New detector

[njmaxx]

Hello all

Pretty new to metal detecting 3 weeks in . Purchased myself a ace 350 machine so far its been pretty fun. found a few pennies oldest is 1970s around my home which was built in 1890. Hoping ill hit some nice silver coins or older,

Just a few questions i have in regards to metal detecting .

1. Whats the best way to wrap the cord so the coil doesn't get interference.

2 Is it normal for the detector to sometimes act up... meaning its bleeping and blur-ping randomly? It will detect but sometimes it will just go haywire at random. Could this be the batteries? This is my first detector so I'm not sure if this is normal.

Thank you

 

[dabbie1]

Hi!, and welcome I always wrap my cable straight up shaft for first 6 inches then wrap it around the rod right up to before plugging in the coaxle cable. I have never had the machine go off random.When you turn on machine hold down the on button to set for factory settings, also what mode are you running in? coin,jewelry etc could be alot of iron or trash. try 4 bars sensitity and notch out everything left of the nickel and see if the interference stops Hope this helps Wayne in Delaware HAPPY HUNTING.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I'd pretty much reflect dabbies advise.
With the cable. I always tilt the coil so that the toe of the coil is touching the shaft, then wrap the cable around the shaft till I've used up the slack and plug it in. I do leave some slack near the base so that there in no tension on the cable.
The falsing (erratic signal) is most likely caused because you have the sensitivity set too high. Back it off to 4 to 6 bars and see how you go. Basically, you back off the sensitivity till you get the detector in a stable manner.
Mick Evans.

 

[Thylacine]

One site I go to has a low hanging power cable, just the one wire but if I am under it or a yard or so either side the 350 goes nuts. All those random beeps and pings are targets in the soil, you have to work out what is what and which ones to dig.

The ACE 350 is a sensitive machine, if I walk across a field with the mode set for zero and the sensitivity set somewhat high it will pick up buried targets a foot and a half off the ground. It will pick up the smallest ball of al-foil and in the tot lots it will react to the metal poles two feet out from the base.

It is a great machine you have, now you have to learn what it is telling you.

 

[Hank68]

Welcome, the falsing problem could be caused by cell phones or electrical interference, I would add the sniper coil to the must haves for your ace350!

 

[njmaxx]

thanks all for the helpful information i very much appreciate it being completely new to metal detecting.

Could very well be power lines since they are near my home that maybe causing the "haywire" behavior. I apologize if I'm asking too many questions but another one i have is : when i get a target say it will read 25cent it will give me a depth of 4, however when i dig to 4inches it will change to 8 inches . I'm only assuming this means i have more to dig but I'm also kinda apprehensive about digging as i fear i may hit a unknown object that maybe tied to utility such as a sewer not so much gas and water lines as i know where they are. i guess what I'm asking is should i continue to carefully dig or abandon when i get signals like that? I don't believe its wires as my power line is suspended above ground same as my cable and phone lines.

Haven't had a chance to hit any parks in my area to see my detector in full gears as the director of parks hasn't responded to my letter as of yet. So I'm stuck detecting at my home for the time being.


Thank you

 

[gordygroover]

Don't worry about hitting a sewer line..When it comes time to replace it you will unhappily discover just how far below the surface that thing will be.
Not sure what could be causing the increasing depth of your signal. One obvious thought may be that you have scooped out the upper piece of metal and tossed it aside and now your machine is signaling another target a bit lower. Sounds dumb, but that is just the world I live in.
A good pinpointer will let you know if your target is in the dirt you have already removed from the hole but other than that I am kind of stumped.

 

[Orion42]

Also need to remember that most detectors are calibrated to coin sized items. So a larger chunk of metal will show as being shallower than it really is.

