Need helpful tips for New Gamma

[gourdy]

Hi everyone! This is the first forum I ever joined so any advice on using it is appreciated.

I just received a New Gamma 6000 and looking for helpful tips before I have a chance to take it out to the field. I'm from Central IL and the ground here is still covered with Ice and Snow. It's suppose to get into the mid 40's next week. Woo Woo!!! Hopefully just a couple more weeks and the ground will begin to thaw so I can venture out.

I've been hunting 2 years now with a Bounty Hunter 505, and yes I'm hooked. I love my 505 and have had, what I consider, great success. My oldest coin is an 1827 dime follow by a large cent piece in which I can't read the date. We hunt for coins, old relics, and of course I'm still seeking that Big Cache. We mostly hunt farmers plowed fields where old homesteads, schools, and churches once sat. We also hunt river banks, little timber ground, and some pastures.

I wanted to upgrade with a 2nd detector with a little more challenge yet not to technical for me to operate. I chose the Gamma over the other detectors I was looking at because of the Gamma's weight, it was in my price range, and it is a product of 1st Texas as is the 505. I can only hope with anticipation that I made the right choice.

I run the 505 in Disc. mode discriminating out low end iron due to all the nails and junk iron in the places we hunt. The Disc. mode has an automatic ground balance. I rarely ran in all metal mode for it requires a manual ground balance which I never was sure I had set correctly. The sensitivity is adjusted by turning a dial clockwise with off being positioned about 7:00 and the greatest sensitivity being around 5:00 position. I run between 3:00 and 4:00 with no chatter at all. I don't have a clue as to the soil mineralization in the areas we hunt. I use the standard 8" coil that came with the 505.

Can anyone tell me what settings to start out with on the Gamma that would be comparable to what I use on the 505 as stated above? I know once I get in the field and start using the Gamma I will figure things out for myself and probably have have a lot more questions. But for now, I just need a general starting point. Also, I need to know;

1) When using Ground Grab, about how many times will I need to pump the search coil to reach a stable setting?
a) Will it make a difference if I go higher than 6" when pumping or if I allow the search coil to touch the ground while pumping?
b) How will I know if ground grab is set properly?
c) Will I need to frequently repeat the ground grab procedure while detecting?

2) How will I know if I need to manual Ground Balance, Ground Grab, or just adjust the Sensitivity?

3) If I do a Manual GB and change the internal GB settings, what affect if any will it have when I switch back to ground grab.
a) Will these internal settings change back once the detector is shut off?

4) What is an optimal 2 digit reading for ground mineral type?

5) What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of using 1 or 2 tones as opposed to 3 or 4 tones?

I want to set up my Gamma to search with the greatest depth detection without losing sensitivity to shallower objects. I think my biggest challenge is going to be achieving a good ground balance. Answers to any of my questions or any other helpful advice is appreciated.

Happy hunting to all!

 

[Markmac]

