Depth indicator-Two ?s

[Anonymous]

Question 1:
The depth indicator on the EXPLORER often shows half way down the bar when the coin is less than an inch under the surface even if I am resting the coil
( 7.5 " ) on the ground. I know the Explorer has a poor depth indicator but good grief! Do the settings of "Deep", "fast",or " gain" affect the performance of the depth meter?
Question 2: Does moisture in the ground ( or a lack of...) affect depth meter? Seems like the drier the ground the deeper the meter reads on shallow coins. Just wondering if anyone else sees this. Thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Bill,
I can't answer your questions because I haven't paid much attention to the depth meter ever since I found out how far off depth readings can be.
But, if you want to ignore the meter altogether, you can use sound to judge depth. First of all, you can put your gain on 7 (Moutray Settings) so that deep targets sound deep, and surface targets sound loud (the higher the gain, the louder the weaker signals sound). I guess a gain setting of 7 amplifies the weak signals enough so you notice them, but not too much which would make them sound more shallow.
Secondly, you can do some air tests on clean ground. You can put a dime on the ground and then sweep over it at different altitudes to see how the signal changes as a function of altitude. This is the same thing that will be happening in the ground, only you may get better depth in undisturbed ground as compared to less depth in the air.
I use the sound method to hear the difference between coins at 1-3 inches (where I have to be careful not to dig and damage the coin) and coins from 4 inches and deeper (where I don't have to worry about wrecking the coin while digging the plug). My plug is usually about three inches thick, so I like to know if I might wreck the coin by digging the plug because the coin is shallow.
Also object size, corrosion, and orientation will affect your depth judgement.
Mike

 

[Anonymous]

Unlike the cursor which moves to the correct position after taking the coil off the target, the depth meter shows the closest to correct while right over the target.. if you do the wiggle and watch the depth meter at the same time you should get a fairly close reading

 

[Anonymous]

I've been happy with my EX-I depth indicator - it always seems to be in the ballpark. Many times I can go to a park and walk out with nothing newer than wheaties. As I can recall, when it seems to trend shallow on deeper coins it's due to trash or electrical interference. Perhaps some times it was due to my sensitivity being too high for the ground. Or if the coin is turned on edge giving a weaker signal it will fool the detector into thinking it is deeper. As the other guys said, the sound really gives as good or better indication of depth.

 

[Anonymous]

EX-2
Just today in a park I noticed coins showing deeper than half way down scale were only 2" deep or so in very dry ground. This happened three or four times today.
randal

 

[Anonymous]

I have been using an Explorer for over three years now, and on average about three times a week. I hunt in the uk but I am sure the response of the machine is the same across the pond. I don't claim to be any kind of expert but from experience I have learned to use the depth indicator as a rough guide only. I have found that the smaller objects near the surface especially foil will read halfway on the indicator.
With experience, it is possible to make an educated assumption of how deep, and what size a target is likely to be by the type, strength(volume) and other charictoristics of a signal. I only consult the depth indicator to confirm or unconfirm my "guess"!
After all! Who's going to stop digging if a signal sounds good. Nick UK

 

[Anonymous]

Try lifting your coil off the ground if you are still getting a good signal at 6 inches it probably is shallow? Or a large object!
I dig ALL repeatable signals because I have dug some nice silver halves and large cents that were shallow due to being in fill or the ground is too hard for them to sink.
Every time you pass a repeatable signal, you might have passed a great target!
IMHO

 

[Anonymous]

I have an XS and have had the same situation. I solved the problem by getting and X1 Probe. Now, when I get a signal I check it with the probe. If the probe reads it I know it is 3" or less in the ground. I have become better at guessing the accuracy of the depth meter by paying attention to the signal. If the signal is loud, it is probably a shallow target. If the signal is of low volume and the depth meter is half-way down or more, it is probably a deep target. Lately I have found a number of wheats that way. But, the X1 probe really helped me to cut down on the frustration of digging a deep hole only to find the target was an inch or two in the ground. Good luck.