Coin hunting in prospecting mode?

[Mick in Dubbo]

Something that intrigues me of late, is the result of folks hunting with detectors that are audio only machines. On the Garrett forum, there are those who have better results with the Scorpion Gold stinger over their other Garret metered units, there are those who find the Musky, to be an excellent coin shooter, with it's own rich language, despite being a single tone machine. The Tesoro Tejon, sounds like a really hot unit, when it's tones are tuned up to the higher pitches. From what I can gather, it's when most detectors operate at these higher pitches, then you hear the variations of targets better.Both the Musky and Gold stinger, also have higher pitched tones. Then there are the multi tones machines like the Sovereign and Explorer. Yes the Explorer has VID, but it's tones are rich, and very capable. Those that use the Sovereign's, seem to be of the opinion, that once you learn these machines, you wouldn't want to hunt with anything else.
On a recent hunt with my X-Terra 30, I started chasing targets, that sounded like rubbish, but turned out to be coins. I have no idea why, but that's what happened. The meter did indicate a good target though. (Certainly an argument for using a VID) But as we know, Visual information is often wrong. Usually due to corrosion, mineralisation, depth, or simply, not laying flat in the ground.
I managed to borrow an X-Terra 70 a couple of months ago, and went gold hunting with a mate. I was quite impressed with it and noticed that I seemed to be able to tell iron targets by how hard they hit. One hunt doesn't make me a competent user of it. What I am curious about though, is whether if you spent time mastering the prospecting mode, is it capable of telling coins apart from other targets?
Mick Evans.

 

[khouse]

I personally don't think so Mick. That prospecting mode would be picking up so much trash. I tried it for about 15 minutes and couldn't take it and switched to the disc mode. I just don't see how you could pick out a coin unless it was a totally clean area. As far as the Scorpion and other non metered machines. I believe that mostly the good finds simply come in digging all signals. I know there is some subtle tone differences but the "beep dig" hunters don't miss a thing. Plus using the right frequency for what your hunting for helps too. Just set your 30 up to hit all metal and dig everything and see what you find? You'll definitely be finding everything we other hunters missed for sure.

 

[blowfly1967]

hello mick! i finally got an xt50 that i always thought that was the way to go for me,however i keep going back to my vaquero and compadre.sure it beeps and i dig.but i find! the xt50 finds stuff too. sometimes the tid is correct and sometimes it ain't. when you think you have a solid hit, it says over load "damn!!" this is the second tid machine that i have acquired . i don't think i'll buy another .to me the audio is telling me what to dig ,or not .the vaquero and the compadre you can use at night without a light drawing unwanted attention to yourself . i sometimes feel like a ghost in the night. at 66 flitting here and there,ain't easy ,but it sure browns off the oppersition. your right khouse.the other day i hit a soccer field that two days previous two other detectorists that i know of searched the field for five hours according to the caretaker,i don't know what they found,they were using minelabs,sovereign and xt70.i used my vaquero and found $15.85,if only i'd been there three days earlier,who knows! blowfly hh

 

[khouse]

For me I like the target ID. I think of it as another tool. Not the only tool. This way if I need to be selective either because of time or trash - I can be. But if I want to "beep dig" I can do that too. Just don't look at the display and use the all metal mode.

 

[blowfly1967]

well khouse ,i do like the idea of tid.i'll have to give it a bash and do audio only for a while and see how it pans out.blowfly

 

[khouse]

Tape a piece of paper over your TID so you won't peek. Have your Tesoro with you to check your targets.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Thanks for your thoughts.
There is certainly a place for both types of hunting. I personally think that some non metered detectors can discriminate almost as well as a metered machine, but are less likely to get fooled. I'm not sure that the 30 using audio only will far all that well for this style of hunting, just thought that the 70's prospecting mode might just be able to do it. I'll probably add a non metered detector to my collection down the track, just don't know when.
Mick Evans.

 

[Lou from downunder]

G'day Mick,

I know you like chasing modern coins, just like me.

