For readers who cruise various forums let me just be clear here:
I am a fan of several White's detectors because they work well for me and have for many years, especially the past two decades. There are a few Tesoro models that I also regard as very good detectors for certain applications. Then come the Teknetics and, while I do like most of the six models they offer, my Omega has proven to me to be the best 'general purpose' pick of them for me and my needs.
That said, I know you have a good detector so my intent is just to help you enjoy it more. It is a very light weight, yet versatile detector.
Keithbar said:
Hey guys,
Today I took the Omega out to hunt an old home site....I found a 1942 merc. but I had a lot of problems with palm-sized iron objects (flat iron)....my setting were Sensitivity (70) Disc (40) 2tones...Ground balance @ 58.
Was your Omega unstable with a higher Sensitivity setting? I usually run the Omega at '99' or as close to maximum as possible, and only reduce it if I must to regain stability.
I'm curious why you selected 2-Tones rather than 1-Tone since you had rejected all bass-like lower Iron tones? I usually run at either a setting of '1' (minimum Discrimination) or only enough to reject common iron nails at a site, then use the 2-Tone Audio ID to help alert me to probable iron that's more conductive than a nail. Otherwise, I use 1-Tone, unless I am coin hunting in typical coin sites, like playgrounds, where I use the 4-Tone Audio ID.
If you get a Ground Grab that balances at '58', I'd be glad to trade you a whole bunch of local dirt! My Ground Phase read-out is usually 20 to 25 numbers higher than that, and with 2-4 Fe3O4 bars, too.
Keithbar said:
Yet these iron objects would come in at 88-91 on the VDI.
The key words here are "palm-sized", "flat iron" and the simple fact that it IS iron, but we think Discrimination deals with it easily. It dealt with it better when we used a conventional TR-Disc. model because they had what I call true, progressive Discrimination. Modern motion-based VLF-Discrimination has some problems with it, and then comes the fact that man-made and shaped iron can be a stinker!
Keithbar said:
Is there a setting or a way to differentiate these flat iron pcs from coins??
100% of the time? No. However, as others have pointed out, you can use a few techniques to help 'classify' a target. Even these techniques are not always fool-proof, but they certainly can help. I dig a lot less trash than most people when hunting iron infested sites because I use some basic methods to identify potentially unwanted targets.
You can go to the
'Tips & Techniques' section on the ahrps.org website and click on Audio Target Classification. You can print out a copy, if you'd like, and in this case there are three basic ways to eliminate digging a lot of the iron junk, or as suggested, to "Classify" it. One is the obvious methods of Sizing and Shaping a target. Iron, especially, is easier to 'classify' due to the broader response you can get off to the side, and the higher you can raise a search coil above the target, when compared with any coin-type target. Avid detectorists learned that technique long ago as they progressed in the hobby.
There are two other methods I have been using since the late '70s and have been teaching I started hosting seminars in '81. Those I coined the terms for as "
Quick-Out" and "
EPR" (for Edge-Pass Rejection). One of the biggest offenders in the magnetically-attracted category has been Bottle Caps. They, also, tend to register with an up-scale TID on most makes and models. Some handle Bottle Caps better than others, and several model out there really struggle to handle them, when you are only making a typical sweep across them as if it was a coin. You can read the methods under '
Tips & Techniques,' but here is a little overview:
'Quick-Out': Once a target is located and pinpointed, you can use a very short, but brisk, sweep directly across the target with the center of the search coil. Note, if you would, that these techniques can be used with the moderate-to-fast sweep 4-filter detector models, such as the White's XLT or XL Pro or earlier 5900 & 6000 series, or the Bounty Hunter Red Barons (the first motion-based Discriminators of '78 ), or the 'original' Teknetics company's 8500 and 9000 and other similar models.
However, most detectors in use today, or the bulk that have been in use for the bulk of the past 30 years, have been based on a 2-filter, or possibly a 1-filter or 3-filter type circuitry which are all considered to be slow-motion type models. Yes, you can pass a target across the coil very briskly in an 'air test', but when hunting for in-ground targets, they usually are at their best with a slower-motion sweep speed. This is why 'Quick-Out' is only a technique used on specific questionable targets, and the brisk, quick coil sweep is of short length. From maybe just a couple of inches from one side of the target across to maybe a couple of inches past the target, not a 2', 3' 4' or longer fast sweep.
Usually, the models used also feature visual Target ID and, when the problem and questionable object is iron, a 'Quick-Out' check will help the audio break up and the TID will register as Iron. we know, however, that things don't always happen as we would like them and, at times, the problem target is just a little more difficult to 'classify.' If so, then go to the next 'Audio Target Classification' technique, 'EPR.'
'EPR' or Edge-Pass Rejection: With this method you are using a portion
close to the edge of the search coil, not the very outer edge. It would be a spot roughly 1" or a little more in from the outer edge, but it depends on the search coil. First, check your detector and coil on a desired target, and I suggest you use three coins. Place a 10
, and apparently it was because I did not THINK about sizing the target....We'll keep this one between ourselves 
I understand what needs to happen so thank you very much for the assistance.....Also, you are correct, I do have some EMI if I increase sensitivity above 70, and my ground grab is typically in the 50s or 60s in my area of West Virginia...I would be interested in your response as it pertains to the Omega, and the difference between manual ground balance and auto balancing...For those of you here who are newer than myself, I have only been a member here for 3 months...I can say that the friendships, assistance, humor, and kindness of all the individuals here are first rate, and Monte is one of the best...Just archive his posts and be prepared to read forever--it's all good.