Hunting in pure topsoil, what settings do you use.

[nil]

I've had my v3i for almost 2 years, areas I mainly hunt are dense topsoil, I haven't been able to figure out the combination for reaching targets at depths past 5-6", feel like i'm just coming up a little short on the old coins, area has 150 years of history, the oil boom began here. I've went through the filters, 5 band pass seems the best, tried increasing and decreasing recovery delay, checked soil mineralization with ground probe and set gains accordingly. Lately i've been running 7.5 frequency and cranking up the all metal hoping I get centred on a target, but still hitting a barrier at 5-6". If I hunt closer to the great lakes, where you get more of a sand/loam/topsoil mix, I can get depths down to maybe 10", locally, a buried silver quarter at 6" is a hit or miss iffy signal.
Anyway, curious to what you guys think affects depth the most, setting wise. I've found around here cranking up the rx gain almost masks the targets, end up digging slivers of iron nails all day.

 

[burlbark]

If you have lots of mineralization than 6" is doing okay. I went with the Super 12" and it has recovered coins at 12" total depth in the worst ground. 5hz and 45 recovery delay along with swinging slow. I dig my share of nails hoping that the detector is lying to me...

Those signals that bounce around can really be annoying, but pinpointing right over the top of them and giving it a little wiggle back in search mode easily tells me if its iron. Of the 1000 questionable signals I have dug hoping that it was masked silver I have found zero silver. Some of these signals more than 10" down. The pinpoint method works without a doubt.

Loamy soil free from mineralization is what I love to hunt, unfortunately I have only one location like that and it was hit hard years back.

 

[Rob (IL)]

You have had the detector for 2 years so I'm sure you have made enough adjustments. I live 35 miles south of Lake Michigan and I don't have any sand loam soil. It is clay and has a lot of iron minerals. You say you get 10" in other soil so the detector must be OK and the soil must be causing your problem.

Where are you hunting now?
Are any detectors getting more depth in this soil?
What are your sensitivity probe readings?
What are the ground probe readings?

I've used this story lately but I will mention it again. We hunted a spot this last weekend. A Deus, Minelab SE, and V3i couldn't ID a dime at 6". Some ground is just bad. Give me the info I asked for and I will see if I can help. Oh, and the more difficult the ground the more important a perfect ground balance becomes.

Here is a post a guy made, he couldn't get a coin past 2".
"Just found the answer to the problem after some trial and error. Rookie mistake."
"I thought the VX3 had automatic ground balancing. Not so much. After a manual ground balancing I am picking up a dime beyond 6 inches."

 

[Elton]

Quote your quote.........."Just found the answer to the problem after some trial and error. Rookie mistake."
"I thought the VX3 had automatic ground balancing. Not so much. After a manual ground balancing I am picking up a dime beyond 6 inches."



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Was this the bob up and down GB ............holding trigger and enter ??? that worked, or it didn't work ??

 

[nil]

Rob,

Yes, i've done lots of setting adjustments, one of the positives of the detector. I'm in southern Ontario, dead centre between lakes Huron and Erie. Inland soil condition sound like yours, but guess you guys are on the wrong side of the glacier, all along the lakes, for a few km's its all sand to mixtures of black soil.
I was hoping to get settings from others in my type of soil, possibly to make a few tweaks for an extra inch or two. I've read the post about the soil conditions where he couldn't get a coin pat 2". In my soil, a silver quarter is an iffy signal at 6", which is annoying, your only detecting 4" below grade. The E-trac seems to do better, picking up coins that I can't get a tone on.
Ground probe -71
Sensitivity probe - signal 7.5, noise 2.5
Always use lock trac.
Thanks for the replys, was just curious if somebody was on to something, and a new path for adjusting settings.
I have to say, i'm deep into the ctx 3030 hype, can't wait to get one on the 28th.

 

[burlbark]

Rob,

Yes, i've done lots of setting adjustments, one of the positives of the detector. I'm in southern Ontario, dead centre between lakes Huron and Erie. Inland soil condition sound like yours, but guess you guys are on the wrong side of the glacier, all along the lakes, for a few km's its all sand to mixtures of black soil.
I was hoping to get settings from others in my type of soil, possibly to make a few tweaks for an extra inch or two. I've read the post about the soil conditions where he couldn't get a coin pat 2". In my soil, a silver quarter is an iffy signal at 6", which is annoying, your only detecting 4" below grade. The E-trac seems to do better, picking up coins that I can't get a tone on.
Ground probe -71
Sensitivity probe - signal 7.5, noise 2.5
Always use lock trac.
Thanks for the replys, was just curious if somebody was on to something, and a new path for adjusting settings.
I have to say, i'm deep into the ctx 3030 hype, can't wait to get one on the 28th.

Hype and "Hope" can lead to change..... that is missing from your pocket.

Have you tried running the 2.5 frequency alone?

If it is noisy for you reject out the vdi's tones that keep coming up on rusty iron nail tips. I have tested the v3i and it see's what the other detectors see yet supplies much more usable information.

 

[Rob (IL)]

Good luck with which detector you go with. I know someone very well who is selling his Deus already. Buy and use what works for you. I've never detected in Canada.

As far as hype they haven't even made claims for the CTX yet, just the weight 5.3 Lbs and $2500 to $3500 price. All the new coils and useless detector features coming out on the market are making sales, and causing excitement and that's fine with me.

 

[nil]

I'm going to keep the V3i anyway, along coastal areas its a great rig. Last few days i've been doing some extra testing, trying convince myself not to get another detector. If I were you, I wouldn't put it on my bucket list to detect in Canada, your coins are much nicer, I usually hope I find some of your silver, lot of cottages around here that have been in american families for generations.

Been focusing with the 7.5 frequency, should re-visit the 2.5, most of my test bed trials have come up equal with the frequencies. Some people have said longer recovery delays, increase depth, but I haven't noticed a difference from 40 to 100, but that could be the soil conditions.

On the ctx 3030 subject, I wasn't big on it initially, read a post on the minelab owners forum, a moderator who's been testing the unit, has elaborated, a bit, on the features. Still a lttle skeptical, but he's peaked my interest.

 

[Rob (IL)]

I'm big on using what makes a person happy and works for them. I was trying to find my notes on Culpepper hunting. That's some bad dirt.