Coinhunting with a Vaquero

[kickback]

I'm new to this hobby.I have a Vaquero as my first detector.So far I've hit a couple of old schoolyards and an old church.I've found some wheaties and a few silver coins,dimes and quarters.I also found a sterling silver ring.
Every coin I've found has been a repeatable,strong signal.I've had my discrimination set low and been digging everything.Scratchy,broken or oneway tones so far have been trash.I've played with turning the disc. up while sweeping the coil over the target,with the coins I can't disc. them away.Sometimes deep rusty iron will sound "good" and not disc.away.
Is this how you hunt?Any suggestions are appreciated.Thanks

 

[rentasquid]

It ultimately doesnt matter how others are doing it, when you are getting it done yourself. Keep doing what your doing!!!!! But remember, when in doubt, dig it!!!

J.

 

[saika]

The only time I haven't had a coin hit spot on was a quarter perfectly on edge. It double blipped one way and single the other. It was right on top and I could see the reeding as I parted the grass.

The sens knob is really good at helping to determine depth on a coin.

ALl in all it is a great coin shooter. Keep it up.

 

[DavHut]

That is the best way to hunt. THere are other methods, but for a progressive DISC instrument, you have hit the nail on the head.

For the record, you have taken the best road into this hobby. You will learn a lot more than if you had taken a big-buck TID unit afield as your first model.

 

[backhoe]

i to have a vaq .first dec. too i have been digging anything that reads .cause i figure there must be somthing there and i dont have x ray vision so when i dont dig i get to thinkin what if ???? and i dig it anyway . i madde some cards and glueed coins ,washers, copper, brass. and a gold bar to try to get the sound right . i have found that gold and quaters and brass and copper wont disc out and a nickel will make a diferent sssshhhrrbbt that the others

 

[saika]

I like your description of the nickle sound. Deep foil does something really neat, I learned all about it the other day. I was digging in a park that didn't have too much garbage so I kicked up the sens to max and kept the threshold at the just right point. I had a few whispers that went more like a bzzzzzzt in disc mode. They all ended up being really krinkly foil at the 6" mark. They did disc out at just past tabs. I had to find out.

Good luck with the VAQuum.

 

[DavHut]

[size=small]I've noted the "Foil Phenomenon," too Pete, years ago with my old SSII. It could tell foil real quick that way. Ditto with the elder 1266X. You can get the same result with the current generation units by raising your coil a few inches if it's a shallow foil DISC indication.

Either deep or shallow, if it's foil it tends to break up real quick as it moves away from the coil, then get iffy and hard to nail down. Nickels tend to stay with you far better, thanks to the opened out Expanded Disc (ED-180) of the Tesoro. This applies to the other ED-120 machines, too, like the SSII.

This leads us to the reasoning behind Tesoros DISC phase arrangement, which is worth mentioning here. A lot of people complain about Tesoros choice to lump dimes,copper cents and all other high conductivity items very close together. However, Copper and Silver are very close in conductivity! The Tesoro folks knows that for a detector, this is a difficult "blurred" area AND also a pivotal point on the conductivity scale, depending on conditions. Since you really must dig on any signal that indicates in that region regardless, in hopes of finding MIS-ID'ed silver dimes, they keep it simple and lump them (and anything above them) together, at the very end of the scale. Iron, too, is easy for reasons we dont need to explain and so it occupies the very bottom niche. In many ways this makes it easy for YOU...just hit the trowel!

BUT, that vast midrange area, where many relics, gold and of course the members of the Pulltab Brigade reside is uncharted territory - and where we need some real resolution. Most makers tend to operate with a linear conductivity scale - a legacy from the analog days, no doubt. But, linearity isnt what's wanted, but a proper "emphasis" on real world targets. And THATS in the midrange.

Nickels fall dead into that middle ground and we are given a widely expanded DISC in that area, coincidentally. This is why Tesoros have such a tight, sharp DISC point around nickels. You know what I mean - when you "twiddle in the middle" and hit the nickle point - it simply cuts off, razor like. Foil is a "wash" sort of signal, with many facets and little substance, reflecting the electrical signal induced upon it's surface in all sorts of ways and at all sorts of phase angles.

This ends up giving you the subtle "buzzzzzz" response you describe, once you know how to tune your ear to it. This can become a genuine skill and aid to the experienced coinhunter who favors one of the Tesoro instruments.

Okay, so I rambled! You know me... But, with any luck it helped someone [/size]

 

[Donny nj]

n/t

 

[gregl01]

Great thread!!!! I can apply these hints when using my Cibola.
Greg

 

[saika]

Thanks for the tutorial. I am still not as aware of where what is on the disc knob of the VAQuum as I would like to be. I have yet to hit a deep coin that gives me that whisper. The first deepy that I found was in supertune and it just bonged. The fact that I am hearing deep foil is reassuring. All of my deepish stuff has been at the 6 to 7 mark in supertune and loud and proud. There is no doubt that this is a machine that can go well beyond the bing and bong stage with a bit of time and attention. I have gotten rid of the coil cover and found the machine to be a lot more consistant in its operation. Any accumulation of stuff in the scuff cover caused less than reliable operation.

The weather is closing down the season. I may have to wait until spring to continue my studies.

Take care Dave.

 

[backhoe]

excellent read dav . as im new to the metal detecting i am enjoying it . and it is frustrating !!!! finding the foil/gum wrwappers because i know their parents told them to throw it in the trash.lol but at any rate ANY tips and hints would be very much appreciated thanks all

 

[DavHut]

[size=small]--- I recall when I first learned about this technique. It was sort of a "secret trick," not too well known. It came as revelation to me, but we didnt have the open sharing of info like we do now.

However, as useful as the trick can be, it can also be a two-edged sword. For example, fine brandy is tasty and warming, loosening the spirits and gladdening the heart. However when poured to excess, it addles the head and can lead to all manner of worries and woes.

Super Tuning is like that. I dont employ it until I have cleared a spot of surface junk or am working an area that holds deep targets and little trash. With many surface targets and trash about, it can drive you crazy with the popping, chirping and falsing it causes.
Read my "Secret Tips" at the bottom of this post - they apply to this discussion.

I suggest you view the soil below your coil as a series of layers, each with its own characteristics. You are forced to start with the top layer by the nature of things, and this requires one set of techniques: reduced SENS, lowered THRESH and little if any SuperTuning. Then, as you go deeper through the varying layers, you modify your methods to accomodate, normally cranking the SENS and working the THRESH and HyperTuning more.[/size]