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How slow do you go?
- Thread starter matthias
- Start date
Buried Crap NJ
New member
In most cases I go too fast. I am trying to get to a beach a mile away from parking so I zip along. Lots of times I pick up and walk there.
When you do by accident get a signal if you go slow at the location you a almost always going to find more. Normally I hunt a loose S and once I get a signal work the sprial pattern. If you hunt the same beaches you will also learn where the stuff accumutates more ofton then not. And then again you can set the Ecal for a faster swing if you go too fast.
When you do by accident get a signal if you go slow at the location you a almost always going to find more. Normally I hunt a loose S and once I get a signal work the sprial pattern. If you hunt the same beaches you will also learn where the stuff accumutates more ofton then not. And then again you can set the Ecal for a faster swing if you go too fast.
Well, even though I've only owned a gt about a week I would treat it like all other detectors. I would say I sweep the coil as close to the ground as possible parallel to the ground surface, in terms of timing I would guess a sweeping arc from one side to the other of about 150 degrees takes me roughly 2 seconds - sometimes slower. This has just always been how I've done it regardless of machine. I think it's what has given me the edge over my detecting mate for all these years - he's really fast at detecting and usually finishes up miles ahead of me. I believe that all this talk about recovery time is kind of useless if you sweep the coil properly, and in that regard even some of the cheaper machines close the performance gap. What you are doing by sweeping slowly is helping the machine out, giving it more time to analyse the ground.
Just my opinion of course and I've never beach detected, so it might be totally different there. My sites are typical English ploughed fields and pastures and can have a lot of iron in them - which over here 99% of us ignore.
Hope that helps.
Just my opinion of course and I've never beach detected, so it might be totally different there. My sites are typical English ploughed fields and pastures and can have a lot of iron in them - which over here 99% of us ignore.
Hope that helps.
Critterhunter
New member
I go against the traditional recommendation to always go super glow with the GT. I find that what I would call a medium sweep speed hits harder on deeper targets for me. That might be a little too fast for optimum separation so if I hear *any* change in the threshold what I do is just center over the target(s) and do the Sovereign wiggle to see if there is a good target there mixed in with something else. Most say the wiggle gives the best ID on deep targets anyway, and it for sure is going to separate the targets better by slowing positioning the coil in various places as you do the fast/short wiggle.
This has been touched on in various threads but it seems that sweep speed is somewhat tied directly to sensitivity level. The lower the sensitivity setting the faster the sweep should be, and the higher the sensitivity level slower the sweep speed. In my coin garden and buried target tests calibrating for best depth on the sensitivity by doing the wiggle I'll then re-check the target in normal "hunting mode", meaning at various sweep speeds from slow to fast to see which hits on that target best being more tailored to what I've calibrated sensitivity to for best depth on the wiggle. It always turns out that something around a medium sweep speed is what gives the deepest/best hits while in normal "search mode".
Regardless of how or where you calibrate sensitivity what you need to do is find a deeper target and try sweeping over it in normal fashion as if you were searching for your next target. Change the sweep speed from slow to medium to fast and see which hits hardest on the target at depth to grab your attention better.
Again, my rate of speed is for sure giving me the best depth for the way I set sensitivity but that might be just a bit too fast for max target separation, so any change in threshold and I'll stop over that target (or targets) and wiggle fast while slowly moving the coil around, over, and at the edges. Not only is this going to give the best ID at depth, but it's also going to provide maximum separation.
I've also been told (think it's in the Minelab manual as well) that by going into silent search mode you can pick up the sweep speed a bit. Regardless of any of the above you can not sweep this machine as fast as you can say some Whites. It has it's limits, but I have found super slow for me does not give best performance, at least in my soils and the way I calibrate the machine.
This has been touched on in various threads but it seems that sweep speed is somewhat tied directly to sensitivity level. The lower the sensitivity setting the faster the sweep should be, and the higher the sensitivity level slower the sweep speed. In my coin garden and buried target tests calibrating for best depth on the sensitivity by doing the wiggle I'll then re-check the target in normal "hunting mode", meaning at various sweep speeds from slow to fast to see which hits on that target best being more tailored to what I've calibrated sensitivity to for best depth on the wiggle. It always turns out that something around a medium sweep speed is what gives the deepest/best hits while in normal "search mode".
Regardless of how or where you calibrate sensitivity what you need to do is find a deeper target and try sweeping over it in normal fashion as if you were searching for your next target. Change the sweep speed from slow to medium to fast and see which hits hardest on the target at depth to grab your attention better.
