Guess I need some advice

[greasecarguy]

So an experienced friend of mine made some changes for me on my machine. I don't really know what he did other than go to conduct, IM 22 and altered the reject and accept buttons. I have been an open screener with ferrous tones for sometime (except in extreme trash) for some time now. When we airtested it, a clad quarter sounded great at ~ 14" so I was sold.I also noticed that he cranked the sens to 32 and this has not given me trouble!

The downside is that iron still fools me...with either setting. If I have an iron target, the periforal sounds (assumingly called halo) tricks me almost every time. I identify this trickery by using pinpoint. If the signal is not where it is supposed to be, I then scan where it is and if I get a null, I figure it's junk.......is this the correct way to tell? If I have two nearby junk signals, it is common for me to hear a nice tone in the middle. Here is where I usually get hung up making sure it;s what I think it is until I finally use the pinpoint and realize there's nothing there. Believe it or not, this uses up valuable time and mental effort.....I really want to streamline the effort so that I can keep on hunting, reject what I don't want to dig and move on much faster.

Running the machine so hot also makes a clad coin sound great from a distance. I mean my coil might be a few inches away, I am hearing a great tone and it can take me 10 or 20 seconds to realize that its not a deepie but a surface target much further from the coil and not right underneath.

I have found the goods along with the junk but very few....IDK how Brice and you guys can tell this as I certainly cannot. What's the secret? Any inout is greatly appreciated.

 

[dewcon4414]

That 32 must be AUTO sensitivity which some people feel gives the machine more flexibility to adjust to the changing ground. Im kind of with Bryce on this one where he has repeated said it tends to pick up that even larger and deeper iron. Sounds like you have a pretty good system... knowing that a target moves when its iron or trash and pinpointing to center the target. What ive found is iron has a tendency to sound with a pause and good targets dont. I once talked to Jimmy Seirra about wrap around and the possibility of digging more of those just because the really deep ones will change based on minerals, moisture, and targets in close proxsimitry to good targets. He said the same thing you did.... is it worth it to waist tons of time on such few targets? If you throw in a bit of trash it gets even more difficult to locate those deep ones.... TID is everywhere because of rust it may bounce to the lower right or tend to bounce more to the upper left depending on which you use Fer or Cond sounds. We all tend to want to cover to much ground when hunting. Most of the places we hunt have been hunted for years so spending more time in smaller areas we know have produced before may be the ticket. There isnt a detector on the market that people arent having the same issue..... TID at depth, but i believe the Explorers do it as well as any of them.

Dew

 

[greasecarguy]

Thanks Dew, I appreciate it. It's always good to hear the system you are using sounds adequate.

I know you probably will not believe me but the 32 sens is NOT auto...that is the circling line is NOT on.....this is interesting that with the disc on I can pull this off most times. If it is problematic, I just turn it down a few notches.

 

[Hotcz70]

So an experienced friend of mine made some changes for me on my machine. I don't really know what he did other than go to conduct, IM 22 and altered the reject and accept buttons.I also noticed that he cranked the sens to 32 and this has not given me trouble!

Aaron...no way I could do as well in the iron running sensitivity that high. Anything over manual 26...and iron falses start to sound too much like deep coin chirps. IMHO...that 32 manual setting may be hindering you.
Doesn't matter if your settings will pick up a silver quarter at 16".....if you can't discern the hit from all the iron falses...then you aren't going to find it anyway.
I would suggest leaving the iron mask at 22...but dropping your sensitivity to semi auto 26 or manual 26 and give it a shot.

The downside is that iron still fools me...with either setting. If I have an iron target, the periforal sounds (assumingly called halo) tricks me almost every time. I identify this trickery by using pinpoint. If the signal is not where it is supposed to be, I then scan where it is and if I get a null, I figure it's junk.......is this the correct way to tell? If I have two nearby junk signals, it is common for me to hear a nice tone in the middle. Here is where I usually get hung up making sure it;s what I think it is until I finally use the pinpoint and realize there's nothing there.

About 50% or more of my iron hidden finds have come when the iron sucked the pinpoint many inches away from the original "hit" point...just as you described...so no...just because the pinpoint is far away from the "sweet warble" of a possible deep coin...doesn't mean it's iron or junk.

I have found the goods along with the junk but very few....IDK how Brice and you guys can tell this as I certainly cannot. What's the secret? Any inout is greatly appreciated.

When the pinpoint is away from the original coin hit...I do two things...1) pinpoint it and see exactly where the strongest point of pinpoint is. 2) find the original hit...then do the minelab wiggle in at least 3 different angles. If I still get the "warble" to repeat back and forth in 2 of 3 directions...EVEN IF IT IS A FOOT AWAY FROM WHERE IT PINPOINTS...I'm diggin'.
I remember last year when I was hunting with Guvner we were hunting about 20 feet apart. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him messing with a signal. He kept circling the target...pinpointing...getting a puzzled look on his face...then finally walked away.
A few minutes later I made it to the same area and got the exact same signal and saw why he was puzzled.
I got a sweet hit...it sounded good on sweep and return sweep...but "warbled" from only one angle and in one tiny spot. When I pinpointed...it sucked the signal a foot away. Something about the sweet tiny hit though just sounded too good to be iron.
I found the tiny window of a warble...did the wiggle...then just dug a plug where I thought the sweet sound was coming from.
Out popped an 1854 seated dime...so I'm glad I took the chance on digging.
I then rescanned the hole and got a dead null...and when I pinpointed...sure enough a big piece of iron sucked the pinpoint a foot away.
To be honest...many times if I can get a super sweet warble and it hits from ony ONE angle...BUT it repeats on the back and forth swings...AND it just sounds sweet...I'm diggin it too.
You just never know. I look for reasons TO DIG...not reasons NOT to dig.
Do I get fooled many times...YEP...but about 1/3 of the time or more I pop out a sweet silver or injun' layin in crap or iron.
If you aren't diggin' some deep nails REGARDLESS of what settings you use...then you are leaving some silver or injuns in the ground.
There are no secrets Aaron..only a tiny bit of skill...some patience...spending a gazillion hours with your machine...and more importantly...a lot of luck.

