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Nothing Really Changed in Twenty Years

Good info Tim.
One other little tidbit ... instead of running "totally" open in Iron Mask ... try to disc out nails (upper left corner only) and Crown-caps (lower right corner only). This will eliminate quite a number of signals that are invariably bad while leaving the rest of the screen open to maximize your getting the good stuff.
HH ... Gord.
 
Actually all those features work quite well but they depend on the ground matrix we hunt in and what we're hunting for. In particular, the amount of trash, etc in the ground.
The physics is pretty straightforward ... discrimination based on conductivity (and/or inductance in the Explorer)has always worked reasonably well even in the past. However, anyone "solely" depending on it is going to miss good targets.
For example, gold jewelry will never be well discriminated based on conductivity ... simply because there is jewelry from virtually zero to 100% conductivity. So if you want to never miss any jewelry you would "have" to dig every target.
The same with multiple targets under the coil. Even though the Double-D coil has a smaller slice of the ground there will often be more than one target in that slice (whether junk or good stuff or both). No machine is going to give perfect disc in those circumstances ... it wiil be some sort of combination which may alter the "exact" location of the cursor on the screen somewhat. But it will still give you an indication that this may be something other than junk because it is between junk and good stuff. This is something you learn with experience on a specific detector.
As everyone has said you must give it some time as every detector is somewhat different and multifrequency machines are more different than most.
A lot of success in detecting is confidence (in location, your machine, your skills, etc) and it doesn't sound like you have it with the Explorer. I've also been detecting for many years and the Minelabs were a distinct departure from the detectors I was used to. I kept at it and soon was getting lots of very old coins right out of sites no one would hunt anymore. Some of these weren't all that deep either ... which makes you wonder how they were missed. I found many on edge but others didn't seem to have a rational explanation. I really think the multi-frequency aspect has more benefits than is generally believed.
The many programming features of today's detectors are definitely useful but you must pick how and when to use them. For example, if I only have an hour or two to hunt and want to minimize the digging I will sometimes open up the right upper corner only. Will I miss good stuff? Definitely! But you wouldn't believe the old silver coins I got that I wouldn't have otherwise. The same applies to the other features ... you just have to know when and how to use them effectively.
I hope you stick with the Explorer as it could be a very rewarding relationship. But each person is different and it just might not be your kind of detector.
Regardless of what you decide ... good luck and I hope you find lots of treasure ... Gord.
 
Thanks, Gord.
I ain't "throwing in the towel" quite yet. I can be just as stubborn as this machine... it's just that right now, I'll just have to take your word for it, 'cause this thing ain't showing me anything.
Probably my biggest problem is the fact that I can't forget the "good ole days" when I could always come home with a few pieces of silver and some older coins, from a few hours hunting.
There is one thing for sure... no matter how good a detector you have, it sure ain't gonna re-seed these old places with silver. It's just that I thought maybe with the new technology, I could knock out some of the "missed" stuff. So far, that looks like a definite pipe dream.
 
Actually this unit does not like iron and did dig
some pieces of wire that were all over the screen.
And an old button I thought was a nickel....
 
..." There is one thing for sure... no matter how good a detector you have, it sure ain't gonna re-seed these old places with silver. It's just that I thought maybe with the new technology, I could knock out some of the "missed" stuff. So far, that looks like a definite pipe dream." ...
------------------------
Boy ... you sure are right about it not reseeding the old places with silver 8^(. I remember the good-old-days when you came back from a hunt with a pocketful of good stuff ... and it does spoil you somewhat 8^P.
However, it's definitely not a "pipe-dream" to come home with several old silver ... when you have the location (and remember other people have these new detectors too) and you learn how to use it ... being stubborn is a good trait to have 8^) ...you can reasonably expect to do that a good portion of the time.
Main thing is to learn the detector ... especially the multitone audio which I think is one of the most significant differences from the really old detectors. It can be confusing but very powerful when you get to understand it more.
Good luck ... Gord.
 