I've got the 70 and use it in prospect almost exclusively.

Coin mode drives me nuts, constantly beeping and flashing numbers on all sorts of tiny bits of crap, often producing half a dozen beeps or more per sweep on faint and week targets.
Granted, the week signals might be old coins down deep, but for me an old Aussie coin is a virtually worthless piece of junk, not worth the effort of trying to retrieve from depth with a screwdriver.
But even if this deep stuff is your thing, prospect detects deeper.

After a year of practice in prospect I can tell by the size and strength of the signal if it warrants further investigation in which case a quick check in coin mode gives me TID confirmation that its a coin.
I probably switch between the two modes a hundred times in an average hunt.
I actually seem to have worn a layer of plastic off the top of the switch I've done it so much!

Anyway.... just my two bobs worth.

Lou.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I thought it would!
I'm getting the feeling that by being spoilt by having a meter, we're walking over a fair amount of coins. I've been asking a lot of questions of late with a number of audio hunters, as opposed to beep, diggers; and the general consensus is, that by using metered machines, we are leaving a significant amount of coins behind. I'm not talking about putting too much stock in a meter reading, but rather, the audio responses aren't as well refined on metered units. Yes they give you good target info, but as I indicated, that the audio on the 30 told me certain targets were trash, but the meter told me it was good.
I figured that with the sensitivity of the prospecting mode, it just might be able to give usable target information to a trained ear. sure, it's designed for small nuggets, but as you have just indicated, it can be milked for coin shooting. Having the meter to cross check a target with still, can be quite handy as well.
I imagine that it would take some time to learn, but well worth the effort.
Thanks for your insight.
Mick Evans.

 

[khouse]

Mick,
With the 70 you can put it on 1 tone and learn the audio. This would be just like most non metered machines. Then you have the option of tone ID that only some non metered machines offer. Then lastly you have your TID if you want it. All wrapped up in one detector. You decide how to use the options.

I have had two non metered machines and missed the TID. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it. But it's nice to have as another tool.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I had a day off work today, so got out with a mate who owns a 70. He let me play with it for a while. I tried the prospecting mode. I would take a while to get a grip on it, but I think that it's doable. I think that you'd have to pay close attention to the signal width and how hard a target hits the coil. It wouldn't be easy to master though. It comes down to how patient you're willing to be.
Mick Evans.

 

[Lou from downunder]

Mick,

I forgot to mention I use the 18.75 5x10 DD coil on my machine.

No idea how prospect works with the standard coil.

With the 5x10, pinpoint is under the silver Minelab sticker on the front half of the coil.

In playgrounds, parks, ovals etc I happily swing away ignoring weak signals until I get that short, sharp, zap signal. A quick check in coin mode soon tells me whether to start probing or not. Most modern coins are not real deep, 3-4 inches at most and are quickly found.
Bits of chopped up cans often fool me. Probably should'nt cause you can tell by the size, difficulty in pinpointing and jumpy numbers that somethings not right. Just find it hard to walk away from numbers reading between 30-34, having on more than one occasion found a few $1+ $2 coins in the one drop, mixed in with lesser denominations resulting in numbers jumping everywhere.

Working up against metal play equipment, for me anyway, is impossible in coin, yet in prospect I can tell if theres a coin in close.
I find I can work an area far quicker in prospect, using quite a fast sweep speed as the targets I seek are just below the surface and highly conductive and as such are unlikely to be missed.
To sweep at the same speed in coin I often get multiple tones and numbers on the one sweep that I find impossible to decipher.
Using discrimination to block certain numbers or iron mask in prospect while sweeping fast leaves one open to missing targets before the machine recovers.

Anyway, it works for me, but obviously not everyones cup of tea.

Cheers.

