making sense of the 705's language

[dfmike]

I headed out today for a few hours of detection even if snow is still covering the ground. I set the metal detector in all metal because I have found that in discrim the detector barely peeps as it has to go through a 4-6 inch crust of ice and snow before reaching solid ground. I get plenty of signals in all metal. I got a lot of signals in the 20's and 30's and even 40's but as soon as I turned on pinpoint mode, the numbers dropped in the negative zone. Sometimes they would stay positive until I swept the crust of snow off the ground and then the numbers would drop. Dug a few and they all turned out to be crown bottle caps. Most of these were indicating -6 in pinpoint mode with the occasional -4 or -8. There were a few signals that stayed in the positive zone no matter what mode but they were either aluminum trash (foil) or ammo shells from hunters. Even for those, the numbers would slightly drop in pinpoint mode compared to detection mode. Is this normal ? Is the ID in pinpoint mode more dependable ? I gather the detector goes in true all metal when in pinpoint mode right ? In the end I stopped digging any signal that gave me negative readings in pinpoint mode. It seems I was in an area littered with old style bottle caps. Surprisingly no pull tabs whatsoever. It was probably an old partying, drinking spot when cans just didn't exist.

I was using the MF concentric coil and auto ground balance tracking.

Still learning the language of this machine which seems so different from what i have used so far.

 

[BillF]

I have had signals that went negative in pinpoint mode that still turned out to be good. It's so hard to keep digging signals when every one turns out to a cap. I don't usually use p.p. mode, I'm used to x'ing.
I use my ears more than anything. I always seem to look at the numbers but the sound is what gets me to stop, then I tend to dig it no matter what. All those caps may be masking some good signals.
A few folks here use 99 tones. I get a little overload with that many so I use 4 tones and depending on how many targets I'm getting in all metal will tell me if I want to stay in a.m. or switch to a disc pattern. I know you said you weren't getting much through the snow in disc but maybe there just aren't any good signals to be found.

 

[dfmike]

Thanks Bill. What i have found is that when I had good and stable visual ID (read positive or non ferrous) in all metal AND in pinpoint mode, the targets were always non ferrous. When the ID between both modes tends to contradict each other wildly, in my case so far it's always been either ferrous targets or a mix of iron and something else. I used the detector in 3 tone mode yesterday and when it jumped from one tone to another or the tones got garbled, it was junk. I think next time I'll head out with a few coins (silver and copper) and lay them underneath the snow to check if my initial analysis holds true. I might try 2 tones as well. It seems I find it easier to make sense of a detector when the tones are limited as on my F19. I realize that for some it's the exact opposite. In psychology they call it representational systems and in my case, I'm most definitely visually oriented.

When you mention the sound gets you to stop, do you mean you tend to look for a continuous tone (no change of pitch) ?

 

[7centsworth]

I never go by the pinpoint numbers. They are wrong most of the time for me.

 

[BillF]

Mike, I'm usually listening for high pitched sounds. They don't always have to be solid from all angles. If they're good from one direction and stays the same I'll dig it. But that can be a double edged sword, maybe there's a small brad in the hole and it gives the good tone a quick iron grunt or clipped sound.
Man it's hard to explain, sometimes it's just a gut feeling that you get with the sound. I started out detecting in the early 70's with a $55 Compass. You dug everything. Old habits are hard to break. I love technology but it can bite you in the butt if you rely on it too much. No joke, some of my best and favorite finds were iffy signals to start with.
It can be hard digging so much, where I hunt the most I can use a relic type shovel, no plugs and I don't have to get on my knees as often so I dig more than most.
Hang in there.

 

[dfmike]

I don't mind digging a lot and getting junk in the process but it depends on the area I'm in. Like I mentioned, when I tried the X-Terra last time there was an area that seemed to be full of older crown caps. I'd rather not dig those. I felt compelled to dig there because there is a field stone wall in the middle of nowhere in the woods. It's going to take me awhile to learn the language of this machine but that's part of the fun.

 

[BillF]

It is part of the fun. We have huge area in my city that is getting a new freeway....Someday. The state has been buying up property like crazy for 5 or 6 years now and tearing down the houses. The lots are just infested with trash. We have so many detectors here it can be disheartening, as soon as they turn over soil or tear something down it's like ants on a candy bar. I had been going to one lot not far from my home, it was quiet and I was doing pretty good. One day I pulled 52 wheats and 7 Mercs out of the front yard. Anyway, I ran over there one Sunday and just started detecting when 5 guys showed up. Luckily I had already did a good job of cleaning up but they still scoured the place for over 6 hours.
To make this long story longer, there aren't too many good targets left at these places but I know that the guys coming in here are using high disc and are leaving some things behind so I use all metal most times and listen for those high tones among the junk. The 705 has been my favorite so far for its ability to do that even with a larger coil like the 10.5". I have the Digger also but I can cover a little more ground with 10.5" and it really doesn't seem to be affected by all the trash. I went into one lot that was heavily searched by others with my Digger and pulled over 300 coins out of it.
I'm sure there are detectors out there that may be easier to understand or use and might do a better job, but brother for the money I'm not sure you can beat the Xterra line. I used Tesoro for 32 years and have not been sorry I switched to using the 705.

 

[dfmike]

Thanks Bill. When you mention the 10.5 coil you mean the medium frequency round DD ? I'm thinking about buying the digger first. The soil is difficult around here and it tends to give concentrics a hard time plus the trash is heavy in certain places where I know there are silver coins left.

 

[BillF]

Yes, that's the one and I don't think you can go wrong with the Digger.

 

[dfmike]

I never go by the pinpoint numbers. They are wrong most of the time for me.

I brought a silver quarter with me this time and buried it 2 inches under the dirt with about 4 inches of snow on top. In AM mode, the detector identified it with ease at an unwavering 42. I switched to pinpoint mode and the numbers varied from 40 to -8 when I tried pinpointing the target a few times. So It seems I can't trust ID in pinpoint mode as well.

 

[Spcop2000]

Forgive me for the obvious but shouldn't you already know what you're digging before you switch to PP? Pin Point is specifically that, for pinpointing AFTER you've identified the target.

 

[dfmike]

I understand what you mean Spcop2000 but there was a specific reason why I was using pinpoint to identify: The pinpoint feature of the X-Terra gives you a target ID as you pinpoint and since I am relatively unfamiliar with the detector, I wanted to know how accurate was the ID in that mode compared to the regular search mode. The detectors I am familiar with give out an approximate depth reading in pinpoint, not an ID.