Question

[Tufunuf]

This is probably a dumb question. But, here goes.

See if I can word it so you all can understand what I am asking.

How often do you get a target spotted with your machine, and know pretty well what the object is before ever digging? In other words, can you tell most of the time by your signal what you are going to find, on some items?

Again, it may be an obvious answer. I am VERY new to the sport.

Thanks,
Tuf

 

[ernied]

i cannot tell the difference unless iam useing a target id machine but my friend who did have a fisher 1220x could tell the difference between a wheat penny and a silver dime ninty percent of the time.they all sounded the same to me.

 

[saika/ace250]

that depends on the machine to a great extent. My old 1260x would sound different on different metals, for instance, a silver object had a rich full tone, clad coins were a bit raw sounding but definite and precise, aluminum just howled out like a banshee. The 250 doesn't do that as well but it does sound off with tones in the ranges and does chatter a bit on garbage.

My ears are failing and I prefer the tone id now over the old style machines, there was a lot of data in the old style units.

If anyone disagrees with me please let me know.

 

[John-Edmonton]

I can on non-zinc pennies, as they give a strong unique signal. Everything else is "Probably". The ID is only a probability, and can be easily fooled.

 

[Tufunuf]

Thanks for the replies! I appreciate the input.

Tuf

 

[NM5K]

Dunno...I guess using the ace 250 , maybe 50% ?? of the time
I'm fairly sure what it is. Pennys are a pretty sure thing
except some will be dimes. Both read pretty close. Pulltabs
are a pretty sure thing usually. They will usually ring up
in the nickle-pulltab range, and kinda be unstable. Most
nickles hit the nickle tab a little more sure, with less or
no bouncing to pulltab. Quarters are a pretty sure thing
usually. If it rings "25C" over and over, it's usually a
quarter. But I get fooled sometimes, and there is not
much you can do about it, unless you want to risk missing
something good. Ditto for ignoring pulltabs. Some could be
rings, etc. I bet rings bounce around less though. I've dug
what rang up as clad and had it be anything from medals to
nails to matchbox cars. So it's never a sure thing. But..
I bet it's a good 50% though. Better on some things. I've
dug so many pennys, I can smell one right off the bat.
They hit solid, don't bounce much. Most I get are copper, so
some will turn out to be dimes, which ring the same tab.
Zincs ring one tab lower.
It's all just lernin the machine. I'm sure I'll be a bit
better a year from now, than I am now.. I think thats one
reason the aces are popular. They ID pretty well for a low
end machine. You'd have to cough some fairly big money for a
graphic ID not too long ago.
MK

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

Let me tell you how I learned to ID finds with my first machine, which I used for more than five years. It was a White's PRL1, An industrial unit designed for property stakes. It had one control, discriminate, and no ID feature. I had the control knob marked for pull tabs, and nickels. when I got a signal I would raise the discriminate until I couldnt hear the signal, and if it was above the nickel near the pull tab I knew not to dig. I also was able to make a good guess based on the length of the beep whether it was a quarter, or a smaller coin. Necessity is the mother of invention. I learned that a keen ear goes a long way in detecting.

The Point is DO NOT RELY ON YOUR METER ALONE! Your detector has a sound feature for a reason. learn the slight differnces in sound and use this along with the visual ID. It takes time, but soon you will be an expert!