My first semi-trial hunt... :pulltab: :detecting:

[Banzai]

Hello everybody!! I finally got to go out for about half an hour on Thursday. After owning the SE for about 3 weeks without even turning it on, I took it out to my front yard first. My first find was a big nail. Then I remembered I was advised to throw down a few coins and go over them to hear the sounds they make. So, as I was doing that, (on the side of the road) I found my first coin just laying on the ground next to where I threw down a penny (oh well...). This SE sounds almost like morse code at times, and I have no idea of what I'm listening to. I did end up finding 3 clad pennies, some type of button, a dog tag from 1996, and mostly alot of junk. I found that locating or pinpointing the targets was pretty easy, I was ALWAYS right over the target and didn't have to dig very deep (no more than 4-5 inches). My yard has ALOT of places that makes the SE beep, burp, blip, etc... I couldn't believe how sensitive that thing is, I found the smallest aluminum foil pieces you can imagine, no kidding I was holding the dirt in my hand and didn't even see the foil (twice!). One more thing I learned was not to hold the dirt in my left hand and use that pointed detector device, I kept looking for what was making it vibrate, only to figure out it was my wedding ring. (lesson learned) I also, figured out that I'm gonna buy a pair of jersey gloves to wear when I dig, and make me some type of duty belt to hold everything I want to have easily accessible. I still need to practice digging the holes a little neater before I go to other properties. (my yard will look terrible when I'm done).

A couple questions I have are....

1- When I start up the SE, do I really hold the coil ABOVE the ground almost 1 foot?
2- I couldn't get a constant hum (threshold?). It was either beeping/humming like crazy, or silent. Any suggestions?
3- I didn't know the best way to clean the items, so I washed them off as good as I could, then let them soak in some vinegar. (won't do that again) Any tips on the best cleaning method?

Ok, I'll try to get some pictures up soon, and figure out how to put them on this page. All in all for that half hour, I was on mostly my knees digging junk, but it was still fun, and I can't wait til this assignment I'm on is over & I can spend more time with that SE (digging more junk I'm sure). Only 123,997 more cents and that thing will be paid off!! wOO hOO!! Thanks for reading and any replies... HH!!

 

[Mike Bearden]

You'll be OK though, don't know if your running at factory default settings or not but you probably should be other than maybe adjusting your threshold level.
Research the archives of this forum and read, read, read ! Don't go to crazy adjusting everything for awhile and use the cursor screen, dig everything on the RIGHT SIDE from the middle of the screen over from top to bottom.
After you've done this for awhile the different musical notes/sounds will start to actually make sense to you ... then is the time to start making adjustments but only a little at a time so not to overwhelm yourself.
Turn on your pinpoint button, sweep the coil over the ground and make SURE that the ground is clean of metal targets ... then simply put the coil on or over that clean area of ground and push the NOISE CANCEL BUTTON, hold it dead still until the 11th. sound off is finished and the machine is now ready to hunt.
I've always done the noise cancel this way and it works just fine.
It would be easier to learn the Explorer with a smaller coil if you have one.
Good Luck
Mike

 

[North Georgia Relics]

Minelab generally recommends that the machine be used at factory presets, other than threshold and noise cancel for at least 3 battery charges.

 

[RandyNorthridgeca]

I'd also suggest that you lower the gain from 8 to 5 or 6 until you get use to the tones. The SE now comes factory set to 8 instead of 5 like it was for the XS and Explorer 2.
HH Randy

 

[Banzai]

Thanks for the advice Mike & Don... I am leaving the factory pre-sets alone for now and only the threshold and pinpoint buttons are used. I'm reading as much as I can on this... there sure are ALOT of posts in here! Also, theanks for the Noise Cancel tip!! HH!!

 

[axxeman]

I hold the coil above the ground and hit the noise cancel button just about every time. You can try adjusting the threshold higher until your SE reaches the humming point. Next you decrease the threshold to a point where it just stops humming. You can adjust the sensitivity up or down to a level suitable to the area you are at. I decrease sensitivity in trashy areas and increase in less trashy areas. I go with gain at around 8. Try this and I would suggest reading the manual and changing the settings as you read. You will become more proficient as you use and trying the different settings on your machine. I love my SE cause she treats me right!