Learning the Impact

[cjc]

Really enjoying all the things this detector does. This morning I worked a hard packed sand flood plane and was very impressed by how deep the Impact was in Deep Mode / 20 kHz. It really hit the low conductors really well and although I didn't find any gold today, the Impact is a really fun machine to learn and use. I did get a few deep quarters, but it was a rare occasion where I didn't mind not finding much. I just enjoyed the audio, (when you hear that extension in the tone--dig!) the accuracy and the fidelity of this machine. Hitting my city's oldest part today--very optimistic!
cjc

 

[Mudwhale]

Just wait until you really get the hang of setting it up!! What mode/s did you use? Here's a little advise.

Download and print the charts in the back of the manual.
Stick to modes that operate on the same iron scale. Either 0-15 or the 0-40 because the ID's are different and this will let you memorize the numbers better without bouncing around and having to refer to the chart. What's good in one scale is junk in the other. The 0-15 is similar to an ATpro on IDs.

 

[Pedlar mills]

To help learn the modes and Id numbers per mode and kHz I bought a cheap single play arm band like they use in football and sized the chart from the manual and wear it on my arm. So all I have to do is glance down until I learn all the info

 

[squirrel1]

Good luck cjc.

I like the Impact.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Clive,
I too am trying to learn the Impact as it seems to do so much and it is not a big and dig detector which makes it my detector like my Sovereigns are, but still have so much to learn with the Impact yet. My biggest problem for me is hearing the tones with my bad hearing and getting time to get out with my Impact.

I am hoping you write a book on the Impact to give us your opinion and how you use yours, may not be the same as we will run ours because of location, and ground conditions but will give us all some ideas on ours.



Rick

 

[cjc]

Back in our Sov. days I learned a real lot from you, Rick!
Thanks, clive

 

[cjc]

Another thing I like is that where you see a narrow number group it means a less alloyed target--gold, silver copper...
The reporting tells you a lot.
cjc

 

[cjc]

Thanks for the advice.
cjc

 

[General Custer]

You can forget about ID numbers when detecting in very high mineralisation.A good target will give say 15 to 85 range unless it is a large object. I only go by the sound of tones and use of the headphones is mandatory.Most of you chaps will only use the Impact in a park so you will not have this problem and thats why you are so concerned with ID numbers.

 

[Mudwhale]

You can forget about ID numbers when detecting in very high mineralisation.A good target will give say 15 to 85 range unless it is a large object. I only go by the sound of tones and use of the headphones is mandatory.Most of you chaps will only use the Impact in a park so you will not have this problem and thats why you are so concerned with ID numbers.

What mode/s are you using? Here in New England we have virtually zero minenralized soil and the IDs mean everything! The IDs are king when it comes to a dig or no dig here. Today was such a case on 3 occasions. In DI4, Di99 a signal was banging a solid 51 but audio was all over the map. A 51 here is usually a no dig garbage target. I got a colonial flat button. Same thing a few feet further on. If it wasn't for the ID I would have walked away from 2 beautiful targets. Do you even own an Impact? If you do I don't think you are using it correctly.

 

[Mudwhale]

The best way to learn this machine is by learning it completely in the separate Iron scales! First learn the modes in the 0-15 scale. These are DI2, DI3 , DI4 and DI99. These ID numbers will be easy to remember because most ATpro and other American machines are very similar. When using DEEP, GEN, GENd, STA, and the VLX modes, they are on the 0-40 Fe scale. The ID numbers are very different . One scales good is the others junk. Learn one scale at a time! Otherwise you will never learn this machine....

 

[CCadrin]

I am also in CT along the coast. My VDI's jump all over in DI3 and DI99. I rarely able to register the same VDI consistently. It will be within a range. Shallow coins less then 5 inches will hit dead on but the deeper stuff it is never consistent. I am running my sensitivity at 95-99 in DI3. In DI99 my sensitivity is around 85. The range for coins will be a tight range.

 

[Mudwhale]

The whole coastline here in CT has everchanging soil conditions.There is a lot of iron naturally in the soil and junk too. These will make your numbers drift. It's more stable the more north you go. I have no drift issues at all at any depth I have dug targets. If you are at the shore try COG mode
(Conductive Ground) to see if that helps. There's all kinds of fine junk in the dirt along the whole coast that will kill your numbers. Another member mentioned that the audio report is your trump card. Is it solid or are there overlaying tones.

 

[CCadrin]

The whole coastline here in CT has everchanging soil conditions.There is a lot of iron naturally in the soil and junk too. These will make your numbers drift. It's more stable the more north you go. I have no drift issues at all at any depth I have dug targets. If you are at the shore try COG mode
(Conductive Ground) to see if that helps. There's all kinds of fine junk in the dirt along the whole coast that will kill your numbers. Another member mentioned that the audio report is your trump card. Is it solid or are there overlaying tones.

My approach is tone first and if the VDI is between 75 and 95 and if it repeats with a tight range I'll dig it, When I hit a coin and the sound it is very crisp and you know it is a good target.

