I prefer diminishing signal to X for pinpointing - more precise

[Golden Silver]

This is not meant as a put-down or criticism of BH_LANDSTAR's X method/videos for pinpointing. I have NEVER used the X method. I know it's used by many so it's a popular method. However, I find the diminishing signal method superior and less time consuming. It doesn't matter that I presently use a LAND STAR as I started using the method in 1979 with a WHITE's COINMASTER 6/DB, and a TEKNETICS MARK I LTD. All you need is a detector that has ALL METALS. For those who may not be familiar with the method, here is my explanation.

When you are hunting in DISC and you get a repeatable signal you'll have an idea of where the object is if you look at the area covered by your coil when you hear the signal. You then swtich to ALL METALS and find the object again and it'll be easier to find since you'll hear the tone get louder as you approach the object. When the signal is at its loudest, hit ALL METALS again and find the loudest signal again. As you continue to do this you'll find that the signal gets lower in volume and you move the coil less and less. There's going to come a point when you won't get a signal, this means you've gone too far in hitting ALL METALS. So what you want to do is just hit ALL METALS until the signal is low in the center of your coil, stop and dig.

The above sounds complicated but it really isn't and takes only a few seconds to accomplish. Using an X method won't put the object dead center under your coil, just approximate and you'll still have to search for the object. Diminishing the signal will put the object right in the center and you'll find it in a shorter time. And depending on the depth, you may have to diminish the signal only a couple of times. If you use a probe you'll find that you'll constantly hit coins on your first try. If it's a ring and it's laying flat you'll put the probe right through the center!

Next time you go hunting, use both methods and decide which is the more efficient and faster. I think you'll go with the signal diminishing.

Golden Silver

 

[lilmax25]

never tried that

 

[GRAY GHOST]

oh yeah, goldensilver, i use the diminishing signal technique a lot too. it's especially good for deep targets, odd shaped pieces on edge, or off - metal targets too. good advice. hh,

 

[silversmith]

n/t

 

[dobbie]

once I got a pretty good idea i run my pinpointer over the small area. its easier for me that way. usually can get right on it everytime. takes alot of guess work out of the diggin.. I know people say when you learn how to properly pinpoint with your machine you wount need a hand pin pointer. but i prefer to use mine. if my pinpointer dont pick it up because its too deep then i dig a small plug and check it again with the pointer. thats my method anyhow.

 

[Golden Silver]

once I got a pretty good idea i run my pinpointer over the small area. its easier for me that way. usually can get right on it everytime. takes alot of guess work out of the diggin.. I know people say when you learn how to properly pinpoint with your machine you wount need a hand pin pointer. but i prefer to use mine. if my pinpointer dont pick it up because its too deep then i dig a small plug and check it again with the pointer. thats my method anyhow.

dobbie: give the diminishing signal a try and once you become proficient at it (on your second attempt, possibly) you'll find that your present method is inefficient and a waste of "valuable" hunting time. I can see using a pinpointer if once you dig a plug you don't see the object in the center of the hole (shallow objects, of course), as it may be on the sides of the hole. Using the diminishing signal method will eventually cut down on the use of your pinpointer. Also, one major benefit of the diminising signal method is that you'll wind up making a smaller plug/hole. One shouldn't have to cut a wide plug to come up with a small coin/ring/whatever.

 

[dougmoore34]

Once in a while I use your method however it just does not work in really trashy areas and 'x'ing a target almost always does. In really clean ground I run in all metal most of the time and it is fast. Now take your all metal recovery method out to the great trash heap and I can not say that I will recover more finds in a shorter period of time, but I will definately be able to tell the difference between the random trash and the quarter in less time and odds are I will not have to dig it to know what it is. Each method has it's place and I am very pleased that my Time Ranger can do both.
Happy Hunting Sir,
Doug in OR

 

[Golden Silver]

Once in a while I use your method however it just does not work in really trashy areas and 'x'ing a target almost always does. In really clean ground I run in all metal most of the time and it is fast. Now take your all metal recovery method out to the great trash heap and I can not say that I will recover more finds in a shorter period of time, but I will definately be able to tell the difference between the random trash and the quarter in less time and odds are I will not have to dig it to know what it is. Each method has it's place and I am very pleased that my Time Ranger can do both.
Happy Hunting Sir,
Doug in OR

It's always good to read others' methods 'cause I'm always ready to learn. In city parks there is no way I'm going to hunt in AM, although I was sort-of shamed once by a person who not only had a cheap Radio Shack detector but because it was not a sophisticated detector and operated only in AM, he found gold coins and more gold items than me with my sophisticated, CoinComputer. Of course, the trade-off was that he had to dig every signal while I could select when to dig and I was satisfied with my many clad and silver coins, and once in a while with silver and gold rings, etc.

