Gold Bug DP on Beach

[amberjack]

i took my Gold Bug DP out for the 1st time today couldn't get it to stop chattering in discrimination mode, on a salt beach dry sand, so switched to all metal and it didn't make a sound only on targets, although i did have to Ground Balance a lot more then the X-Terra i had been there with 305 X-Terra a week ago and didn't find one bobby pin today they were every where!

solid on Australian Goldies and all coins for that matter dug a $2 coin at at least 7in and it was screaming so am happy with that just couldn't set up the discrimination to work without chattering!

anyone have any ideas that may help?

but deeper than my X-Terra 305 and way more sensitive just wondering if that's why it was so unbalanced on an Australian Beach?

well only my 1st trip got $7.50 in coins and a bit of junk jewelry but i am sure it will pick up gold i dug 6in down and found this little silver tab like of a tooth paste tube tab the little silver thing on the end when there new but half the size, so it was small !! so things will be good and gold will come just need to get this issue sorted.

any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[therover]

Amber,

At any point did you try to override the automatic GB setting using the + and - buttons to achieve either a positive or negative GB ?

Also, in discriminate mode, what level did you set it at and what level gain were you running ?

It may be that the GB on your beach can't run in discriminate mode, but one of the good things is, you can still get an idea of the target in all metal due to the arc reading at the top. Trouble is, it will beep on any target.

I say experiment with the GB setting, gain setting and up the discriminate level to 25-30 and see what happens.

JC

 

[Neil]

Hi JC,

Can you tell me does the Gold Bug run very quiet on our beaches and do you have to turn up disc to compensate for the wet sand. how has it been picking up those small pieces of melted aluminum we have here or anything small at depth? Do you have an F75 and if so how would you compare it to that, especially on the wet sand.

Thanks,
Neil

 

[amberjack]

Hi JC

don't think i did the GB over ride will have to give that a go and see what happens

i did change the discriminate level up to 30 it wasn't grunting on iron targets either with that setting was starting to think there was something wrong with the machine, but i really don't want to go down that road only my 1st go with it.

so i will lay out some targets in the back yard and see if it grunts on iron in discriminate mode. and try your other ideas too! just to get the hang of it and then try down the beach again!

i did pick up coins that clearly were not lost yesterday so it goes deep and it works on the salt wet sand so i am happy just have to fine tune it so am very grateful for your help and suggestions!

i must say i so love our hobby its sooooooooo very kool looking and not knowing whats coming next! its exciting cant get enough time with my detectors!

The Gold Bug is a completely different animal to the X-Terra, the X-Terra is like a truck just put the foot down and go it doesn't stop for anything but doesn't have the depth or sensitivity! and the Gold Bug like a woman very sensitive and needs lots of attention but the results are worth the effort and i am, sure once i get the hang of it i am going to be very very happy!

 

[amberjack]

i did change gain and threshold right down to very low below 12 o'clock and it did start to balance out but didn't think the machine would work to well in such low settings is this a truth or am i to used to driving the truck (X-Terra)?

thanks again for the input it helps heaps and makes me think of different ideas

 

[BH_Landstar_]

North East USA beach hunt a few days ago...

Mine worked well. You need to ground balance it in all metal mode first and then switch over the DISC mode. I ran mine at 80 gain or higher and did not have any problems, ran silent til it found a target. Had the DISC set at 40 for the break point. I did have to re-ground balance it when I was moving from wet to dry etc.

 

[godigit1]

