Newbie needs help. Please

[DRL]

Well the big brown truck brought my x-70 Monday. Got it from J.W. at KellyCo. This is my first try at this hobby, never even held a detector before. I read the FAQ and the manual to get started but still have questions. I read in another thread (I believe it was Bill or Digger that advised another beginner) to find an area without a lot of trash to learn in. I think that might be one of my problems. Anyway, on to my first question. Do fresh water beaches act anything like salt water beaches? I went down to a park that has a sandy beach along the river (Columbia River, Portland/Vancouver area). I have read lots about beaches being hard to detect for the beginner but I thought they were always talking about salt water. I am getting all kinds of false targets. I keep turning the sens down, tried as low as #8. Tried all metal and Patterns #1 and #2. Tried Tracking on and off (reminds me of another question but we"ll do one at a time). Sometimes I will get a strong target signal and an ID of say 40 or 42 so I dig and there is nothing or maybe a bottle cap that ID's 6 after it is up. Do I just need to stay off the beach till I know what I am doing?
But, I did find a quarter and a nickle in less than a hour YEE HAA!!!
Thanks
DRL

 

[Bowie]

Dunno nothin about the X70 other than I read its a great machine. But on the caps you dug up and get a different number on it when its up is normal. The ground matrix has a lot to do with the signal you get on an object while its buried,plus a target that is in the ground at an odd angle give off odd readings.
Fresh water beaches can be a problem,depends on the mineralization but around here fresh water beaches arent bad.
Make sure you ground balance correctly and adjust your signals. Make sure your coil cable is in and tightened. Seems I read somewhere that the X70 has preset programs. Im sure Digger will be along to get ya goin.
HH,
John

 

[kaustin]

I know the beach you are talking about and it is a poor place to learn on. The beach there is HEAVY mineralizion. I would start with school yards and parks until you learn the XT-70. The false signals you are getting comes from rusty metal,nails,bottle caps etc.
Plus the sand there is the black stuff from Mt St Helens ash which is hard on detectors. Over load signals are not uncommon there.
Good luck, maybe see you there some time!
Keith

 

[RonNH]

The X-70 has a Beach Mode, did you have it in this setting? If not, read the Manual again. I don't hunt beaches, so I am not familiar with this setting. I do know that beaches have black sand which is mineralized and this can throw off the detector's Ground Balance. I'll stop here and let someone with more experience jump in, but it didn't sound like you had the machine set up right for that type of hunting. Ron

 

[BarnacleBill]

OK here we go, just some thoughts and suggestions.

If you are downstream of Mt St Helens, and/or the sand is a dark gray or black color then it might be black sand which is very high in a form of iron content. Very bad place for a newbie to start, mix in trash like ratty foil, pull tabs, screw caps etc. and you have a perfect storm for frustration.

So pick another spot that you check to be target free first. Take some coins with you and bury them at various depths to practice on so that you get an idea of what they sound and act like.

Settings:

Hold the coil at waist height parallel to the ground, select Menu, Noise Cancel, Auto button. Keep the coil at waist height till the detector finishes Noise Canceling by making a tone.

Disc pattern 1
Sensitivity 15
Tracking ON

Bury some coins about 2 ft apart. Use a poker chip to write the coin type on, and put it over the buried target. Practice keeping the coil about one inch above the ground and swinging smoothly at a constant rate over the targets. Do NOT allow the coil to swing upward like a pendulum at the end of each swing. This is a learned skill, you have to teach your muscles to do it, and assume a stance that allows you to do it comfortably. The natural inclination is to allow the coil to swing up like a golf club, bad idea, especially in high mineralization.

Coins laying at angles can present a phantom target. So you dig and find no target, they are usually off to the side of the hole, therefore widen the hole carefully. In the drawing below you will see two the detector has found two targets, the green one is where the target really is, but the red one is where it ain't.

[attachment 78609 phantom.gif]

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Tinfoil]

n/t

 

[DRL]

Thanks guys, I'll bury the coins tomorrow and start the learning phase.
No, I have not tried the beach mode yet. I'll try that when I go back, after I learn at least a little more.

DRL