I have a CW campsite I've identified and it lies smack in the middle of a frequently plowed field (reasonably good ground, not heavily mineralized). I need to maximize my depth to try and see targets at the bottom of the plowzone 12"-16". I have a 7.5 kHz, 10.5 DD and know a few things to try and eek out as much depth as possible (slightly positive GB for one). What tricks are people aware of to try and hear deep signals with the X-terra 70?
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Question of how to maximize depth on a plowed field site
- Thread starter Canewrap
- Start date
Set the Noise Cancel channel for the site, set the volume at Max, set threshold so it is just barely audible, GB properly and then lower the number by 2 or 3 digits, raise the Sensitivity as high as you can without causing it to chatter all the time. I'd also suggest running all metal with multiple tones. (why doesn't that surprise anyone?) Having tones on all targets instead of a null on rejected targets will keep you on your toes. If there are furrows, you can sometimes get more even coverage walking perpendicular to the rows. Makes for a tougher walk. But it lets you keep the coil closer to the surface, opposed to the up and down "U shaped" motion when you walk parallel to the furrows. Plus, running perpendicular to the furrows (and keeping the coil flat to the surface) will minimize any chatter from having the Sensitivity cranked up. JMHO HH Randy
Reconmarine1984
New member
I agree with Digger Post. I hunt in only 2 tones In All metal. The 10.5 DD 7.5 will go deep, try run Sen, say 27 or higher , you may get few false signals in High tone, but you will get super depth. In plowed Fields you can easily miss target, due of you coil and Target depth. Over my many years hunting Fields/ Plowed, I first hunt wider flat areas between plowed rows, if hit pockets finds, I slow down and hunt edges then move on Flat area until hit another hot spot to say. This best way to finds targets and stay motivated to walk over large Fields not hear an target for long time > Chuck
I use the 10.5 DD 7.5kHz coil 90% of the time for relic hunting. I follow every step Digger described. The only thing I do different is when setting the Noise Cancel and GB I lower the sensitivity to 2. After NC and GB I max out sensitivity and try hunting. If it starts chattering (very seldom does) I lower by one digit until it stops. It may just be me but it seems that I get more depth when I lower sensitivity when NC and GB. TomB
I don't know if you have the option, but if possible, I would use the 18.75kHz elliptical DD, or the 6", 7.5 kHz concentric. I say this because I think you will be much more thorough in your search, with the lighter coils. I have the 10.5 concentric DD, and as you know, it is very heavy. I also have the 9" 3kHz low freq, and find it to be heavier than I care for, especially working uneven terrain. I think the 70 - 705 is very well balanced with the stock coil, anything bigger or heavier seems clumsy to me. --- IMHO, I don't think bigger is necessarily better, (or deeper) in the plowed field. Like the big Anglo-Saxon treasure find this week, a lot of relics / coins / or artifacts remain shallow, due to the turning of the soil. The tractor and plow have already done the hard work for you. Even if the site wasn't farmground during the war, the modern tractor and plow have unearthed a couple hundred years of history for you .-- With the big and heavy 10.5 DD, you'll be looking for the easy places to sweep, instead working the entire area, including the tops of the furrows. Everyone works differently, but my weapon of choice would be the stock 9" - 7.5 MF, or the 6" MF concentric, simply because I know I will do a better search, due to the lighter weight of these coils.
Dr. detecto, I would agree with most of what you've said, to a point. I have a way of balancing the 10.5 DD coil that allows me to comfortably use it for long periods of time (adding my lesche digger, in its sheath under the arm strap helps and I have added some weight to the shaft). Its all about balance. See, when relic hunting in open fields you often need to locate the campsite first, which entails finding a few key things that tell you that you're on top of it. Then it becomes a matter of thoroughly searching the area. The problem with your theory of the plow, is that for quite a while now farmers have only been discing their fields, which doesn't turn up the soil the way real plowing does. A lot of the Civil War belt buckles that have been found in plowed fields (as opposed to woods) in the last few years have been found by getting fairly deep (11"+) and I know that this is the key because I used to be an Archie and when we did our excavations a lot of the heavier, larger artifacts had sunk until they rested on a rock, bedrock, or hardpan (below the plowzone). The trick is to locate the general area first and then hunt the heck out of it, like you were painting a room and trying for every square inch and along the way remove most of the iron to unmask deeper targets. Once you've done that in your defined area you set out to look for the whisper signals that are as deep as you can hope to go. Its any technique for getting these signals that I need help on, especially since in hard hunted areas, this is where the real 'paydirt' lies. I agree with the idea of the smaller coil to pick out the good signals, especially when there is still too much residual iron to dig it all. I still haven't located a virgin camp or picket post, but when I do I expect that I will go through every available coil I have at one point or another. I have it on good authority that it can take several years to hunt a good camp, once you've found it. I really appreciate the good info and invaluable experience that have been imparted in these posts and I fully intend to take full advantage of it.
