GT Getting Stable?

[grumpy]

I have been wondering how long does it usually take and th e best way to get it calmed down. When I first turn on and go with the GT I hit a quater out of my pocket and check t he meter then off; Now for several swings it is like I just got the wife out of bed to early and she growls and carries on like the ground is full of carpenter tacks. I turn the sens down to next to nothing where it works and hunt a few minutes then turn it back to auto or where ever I want it and its ok. It aparently is going through a balance mode and setting itself???
Next question on trash or numbers likely to be trash if the target is not repeatable on a regular basis or not stick close to the same number each pass is it a NO dig Trash or is it still a possible. The only small gold rings I have dug were trash number but they were stable and repeatable??? Any Thoughts appreciated.
Spring is coming; There is just something wrong with the speed at which it is doing it. :)
Thanks
Grumpy

 

[JHM]

My detector runs a little different after it warms up. I usually have to turn down the threshold

 

[chuck ky]

gold rings will i.d. with trash numbers almost every time. ocassionally they will read as nickle and bigger ones may be in the zinc range but the rest will either be fiol or aluminum.

 

[grumpy]

Got the range where the small gold rings go as trash and foil but are they usually stable and repeatable sounds?? Seems the rings what few I have found were pretty stable and repeatable even tho at a low trash number like 100 but trash usually will hit like 76, then 98 then 104 then 85 for example all over the place and usually hits a tone only three out of four passes. Is this normal for trash and gold rings to be different like this. or has it just been my luck ???
Thanks
Grumpy

 

[chuck ky]

3 of the worse sounding signals i can remember getting turned out to be walking liberty halfs. don't know why they sounded that way but i guess that's why we should dig everyting.

 

[Bling]

my GT takes about 3 min then it will go to the low threshhold..and i dont use a meter.i just dig all the low tones! but im after Gold and Silver,not clad!

 

[grumpy]

BUT are signals even tho sound bad if they are a good target do they usually have a good solid number or close to it???? And do the target usually solid repeatable, good with a slow motion in both directions with a simular sound and number????
Thanks again.
Grumpy

 

[Bling]

n/t

 

[grumpy]

Well looks like I have succeded in confusing everyone I know I have confused myself; I have no issues with the sounds or numbers on coins and such in general; What I am refering to is jewelry like small gold rings;
When you hit a piece of foil or can shard or such usually the signals are all over the place compared to like a quater one number or two?? Now when you h it a small gold ring are they usually consistant with their numbers and usually a good repeatable sound or do you find some gold small rings with signals jumping all over and only hitting once in a while when going real slow???
I guess Im wondering if trash is the only thing that is so iratic or is that eratic? with the repeatable sound and solid numbers??
Sorry for the confusion. The GT has no problems with me when it comes to standard coin shooting except has a warm up period of about two or th ree minutes I had to get used to.
THank again for all the input
Grumpy

 

[Rob in (Ca)]

Hey Grumpy

If your hunting for Rings/ jewelry, like on a soccer fields / Baseball fields / volleyball fields / open green grass area of a city park Any place that (physical activity) has taken place and you hit on a target that sounds good ..........DIG IT........... regardless of what the meter tells you.

Small toe rings will meter like foil..... woman's heavy set Diamond Rings will meter like bottle caps.... man's gold Rings will meter like Pull Tabs , Yes you will Dig a lot of Pull Tabs & Sharded Aluminum from the Lawn mowers.

If your after the Gold you also have to dig the trash there's just no way around it

 

[grumpy]

Yes Rob; I dig about everything : I understand that you gotta dig a lot of trash. Question is are when you hit jewelry like small engagement ring I just found are the targets usually good solid hits and repeatable as well as stable with the numbers not jumping all over the place. Yes I use the numbers because of hearing but that does not matter I was just wondering if like the small jewelry could be iratic and just hit one direction ocasionally or jump around like a taco bell sause wraper ????? I never had the time to check it a lot but what I have noticed is jewelry is more stable even tho in the same sound and range s trash it is more reliable and stable with its actions on the machine????
Thanks
Grumpy

 

[Rob in (Ca)]

I'm a Rookie on the GT, I only have about 15 hours on the GT, as I also have the DFX and last fall I hit on a IFFY sound with the GT sounded good but weak, (deep pull tab) it turned out to be a small gold stud ear Ring..... is that's sensitive or what? ...........I did notice that with a large coil on the GT, sweeping over multiple targets at the same time makes the GT scream and scream and scream ......changing to a smaller 5 inch coil in multiple target area helped tremendously.

