how do you use the prospect mode to determine if a deep target is iron or not?

[Goes4ever]

how do you use the prospect mode to determine if a deep target is iron or not?

I have tried several objects that registered -6 or -8 and I have also tried several items that registered in the positive numbers and I simply cannot tell any differnce in sound when I switch to prospect mode.

any help?

 

[nero_design]

Prospecting Mode is a much simpler detecting mode. So it will only react to metals in much the same way as the detector
does in "All Metal Mode". It has an Iron Mask selection which (in default mode) will show 5 bars of discrimination and will
mask most iron junk near the surface. It will not mask larger nails, soda cans or foil (for example). Since many Gold Specimens are sometimes fused
with ironstone, it helps if you don't over-mask by raising the iron mask beyond the 5 bars in Prospecting Default Preset Mode.

When I detect with the X-Terra 70, I use the Prospecting Mode because it runs deeper than Coin/Relic mode.
If you are exploring areas where people haven't likely been, then you should probably dig every single positive signal you get.
If you get a negative signal, scrape away an inch of the topsoil and rescan to see if the numbers change. They usually do.
Objects measuring -12 & -8 are almost exclusively junk. Items that are -6 and -4 might be worth investigating since they can
sometimes turn out to be nuggets when you get close to them... in which case the numbers move to a positive signal as you get closer to them.

Be sure to obtain a small nugget between half a gram ~ up to a couple of grams - to test your detector with in the area you are exploring.

If I'm in a noisy area with plenty of junk, I'll run the detector in Coin & Relic mode and only look for positive signals in the + range.
Usually I try to avoid areas that produce a LOT of iron and trash and (in remote areas) then I'll run the detector in Prospecting mode until I get a signal.
The next thing I do is switch to Coin/Relic mode and rescan the target... followed by a scrape in the soil with the flat end of my pick-axe.
If the signal is positive after scraping away the topsoil, then the odds are good that it might be Gold or a coin.

MOST signals will be in the negative. Lead and bullet casings tend to give encouraging readings but iron will usually hint at what it is before you dig:
If the numbers bounce around and flicker from say -12, -4, +24 (just as an example), then the target is usually iron or junk.
If the numbers are sequential (eg: -2 +2 +4), then the target is often worth digging.

The sound will register on high or low tones if you are Prospecting in default settings. When you hit a good target, you'll get a high tone (usually)

If you run in Coin/Relic mode, you tend to pick up a little more ground mineralization. And if your detector is not properly Balanced, then you'll
almost certainly pick up a lot more false signals. If set with too high a Sensitivity setting, the detector will be chirping and beeping or just warbling over the
threshold... which will drive you nuts!

* Balance your detector for the area you are in.
* Use the "Ground Tracking" after you have Ground Balanced your detector.
* Stick your sample nugget (in a small zip-lock baggie) into your first dud-signal hole that you dug and fill it in before rescanning.
take a note of how faint the signal is and how the detector reads it.

A good target (in Prospecting Mode) should be in the higher pitch and in the Positive (+) numerical value range when in Coin/Relic Mode..
In Prospecting Mode, there's no way to determine if a deep target is junk and the detector may question the target by flashing almost random numbers
when you switch to Coin/Relic mode. You will want to switch to Coin & Relic mode to see what it is before you dig it up though. Again, avoid the targets
with wildly varying numbers that are not sequential or in a tight range of three numbers when scanned.

Cheers,

Marco

 

[nero_design]

PS: Don't forget to "Cross Your Target" since many targets give different values depending on the angle of approach by the coil.

 

[xwyokid]

If you are in coin mode and get a good signal, (High Pitch) is it possible to switch to prospect to see if the threshold nulls out indicating deep iron??

 

[Goes4ever]

I don't think you understand what I am asking Nero, I am not prospecting or looking for Gold, I am talking about when I am hunting an old homesite looking for coins etc.....when I switch to prospect mode I cannot tell the difference between deep iron and good targets.

 

[David]

Good stuff Marco but I do not understand this ?: "* Balance your detector for the area you are in.
* Use the "Ground Tracking" after you have Ground Balanced your detector."

I thought that manual ground balancing was not necessary to do ahead of time if Auto "Ground Tracking" is used ?


"...when I switch to prospect mode I cannot tell the difference between deep iron and good targets." I think Marco might have answered that "will mask most iron junk near the surface."

Maybe the "iron mask" will only mask shallow iron and not deep iron ??

I see what you mean because the Coin & Treasure Mode will not reach down deep enough to ID the deep iron that you have found in Prospecting Mode.

As there will be no sound in Coin & Treasure Mode and no "iron mask" ID in Prospecting Mode so you must dig to find out "or" check it out with a Musky with a 15" WOT in Discrimination Mode to discriminate deeper.