Again, my rate of speed is for sure giving me the best depth for the way I set sensitivity but that might be just a bit too fast for max target separation, so any change in threshold and I'll stop over that target (or targets) and wiggle fast while slowly moving the coil around, over, and at the edges. Not only is this going to give the best ID at depth, but it's also going to provide maximum separation.
I've also been told (think it's in the Minelab manual as well) that by going into silent search mode you can pick up the sweep speed a bit. Regardless of any of the above you can not sweep this machine as fast as you can say some Whites. It has it's limits, but I have found super slow for me does not give best performance, at least in my soils and the way I calibrate the machine.
I agree with Critter. I use a medium sweep speed like I would with most 2 filter machines in large open areas like parks and beaches but slow to a crawl in areas with a lot of iron. If I get an iron null on the beach or while park hunting I will stop and go back over it with a slow-slow sweep then from different angles. If nothing changes I move on but if I get a tone or threshold change mixed in the null I dig.
deanosaur1972
New member
I go V E R Y S L O W , always have done whatever the detector......... and am even slower with the GT as I certainly don't cover as much area as I used to. In 3 hunts the finds have been much better than I could of ever expected - so it seems I have a happy combination with this machine. Its a slow swing and slow shuffle along.....
Hey Matthias. I sold a XLT because I wasn't comfortable with the speed in which you had to swing it to get max performance, it was almost like using a weed whip. I got a GT and never looked back. you can swing it as slow as you want to(about 5 second's or so) or at medium speed if the condition's or the operator wants to,and still get great performance,without wearing yourself out. Alway's adjust your swing speed to your sensitivity level which is adjusted to your ground condition's. Like Critter said the GT has limitation's how fast you can swing it but by staying in a medium to slow swing you won't have any problem's.
Good hunting Gary
Good hunting Gary
AgileMJOLNIR
Member
I definitely sweep nice and slow with my GT. I'd say approximately 4-5sec from right to left. Coil close to the ground.
Gotta take your time with the GT to get those deep coins. Give the technology some time to analyze the ground and target.
Gotta take your time with the GT to get those deep coins. Give the technology some time to analyze the ground and target.
In order to get the depth it has to see the target and with them being deep you have to give the Sovereign time to see the targets, once you know where the target is and can sweep right over just that area the target is will give a better signal, but if it cant see it as you are swinging to fast you will miss getting a signal on it. I am a old park and ballfeild hunter and have tried different setting and sweep speeds in my 14 years with the Sovereign and find if i want the real deep coins I have to go very slow to hear those deep coins that may only be a threshold change, speed up the coils slightly and I don't get any signal at all.
Rule of thumb for me is swinging the coil only how fast the conditions are so i can hear every target the coil goes over including iron so I need the threshold if i want to get those deep coins so I can hear the nulls. If it is a solid null when swinging the coil I know I have to swing the coil slower or turn down the sensitivity.
Rule of thumb for me is swinging the coil only how fast the conditions are so i can hear every target the coil goes over including iron so I need the threshold if i want to get those deep coins so I can hear the nulls. If it is a solid null when swinging the coil I know I have to swing the coil slower or turn down the sensitivity.
William1221
Member
If it is a solid null when swinging the coil I know I have to swing the coil slower or turn down the sensitivity. Rick would you explain solid null.
Critterhunter
New member
See, our difference of opinion on this might either be due to how our soils differ or the way we both calibrate sensitivity. With the way I calibrate sensitivity on a buried dime my setting for best depth/ID usually has the dial somewhere in the 2PM to 3PM range at most locations, a bit higher or lower at others, but it's typical that I always find I end up being at 2PM after doing extensive calibrating/testing.
Anyway, whether it's due to that fact (ending up at a much lower sensitivity setting than what most would call a stable machine) or just my soil...What I've found to always be true is that something I would call more closer to a medium sweep speed than a slow one is what gives me best depth while in "search mode" for the next target. Remember that I calibrate by doing the short/fast wiggle, but as said once that's done I'll play with my normal searching sweep motion/speed over the buried target to see what gives me the best depth/hardest hit on the target. If I go slow over it it will either null or really degrade the response (much like a falsing from iron), and of course if I try to whip the coil real fast the same thing will happen. But something at least near a medium sweep speed seems to hit hardest/deepest for me when searching out the next target.