 

[General Custer]

To Mudwhale.I have been using the Impact for nearly 2 months on Victoria,s Golden Triangle,Australia.I made it very clear I was using it on very high mineralisation.We also have small and large patches of extreme mineralisation where most detectors fail unless they have a COG mode like the Impact.Here ID numbers jump around like nobody,s business due to the mineralisation and I do not find them very useful.The discrimination modes are also unreliable as they can give lots of false signals unless you are in low mineralisation.I use the machine in GEN mode at 20 khz.looking for gold nuggets.I set the discrimination setting from the default 00 to 01 so I can get a low tone for hot rocks and iron and a high tone for non ferrous.I go by tone alone and the excellent tonal quality of the Impact is its trump card.You are using the Impact for what 90 percent of buyers do ,looking for coins and relics. It is however so versatile it can also be used for gold prospecting in Australia.I have posted information on most detecting forums trying to inform people how stable the Impact is in very high mineralisation but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

 

[Mudwhale]

To Mudwhale.I have been using the Impact for nearly 2 months on Victoria,s Golden Triangle,Australia.I made it very clear I was using it on very high mineralisation.We also have small and large patches of extreme mineralisation where most detectors fail unless they have a COG mode like the Impact.Here ID numbers jump around like nobody,s business due to the mineralisation and I do not find them very useful.The discrimination modes are also unreliable as they can give lots of false signals unless you are in low mineralisation.I use the machine in GEN mode at 20 khz.looking for gold nuggets.I set the discrimination setting from the default 00 to 01 so I can get a low tone for hot rocks and iron and a high tone for non ferrous.I go by tone alone and the excellent tonal quality of the Impact is its trump card.You are using the Impact for what 90 percent of buyers do ,looking for coins and relics. It is however so versatile it can also be used for gold prospecting in Australia.I have posted information on most detecting forums trying to inform people how stable the Impact is in very high mineralisation but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

Thanks for the post! Fortunately here in New England we have very low mineralization inland and my Impact runs very smooth. The audio on this machine is fantastic when you learn it's sounds. The DI modes work great here for me. Especially DI99.

 

[Monte]

in Oregon, most of it, both Western Oregon and Eastern Oregon, where I live now, the bulk of the ground mineral make-up is more on the higher to extreme side of the spectrum. Very few places can I find that fall in the 'low-to-moderate' range of mineralized composition. Many detectors I have owned or made use of do not fair well at the places I usually hunt just because the ground is so ugly, but my current detector battery handles everything splendidly.

Fortunately here in New England we have very low mineralization inland and my Impact runs very smooth. The audio on this machine is fantastic when you learn it's sounds. The DI modes work great here for me. Especially DI99.

Almost everywhere, I can use any of the Di modes on my FORS CoRe, FORS Relic or Impact models set at '95' to '99' Gain and they still operate smoothly.

I've only travelled to a couple of parts of new York and New Jersey and my detecting time there was limited, but I sure enjoyed the better behaving ground I was able to hunt in. There are parts of Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah where I hunt the most that are sometimes a real challenge when it comes to ground mineralization, but the new Impact, like the other TID models I rely on, does exceptionally well, and the visual TID responses are also very acceptable, as is the audio tone response, when the going gets rough.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

It's more evident in the audio. When you find a pure target, like silver or copper, the audio just sounds pure, as you leave the edge of the object there's no iron audio or buzz, it just drops off.

Another thing I like is that where you see a narrow number group it means a less alloyed target--gold, silver copper...
The reporting tells you a lot.
cjc

 

[Cal_Cobra]

You can forget about ID numbers when detecting in very high mineralisation.A good target will give say 15 to 85 range unless it is a large object. I only go by the sound of tones and use of the headphones is mandatory.Most of you chaps will only use the Impact in a park so you will not have this problem and thats why you are so concerned with ID numbers.

What mode/s are you using? Here in New England we have virtually zero minenralized soil and the IDs mean everything! The IDs are king when it comes to a dig or no dig here. Today was such a case on 3 occasions. In DI4, Di99 a signal was banging a solid 51 but audio was all over the map. A 51 here is usually a no dig garbage target. I got a colonial flat button. Same thing a few feet further on. If it wasn't for the ID I would have walked away from 2 beautiful targets. Do you even own an Impact? If you do I don't think you are using it correctly.

A 51 could be a US $1 gold coin, a shotgun headstamp, even a button

 

[Cal_Cobra]

To Mudwhale.I have been using the Impact for nearly 2 months on Victoria,s Golden Triangle,Australia.I made it very clear I was using it on very high mineralisation.We also have small and large patches of extreme mineralisation where most detectors fail unless they have a COG mode like the Impact.Here ID numbers jump around like nobody,s business due to the mineralisation and I do not find them very useful.The discrimination modes are also unreliable as they can give lots of false signals unless you are in low mineralisation.I use the machine in GEN mode at 20 khz.looking for gold nuggets.I set the discrimination setting from the default 00 to 01 so I can get a low tone for hot rocks and iron and a high tone for non ferrous.I go by tone alone and the excellent tonal quality of the Impact is its trump card.You are using the Impact for what 90 percent of buyers do ,looking for coins and relics. It is however so versatile it can also be used for gold prospecting in Australia.I have posted information on most detecting forums trying to inform people how stable the Impact is in very high mineralisation but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.

I'd be curious to see your settings for gold prospecting, and some of your finds.

We watched an episode of an Australian gold hunting program with a bunch of groups that gold prospected all over, and 90% of the targets were 6" or less and the gold is decent size, most nuggets were 1gm or larger from what they showed on the program.