Sincerely,
Bill
Sincerely,
Bill
tony (Orlando FL)
New member
Perhaps I am all wet in my thinking on some things when it comes to setting up any detector for maximum efficiency however, even so, I will share my thoughts.
My thinking is this, the detector sensitivity HAS to be set to the level at which you plan on running it before setting the Ground balance and Noise cancel and here is why..... the detector sensitivity setting allows the detector to see the minerals as they really appear to the detector thus allowing it to BEST adjust itself to the conditions. If the detector doesnt see the minerals as they truly are, it may set itself to some setting which is not at all close to how it sees the ground when the sensitivity is cranked up to operating levels.
Same goes for noise. We all know that reducing sensitivity also reduces the influence of noise therefor at a low setting perhaps there is no noise detected and perhaps the BEST choice again is NOT MADE when choosing a channel to be used. In my thinking, it makes sense to have the sens set to the level at which you will actually be detecting and let it make a selection of the channels based on what it hears NOT what it doesnt hear at a low sens and then moved up.
As for Ground Balance offset, when any unit is properly ground balanced, it should not detect the soil at all, hence, its balanced. Metal will appear as a positive blip to the detector and then sound off accordingly. IF someone chooses to set the detector MORE POSITIVE, this means the small metal in the ground which is a positive appearing event, will have to be STRONGER to overcome the more positive ground balance one has decided to use. I know one or two bumps of the GB setting isnt a big deal BUT if the unit is set more positive than it needs to be, the metal will have to be larger or more shallow in order to trigger an indication of its presence.
On the other hand, a more NEGATIVELY set ground balance 'could' allow more sensitivity to deeper thus weaker responses which equate to more depth maybe. But for sure, with a lower GB setting, each sweep of the coil may now respond to the earths minerals you are trying to balance out and thus NOW waste your time some with ground falsing in the headfones.
I simply posted my suggestions as to the way I personally set my units up. They may be way wrong or close to being accurate..... I am confident no matter how you set the unit up, it WILL WORK and even if you tweaked things here and there, the end result is not super super critical but it is nice to have a setup procedure that works best for you.
Hope I didnt muck up your plans on how to set the unit.
Best of luck in what sounds to be a perfect place to detect
Tony
My thinking is this, the detector sensitivity HAS to be set to the level at which you plan on running it before setting the Ground balance and Noise cancel and here is why..... the detector sensitivity setting allows the detector to see the minerals as they really appear to the detector thus allowing it to BEST adjust itself to the conditions. If the detector doesnt see the minerals as they truly are, it may set itself to some setting which is not at all close to how it sees the ground when the sensitivity is cranked up to operating levels.
Same goes for noise. We all know that reducing sensitivity also reduces the influence of noise therefor at a low setting perhaps there is no noise detected and perhaps the BEST choice again is NOT MADE when choosing a channel to be used. In my thinking, it makes sense to have the sens set to the level at which you will actually be detecting and let it make a selection of the channels based on what it hears NOT what it doesnt hear at a low sens and then moved up.
As for Ground Balance offset, when any unit is properly ground balanced, it should not detect the soil at all, hence, its balanced. Metal will appear as a positive blip to the detector and then sound off accordingly. IF someone chooses to set the detector MORE POSITIVE, this means the small metal in the ground which is a positive appearing event, will have to be STRONGER to overcome the more positive ground balance one has decided to use. I know one or two bumps of the GB setting isnt a big deal BUT if the unit is set more positive than it needs to be, the metal will have to be larger or more shallow in order to trigger an indication of its presence.
On the other hand, a more NEGATIVELY set ground balance 'could' allow more sensitivity to deeper thus weaker responses which equate to more depth maybe. But for sure, with a lower GB setting, each sweep of the coil may now respond to the earths minerals you are trying to balance out and thus NOW waste your time some with ground falsing in the headfones.
I simply posted my suggestions as to the way I personally set my units up. They may be way wrong or close to being accurate..... I am confident no matter how you set the unit up, it WILL WORK and even if you tweaked things here and there, the end result is not super super critical but it is nice to have a setup procedure that works best for you.
Hope I didnt muck up your plans on how to set the unit.
Best of luck in what sounds to be a perfect place to detect
Tony
Bill, you are correct sir, and your initial question was how to obtain maximum depth. My apologies for my digression. Just a thought, .. I always scope out my dig sites on Google Earth, sometimes things, such as old wagon trails, are obvious in the pics. Good Luck, and keep us advised.