Gourdy welcome to the forum and congrats on the new gamma,its a great detector and one you will enjoy using over and over.I bought one last fall as a back up to my Omega that way i could have the gamma set up with my 5 inch dd coil and the omega with the 10 inch elliptical or now and then the 11 inch dd coil on it.I love in galesburg illinois so our ground cond should be close to the same since were both basically in central ill.Most my hunting this past year is in a park that i live right by and a camp ground just down the street from me which as you can expect is very high trash area.This canpground can only be hunted in early spring and late fall since lots of campers there through the summer months.This is where i have used the gamma the most set up with the 5 inch coil and its a great set up and i was impressed with the gamma so far with the limited time i have had to use it but look forwardto using it much more along with the omega at the campground and the lage park across the lake from me.Ok with that said let me try to answer some of your questions and maybe Monte and a few others will post as well....Number 1...four or five times pumping the coil up and down should be enough to ground grab your gamma to give you a solid locked on 2 digit ground reading,with that said i will tell you with my gamma it doesnt seem to ground grab near as well as my Omega does but that may be due to our ground here not being highly minerized ot could be im using the smaller coil on it not sure but i have better luck with the gamma by manually ground balancing it and i know then im good to go.u dont pay attention to exactly how high i traise the coil off the ground but i guess it would be in that 5 to 8 inch area of raising and lowering the coil and im sure my coil has hit the ground a few times doing the ground balance and i havent seen a problem there.If ground grab is set properly it will give you a two digit ground number and should quiet down as it sets the balance on the detector..Most my areas seem to balance in the 50s to low 60s here.I wont say you wont ever have to reset the ground balance while detecting but here in illinois once the balance is set your pretty much set to go most times, i havent had to do resets that often with the gamma or my Omega..Number 2.. if you find that your gamma just keeps making noise as you try to ground grab it and it wont lock on a two digit number then just do a manual ground balance honestly i have found it easier to maually ground balance my gamma where as my Omega always ground grabs. i usually have my sensitivity set around 70 when i try to ground grab or do a manual ground balance on either the gamma or the omega..Number 3...Not sure what your trying to say here but if you have manually ground balanced the gamma to where you have a stabilized thresh hold hum pumping the coil up and down i dont see why you would then also try to ground grab as well since you now have the detector allready ground balanced.I would say first try the groundgrab feature if it wont grab and set your detector to the ground then do the manual ground balancing since its really just as easy to do it becomes second nature, but if you have manually ground balanced and for some reason then do a ground grab i would think it would keep your detector set close to where you had it set but maybe Monte or one ofthe other great people on here can comment better on that part of your question..Number 4..i think you will find most your ground readinggs here in illinois will fall between the low 50s to low 60s with most of them in the mis to upper 50s...number 5 this one can be debated lol my personal choices are i use one and two tone when i hunt in all metal mode but most of my hunting is parks and yards so im in disc mode mainly and there i always use three or four tones and 4 most of the time the reason is i like having that nickel sound having a mid to high tone when your running in 4 tone mode makes it a little easier for me to snatch a few more nickles and most those nickles will hit 56 and 57 on the gamma and the omega...hope i have not cinfused you for im not an expert on the gamma i have used my Omega a lot more since i have had it longer, but you made an excellent purchase buying the Teknetics Gamma.Both the Gamma and the Omega have a lot in common and they are great at finding coins...Feel free to message me or email me at markmac85@hotmail.com and if you wish to call and talk more about your gamma let me know....havce a great year with it Gourdy.......Markmac

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Mark answered you post really well. Search montie's posts for great 6000 info. He is a wealth of knowledge!

 

[capt.]

#4. The detector will find the optimum ground balance and that will show as a 2 digit number on the screen when you ground grab. If you have to manually ground balance, the optimum number will be the tone that shows when the detector does not make any noise when you raise or lower the coil. The Gamma will not ground grab if the ground value is less than 40. You must make sure you are not over any metal when trying to ground balance the machine.

#5. Tone #3 will be the most like the 505 with 3 tones classifying types of metal. Tone #4 has the same 3 tones but with a medium tone assigned to the nickel area which is very helpful. Tone #1 is just one sound (VCO) for all targets and #2 is a low tone for iron and a VCO tone for everything else. (VCO=Pitch increases with increasing signal strength. A given target close to the coil will induce a HIGH PITCH, but a LOWER PITCH farther away. The audio volume always varies in proportion to signal strength. The closer a target gets to the coil, the louder the volume) #1 and #2 will give you the deepest depth, and you will still have the target numbers to help classify the target.


"Can anyone tell me what settings to start out with on the Gamma that would be comparable to what I use on the 505 as stated above? I know once I get in the field and start using the Gamma I will figure things out for myself and probably have have a lot more questions. But for now, I just need a general starting point."

Turn on the detector and start hunting. It is set for a Sens of 80, 3 tones. To get better performance you can ground grab and leave everything else the same. This will be "like" the 505 but with much better performance. My other detector is also a 505. You will definitely enjoy the improved depth, among other things, of the Gamma. The 505 is a good detector, and I really like mine...but the Gamma is in a whole other class. You will REALLY like this detector gourdy. You should not have any trouble ground balancing, it is a s simple as it can get on this detector.

capt.

 

[Ken in Georgia]

I think Monte will answer this last question well !!

 

[gourdy]

Thanks Markmac for all your advice. When the manual stated that a manual ground balance changes the "Internal Settings", I got a little nervous. I guess it was just the word internal. I will let you know how I do and probably be asking for more advice once the weather warms up. I'm from Decatur, so you're just a little northwest from here. Hope your hunts are good this coming year!

Bonnie

 

[gourdy]

Thanks Capt. Your reassurance that I made the right choice with the gamma is a big help! I guess I was thinking that manual ground balancing is more complicated than what it actually is. I thought I liked the 3 & 4 tone so I could hear what the target might be without looking at the screen. But now you mentioned greater depth with 1 or 2 tones, I'm going to have to try those. Thanks again! I'll keep you posted on how I get along.

Bonnie