Last fall I was hunting a open grass area at my local city park with the GT and found a Man's 14K wide wedding band. The 15 hours with the GT I do know the DIG me sounds that's for sure, I need to buy a 180 meter to help ID the tones, .......

Rob in LA

 

[davetee]

Hi Grumpy
I have been reading your above inquiries with interest and felt prompted to write this message to you.
I am a proud Sovereign GT owner myself and I would like to say that "I too" have experienced the numbers on the meter jumping around and I now believe that this is often down to a few good reasons which I will explain below.

Many objects lay at different angles in the ground and in differing mineralization conditions and when the GT coil is passed over an object over and over again, it gives the computer chips in the control box a series of differing signals which causes those chips to give out a series of different readings from the 17 frequencies that the detector is detecting in, what I am talking about here, is the Broad Band Spectrum of frequencies that the Sovereign GT uses to detect with.
The constantly changing input from every sweep over an object results in new processed data arriving at the meter from the computer chips in the detectors control box.
Those differing signals will be translated into varying numbers on the meter and I think that this is what you have been experiencing from your Sovereign GT and what you have need of an answer too.

What I have briefly explained above, is one of the several reasons for why the Sovereign GT coil should be slow swept over the ground by its operator, as slow sweeping will give the detectors computer chips and filter chips the time they require to receive and process the information that they are geared to process.
There can be little doubt, that people who have bought the Sovereign GT have become confused over this matter, as they have been used to using other detectors that sometimes do not have the chip technology that can be found within the Sovereign GT.

It is also essential when using the Sovereign GT to give it a warm up period after switch on, this is so that its chips can set themselves properly and so that they can make themselves ready for the complex challenges that the ground your going to search, will chuck at them.
I have found that it is also essential and important to switch the detector on with the coil held up off the ground for about half a minute before returning the coil back to the ground, as this helps settle the machine down in readiness for processing ground data.
The the operator should then sweep the coil of the GT over the ground in a slow wide sweep several times before you set off searching in order that the GT has time to get used to and to filter out the mineralization of the ground in which you'll be searching.

So important to remember is; If the Sovereigns GT's detector chips are not given the right amount of time to settle and to filter and process the information that it needs too from the ground before you set off, the detector will not be able to set itself up properly and will probably respond for a short while in a fashion that will reflect that in the meter readings and its behavior.
Its a bit like waking you up suddenly from a deep sleep and expecting you to be spot on in what you do from start - lol

As most will now be aware, the Minelab Sovereign GT is a high technology detector and it is extremely good at processing and evaluating signals picked up by it's BBS frequency search system.
Also remember that the GT detector is constantly receiving 17 differing signals from the ground and the metals and conductive objects in it, so don't be surprised that when the numbers change or are erratic at times - even when sweeping over the same object.

The angle the object is in the ground, its size and its conductivity level, are just some of the many things that the Sovereign GT's chips have to quickly process and work out.
Couple that with having to process 17 differing frequencies at the same time and having to filter the rubbish out of all of those signals and you will appreciate how much the Sovereign GT has to do in a short period of time in order to alert you to a good find.
The Sovereign GT is a fantastic all round machine and you will by now appreciate that it'll take time for you to learn how it reacts to different situations and different metal objects, but if your serious about metal detecting Grumpy - "that's the fun of it all".

So please consider this, if you give the Sovereign GT the time it needs to achieve all of the above, you'll be surprised what it gives you in return and how it finds the good finds, time after time.

I hope that this message has helped you in some way and don't let it put you off, I also hope this message and you will go on to help others too, and as all good metal detectorist's say; - "IF IN DOUBT" - "DIG IT OUT".

If the meter confuses you, then just take it off and use a pair of amplified headphones as you will find just as much without the use of meter, I can assure you that this is true as the Sovereign has a good tone ID spectrum.