John

 

[widebody]

[size=large]you can learn alot by watching vids on you tube about your machine as well as say the ace 250. some basic things are covered that apply to most detectors. such as too much sensitivty for the area. making a pendelum type swing will also cause falsing. welcome to mding. there's a lot to learn. one thing comes to mind. if your target is iron and it vanishes while your digging this can be normal. it will just be the iron was a clump of rust and you disturbed it and broke up the clod so as to remove the signal. this is just one thing. there is so much more.the more you practice the better your finds become and the more you find. you might want to keep a record of your finds. what where and which coil was used ect. you will see progress this way. just reading the forums you'll learn more tips about everything.
would like to suggest you make a signature box. include what part of the country you're in and maybe what machine you're using. it's handy for when you complain it's too hot or snowing or rainiy and others will know where all this is happening. just an idea.

HH ( happy hunting )[/size]

 

[Thylacine]

There are things that will trick your ACE, a piece of foil in the ground that is discoloured is easily missed and tossed aside you wave the MD over the hole and it picks up something lower. Also if your in a tot-lot and digging in pine bark, the ACE will read the bark differently to soil.

Also remember that coins over the years have changed by that I mean the metal in them, so the detector may say one thing but you find another. Last night found a fist size piece of lead in the roots of a big fig tree (Morton bay fig), http://www.flickriver.com/photos/mister_goleta/16721216/ the display read it as silver at 8" but it was lead and only 4" down! the reading for a stainless steel bolt sat directly in the middle of the display where we are told to expect gold. The guys that build the tot-lots sure leave a lot of junk around. A sniper coil is my next buy!

Utilities pipes are usually (in OZ) 3-9 feet below ground level, so don't worry about hitting one of those and they will be a line in the ground that runs on for many feet. Hit a signal like that and it is best not to dig as it could be a water, gas pipe or a power cable put in by a handyman and not listed on any map, but the length is a give away.

Get yourself a good set of cotton, rubber faced gloves so that you can feel around in your hole also, swing the coil over you mound of spoil and remember to fill in your hole.

 

[Hank68]

And a pin pointer will help also.

 

[njmaxx]

thank you all for the helpful information, i definitely need to look into buying a pin pointer think it will make a world of difference for my situation here.

 

[GoGoGopher]

Sewer, Gas and Water lines are very deep, at least here in the NE. This is to prevent pipe ruptures in the Winter months...You DO need to worry about shallow buried electric cables in some spots...If they are done professionally, they will be over 1 foot deep...If they are done by your average handy man, they could be only inches deep...Common sense usually governs your safety...I have never yet hit a live wire...The day I do is probably the day you see no more posts from me...lol...

HH,

 

[njmaxx]

went detecting today around the house found a total of 35 cents in modern clad, my biggest find was an 2001 quarter thought it was a big old silver coin at first hah. one thing i run into is getting some pretty good signals for 25 cents around a less traveled area on the side of the house. however they are under concrete anyone else experience this ? Would love to dig those signals but i think ill need a jack hammer lol.

 

[brctom1]

Most likely those signals are the rebar in the concrete.
I get the same type signals when I hunt the strip of grass between the street & sidewalks in my area.
Just my thoughts.

Tom

 

[Thylacine]

njmaxx

"2 Is it normal for the detector to sometimes act up... meaning its bleeping and blur-ping randomly? It will detect but sometimes it will just go haywire at random. Could this be the batteries? This is my first detector so I'm not sure if this is normal."

Well I went out an old camp ground and Cob & Co coach stop, the ground was hard and alive with hits, the few I dug were all trash. HOWEVER, towards the back of the park there is a double train track where the diesel electric trains run. Those lines give off so much juice that if I pointed my ACE 350 at them and I was a good 60-70 yards from them, the 350 would go nuts. It first started to play up when I was swinging so I unplugged the coil, rewound the cable, turned it off an on, played with the discrimination and sensitivity then on the way back to the car is settled down.

That was about the same time I wondered if the train tracks would affect the ACE? So, I walked back toward the tracks holding the ACE up and pointing at them, just as a 32 wagon cattle train rolled past and balm, like walking into a wall the Ace went nuts. I was much relieved to find out the problem was EM interference.

At another site the ACE purred along and found me all the trash I could handle until my wife decided that it was time for us to head home.

OBTW Happy Easter.