I'm sure based on the findings of others as well as myself that sensitivity and sweep speed are tied somewhat together. If you tend to calibrate the sensitivity high (like riding on the edge of stability, or at least higher than 2PM or something) then I have no doubt that a slower sweep speed will hit deeper. But, I've tried setting my machine up that way (adjusting sensitivity on the buried target by doing a normal slow general sweep over it without the wiggle) and even with the resulting higher sensitivity and slower sweep speed I'm getting LESS depth than my wiggle setting/resulting medium sweep speed.
Not sure if that's differences in our soils, older Sovereign models versus the GT, or if it comes down to say an 8" coil versus the 10" and 15x12 I'm using. It could be any of those things so I'm not saying I'm right and any other opinion is wrong. I just know what my testing in my soil has shown me. Slow sweep speed doesn't give me as good of depth regardless of where I calibrate sensitivity.
Put it this way, my sweep speed is faster than what I used to have to use on my Explorers. Now, due to the slow recovery speed of the machine my sweep speed is at least I think a little too fast for best separation. That's why I stop and do the fast/short wiggle over ANY change in threshold or response. The wiggle is going to not only give you the best depth (most say) but also going to allow you to separate multiple targets the best by slowing changing the spots around the target(s) you are doing the fast/short wiggle over. I know in my mask testing of the 10" and S-5 coils (see that thread) the short/fast wiggle separated and cleaned up the coin signal from the trash in the best manner. If I try to got real slow among say a bunch of iron to try to hear any high tones I feel it totally destroys the depth/signal. I need to do the wiggle and work my way through those multiple targets that way in order to seek out the best high tone responses I hope to find among them. If I slow the coil down and just wander slowly through the masked coins any kind of high tone collapses like a house of cards for me, in both my testing and in the field.
This is an interesting discussion because I've always heard that you MUST go slow with the Sovereign. I know it very much goes against the grain of most Sovereign owners, so I'm wondering if anybody else out there has found my results to be the same for them? Like I said, it could be that perhaps the 8" coil a lot of people use prefers a slow sweep for best response, or it might be something different about older Sovereign models, or it might be soil, but I suspect it mainly comes down to sensitivity calibration. But....as said...I get less depth by going with a high sensitivity setting and slower sweep speed.
Anyway, whether it's due to that fact (ending up at a much lower sensitivity setting than what most would call a stable machine) or just my soil...What I've found to always be true is that something I would call more closer to a medium sweep speed than a slow one is what gives me best depth while in "search mode" for the next target. Remember that I calibrate by doing the short/fast wiggle, but as said once that's done I'll play with my normal searching sweep motion/speed over the buried target to see what gives me the best depth/hardest hit on the target. If I go slow over it it will either null or really degrade the response (much like a falsing from iron), and of course if I try to whip the coil real fast the same thing will happen. But something at least near a medium sweep speed seems to hit hardest/deepest for me when searching out the next target.
I'm sure based on the findings of others as well as myself that sensitivity and sweep speed are tied somewhat together. If you tend to calibrate the sensitivity high (like riding on the edge of stability, or at least higher than 2PM or something) then I have no doubt that a slower sweep speed will hit deeper. But, I've tried setting my machine up that way (adjusting sensitivity on the buried target by doing a normal slow general sweep over it without the wiggle) and even with the resulting higher sensitivity and slower sweep speed I'm getting LESS depth than my wiggle setting/resulting medium sweep speed.
Not sure if that's differences in our soils, older Sovereign models versus the GT, or if it comes down to say an 8" coil versus the 10" and 15x12 I'm using. It could be any of those things so I'm not saying I'm right and any other opinion is wrong. I just know what my testing in my soil has shown me. Slow sweep speed doesn't give me as good of depth regardless of where I calibrate sensitivity.
Put it this way, my sweep speed is faster than what I used to have to use on my Explorers. Now, due to the slow recovery speed of the machine my sweep speed is at least I think a little too fast for best separation. That's why I stop and do the fast/short wiggle over ANY change in threshold or response. The wiggle is going to not only give you the best depth (most say) but also going to allow you to separate multiple targets the best by slowing changing the spots around the target(s) you are doing the fast/short wiggle over. I know in my mask testing of the 10" and S-5 coils (see that thread) the short/fast wiggle separated and cleaned up the coin signal from the trash in the best manner. If I try to got real slow among say a bunch of iron to try to hear any high tones I feel it totally destroys the depth/signal. I need to do the wiggle and work my way through those multiple targets that way in order to seek out the best high tone responses I hope to find among them. If I slow the coil down and just wander slowly through the masked coins any kind of high tone collapses like a house of cards for me, in both my testing and in the field.