I run My gb at 12 o clock position do to Emi in allot of places I hunt. More sensitivity does not always add up to more depth as the bad ground causes interference. And I run The Disc at 40 with a tone break only. (like Bh Landstar) I do not disc out the iron but prefer to hear it as nothing is masked. On beaches with allot of black sand I have had problems picking up the concentrations of black sand. This particular beach is more black sand than white. ( its like detecting over a chain link fence) These are beaches that the local dealer said could not be hunted with anything but a PI unit. The ferrous black sands hit at a steady Id # of 41 on my unit so to deal with it I turn up the Disc to just silence it out and can hunt that way without going crazy. But I'm sure I'm loosing small gold a fine necklaces as most small gold I have found hits just there or just above. Hunting like this I still clean up on coins and Hit the beaver tail part of a tab at 7 plus inches. I did find one ring hunting like this but it was only two inches down. One thing Ive noticed about my GB is that it can be almost overloading with iron and still hit a target. At tot lots within a foot of the poles I start to pick them up and they hit on the swing toward the pole but not on the back swing if I get a response on the back swing it is almost always a good target. I just cant pinpoint do to being saturated by the iron but on cross sweeps I still hit targets within 6" of a large Iron pole. As simple as the gb appears to be once you spend time with it and learn its language it is very versatile as far as set up and ability.
Hope we have all helped let us know things turn out.
HH
Godigit

 

[amberjack]

Hi Guys

thanks heaps for the tips!!

i ground balanced in all metal and then clicked to disc and was able to run at 100% gain with no noise only targets i dug a $2 coin out from 10in so am very happy now and for your help!

i am sure i will have more questions as i go along, but for today i am happy!

went to the same beach and dug a few coins been there 3 times in the last week so i think its done for now until we have a holiday with hot weather but there's 100's of miles of beach to try now so am going to have fun, no gold as yet so it could just be that next target

 

[Monte]

At tot lots within a foot of the poles I start to pick them up and they hit on the swing toward the pole but not on the back swing if I get a response on the back swing it is almost always a good target. I just cant pinpoint do to being saturated by the iron but on cross sweeps I still hit targets within 6" of a large Iron pole.[/b/

I presume you're using the 5" DD coil, right?

Keep in mind that not all of those tot-lot poles are iron. Many used today aren't and we can experience a lot of different responses, or lack of responses heard, from them. Most detectors that use a smaller-than-stock coil might hit on a target close to a pole, in the 6"-8" distance, when making a sweep toward and then away from the poles. All too often, however, good targets are not going to respond if they are located too close to the poles or other metal structures when the coil is presented to them in that manner.

For decades I have pulled a lot of coins and rings and other keepers closer to the metal structures in playgrounds, or along metal fence lines, or following older metal sprinkler lines, simply by working with the metal and not against or toward it. Frequently I will hunt with others and after they have worked near the metal structures I might wander in and pluck good targets they missed.

With poles or fences I just position the search coil as close as possible to the metal object, then I cautiously move the search coil along at a uniform distance from the metal object. If it is a fence the runs north-and-south, for example, I get the search coil as close as I can and then sweep left-to-right, going north-to-south, while maintaining a uniform distance from the fence. After I have worked a section of, let's say 5' along the fence, I pull the search coil back about 1" and rework it the same direction. I keep doing that until I have thoroughly covered an area about 12" away from the fence.

I do the same withing when I hunt around the poles in a tot-lot, or parking meter poles, light poles, etc., etc., and that is to get the search coil just as close as possible, then I side-step and I work the search coil around the pole. Once I've done that I back it on maybe 1" and rework the area around the pole until I feel confident that I haven't missed a very close target. Just making a sweep past a pole or towards-and-away from a pole might produce some finds, but definitely won't get them all, and will miss closer targets.

Just some thoughts that have worked for me for decades with great success. Matter of fact, I started working poles this was dealing with parking meters in the late '60s and early'70s when we had metal playground poles but not the wide array of playground structures we have today. There are still a lot of playgrounds around, but sadly many old parking meters have been removed for many cities, or they took out the parking strip grass and just cemented the areas in. Bummer!

I still try to check any old photos I find of city or town areas that show parking meters that were long ago removed just to go work those sites.

Just trying to help. I know smaller coils are the way to go, and the 5" DD on the Gold Bug and G2 models do a terrific job in these applications.

Monte

 

[godigit1]

Thanks for the Info Monte Ill try your method and see how it works for me. Ive been using the 11 dd and sweeping in and out, if I go left or right the pole responds on each sweep and I miss targets. So on the in and out sweeps the pole hits going in but not back and responses on the back sweep are where I get some finds close to the poles. Every since I put the 11dd It has not come back off I really like it.
Ill start trying the 5 at tot lots around the poles as you suggest.
HH
Jim
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