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proof that a mineral halo gives a better signal :yikes:

G

Gunnar of bradford MN

New member
I did a recent test whith the m-6 using the 5.3 eclips coil - I buried a quarter just deeper than 7.5" in sand right after burying it i got a -95 and faint signal i was a bit bummed out so i left it in the ground 4 days and then tried it again and BEHOLD a good clear signal vdi 83 + 94+ good strong signal so over 4 days the quarter has coroded enuff to give a good halo efect and it is really lighting up the tone I.D AND VDI NOW I WAS AMAZED so im proud to say the m-6 whith the eclips 5.3 coil will find a dime , or quarter or penny at 8" as long as ther is a mineral halo and at least damp soil and not bone dry intresting
 
Now thats interesting...Has anyone tried a XLT, or DFX doing this???
 
For one thing, the discussions and comments we hear about a "halo" through they years has been quite misunderstood. It is an often quoted term, based mainly on what someone has read or heard, especially in older print, and has no real bearing on fact.

Is there such a thing as a "halo" that can form about a target?

Yes, there can be but usually there isn't.

A "halo" is nothing more than a chemical leaching or breakdown of the target's surface metal that has leached ever so slightly from the target. It takes time, and a lot of it. Even then, it is very slight with non-ferrous targets.

A silver coin will break down to reach it's maximum "halo" condition after about one (1) year, and then that is it. It's not a continual thing. Five years, ten years, five decades, three hundred years, it makes no difference.

Copper and bronze targets might display a little larger "halo" and might continue to experience the forming of a halo over a longer period of time. Maybe something like over a 2 to 10 years period, but then once it reaches the maximum amount of breakdown there will no longer be a "halo."

Simply placing a metal target in the soil does NOT cause or guarantee the possibility of a "halo" either. For there to be any notable effects the target MUST be positioned in COMPACTED soil, and it must remain in this compact position and no move at all. It usually takes a long time for a target to 'settle' into a final resting position, and then I can guarantee you that non-ferrous targets will still develop such a slight "halo" at all that it might still not be "detectable".

In order to gain any benefits in the detection of a target with a halo the ground needs to be wet. Not an overnight sprinkle or a good watering job, but wet saturated. Not just damp or wet in the upper area, but wet down to and maybe below the target. You must have the moisture in order to enhance the anticipated halo area (a very, very tiny area) WITH the target metal.

In short, it just isn't going to happen to the degree that it has been hyped about for so many years.

A freshly busied target can be difficult for any detector to respond to and produce the anticipated "proper" audio and/or visual information. Forget the halo because that's not what is at issue in this case. It is the disturbed ground which is causing the difficulty in performance.

Remember, we're using motion-based discriminators and they are responding to both the ground mineral signal and the target signal. This composite signal is analyzed in the milliseconds we sweep across a target and the filtering circuits try to separate the ground signal from the total signal and pass along the target signal to the amplifying circuitry.

It's especially going to be noticeable if you bury a coin to a 7
 
Montahh, tell you what im going to dig the quarter up and if its green will you beleive me? i packed the dirt down really hard and it did rain after all i know is just after i buried it it was barly givinga signal the block I.D was tiny and it was - 95 a target i would not dig im going to dig it tomorrow and plant another just the same and it would be cool if someone els would try it to whith a dfx or mxt bury a fresh quarter at 8" and pack it in vdi it just after burial then wait 4 to 5 days and try it again comon BRING IT ON
 
I have a DFX and did it with both a nickel and a dime some time ago. I was working with filters, and based on a conversation with a top notch detectist, was told that i could find deep targets in the negitive range. My reading at 8" for a nickel was -88 and the dime was -93. I disturbed as little soil as possible by removing a chunk and cut a slit in the undisturbed side putting the coin in it. Jimmy Serria said it may not be worth the effort to dig such targets and Jeff Foster said filtering should pull those targets back into the positive side. I did this test in DC Phase -94 with the standard coil. I have to agree with all that monte said. I know the DFX does not like disturbed soil... especially mole holes ect. I beleave Halo is more a ferrious bleeding thing.
 
I would have to agree with most of what Monte has to say on the subject of halo's. It is very hard for me to believe that a halo is created on a silver coin in one year and it then is stabilized in that state forever. I have yet to experience a halo effect on a silver coin, that I suspect, has not been in the ground for at least 40 to 50 years. I have also experienced larger halos on targets that have been in the ground for longer periods of time. I also believe the halo effect, also known as electrolysis, continues as long as there is an anode, (mineralized ground), a cathode, (a conductive metal object), and an electrolyte, (moisture in the mineralized soil).

A metal object in the ground with a halo is exhibiting an electrical field much like a micro battery, creating a micro magnetic field around the object due to the electrons traveling from the cathode to the anode through the electrolyte. Since most metal detectors are designed to induce electrical fields in a metal object to create a magnetic field for detection and identification, the added electrical activity of the halo effect makes the target seem larger than it really is. As the cathode is depleted of electrons, it then turns into oxides. The green stuff often seen on copper coins, is the same stuff seen on your car battery terminals. That is why some old copper coins will read like silver dimes and quarters, only to find an old green cent in your hole. That is the halo effect. It takes time, lots of it, and conductive moisture, like the salt in the ground and rain for a halo to be created.

Silver is a more Noble metal than copper and the electrons flows from the minerals in the ground to the silver thus depleting the electrons in the ground. This is why the silver and gold does not corrode. If you look closely though, you will see a dark ring around the silver target. The older the silver target, the larger the dark ring. The dark ring around the silver is the oxides in the ground. The dark ring of oxides is a visual halo supporting the electrical phenomenon.
 
Dew, you will often find deep coins that will give you a negative reading on the VDI. Jeff is right that additional filtering will bring the VDI up into the positive range in some cases. Jimmy is wrong to suggest ignoring those targets. I do not rely heavily on the VDI for deep targets. If the Tone ID says if might be something worth digging, dig it.
The reason you get a negative reading on a "good" target is because the DFX and other TID detectors will average the positive DC Phase of the target with the negative DC Phase of the mineralized ground. If there is more negative ground for the detector to "read" than the target, you will get an averaged negative reading. Remember, you have 6 or 8 inches of negative ground above the target. That is also why raising the filters up to 6 will help reject more ground and give a more true reading of the target.

Should you hunt with 6 filters all of the time to get a better target to ground reading, NO. With 6 filters, your return signal is so sharp, it is easy to miss a deep target unless your coil is right on it.(centered) 4 filters works best for me and dig the deep "iffies" no matter what the VDI says.
 
It wasnt a halo.

It was only that comprimated wet dirt is a better carrier of current then airy dry dirt.

Actually:

Silver masked by iron gives a better signal when the ground is dry.

That is because the only metal that pour out a decent halo is ferrous types. They leach a good deal and when the ground is wet they seem much bigger then in dry ground.
 
Larry...You put it in terms I understand..thank you for the education.
 
After reading everyones posts, and coping it for my records I want to say Thank you for all the posting on halo effect....I think I have put it all together, and have a better understanding of the halo effect and how to find deeper coins at certain times due to ground saturation of moisture, and length of time of coins in the ground..Again thanks to all..You are what makes this a great forum..
Elton
 
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