New user with a problem/question...

[jbow]

First...I am 53 years old and live NW of Atlanta in Cartersville, GA. I am having a blast with this thing. Maybe one day I will be able to contribute here but for a while I will need help. I'm glad to make your aquaintance!

I am not only a new SovGT user but also new to MDing and i've been having a problem with something.
What's going on? Since I haven't been detecting too long and am trying to learn I pretty much dig everything that has a good signal just to find out what it is. I am digging around older homes. The last couple of days have been aroung an old duplex built around 1920, (that has the world's biggest supply of post 1990 clad...grrrr).
Anyway, I get these hits, good signal but the meter jumps around a bit, still the signal stays pretty strong so I dig... I dig out a hole and I still hear it, I dig a little deeper and it's gone so I check the dirtpile and damn if it's not there either...it just seem's to evaporate. It keep's happening. What causes this?
I am using a Minelab SovGT with a Sun Ray S-5 coil in disc with the disc and the notch all the way down, iron mask on, and using auto sensitivity, although it does not seem to matter about that.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Julien

 

[Beachcomber]

Did you check the loose dirt in the bottom of the hole. Sometimes when your target breaks free of the dirt it has been packed in for years it falls to the bottom of the hole or turns on edge and is no longer detectable. Dig out a little more dirt and you will usually find the target. It happens on deep targets the beach alot. When I lose the signal that was a good signal and it's not in the sand that I have already dug I take one more scoop and usually have the target.

HH

Beachcomber

 

[jbow]

Hmmm, that never occourred to me. I figured that the GT would hit even if the target was on edge if it was only a few inches away. I'll try checkinng closer...but I usually have the hole cleaned out pretty well, our soil here is fairly well compacted.

Thanks,
J

 

[Mike in Ky]

I usually just switch over to all metal and pinpoint to make sure it is still there. Then I get my pinpointer out and find it. I guess part of that is you're breaking up the halo of the target. I do agree though, it does get aggravating.\

Mike

 

[jbow]

Thanks...i'm glad it's not just me! I am going to order an S-1 probe next week, just as soon as my Amex bill drops for the month...

J

 

[Rick(ND)]

The first thing is to check this signal in all metal pinpoint, or even try it from a different angle to see if it moves in disc. If it moves in the disc you know it is a iron false as you say the numbers are jumping all over and especially if there is negative numbers. If it seems to be a one way signal in all metal pinpoint then you too know it is iron you are getting the signal from. On many of these signals and notice it more with the GT it sometimes sounds good and i will try to come at that same area from a different direction and notice that same area will null which I know it is iron.
Now the reason you may be picking this signal up and then gone after you dig down a bit is you have got the nail out of the hole,in the ground you will get some signal on it, but once you get it out of the hole it will just null, so next time just go to all metal pinpoint and see if you can pinpoint it and see what happens. I also find a few iffy one I will pinpoint it in all metal pinpoint so you have the target right under the center of the coil,hold the coil still, then go to disc and slightly wiggle the coil, if it nulls it is iron,if the sweet tone of a good coin it is one you want to dig.
It takes a little bit to run and understand the Sovereign, but when you do it is one of the easiest and accurate detector out there.

Rick

 

[Art (NWOH)]

Clumps of lawn fertilizer can make hot spots like that.
HH

 

[Beachcomber]

It usually will detect a coin on edge. But if the target was say 8-10" and falls down deeper into the hole and turns on edge as it slides down it may well be beyond the range that the detector can see an on edge coin. A Pinpointer is a good additonal tool to have for this type of situation.

HH

Beachcomber

 

[jbow]

Hi Rick...

You said: "If it seems to be a one way signal in all metal pinpoint then you too know it is iron you are getting the signal from."

What exactly does that mean?

Thanks,

Julien

 

[jbow]

Thanks, that's good to know and i'll remember it but this place hasn't been fertilized in ages in ever.

That is a great tip though!!

Thanks,

Julien

 

[Art (NWOH)]

In the woods where somebody spiked the dirt with "deer dope" . Sounds like a silver mine.

HH

 

[Silvertone]

Hello everyone. I am a new user of the GT as well. I was going to ask the very same question as Julian. I switched over from a MXT a couple of weeks ago and have found that my finds are much better on average with the GT. I find much deeper targets but I have been digging a lot of ghost targets and very deep rusty nails. It seems like I can almost always wiggle these bad targets to 180. I was wondering if the sensitivity is too high would it make the falsing worse? Thanks to everyone on this forum I have learned alot from you all. Hopefully I can get a handle on these rusty nails.

HH

Larry

 

[Rick(ND)]

What are you running your sensitivity at? If you are new you may want to run auto until you learn it a bit. I run mine with the stock 10 inch coil at around the 11 o'clock position and do get fooled by some rusty nails, if I don't I may miss some of the deeper coins too. I have always said if you get fooled by a couple you know you have your sensitivity high enough, if you get fooled a lot then it is set too high.
Now one of the ways that has helped me with some of the rusty nails that give a iffy signal like a deep coin is to see where I can pinpoint it by moving the coil back to me so i know the signal is at the tip of the coil, now I see where it is and come at it from a different angle and see if it is still there or not. Sometimes i have to go all around it, but if it is moving around it is a rusty nail, but if it stays in the same spot and a good signal it is a good target. In most case i can tell as soon as i come from a different angle. Now to make sure I will go and use the all metal pinpoint and see if it moves or a one way signal, then too it is a rusty nails. One more way is doing the 90 degrees pinpoint using the all metal pinpoint so the target is right under the center of the coil, then hold the coil still and switch back to disc and slightly wiggle the coil, if it null it is iron, but if you get a positive signal then I would dig it.
Like i say there is a few that will fool you at times and if you didn't dig a few iffy signals you may miss some deeper coins on the edge of the disc.

Rick

 

[Rick(ND)]

In all metal is just that, you swing the coil one way over the area you heard the target in disc and you will hear a response, but when you go back the other way there is nothing or very little response as it is right on the edge of the iron target you are hearing the signal in disc. When you get it to respond both way it will not be in the area you heard it in disc and if you want you will see if you go back to disc and go over where you hear it both ways in all metal pinpoint it will just null.

Some iron may sound like a good signal in disc, but what you are hearing is the very edge of the iron target, so by checking it from a different angle in disc it will probably move, in all metal pinpoint that area will only pick it up one way as it is the edge of the target you are hearing in disc.
Rick

 

[Silvertone]

Thanks for the advice. I'll really try to notice the location of the tone better to see if it is moving on me. I'm finding lots of silver so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Thanks again,

Larry