 

[DirtFlipper]

What I've been doing lately on pinpointing is to first find the signal in regular swinging, rotating around it, and find the most likely pinpoint spot in the centor of the coil that way. Then keeping the coil in that same spot, I raise it straight up about a foot and then switch into pinpoint mode. I then come slowly back down over the target. This seems to minimize the pinpoint being pulled away by nearby targets. Then if you do this a few times by lifting and coming back down onto it, you can 'shrink' the pinpoint down right onto to it to help size the target. If the pinpoint still shows good on the smart screen (on the SE), and the nice nice is still there in normal mode, chances are good it's a good one.

Pinpointing by coming at the target from the side with the coil on the ground just seems to invite too many other targets into the fray when in a signal rich area. I've found the raising and lowering to pinpoint to work for me (although I'll still use the side to side pinpointing when there's not so many signals around).

HH,
DirtFlipper

 

[capri_auto]

What I've been doing lately on pinpointing is to first find the signal in regular swinging, rotating around it, and find the most likely pinpoint spot in the centor of the coil that way. Then keeping the coil in that same spot, I raise it straight up about a foot and then switch into pinpoint mode. I then come slowly back down over the target. This seems to minimize the pinpoint being pulled away by nearby targets. Then if you do this a few times by lifting and coming back down onto it, you can 'shrink' the pinpoint down right onto to it to help size the target. If the pinpoint still shows good on the smart screen (on the SE), and the nice nice is still there in normal mode, chances are good it's a good one.

Pinpointing by coming at the target from the side with the coil on the ground just seems to invite too many other targets into the fray when in a signal rich area. I've found the raising and lowering to pinpoint to work for me (although I'll still use the side to side pinpointing when there's not so many signals around).

HH,
DirtFlipper

Good tip, thanks

 

[dewcon4414]

I pinpoint basically the same way by coming over the target NOT from the ground. I think that high of sensitivity with disc and IM may mask a lot more than you think.... like EMI, minerals, and deep iron. Pretty easy to get a good air test.... not so much when you put the coil to the soil. You really want to check how good its doing put in in AM and listen to what the processor has to sift thru with that high of sensitivity. Hey.... but if its working its working. You said it right there Bryce... look for reasons to dig not NOT dig, thats where the good stuff comes in.

Dew

 

[NealNoIN]

n/t

 

[Aaron]

n/t

 

[captn_se]

n/t

 

[captn_se]

n/t

 

[DoughBoyDoug]

thank you for the tips and I agree with the other guys; excellent advice. I have beenn having trouble with the pinpoint too doing exactly what you described. I am not going to ignore all those signals anymore even if a lot of it is iron.

 

[silverfix]

I needed the same information you did greasecarguy. thanks for the post. some good tips that I will try. i cant ever get stuff to pinpoint in iron either.

 

[dewcon4414]

I dont know if anyone has tried DOC's method which i believe was in Andys book. Locate the target.... wiggle it to the tip then tilt the back of your coil up leaving the front only to do the pinpointing. It helps eliminate some of the nearby targets. Cant beat going at it from different angles that seems to work the best.

Dew

 

[greasecarguy]

Very good advice guys thanks much. I haven't been out in a while but plan on trying these ideas. So you will actually dig without a pinpoint signal Bryce? I make it sound so risky, digging a hole, don't I! I will reread the wiggle technique in the book as well.

 

[Hotcz70]

So you will actually dig without a pinpoint signal Bryce?

OFTEN...IF I get a high "warble" that just sounds too sweet to pass up...AND it repeats on BOTH the sweep and return sweep...I'm givin' that "no pinpointin' sucker" a shot.

IMPORTANT: ...so as to not confuse anyone...by no pinpoint signal I mean no pinpoint signal in the original spot of the sweet warble sound. Sometimes I get a sweet warble sound but when switching to pinpoint...it won't pinpoint where the warble is. Instead iron sometimes sucks the pinpoint as much as a foot away. I find the sweet warble spot...do the minelab wiggle...then dig right there....NOT where the pinpoint has been dragged to.

Many times I get punked...but about 1 in 4 end up being something decent.

This all comes with practice though...so don't come on here and hammer me if you start diggin' iron

 

[Dave-IL]

Silverfix I have seen Bryce do exactly what he is saying and he is telling it like it is. He sometimes digs iron but sometimes it is a coin hidden in iron.
I have the luxury of hunting with him once a week or so and I have been trying it too. I still need to better learn the signals to take a chance on digging though because I am digging a lot of iron. I know it will take a lot of practice. good luck to you.