This is an interesting discussion because I've always heard that you MUST go slow with the Sovereign. I know it very much goes against the grain of most Sovereign owners, so I'm wondering if anybody else out there has found my results to be the same for them? Like I said, it could be that perhaps the 8" coil a lot of people use prefers a slow sweep for best response, or it might be something different about older Sovereign models, or it might be soil, but I suspect it mainly comes down to sensitivity calibration. But....as said...I get less depth by going with a high sensitivity setting and slower sweep speed.
First let me say that if you are the kind to dig those slight threshold changes in the hopes that it is a good target then you do need to go ultra slow with the Sovereigns. I spent a few days on a very mineralized saltwater beach testing different sweep speeds and sensitivity settings on deep targets and at least in very mineralized conditions I found that depth was nearly the same with all sens. settings between 12;00 - 3;00. The only difference was the sweep speed needed to hit the same targets. These targets were deep soft two way signals and I wasn't looking for minor threshold changes so didn't do any testing on these as most of the time they end up being hotrocks or mineralization changes. At the lower 3:00 setting I could hit the target easily with a medium sweep speed but as I went higher on the sensitivity I had to sweep slower to get the same nice tone. At 12:00 I had to go very slow to get the same nice tone as the 3:00 setting and medium sweep. The 12:00 setting with a very slow sweep might be deeper but only one those targets that are deep enough to cause a threshold change only. I'm sure these results might be different in other parts of the country so this might only be useful if you have similar ground and hunting conditions as mine.
Critterhunter
New member
That was an interesting read, thanks. Most of what you said jives with what I've found (lower sens/faster sweep). I'd say the only place we differ is in a high sens/slower sweep providing somewhat better depth or at least threshold change. I've also tested this extensively myself and a slower sweep/higher sensitivity never goes as deep as a lower sens/faster sweep. But again that's in my soil using my coils (10", S-5, and 15x12). I'm sure it could just come down to the ground matrix or something as to which is deeper for one user or another, or just what you expect to hear to clue you off to a real deep target. So, I'm in no way challenging your findings versus mine.
I just think it's a curious and interesting discussion because my sweep speed I know is for sure a bit faster then what 99% of all Sovereign owners I've read recommend. Then again, I'm also going against the trend by not riding the edge of stability and so I guess you can say I'm swimming up river against the crowd on that as well.
Maybe it's just my soil or the way I expect a machine to respond to fringe targets. I just seem to get much better response with what I'd call close to a medium sweep speed with the way I calibrate sensitivity for best depth. Going to have to test those two things (high sens/slow sweep vs low sens/faster sweep) at more of my sites to see if things change for me. As it stands right now I do the buried dime test anyway each time I get to a spot so it's a simple matter to conduct those tests. Thus far low sens/med sweep has given me best response/depth at the sites I've tested that against the other setup.
But I will say again that my sweep speed is probably just a bit too fast for maximum target separation. That doesn't matter to me because like I also said if the threshold changes in any fashion (even a null) I then stop and do the fast wiggle while slowly working the coil in, out, and around the edges of the target(s) to see if I can get a high tone.
I've tried to emphasize this in the S-5/10" Tornado separation thread but it's worth stating again because I feel it's very important. What I found was that the fast/short wiggle and working not just the edges of masked targets but also over the very top of them with various ferrous and non-ferrous objects obstructing them produced the cleanest of IDs. It might only be one spot that produces it, be it right on top or near a certain edge, and if you move the coil off that spot even a half inch the signal degrades. This was true with either coil, but as said the S-5 had far more ability to bring out a good coin ID amongst certain masked targets. The other way this differs is that most people when sweeping at a "junk" signal tend to just work the edges of it and hack away. I found that sometimes directly over the center of that "junk" is where the masked coin ID could appear, but you had to perch your coil just right and wiggle right there.
The point being that this method of working the "junk" signals to try to bring out a good ID of a masked coin is very different than I've ever used on any detector. Most of the time it's typical on a machine to just work the edges of a junk signal with sweeps from various angles to try to bring out a good ID of something in the ground near it. That "hacking" (I guess you could call it) is very different then what I found works best. You've got to wiggle the coil short/fast and then slowly migrate the coil back and fourth and from side to side over various parts of that signal to try to find a good coin ID in there. It's an odd thing to do- to wiggle the coil as fast yet as short as you can (like a half inch or less), yet slowly crawl it forward, backward, and from side to side over the suspect signal. It really goes against most conventional thinking on how one should work a potential masked target, but then again nobody ever accused me of being conventional in most of my theories.