 

[BH-LandStar]

I had not heard of the diminishing signal method, but it makes a LOT of sense...I will have to try the next time I go to Wood's Field....I have been super busy lately, and the car is broke down...not been getting out much lately...Should be back in the swing in 2 weeks....Oh...BTW...Usually if I hit all metal button right over a target, I get no further signals???...I do not think this should be so???



HH,

BH-LandStar

 

[Golden Silver]

I had not heard of the diminishing signal method, but it makes a LOT of sense...I will have to try the next time I go to Wood's Field....I have been super busy lately, and the car is broke down...not been getting out much lately...Should be back in the swing in 2 weeks....Oh...BTW...Usually if I hit all metal button right over a target, I get no further signals???...I do not think this should be so???



HH,

BH-LandStar

BH: While I don't know everything, it seems to me that when you hit the AM touchpad and you happen to be exactly over the target the detector is going into the same result as the maximum press and repress hits. Remember I said that if you hit the AM touchpad a number of times there will be a time when you get not signal, this is probably what is happening the first time. So, simply, when this happens to you again, if it does, just move the coil a short distance away from where the target is and retune then lower the coil and start the diminishing method again. You can always come back to where you think the object is by noting something in the ground such as a leaf, twig, bare spot, etc. But I'm sure you know this already.

BTW, because I'm a slow sweeper (to allow the detector enough time to recover from the signal) I sometimes I can tell where the target is when I find it in DISC and I don't need to switch to AM. My TEKNETICS MARK I LTD was excellent at this and since I don't swing fast it's very easy to see where the coil went over the target. When I probe, it may take a few efforts to find the object but i'ts not that far off from the center of the coil. Of course, when talking about probing I mean of shallow objects.

However, when using the diminishing method and the object is deeper than, say, 5-6 inches, you'll still find it in AM, of course, but you may only be able to diminish the signal once or twice but that'll still be enough to center the coil over the object.

 

[BH-LandStar]

Sometimes I am amazed at just how slow you can swing the Land Star and still get good tones...Your right that it does not have the greatest recovery time, and this is why in my video I was getting different tones I think...I still tend to swing too fast sometimes, but my eyes are quick, and I can lock on at these speeds, but I am probably missing targets by swinging that fast...Just call me impatient....lol
OH...BTW...Bounty Hunter sent me another locking collar for my stems....They replaced it when I sent it in, but someone else musta saw my email I sent Veronica or something....Hey, I guess a spare is always nice, but darned if I could figure out how you put the darn thing on right...heheh...Now I am waiting to see if they send me an additional battery door???


BH-LandStar

 

[Golden Silver]

Sometimes I am amazed at just how slow you can swing the Land Star and still get good tones...Your right that it does not have the greatest recovery time, and this is why in my video I was getting different tones I think...I still tend to swing too fast sometimes, but my eyes are quick, and I can lock on at these speeds, but I am probably missing targets by swinging that fast...Just call me impatient....lol
OH...BTW...Bounty Hunter sent me another locking collar for my stems....They replaced it when I sent it in, but someone else musta saw my email I sent Veronica or something....Hey, I guess a spare is always nice, but darned if I could figure out how you put the darn thing on right...heheh...Now I am waiting to see if they send me an additional battery door???


BH-LandStar

I didn't mean to imply that because I'm a slow sweeper the LAND STAR doesn't recover quick. I am a slow sweeper so that when I get a signal I have less territory to go back over to find the signal again. Once in a while when they show detectorists on TV whether at the beach or inland, they're really sweeping fast and I have to laugh at them because even if the detector recovers fast the coil is far away by the time they hear the signal and it registers in their head that it's a good signal.

I'm also a slow sweeper because when I started back in 1979 detectors did not recover that fast and I was always curious as to what else the coil was going over while it was still recuperating from a signal. So by slowing down I gave the detector a chance to recover and tell me what was next to the first signal. I used to practice by spacing coins with 3 inches between them, then 5 inches and on up. This gave me an indication of the detector's speed in recuperating from one signal to the next.

But nowadays detectors are much faster in recuperating and the LAND STAR is a quick recuperator. It's my choice to go slow and that's why I don't always have to switch to AM.

When I received my LAND STAR I was pleasantly surprised that it had a locking collar as my DISCOVERY 3300 did not have one although the snug fitting of the rod sections precluded needing one. So by my LS having a locking collar meant that it was a later model since most of the LS you see on eBay don't have a locking collar. The new ones do, I imagine. My LS was supposed to be new and rarely used if at all. I'm satisfied with it.

 

[dobbie]

n/t