I've had a few PM's and questions about my MD and settings used.

[tabdog]

So I decided to post my answer to one of them.


Here's my PM to Mark:


Hay Mark,

You said:

Congratulations on the finds.

Thank you.

What kind of machine are you using?

I was using a Compadre when I found gold ring #14. The
Compadre is usually my choice for very trashy sites.

I was using the Compadre when I found the golden P that turned
out to be a broken R. It is my first choice for most tot lots.

I was using the Euro Sabre when I found those 2 mini balls. It
is my first choice for relic/ artifact hunting.

Those are my two favorite, but I still use the Vaquero and Silver Sabre
uMax when I feel like that kind of hunting. The SS uMax is a great cherry
picker, and handles iron infested sites well. The Vaquero can do most
anything. I use it for parks and relic/artifact hunting.

Hey, where do you run your discrimination at?

If I'm looking for gold jewelry,

I usually have the disc at minimum, when I encounter a target,
I check to see if it is small. If it is small, I'll dig it. If it's big iron
or deep iron, I leave it there. I usually pass on deep aluminum
cans. If there is too much small iron to dig, I'll pass on that also.
Dig most everything else.

If I am relic hunting, it depends on the conditions. If it's real bad,
I'll turn the disc to foil. On must units I have, that setting will let
me know if there is an iron object I might want to dig. I don't like
to use disc because it causes the MD to loose depth and
sensitivity.

Have you noticed that the thin gold rings discriminate out at around foil?

I have noticed that some small gold jewelry can only be picked
up if the sensitivity is set high and the disc is set at minimum
and it is ground balanced properly.

Most of the gold I find is small stuff. That's what there is more of.
But it is the same per oz as the big stuff. To me gold is gold, and
gold is money.

Sorry to bother you...

No bother Mark.

This is my hobby and I learn by reading and posting. Sharing
information has helped me. If I can help someone els, it just
makes me feal good.

Happy Hunting,

Tabdog

 

[sqwaby]

What are the deciding factors when you decide to take the vaquero over the silver umax. I've been using a vaq for a few weeks now and still have a ways to go on learning it. I'm surprised at how poor it picks up small gold(I used a small pinky toe ring, 14k) in air tests. When you get out of all metal and you use the slightest disc in the iron position, sensitivity is set at 8. Is the silver umax better on small gold or gold in general?

 

[markg]

n/t

 

[markg]

Sometimes we just need a little reassurance...

 

[Bill in Texas]

I think Markq is right. My Vaquero will sniff out that gold in the ground or out. Better than my Silver Umax. My Inca does better on silver for some reason (maybe because I just like to hunt with it). I do like a Ground balance machine. Bill In texas

 

[sqwaby]

Hey Bill, where are you located in Texas?

 

[tabdog]

Hay Sqwaby,

The Vaquero is a very good machine to use for coin and jerwelry hunting
as well as relic/artifact hunting.

It is a smooth runing machine that lets me know small iron and is easy
to hunt in the disc mode with little, or preferably no discrimination.
More open areas can be hunted in all metal and cover ground real fast.

When I hunt tot lots with the V, I use the all metal mode. Usually the
target will be shallow and I just kick it up.

If I have any question, I can just thumb the disc. Don't have to flip a switch,
just thumb the disc. If it's big iron, I'll know not to dig. If it's a bobby pin, it
is just a krispy wisp if anything. If it's a gold chain, it may not respond in
the discrimination mode. It will also be shallow because you can't get depth
on a gold chain or small gold jewelry in general, for that matter. If it doesn't
kick up or get louder, it's too deep to be a chain. Gold chains may sound
like deep targets or like trash. Or a deep target may sound like a chain.
That's where I need to make a comparison if any effort is involved in recovery.
How easy is it to improve signal? as compared to the type of signal can
give me a quick way to tell if it's small gold or something else.

The shallow depths that small gold can be detected is usually an
indispensable tool in finding it.

Every one wants the machine to be at falt for something, or be bad or good
somehow.

The operating frequency helps the Vaquero be able to find small gold.

If the operater doesn't do well, it's the machine. Well, I don't know about that.

If you know how to use the Vaquero, it is a good machine for finding small gold.

You may not want to hunt that way. But finding small gold involves hunting in a
ways that I have feard several experienced detectorist saying " I'm not gonna dig
all that stuff just to find a little gold ear ring "

Others saying all I care about is gold rings and coins.

That's fine for them.

But I know that the Vaquero is an all around machine.

I say that from experience.

I have four machines that work well for finding gold jewelry.

Yet they are all a little different.

I got rid of the ones that didn't do well or were duplicates somehow.


Happy Hunting,

Tabdog

 

[tvr]

sqwaby,
Took me a little while to find nickels and eventually gold with a Cibola. I was a little too high with the discrimination. Cibola is pretty much a Vaquero without the ground balance. I run sensitivity as high as it will go and not chatter. That is usually at ten or into the red. I set threshold so that the pin point (all metal) is just audible. Discriminator is right at or a hair below the word iron. Test it with a small (1 inch long) wire brad or nail. You want to just miss hearing the small nail. You will hear crackles on larger nails. I tried discriminating out a 3 inch nail and found that at that setting I did not hit on a nickel set on the ground with the coil 2 inches from it even though pennies and dimes hit hard. I found that I lost a lot of depth as the sensitivity is turned down. As Tabdog indicates, even with a tiny bit of discrimination, you miss the small chains.

If it isn't hitting the gold toe ring and nickels with the sensitivity up and the discrimination down, I agree with markg, something is wrong with the Vaquero and needs to be looked at.

 

[pulltab]

good info Tab.
but you forgot to mention what coil you use.
I also wonder why the Compadre over the Vaq.
Also is the Compadre with the 5.75 coil or the 8

 

[tabdog]

Hay Pull Tab,

Yes I did forget to mention coil sizes.

I have the older Compadre with the 7" coil. Never used the 5.75,
but may buy one as a backup.

I usually keep a 5.75 on the Euro Sabre. I also use the 10X12 on
occasion. Haven't used the 10X 12 lot though.

I keep a 5.75 on the Vaquero and some times use the 8X9 stock
coil.

I keep a 7" coil on the Silver Sabre uMax.

I like the Euro Sabre because it goes deeper on small gold than
anything else I got. It also has a true ED180 and handles masking
and chalanging conditions well.

The Compadre is for tot lots and heavy trash. This is where most
of the gold finds are. That makes the Compadre my biggest money
maker.

The Compadre is such a pleasure for me to use, it builds confidence.
I feal like I am ready to take on the really trashy sites. They used to
scare me and I would avoid them.

With the Compadre I look for the bad places that scared me before.
I am happy just to sit there and try to seperate the mess and try to
find the prise.

It's hard to explain why I like Speedy so much. But I spend a lot of
time with him.

Happpy Hunting,

Tabdog

 

[sqwaby]

Thanks for the replies. What Tab said about gold chains and the signal on the Vaq, is the same with silver chains in my experience. I'll try running the sensitivity a little hotter when I use disc. Like I said, I've only had the V for about 3 weeks, so I've got to get some more time with this machine.