Lou.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I image a lot of folk will baulk at that style of hunting. I'm game though. When I bought the XLT from the Miners Den last week, the chap there would have been very happy to relieve my 30 from me (as a trade). He said that the longest a second hand one has sat there, was 3 days; and they're fetching 75% of new price. The only way I'll part with mine, is if I traded it in on a 70. Quite likely down the track.
I armed the 70 I was using today, with the 6 inch concentric coil. I tested out the prospecting mode on a number of test targets that I had with me, but did the hunt in mode one.
The site was an old pub site on the edge of town. There was no visible evidence of it, till you pulled out a detector. I only found a 1943 penny. A mate that was with me, turned up a harmonica, the back of a fob watch and a couple of old style razors. I used 3 detectors today, and the penny was found with the GTI. There was plenty of iron to go around though. A scrap metal merchant, would make a few dollars out of this site. I also found a piston from a car.
Hunting in prospecting mode with the 5x10 would be very interesting. being able to get up close the play equipment is also a real bonus. That one of the things that I like about the Ace. I haven't been able to get my X-Terra anywhere near as close as you can with your set up.
Thanks for your insight. I bet that there are a few light bulb moments happening around some computer screens at the moment.
Cheers.
Mick Evans.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

When you talked about listening for that short sharp zap signal; from what I can gather from a sovereign user in town here, that is the type of signal that he listens for with the Sovereign.
Mick Evans.

 

[Canewrap]

My question then would be, is the audio on a digital machine capable of the kind of nuances you can tease out of something like a Tesoro? You said that setting it one tone can imitate the other one tone-type machines. What about setting it on the 99 tones type setting, would you have more nuances that way? I know that you'd have to get used to that pinball type noise machine, but would it work well in conjunction with some discrimination to knock out junk, while coinshooting? I've just started playing with my XT-70 and in fact I'm planning on using the 6" HF DD (I just got) to hunt a late 30's to 50s homesite that is now just an open field. Its so full of junk that I had to give up on it last time I was there with my MXT and its stock coil. If anybody has experience hunting a site like this and has suggestions I'd appreciate it. There used to be a house and not real far away was a barn.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I like the fact that you have 2 detectors wrapped up in one. I'm not sure how to articulate about the audio though. Although I like it and you have the meter to back it up, I think that on it's own, it would be a poor performer. The reason that I say that is; as mentioned at the top of the post, on a recent hunt, had I trusted the audio alone, I would have walked over a number of targets. Possibly 15 to 20% of them, but I can't be absolute on that. That is why I am thinking along the lines of using the prospecting mode. It is a much more sensitive mode and will not let a coin size target go by anywhere near as easily. While by most norms of thinking, you just don't use a gold machine to go after coins as it's not designed with coin hunting as it's goal. However, I want to challenge that line of thinking (foolishly perhaps) and see if it's possible to train your ear to hunt that way. the prospecting mode may have too much roar power to be able to harness it with subtly of sound in mind. Dropping the sensitivity may help, but as Lou has already shown, it can be done. Being able to cross check by going back to coin mode is real helpful as well.
Mick Evans.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

Canewrap.
Although I've never hunted with a Tesoro, from what I've been able to read into on the Tesoro site, I would say not.At least not in coin mode. That is the reason I put the question of the prospecting mode up. It's a whole lot more sensitive. I'm not sure that it would be as good as a Tesoro even in this mode, but you do have a display in which when you switch modes, can cross check a target.
Detectors are like vacuum cleaners, you are never going to get it all, but if it's possible, I like the idea of improving my odds.
you have the perfect coil for the hunt that you want to do. I don't hunt the types of sites that you are looking at at the moment, but you can have confidence in the X-Terra in these situations. I used the standard coil on a hunt a while back, over an area of ground that a wooden house once stood. It was burnt to the ground. Despite getting a large amount of hits on the coil with hardly any movement, I pulled up a gun powder flask for the old style muskets in this iron infested spot. The small coil should do even better. Just take your time with it. depending on how much time you want to hunt this spot, do to the large quantity of iron, there will be a strong probability of masking going on, so detect it from different directions.
Have fun.
Mick Evans.

 

[khouse]

I personally can hear more audio nuances on the lower tones. So I would suggest running in the one tone mode. I usually don't run audio only so I'm not an expert with my ear as some are.