What kills me is that I completely forgot about what I discovered and wrote about months ago when testing the S-5's unmasking ability. The other day with the long hunt I took with the S-5 in a very trashy park I mostly was investigating targets with my old standard method with any other machine, chopping at the signal's edges with various sweeps at various angles. That's not bringing out the best potential in ID on this coil or the 10". I just wonder how many more silvers I might have recovered had I remembered the proper investigation technique I arrived at before. That makes me anxious to head back to that park with this little coil and work all that trash with this more productive method. I feel I was only using about half the coil's separation ability by doing it the old standard way with most machines.
I just think it's a curious and interesting discussion because my sweep speed I know is for sure a bit faster then what 99% of all Sovereign owners I've read recommend. Then again, I'm also going against the trend by not riding the edge of stability and so I guess you can say I'm swimming up river against the crowd on that as well.
Maybe it's just my soil or the way I expect a machine to respond to fringe targets. I just seem to get much better response with what I'd call close to a medium sweep speed with the way I calibrate sensitivity for best depth. Going to have to test those two things (high sens/slow sweep vs low sens/faster sweep) at more of my sites to see if things change for me. As it stands right now I do the buried dime test anyway each time I get to a spot so it's a simple matter to conduct those tests. Thus far low sens/med sweep has given me best response/depth at the sites I've tested that against the other setup.
But I will say again that my sweep speed is probably just a bit too fast for maximum target separation. That doesn't matter to me because like I also said if the threshold changes in any fashion (even a null) I then stop and do the fast wiggle while slowly working the coil in, out, and around the edges of the target(s) to see if I can get a high tone.
I've tried to emphasize this in the S-5/10" Tornado separation thread but it's worth stating again because I feel it's very important. What I found was that the fast/short wiggle and working not just the edges of masked targets but also over the very top of them with various ferrous and non-ferrous objects obstructing them produced the cleanest of IDs. It might only be one spot that produces it, be it right on top or near a certain edge, and if you move the coil off that spot even a half inch the signal degrades. This was true with either coil, but as said the S-5 had far more ability to bring out a good coin ID amongst certain masked targets. The other way this differs is that most people when sweeping at a "junk" signal tend to just work the edges of it and hack away. I found that sometimes directly over the center of that "junk" is where the masked coin ID could appear, but you had to perch your coil just right and wiggle right there.
The point being that this method of working the "junk" signals to try to bring out a good ID of a masked coin is very different than I've ever used on any detector. Most of the time it's typical on a machine to just work the edges of a junk signal with sweeps from various angles to try to bring out a good ID of something in the ground near it. That "hacking" (I guess you could call it) is very different then what I found works best. You've got to wiggle the coil short/fast and then slowly migrate the coil back and fourth and from side to side over various parts of that signal to try to find a good coin ID in there. It's an odd thing to do- to wiggle the coil as fast yet as short as you can (like a half inch or less), yet slowly crawl it forward, backward, and from side to side over the suspect signal. It really goes against most conventional thinking on how one should work a potential masked target, but then again nobody ever accused me of being conventional in most of my theories.
What kills me is that I completely forgot about what I discovered and wrote about months ago when testing the S-5's unmasking ability. The other day with the long hunt I took with the S-5 in a very trashy park I mostly was investigating targets with my old standard method with any other machine, chopping at the signal's edges with various sweeps at various angles. That's not bringing out the best potential in ID on this coil or the 10". I just wonder how many more silvers I might have recovered had I remembered the proper investigation technique I arrived at before. That makes me anxious to head back to that park with this little coil and work all that trash with this more productive method. I feel I was only using about half the coil's separation ability by doing it the old standard way with most machines.
I consider a solid null as one where on a swing of the coil the threshold goes quiet and you hear no threshold at all. The reason for this is too many items being disc out, too much iron or high mineralization. You want the Sovereign to talk to you while you are swinging the coil to report everything it is seeing so you have to slow the swing of the coil or turn down the sensitivity. Now if you have a solid stable threshold while swing the coil means it is not seeing anything to tell you want is buried, or nothing metal is there. If you are in a solid null the targets not deep will probably come though, but the deep one will be so small of a signal the Sovereign can not see and report back to you it has seen something thus missing the better targets is why I like to run the higher sensitivity and go slower in well worked area where deep targets and those close to thrash have been missed by many over the years.
