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DeepTech

Cibola Tips?

M

Molinari

New member
Greetings Fellow Detectorists!

I recently purchased a "Cibola" as my very first metal detector and I'm looking for any advice one might have that will help me learn my machine. I've set up a test plot in my yard and I've burried coins at various depths. Unfortunately, I cannot differentiate between different type coins burried at the same depth (in different locations, of course). Aside from perusing the manual and picking up a copy of a well know book on the basics of metal detecting (can't remember the name just now), I have no exposure to the hobby whatsoever.

So, anyone out there familiar with this machine that could give me some tips, e.g. how well it performs when looking for coins, relics, etc.? I live in SE Massachusetts, and I'm mostly interested in finding old coins (e.g. Colonial coppers, NE shillings-I wish-, Spanish Silver, etc.) Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Best,

Molinari
 
I agree with the advice if it beeps, dig it, especially at first. This gives you an idea of how your detector reacts to various targets. In the begining it is practice, practice, practice!

One thing you could do is to acquire targets you don't want and use your discrimination to discriminate them out. It may make it easier in the begining since you are new. Also you may be surprised to find out that the dial on the discrimination may not always descriminate out what you think is being discrminated out.

However, the hardcore hunters on a good site hunt in all metal. What they are listening for are the soft, sweet, repeatable beeps. They may ignore the louder beeps since they assume the recent stuff is shallow and the good stuff is deep.
 
The Cibola is a very easy machine to use so the list of "tips" is pretty small. Set your disc down below nickel. You want to read nickels but knock out tinfoil, and this exact spot varies a bit from machine to machine. Then crank the sensitively as high as you can but if the machine begins to "chirp" then turn down until it runs quiet. Thats it! Good targets will be strong and repeatable no mater how you sweep them, trash will break up or give you erratic signals. Deep targets will still be repeatable but soft. You should dig enough of those erratic targets to convince yourself of what your machine is telling you. The Cibola will hit hard on coins and buttons on edge too.

You wont be able to tell the difference between coins unless you "thumb" the disc knob while sweeping the target. If the signal disappears just past nickel, the traget is either a nickel or a gold object, but thats about the extent of ID you will have. Copper and silver coins will still register even with the disc all the way up but I dont recomend you hunt that way as it does cut down on the depth. Keep your disc low, your sensitivety high, and practice, practice, practice, and you will pick up on the machines ability very quick.
 
Wow, Scully nailed it!!!! Just remember many old coins register differently. You may want to do some tests to see where certain coins break up on the disc. Many old Buffalo nickels and IH pennies will disc out just above "IRON" on my machine. Good luck!!!! (it beeps- you dig!!)
Greg
 
I went out to the beach near my lake house yesterday and noticed that the junk does seem to have a much stronger beep then anything else...I found (hold your breath) not one, not two, but three pull tabs!

I also found a penny (1960 D) about six inches down and its signal, although still relatively strong, was less so than the tabs.

Not quite treasure, but good practice I suppose.

My next question, what is a good method of sweeping? The book I have offers too many methods, and the user's manual doesn't say anything! I've been using long, straight sweeps (ca. 5 feet- I have long arms) with the coil very close to the ground (ca. 1 inch or less). Is it ok for the detector to touch protruding bits of grass or dirt? Will this send of a false signal?

One last question, given that the Cibola has a pinpoint feature should I still buy a pinpointer?

Molinari
 
Your sweeping technique sounds perfect to me. Just don;t reach out too far or you will start getting elbow problems, trust me I know. I also have long arms. I would highly recommend a pinpointer. The pinpointer is used for searching holes and plugs. They have a very small detection field, 1.5 to 2". I have one of the older White's bulls eye pinpointers and it is ok, but would probably buy a vibraprobe since they are water proof.
 
Fantastic post:detecting:
 
Erratic sounding targets are not allways junk. I have dug many deep items that sound erratic, or do not repeat consistently. Sometimes it will sound erratic because a good target is sitting right next to a trash item. Supertuning also gets you better depth. 3-4 inches more in an air test i did (scroll down some for video, and click on to play). I hardly ever use the pinpoint feature, only if im struggling to find it. :lol: You can supertune by turning threshold all the way up, sensitivty as high as you can without chirping, and turning disc. down to just above iron. (thats where i always keep it, so it just knocks out an iron nail) IMHO tin foil and gold are very close, so i would rather dig some foil, than know i may be missing gold. Lead, and brass also are discriminated out around the nickel mark. If you have any questions or comments let me know. :D Hope this helps!!

Robert

Cibola video i made, air test, and compares supertuning to not supertuning. Each black line on the board marks every 2 inches. (Click on image to start video)

 
I had an interesting day of practice yesterday that revealed two things: (1) my yard is filled with trash, and (2) I need way more practice!

After practicing on my test plot I decided to venture off and see what was lying beneath the soil in my own yard. It was then that a strange thing happened, and I'm hoping someone can explain.

I received a strong hit that appeared to be quite deep. I tried adjustments on the discriminator and it hit until well after the tab point. It also seemed rather deep, since as I raised the detector and tried to gauge how deep it was I quickly lost the signal.

So I began to dig, and found nothing in the first few inches. I ran the detector over again, and again at the very center was a strong signal. I dug about another four inches and found nothing. I ran the detector over the hole and the signal was still there and nothing came from the pile of removed dirt. I repeated the above process until there was an enormous hole in my yard, checking the hole and removing dirt every four inches or so. When the hole was about 15 inches deep, the signal simply disappeared!

I rechecked the dirt pile, tried pinpointing the hole, but the signal was simply gone! I thought that perhaps my detector was malfunctioning but after a quick stop at the test plot I realized this was not the case...

So, what the heck is going on here? Is it possible that I was receiving a signal from the rocky layer that rested about 12 inches below the soft dirt? I would be interested to hear anyone's comments or suggestions...for a minute, I thought I was on to the find of a lifetime in my very own backyard!

NJM
 
Sounds like a piece of rust or other junk. Upon finally getting to it- it probably disentigrated!!!! Did you see any orange stained dirt??? I've had this problem once or twice, thankfully I didn't have to dig that far!!!!
Greg
 
IMHO It could be a piece of trash or something and it just didnt pick it up. Ive had that happen a few times, deep iron sounds good, but when u finally dig it up, it discriminates it out. Another possibility is that the object fell down to the bottom, and may have turned sideways, or the detector caint detect the object at that depth. Personally, ive found that my Cibola caint even pick up a bag of 20 quarters at 18 inches, but still gets great depth in my opinion. Hope this helps. :D HH

Robert
 
I've had the same thing happen on many trips. Once or twice it was a coin that keep falling into the hole. Most of the time it is a badly rusted piece of metal. Only the rust remained. I try to keep a keen eye out for the red stain in the hole or the dirt that comes out of the hole. Hope this helps...
 
There is certainly alot of trash metal in the area so I bet that's what did it. On the other hand, I should probably get a pinpointer to rule out the possibility of the object falling back into the hole and beyond the range of the detector. In any event, thanks to everyone for the advice!

NJM
 
Don't forget to move your shovel or digging tool at least 2 feet from the hole when you rescan it. All concentric coils can pick up a signal from the side for a little distance and can interfere with pinpointing. The cibola is also sensitive enough to pick up and beep on the metal grommits on your shoes, if passed close enough.Keep this in mind. HH Richard A S.La.
 
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