After 30 years of being detected to death what's left? The deep ones and the tough ones. After recovering 143 silvers this summer/fall with the Explorer I can say this, they were all either deep, tough signals, sometimes both. I don't recall a single silver that was shallow and just sitting there all by itself.
The Explorer has awesome descrim programming capabilities but we all tend to overdue a good thing. Use only as much descrim as you need to make the site detectable.
I don't always run iron mask -16, but I never use an aggressive descrim pattern if I don't have to. Try this, setup a custom smartfind screen with only the 1 or 2 trash items that are giving you a headache notched out. Set your iron mask at -16 or -10 or whatever you are comfortable with. Now when you get a hit using your descrim pattern, flip on the iron mask and check your target, you will get a much better signal for pinpointing and IDing.
I know a lot of guys run their iron mask at -10 but I found so many silvers near, even touching iron that I wonder how many I would have missed if I had been masking some iron. Think about it, iron targets in my area are typically big huge ugly rusted nails. That can null a large area and some of my silver coins are actually rust stained they were so close. Also I found that some ground has iron that actually rusted to nothing but the halo is still there. I heard silver and iron in the sweep, dug out the silver and the iron was gone from disturbing the soil. Would that coin have nulled out with iron mask -10?
If you want to get at these tough coins that are left, it requires some work.
Final note, also remember the custom smartfind screens are a feature to use in organized hunts, its very effective in that regard if you want to run around and pick off the price tokens.
 
Charles said; "...setup a custom smartfind screen with only the 1 or 2 trash items that are giving you a headache notched out..."
Let me make sure I understand what you are starting with, for the Smartfind screen. Since you are indicating an Iron mask setting of -10 or -16, is that also what the Smartfind screen would start out looking like, before we notch in a few of the trash items?
 
I half a$$ think you are full of it,simple fact you say you program it in the confines of your home.I can't turn mine on anywhere near the house with out it going nuts.
I will assume your post is legit(We do time to time get people that make bogus statements that have never even seen the detector,let alone used one)The first thing I will bet is you are swinging the coil like you are in a race.Can't do it!You got to swing the coil slooooooooow.Most of the old detectors,the faster you swing the coil,the deeper it would go.The opposite is true with the Explorer.The Ex. gives you so many more signals that if you try and swing fast,it will blend them all together and confuse the s#%t out of you.You will hit that shallow clad once in a while,but you will miss the good stuff.1 foot per second swing,any faster,forget it,at least as a newbie to the Explorer.Once you know what the detector is telling you,you can pick the pace up some,but even then you will miss stuff.
Another thing I noticed that I didn't see anyone mention is you running Sens at Auto 21.If you are going to run Auto,pump it up to 32.The Auto sens will set itself to the best sens at the time,but will not set itself higher than what you have it set for.In Auto sens,it might be setting itself to run at 6,you don't know.Now the other end of the spectrum is true also,Try and run too much manual sens,and you will miss stuff!I know Charles will disagree with me on this,but I have seen it happen way too much.get a coin signal in high trash and switch to Manual and the signal will break up on most signals.Find a happy medium.Don't know where you are,but I would say try 32 Auto till you get some hours in on it.And not 3 hunts,I am talking 100+ hours.Rome wasn't built over night.
I would also say to get the hell out of trashville and find some place with less trash to hunt for a while.You have to be a PRO (At least know what it is telling you )before you can get any depth at all in high garbage areas.It is possible,but not very easy.
Till you get the hang of it,dig ONLY repeatable signals.It will drive you nuts trying to figure out a good iffy from a bad iffy at the start.
Forget a set program,you will only miss good stuff that bounces around because of bad soil types or near junk.Use iron mask -8 or -10,screw the rest.Programs are only good for cherry picking,IMO.I always find deep silver dimes that lock on over way left towards iron,but sound sweet!
Next item,LISTEN to the sounds more than what the meter says,the meter is nothing more than a reference.BUT,the depth meter is right for me,on coin size items.deep big items show a shallower depth than they are,and tiny shallow items show deeper depth than they are.Just my experience,but I trust the depth meter.But like Charles said(I think it was Charles,sorry if it wasn't)If you do not have the target exactly under the coil,it will read deeper than it is,also a good way to get close to the target before you actually pinpoint it.Find the shallowest reading and then pinpoint it,you will be close,unless it is junk(ahh,another tip for telling good sounding junk signals from good sounding good signals,pinpoint location <IMG SRC="/forums/images/biggrin.gif" BORDER=0 ALT=":D">)
I think I am done now.Good luck,you will love it if you learn it.
 
My post was legit. Question is, are you legit?
Do you honestly think that after hunting (and finding) coins with all sorts of detectors back in the 70s and 80s that I wouldn't be smart enough to figure out a place in my house where I could tune and experiment with this detector? Get serious.
I think the legitimate tips and help that I've gotten have told me a LOT more about the XS than were actually writtin in the posts. Basically, it appears that most (if not all) new owners of the XS are at a distinct disadvantage while they sort out the advertising hype (and expectations) from the reality of what the machine really is. I'm still in the process of sorting it out... but I think I'm beginning to get the picture.
If what I have to "learn" here is nothing more than a fancy (and costly) All-metal-mode detector, that indicates good targets by sounding like a busted calliope gone nuts... well, I can and will persevere.
After all, the very first detectors I ever had to work with were all-metal-mode detectors (that's zero discrimination), and BFOs at that. I learned how to locate coins with those, and I can learn how to locate coins (and trash) with the XS.
The point is, it's too bad that metal detector technology didn't advance any more than this in twenty odd years. I guess I'm surprised it didn't, but not surprised at the inventiveness and creativity of the ad writers employed in the detector marketing departments.
 
