause i pulled out a standing liberty quarter. so my best advise ( and I'm no expert ) is if it is giving you a high number signal on a fairly consistent rate dig it because that is one of the best parts of this hobby is never knowing what you are going to pull out.

 

[rentasquid]

I did try the target from different angles, and I didnt drop the target back in the hole for my friend to check...I called him over before I pulled it from the dirt, since I thought it was so odd. Thanks for your input!

J.

 

[rentasquid]

Your right....you never know 'til you dig! I was just bummed because it was never a good surprise...Thats just the way it goes sometimes! Thanks for the input!

J.

 

[Digger]

The Explorer is a multiple frequency detector that provides TID information as to both the Ferrous content and the non-ferrous (conductivity) of the target. Having both ferrous and non-ferrous TID is unique to the Explorer series. The X-Terra is a single frequency detector that provides information based only on a target's conductivity. There are differences (trade-offs ?) with each model, no matter the manufacturer. Sweep speed, reset speed, coil choices, weight, balance, mode settings etc. I'd consider the "dual" TID characteristics of the Explorer to be another one of those differences. If an Explorer is not in your future, I think you will find most other single frequency detectors provide TID information similar to the X-Terra. JMHO HH Randy

 

[rentasquid]

and dont expect the x50 to be "as good" as the Explorer(the purpose of my post wasnt to compare the detectors...merely a confirmation step that something unusual was taking place). The thing that struck me about this whole thing, is that the I have never once had this problem, here in Oregon. And Oregon is considered to have moderate to heavy soil mineralization that would effect the detector more than the soil in Michigan. It really just threw me for a loop, because it was so unexpected. It once again reminded me though that the TID is never to be fully relied upon. The "beep-dig" method is the best way to determine what is under the surface!

Thanks for your input Randy.

J.

 

[rentasquid]

n/t

 

[Digger]

Many types of pulltabs will read exactly as coins, regardless of the SF detector you use. I have one square tab that reads the same as an 1875 IH cent AND an 1854 silver 3-cent piece, on at least 7 different VLF TID detectors. 3 completely different metallic makeups, all reading the same thing. Frankly, without providing both ferrous and conductive readings, it is going to be tough to get any detector to "tell them apart" on a dependable basis. At least not dependable enough that I would make a bet on what it was without digging it up. I know that a coin on edge and/or adjacent targets can cause the audio and visual TID to fluctuate. But if you're using all metal, you already know when there are multiple targets. If you're already doing the 3 steps of consistency that I've discussed before, you might try speeding up the sweep while Xing over the target. I've found that flicking the coil back and forth over a target (just about as fast as you can) can result in the audio response of coins to remain constant and the audio of many types of trash will break up. Not a sure cure. Like I said, coins on edge and adjacent targets can skew your results. But it is something I use in trashy areas.

JMHO Randy

 

[rentasquid]

n/t

 

[Jackpine Savage]

I saw it happen many times in extremely low mineral ground around here with the X70. I think I was the first to ask about it at the time but never got any answers. Any time you see tabs reading high ya gotta dig those deep full arrows 48's that repeat or you will miss some nice targets. Depending on ground conditions 48's don't always mean iron !!!!

HH Tom

 

[rentasquid]

Yeah, the soil was a little different than what we see out here in Oregon. There was a lot of quartz like sand in it, and I had a hard time at first trying to get the detector to GB, since it didnt really have any mineralization in the soil to speak of. Thanks for your input...and I like your Keith Moon picture!

J.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

That's what I'm talking about, those light blonde quartz sands. Real low numbers when GB'ing and with tracking turned on it would default to preset of 29-30.

HH Tom

PS: your the first one to ever comment about the mad man!

 

[rentasquid]

If you havent read it already, you gotta read the book Full Moon.

J.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Thanks J,

No I haven't read the book . Thanks for the info!

Tom