All the very best to you Grumpy and to everyone on this site - Happy Hunting guys, for if you own a Sovereign GT, you will have happy hunting indeed, as it's a leader amongst all round detectors.

Dave Tee
Plymouth
Devon
UK :0)

 

[grumpy]

Sorry Folks ;
Confusing everyone with what my question is here. I have used the GT for a couple of years now I understand how it works pretty much and know the meter is a grain of salt item. However I rely on the meter because I dont have the tone hearing most of you guys have so throwing away the meter is not an option.
BUT the original question is on small rings and jewelry that fall with gum wraper foil ect (trash) come in more repeatable and consistant than the trash does. Like if you hit a taco bell sause foil wraper and in comes in 102 and bounces around and hit and miss. where if you hit a little engagement 10K g ring it comes in 100 and usually will not move much from the original number and is real repeatable. Is this pretty much the rule of thumb???? That was the question. Seems that way to me but I dig most so never used it as a disc. tool but maybe I should.
Thanks
Grumpy

 

[Art (NWOH)]

If a ring is flat and not mixed with junk, it should sound smoother than foil trash and give a smoother and more deliberate reading on the meter.

If it is on edge or in trash, then it's anybody's guess.
Is that what you wanted?

HH

 

[mickance]

ok
a ring and junk can sound the same ..thats life no detector will ever fix that ..reason being that rings can and junk can sit at different angles and different depths .
a gt can only help you decide what is there ...you have to decide in the end ,dig when you want and dont dig when you dont want


i use my gt for gold prospecting ...notice i said prospecting rather than detecting .

i turn off the ground balancing ...by hunting in pinpoint mode this allows me to hear the ground i am walking over ,i can hear where there are hot rocks ( you guys who just do coins and rings these are highly mineralised rocks) and the ground talks to me ,,,i can actually hear the minerals in the ground ..if there is too much mineralisation i turn the pinpointing off and then with grounbalancing i will only hear metal or gold .

its all about listening and guesing what you are hearing ..a lot of guessing ,never any certainty though if your hearing is not 100% you will have to do the best you cab with watching the numbers on the screen

 

[grumpy]

Art , Yes that is the answer I needed. I figured from no more nice little rings than I h ave found that they ususlly come in with a pretty good sound , very repeatable , and ect even tho in the trash area. I know what is really dumb is I dig nearly everything but I still like the info and education so to speak
Can you tell me something else on this line while were at it? Why do Morgan silver dollars come in flat on top the ground like a coin, BUT you turn in on edge or bury it and it will even get in the 70's really wierd where they hit and how they sound. I think I need to train my corgi's to sniff it out so they can find as well as dig :)
Thanks very much for all the help
Grumpy

 

[Art (NWOH)]

Fresh buried is almost like air testing at times. You start pulling the coil away the reading and tone will drop. Also, edge targets tend to read low from a lot of directions. If you listen to them close you will find that there is something a little different about them from trash. You could walk over an edge target a lot of times mistaking it for foil, but one day the coil crosses it the right way and it will get your attention.
A good way to look for edge targets is to cross the area many times from many directions.
Another is to work around every target in a circle listening to see if it still sounds bad from every possible angle and direction. This is not really practical in heavy trash.

There will be some you will never find unless you peel up the top foot of dirt and run it through a sifter.

HH

 

[Art (NWOH)]

I was hunting around an old house that I had hunted many times. I had found some good stuff and had it pretty well picked over.
I was working along with my 2a with a 12.5 detech coil and doing a backswing over every target. Finally hit a foil target that jumped in tone on the backswing. I started working the target and found a position where I was getting the double blip of an edge target, and the meter and tone teased up to a straining zinc reading. I am thinking "Indian head". I worked on around it and as I did so the tone started to drop and it started sounding like foil again. At a position 90 degrees from the best double blip position and highest meter reading I was hearing something that was NOT foil again. As the coil moved over the target the very low tone would climb to a low reading peak and tone then slide back down as if the coil were riding up the side of a coin, over the top, then sliding down the other side. This is when you DO NOT look at the meter or worry about the pitch of the tone.....it is strictly tone pattern and motion. Both of the "giveaway response" angles were very narrow. Everything in between sounded like crap.
Turned out to be a penny sized cw token at about 7 inches. I was very happy..

HH