No matter what you may think,this thing is <b>NOT</b> your detector from the 70's and 80's.The only way I can even turn mine on in the house is with the sens turned down to 1.otherwise it goes nuts from electrical interference.You must have a spot in your house that does not have alot of power lines going to it,or you are at least getting some noise.
And hey,sorry I offended you,but there really are alot of people that get on all the forums saying they own an Explorer and it is junk or what have you,and have never even held one!There was one guy last year trying to talk everyone into hooking a 12V Motorcycle battery up to it and hip mounting the battery.Tried to convince everyone that you could find small hammered coins at two feet.There are all kinds of people out there,you can't be too sure.
I am legit,or I would not have spent all that time typing that post.If you are as stubborn as you say you are and you stick with it,you will like it and think it is alot better,I will bet money on it.Nothing comes close!The tone audio alone is one of the best things to come around in a long time,once you get that down you are on your way.You will get it,it just takes a little time.
I found this stuff Friday at a site that was hunted hard in the 70's and 80's.And I was hunting with the guy that hunted it then and his detector he has now could not pick up some of these signals,we checked.Most of my silver this year has came from hunted out parks.
 
For me my custom smartfind screen would be a iron mask -16 like setup, with just a couple items notched out, typically crowncaps, sometimes nails.
For guys who like to run some iron mask, say -10 I think they would edit the smartfind screen to mimic iron mask -10 and notch out crowncaps or whatever is being a pain.
In either case I think the iron mask should be set at -16 to check the target once you find it, it provides the best ID and pinpoint condition.
Here's a reverse trick. When I'm in heavy iron I'll setup my smartfind screen like iron mask -16, completely open, and hunt in iron mask -4 to -14. This lets me adjust my iron mask up/down quickly while I try to figure out what the best setting is, yet I can always jump to my custom iron mask -16 like program to check iffy targets.
 
Feels the way you do. I did the very first time I bought my first Explorer. I used it 10 hours and couldn't sell it fast enough !! I thought everything I was reading about it was pure BS!!
Then I hooked up with someone using one and was watching him dig all these deeeep holes and finding more old coins than I was. I sold my LST and bought one and stuck with this time. I now dig deep coins and can tell you alot has changed since I started using my Garrett ADS Groundhog 16 years ago. This detector is unlike anything on the market right now, There are some things that could be improved on it, and, more than likely, the next generation Explorer will have them. Better balance, improved pinpointing and a better screen in bright sunlight are my pet peeves, but until then I wouldn't use anything else to go after the deep stuff in trashy old sites. I love my Explorer, as do most who, stick with it, learn it and begin to dig deep a$$ holes with it. Alot has changed, you just have to spend some time learning to use and know what it's telling you.
 
I think, if the place you hunted had anything to find and you hunted with the right settings for the conditions at the time, you should have found something. Provided, you hunted slow,covered all sq. inch,understand deep sounds,and the city hasn't dump a foot of new loam down for better grass. If I don't find anything old or deeper and I feel like I have given it all the chances and different locations a try in the first year or so then I will sell it. I bet I will almost get back what I have paid for it and that is a good thing about the XS is that it has a good resale value.
 
That sounds like one place I am hunting now. In closer to the school I found handsful of clad and 1 nice thick silver ring to boot. Then I moved to the newer looking ball field and found tons of clad, all at the same depth. Just under about the thickness of new sod. I bet they just re sodded not too long ago. Which makes me wonder how much the school has buried even deeper as the years go by. Then I moved to the soccer field and did the edges of the white outline. Found a new silver ring and then just more clad. Then at the end of the day just before leaving I was stubborn enough to stay and finish my scans to the white line and found 1 more silver ring. This place seems to have no old coins or deep ones but it has lots of rings.Location and conditions and land coverage over the years has a lot to do with it. Try different areas, try different patterns etc. etc.
 
appears to work similar to the high/low beam in fog example.The sunlight seems to bounce? off the display less at 4/6 setting than when it is set to 8/10.
regards
HH
Steven
 
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