 

[Digger]

As I've said in several posts, I don't believe the All Metal mode on the X-Terra series is a "true" all metal mode. I believe it is actually a zero discrimination mode. At first, I was a bit disappointed with that conclusion. Especially prior to the release of the X-70. I wanted one mode in C/T could detect the lowest of ferrous targets, the highest of non-ferrous targets, and separate them electronically. Using a true all metal mode, along with a discrimination mode, would have allowed the user to do this. But with the X-30 and X-50, (the basis for my "circular discrimination" theory), the TID "over-lap" between the lowest ferrous and the highest conductive targets was negligible. Fortunately, the X-70 incorporated an all metal Prospecting mode, with the discriminating characteristics of the C/T mode, allowing me to use the technique described below.

Due to the "all metal" characteristics of the Prospecting mode, and realizing the number of targets at most farmsites, I hunt in C/T All Metal mode with multiple tones. I only use the Prospecting mode after I've "got a hit" in C/T mode. I use Prospecting mode to determine the basic size and shape of a target, to determine if there are adjacent targets, and to get an exact pinpoint location of the target in question. Granted, in Prospecting mode, a silver dollar at 10 inches may not sound any different than a dime at 4. But even if I "disqualify" 50% of the targets, due to size or shape, I've doubled my hunt time for the good stuff. Since I am able to initially find the target using C/T mode, determining it's iron content (using Prospecting mode) never made any sense to me. In other words, if it is too deep to "confirm" in C/T, I wouldn't have hit it in the first place. Regardless, once I hit a suspect target, I switch to Prospecting mode to determine the general size and shape of the target. If it meets the criteria of being something I may be hunting for, I make a mental note of the exact center of the target. (based on audio response). Then I switch back to C/T, All Metal (zero discriminate), multiple tone, and X over the target from mulitple directions. If the exact center of the target is not in the same precise location as I determined it to be in the Prospecting mode, again using audio response as my guide, I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that it is a non-ferrous target. e.g. iron! If that is the case, I go on to the next one. If it is in the same location with both modes, further investigation is required. Leaving it in All Metal, multiple tone, I wiggle the coil back and forth over the target, moving the coil ever-so-slowly toward me, until the target sound goes completely away. If you listen carefully, as the entire coil passes over the target, you will hear harmonic tones generated by deep iron. A distinct blend of both low tones and high tones. This is especially noted when I'm using the 9-inch concentric at 3 kHz. If it is a single conductive target, the audio response will not be a blend of tones. But, will maintain a consistent high tone(s).

There is no "sure fire" way of being 100% accurate with TID, without digging everything. But in the places I hunt, looking for consistent target location, and listening for subtle changes in audio tones works well for me. HH Randy

 

[Steve(MS)]

It's according to what size iron you are talking about but here is what I do and maybe it will work for you.
Experiment with say a nail and a coin on the ground or under the ground. First while using disc mode or all-metal mode notice whether you are getting a confirmation of ferrous, non-ferrous or an iffy. Then go to prospecting mode, lift your coil about 3 to 4" off the ground and sweep left to right and right to left, mentally noticing the spot on the ground where the signal first starts to rise. Now turn 90 degrees and do the same thing. If it is big iron, you should be able to tell this signal has a lot wider response than coin sized objects. If it is a nail that is lying flat, you should be able to tell that in one direction the signal is very short compared to a coin. More than one nail will give a zip-zip response if you are scanning across them.
Some big iron will lock onto a low non-ferrous reading but you should be able to tell by sizing that is it big iron, for instance a reading of 12 but the size is much bigger than a coin.
The speed of your sweep will also be a factor in what you get as far as the width of response so you will need to experiment and keep your sweep speed consistant to determine size.
I use the threshold adjustment at its lowest setting in prospecting mode but that is a personal preference.
You should be able to notice the duration of your signal in prospecting mode and easily determine if it is big iron you are over, coins tend to have a faster rolloff in the signal while big iron will ramp up on the signal and stay strong for a longer time(this goes for big non-ferrous items too).
I found out by raising the coil off the ground really helps while I am using prospecting mode to determine size, it doesn't seem to detune as fast but whatever works for you is the way to go.
As you can tell, I am only making use of the prospect mode to determine size so I am not using iron mask while performing this operation.
This is the same procedure I use to pinpoint a signal with also.
The wildcard in all of this though is if there is more than one target under the coil or a coin on edge or maybe a nail that is straight up and down in the ground, sometimes it is better to dig to be sure.

 

[Goes4ever]

thanks for all the help

 

[Canewrap]

"avoid the targets with wildly varying numbers that are not sequential or in a tight range of three numbers when scanned"

Uh, maybe so when prospecting, but when relic hunting you'll lose targets if you follow this advice. I was using my X-terra on a seeded hunt for the first time this last weekend and co-located targets that were a mix of good stuff and scrap iron jumped around like you're describing and lead pistol balls were doing the same at times. Gotta be careful about universal rules, its best to dig most of your first targets on a new site and figure out what's going on before deciding on what not to dig. Just like there can be subtle differences between detectors of exactly the same make, there are differences between sites, even in the same general area.