Using Explorer 2 can you hunt by numbers or

[Rick N. MI]

or is smart screen better. If you can hunt by the numbers and sounds what are the bad numbers you don't want to dig. I've been using mine by the screen and sounds and haven't looked at the numbers yet..

Thanks,
Rick N. MI

 

[sgoss66]

Rick --

It seems that most experienced hunters tend to use the smartfind screen; I however am a numbers guy, and like the digital screen. The PROBLEM with the digital screen is, there is a tendency, especially with folks new to detecting and to Explorers, to become too "reliant" on the numbers -- i.e. looking for "perfect" ID numbers to induce a "dig" decision. I think if folks, in general, would use the smartfind screen INSTEAD of the numbers, they would tend to dig more (and sometimes better) stuff, since they may be less likely to "reject" a target just because it didn't numerically ID perfectly. In other words, if using the digital screen, and knowing that a silver dime IDs in an air test at about 03-29, someone looking for an 03-29 might "reject" a "bouncy-numbers" target that averages say 08-28 ID -- and thus not dig it. HOWEVER, a bouncing ID that averages 08-28 is a perfectly legitimate ID for a deeper silver dime, especially if there's any trash whatsoever nearby. Whereas, on the smartfind screen, that same target would show generally "top right portion of the screen" tendencies. If it had a nice sound to it, with that "top right" tendency, most "smartfind" hunters would dig it. See what I'm saying? AS LONG AS you continue to rely on SOUND, and realize that a "bouncy cursor" equates to "bouncy numbers," and that "top right corner" on the smartfind screen is the same as "low ferrous/high conductive numbers" on the digital screen -- and don't treat the numbers as "gospel" any more than you do with the cursor on the smartfind screen, then really you should do fine with either. It's all in how your brain likes to process things. Some folks will SWEAR by the smartfind screen, but if you really think about it, the same patterns (the "bounces" and such) are evident in the cursor AND in the numbers -- it's just a matter of which way your own brain tends to like to visualize the info.

Just my two cents worth.

As for your second question -- i.e. which are "bad" numbers that you don't want to dig, well, that IMO depends on two things; ONE -- what are you hunting for and what don't you want to "miss," and TWO -- what are the primary types of trash targets in your area? What I mean is, at one of my favorite hunting spots, I dig alot of "rectangular" aluminum can tabs that ID in the 08-19 vicinity -- BUT, that's EXACTLY where my 14K wedding band hits, as well. SO -- when I'm "silver coin hunting," I tend to skip over that 08-19 target, knowing it's highly likely to be a "rectangular" tab. BUT, if I'm looking to dig gold, I do NOT ignore this ID (or, for that matter, most other low- to mid-range ID values). Make sense?

Hope this helps some,

Steve

 

[Rick N. MI]

When hunting for old coin and digging everything how high up on the ferrous side will good target go? About 13 or higher? This is using the Explorer 2. I was using smart screen with some iron masked and conductive sound and digging almost everything that sounded. Now I'm trying Ferrous Mode, zero iron mask, and using the numbers and sound. So on a signal could I just check the Ferrous number and if it only goes so high like to 13 then dig. On the Explorer 2 I don't think many good targets go over 13 on Ferrous, right?

Thanks,
Rick N. MI

 

[sgoss66]

Not many good targets will CONSISTENTLY hit above 13 Ferrous, Rick, but many (deeper ones, and ones with trash around them) will hit there OCCASIONALLY, as you sweep over the target multiple times. I hunt almost exclusively in iron mask, set at 22 on my SE Pro (which is the equivalent of -6, I believe, on an Explorer II). While most good targets will NOT hit as high as the low 20s (or even upper teens), the fact that they can, on an occasionalal sweep, means that you have a better chance of getting that initial "chirp" on a target when you don't set your disc. pattern or iron mask too tight. You NEED to get that initial chirp -- the one that gets you to stop and investigate, but you DON'T want every piece of iron trash to chirp...so it's a matter of going "loose enough" on your disc. pattern (or "open enough" on your iron mask) so as to maximize your chances of hearing the "good chirps," but minimizing the number of "iron" hits you'll hear.

Yes, you COULD do what you are saying in Ferrous sounds, digging anything at 13 or below. You will dig alot of junk that way, but you won't miss a WHOLE lot, if you move slow enough. It's not a bad plan, IMO...as long as you can tolerate the abundant pieces of non-ferrous junk you'll dig...

I think though that a strategy as you have proposed, focusing on one of the numbers -- either the FE number OR the CO number -- is tossing out some good info. To me, the COMBINATION of the two numbers contains more info that just one, to the exclusion of the other. In other words, if you dig EVERY target with FE 13 or lower, you will dig multitudes of screw caps, pull tabs, rectangular tabs, etc. etc. etc. On the other hand, if you dig all CO numbers higher than, say, 24 or something, you will dig tons of iron falses, aluminum screw caps, etc. etc. Using BOTH numbers, and knowing roughly where "good" targets should hit, is the better bet IMO.

To me, a good approach to deep, old coin hunting should include these three things:

1. Decided on ferrous sounds OR conductive sounds, and then STAY there, so that you can train your ears in terms of what a "good" target sounds like, over time;
2. Dig only targets that show good repeatability/consistency, as you rotate 360 degrees around the target doing a constant "wiggle" comprised of very short sweeps over the center of the target; and
3. When deep coin hunting, dig targets with an AVERAGE conductivity number over 23 or 24, and an AVERAGE ferrous number lower than the mid teens. BOUNCES higher or lower, on either number, can occur, but in general, the lower the average FE value COMBINED with an average CO value above that 23 or 24 range, is the best bet IMO. (Realize though that doing this, you will miss all old nickels, and most gold coins...)

Steve

Steve

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Steve pretty much summed it all up for you ... and putting some time in on your detector will eventually get you to the point of "understanding" ... I use all of the available resources that my Explorer SE offers, Numbers, Smartfind and sound. The most important I believe being the sound. I have dug coins that had very odd numbers and cursor movement that would normally urge me to keep walking, but they had a nice, even, consistant tone. Maybe Steve will explain how he puts targets into "bins" to determine whether or not it's worth investigating. One thing I am certain of, is that you don't want to switch between Ferrous and Conductive sounds. Stick to one and stay with it, otherwise you are just making it hard on yourself. I prefer Conductive at this point but have been dabbling in Ferrous a little. I'm still not quite ready for it even after two years . . . besides I am doing pretty good this year without changing anything. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it !" right? Best of luck to you !!

 

[sgoss66]

Here's the thread with the "bins" idea that McDave mentioned. Don't know if you feel like reading it, but there may be something in there that helps you out to shorten the learning curve...

Just remember that when someone using an SE Pro refers to "Iron Mask 22," that's equivalent to "Iron Mask -6" on the Explorer XS and Explorer II.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?19,1566949,1567076#msg-1567076

Steve