Sweep speed

[mwaynebennett]

As I posted a week or so ago, I buried a copper penny, a 1950's ere US nickel and a Canadian silver dime. Each is about 4" deep and about 24" from one another. At my standard sweep speed, they all show up as iron. Susi Crosby at Bounty Hunter suggested I discriminate against iron when I sweep. When I did, they all came up as PT.

I was experimenting today by placing a steel washer about 10" from a silver US quarter. I noticed that sweeping over the washer first made me miss detecting the quarter. Slowing down the sweep speed allowed me to detect each. I then went to my buried test targets and swept slower and by only sweeping at about 18" per second, I could detect all three fairly accurately.

How fast do you folks sweep? Have you too found that sweep speed greatly determines the identity of the targets?

Mark

 

[abcoin]

I try to sweep slowly (about 1 ft. per second or thereabouts). I find that I pick up on deeper targets, and most targets give more consistent signals. Pinpointing can also be easier this way; just watch for the spot on the ground where the beep sounds. Certainly, if you're in a hurry, you'll miss some targets.

 

[JJ]

Not sure which BH you are using, but most I know of have a ridiculously fast recovery speed compared to other machines. In other words, If you weren't hitting the quarter at 10" from the washer, you need to rethink that Tiger Woods swing. Learn the recovery speed of your machine (not sure how to put it in words, (Targets/Ft/Sec ?) and stay well below it. I know they are faster machines but I have done WAY better running mine SLOW, maybe 12 to 18 inches/sec sounds about right. Go slow, tightly overlap your swing and keep your coil as low as possible throughout the entire swing. You wont miss much. TC & HH, JJ

 

[GoGoGopher]

I agree the VLF machines in general like a slow sweep...less than 2 feet per second...From one end of your swing to the other should take about 2 seconds, unlesss you have your lower rod extended out some ridiculous length...But in general, if your machine is not IDing targets correctly, this is a que to slow down...

HH,

 

[mwaynebennett]

Thanks for the replies guys. I now have a related question. I hear about using a probe to find a target, however where I live about 80% of the soil is rock, so I don't think a probe is going to help much here. So I have to use the search coil to zoro-in on the target. I have read about using a knife to cut a small plug in the sod, about 2"-3" in diameter, however, I cannot isolate the target to less than about 5"-6", so I use a small shovel to cut a 7"-8" dia plug. Afterall, if the target is a old silver coin, I sure don't want to mar it with a steel digging implement. Do any of you have a similar problem?

Thanks,

Mark

PS: I use an Elite 2200, which is the same ad a Discovery 2200 I think.

 

[JJ]

I could see how rocky soil would make a coin probe worthless. I think a guy who only cuts 2"-3" wide plugs could show you his collection of dinged up coins. The only time i can safely cut plugs that small or smaller is if i suspect a very shallow signal, I will run my hand-held pin pointer over the area first before digging. For deeper targets, I prefer a 5"-6" plug for "piece of mind" that I have room for error. Figure out what works best for you. If you cannot pinpoint the target to less than 5"-6" across, then you are smart with a 7"-8" wide plug.