c & d readings on gti2500

[fongu]

I have a problem understanding my GTI-2500. I mentioned this in another thread and someone suggested I post it in a new thread. I concerns gold and caches of coins. In a post about a 10 dollar gold piece, they said it read a penny? and another gold item was in the iron scale? I can't remember. I save all my pocket change and put it in large medicine bottles and when I have enough to fill up a pint or quart mason jar, I put all quarters in one, dimes in another and so on. When I put these on the floor and scan them in coins mode I get a C signal in the plastic medicine bottles which hold a lot of coins and a c or d in the mason jars. If I put the coil real close in the coins mode, it will show a b target. In all metal or zero discrimination, I get C, D or E targets. this is confusing to me and I hope somebody can help me understand this. The reason I mentioned this is the video by Garrett shows D signals/targets in discriminate mode as aluminum cans and this is supposed to help you avoid digging too, much junk. I don't want to miss any coins, but when I am in a lot of pain and tired, I skip a lot of d targets. When I swung the coil in the coins mode or zero mode and used the all metal mode without swinging, it registered a 9 size target. A lot of targets will register a 9 or 10, and still be junk. I hope y'all can help me out. I know there's no substitute for experience, but if you do something wrong for 6 months, it's still being done wrong and I hope to get some advice from you seasoned metal detectors operators out there.

 

[cwilk]

Go back and reread that other thread more carefully.

It takes practice. You need to be good at pinpointing for imaging and target analysis to be accurate. Air tests are good as a guide but items that are in the ground do not behave like items in the air.

Hunt in coin or jewelry mode for the first 10-20 hours. Dig everything size C and below. Practice pinpointing. Take it slow. It does not take long to get proficient, but you need to walk before you can run.

Chris

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Fongu.
I won't be able to help you out with your currency as I live in Oz, but can give you a couple of tips about the imaging. All targets will register size B when they are 2 inches or closer. The optimum distance for the imaging to be accurate, is 2 to 6 inches. It's also vital to be accurate with the pinpoint too. It took me a while to be good with the pinpoint. The easiest way to double check you're accuracy is to detune the pinpoint by releasing, then hit and hold the pinpoint button. This will make accurately locating the target a lot easier. After you think that you have an accurate idea of where the target is, release the pinpoint button, take the coil away then re-pinpoint the target again. this should give you an accurate size. Once you are confident that you have mastered the pinpoint, you'll find that you'll be accurate without this process. If you're pinpoint is off, then so will the sizing, usually going larger than the target. Another little tip to help centre a target. watch you're depth meter. When you have the shallowest depth, you have it centered, more or less. When you get a deeper reading, then you know that you're off centre. Having the shallowest depth, doesn't always mean that you have it in the centre, but it gives you a very good idea.
You may well be getting crown caps and parts of aluminium cans at 9 and 9.5. Listen for solid tones as well. You will find the crown caps (from beer bottles) will tend to give inconsistent tones as well as can-slaw. Pass you're coil over a target at least 6 times, just to hear and see how consistent the audio visual information is. Ask yourself if you think that you have one target or more than one target when you're checking. Dig up a few targets to see if you are right or not. That way you are not wondering. Because coins have a consistent shape with each other, they will behave the same way each other. Junk has inconsistent angles and shape to it which will make picking them easier. They can still fool you but the imaging helps you to reduce the amount of junk you will recover.
It took me 65 hours before I got comfortable with the GTI, so if you are struggling with it still, then you're on track to mastering it. You may take more or less time to get on top of it than I did.
Good luck with it.
Mick Evans.
P.S. What you heard about the $10 gold coin sounds about right. Being a bigger gold coin, it should show up as a 7 or 7.5. I have a gold Sovereign (1 pound sterling coin) that reads as a 6.5. It would be smaller than the $10 gold coin. other US gold coins may be smaller and therefore show up lower on the notch system and may even show up as a size A target.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Also watch the signal strength indicator as this will indicate when the target is centered properly.

Bill