One thing I have told many over the years as you can not do any test in the air, or coin gardens with the Sovereigns for old deep coin, but for coins not deep it will work. The only test that count for old coins and deep ones is actual coins that have been in the ground for 50 or more years. If you ever get a deep signal like I am talking about at a higher sensitivity and lowered it below 12 you will see that the threshold would be stable with no sign of a signal. This is something I learned from experience. One way I test sensitivity in a area is keep the coil in the air and if it is not stable in disc i will lower it as it is seeing some interference, sometimes I have to go to auto, but that is rare for me.
Another thing I tell some is if you have a park with a real old area where you know there maybe some deep coins at you feel is all worked out, find a area like where the merry go round or playground equipment stood. Now stand in one spot and swing that coil faster than normal, then normal and then go real slow and listen to how many signals you can hear and try to ID them, try different sensitivity too. I learn this by accident while I had the higher sensitivity and was forced to stand behind a tree so I wouldn't get hit by Frisbee golfers in a old park. Being I was standing in one spot waiting and my coil moving so slightly I hear a faint signal which was a 8 inch deep Wheaties, took about 1 hour to go around that tree super slow listening to every signal the Sovereign could see, got 7 or 8 old coins around that tree. As soon as I speed up the coil slightly the signals were gone. was running sensitivity at 10 and turned it down and lost them at between 11-12. I was using my XS2 with the 8 inch Coinsearch coil and some of the old pennies and dimes were over 12 inches deep, took time, but got over 75 old coins out of this worked out park with one a nice 1931 S Wheaties.
So if the Sovereign cant see them because of speed or lower sensitivity you will not be digging them.
One thing I have told many over the years as you can not do any test in the air, or coin gardens with the Sovereigns for old deep coin, but for coins not deep it will work. The only test that count for old coins and deep ones is actual coins that have been in the ground for 50 or more years. If you ever get a deep signal like I am talking about at a higher sensitivity and lowered it below 12 you will see that the threshold would be stable with no sign of a signal. This is something I learned from experience. One way I test sensitivity in a area is keep the coil in the air and if it is not stable in disc i will lower it as it is seeing some interference, sometimes I have to go to auto, but that is rare for me.
Another thing I tell some is if you have a park with a real old area where you know there maybe some deep coins at you feel is all worked out, find a area like where the merry go round or playground equipment stood. Now stand in one spot and swing that coil faster than normal, then normal and then go real slow and listen to how many signals you can hear and try to ID them, try different sensitivity too. I learn this by accident while I had the higher sensitivity and was forced to stand behind a tree so I wouldn't get hit by Frisbee golfers in a old park. Being I was standing in one spot waiting and my coil moving so slightly I hear a faint signal which was a 8 inch deep Wheaties, took about 1 hour to go around that tree super slow listening to every signal the Sovereign could see, got 7 or 8 old coins around that tree. As soon as I speed up the coil slightly the signals were gone. was running sensitivity at 10 and turned it down and lost them at between 11-12. I was using my XS2 with the 8 inch Coinsearch coil and some of the old pennies and dimes were over 12 inches deep, took time, but got over 75 old coins out of this worked out park with one a nice 1931 S Wheaties.
So if the Sovereign cant see them because of speed or lower sensitivity you will not be digging them.
Critterhunter
New member
Rick, that was a very interesting read and I'm more than willing to be proven wrong on this, so I'll be doing more of that kind of testing on undug targets at fringe depth. Thus far when I've done that on a coin at fringe depth (not buried, but ones as yet undug) I still find medium sweep/lower sensitivity to work best in my soil or at least with my coils. I've noticed that many of those old threads in the past where people say to go as slow as possible also are using the 8" coil. Perhaps that's at play here, but I'm going to re-affirm for myself or disprove my findings by re-checking what you said. I'll switch to high sens/slow sweep when I find a coin at fringe depth with my normal low sens/medium sweep and see if your way hits it as well. I've done that here and there and no dice for me. But I also want to try the reverse of this....I'll go back to my old and unproductive way of maxing out sensitivity to the edge of stability and then just move the coil super slow and around like you say and see if I can hit on coins that way, then switch to my low sensivitiy/faster sweep and see if I lose the signal. As said, have done it both ways and so far it's all been one result for me. Thanks for that info. It's making me want to re-test this more.