varying numbers

[westewoo]

hi gang, ive been out today for the first time with the 70, and its a joy to use compared to the sov. elite, but why are the nubers jumping about on the same target?
i think this has been covered in faqfaq, but i cant see for looking

 

[Digger]

Without knowing how many notch segments your TID is "bouncing", or what the target is, it is tough to say. When coin hunting, I dig every thing that doesn't bounce more than 2 notch segments in any direction. And that don't mean I pass up on those that do. It all depends on how the target sounds and where I am hunting. As to yours bouncing.....it could be one (or more) of a variety of reasons. could be a coin on edge or at an angle; could be a non-coin target that is not round in shape; the target could be constructed of more than one type of metal; could be one or more adjacent targets with different conductivity readings; sensitivity could be set too high; you might not have the optimum ground balance setting; if you are in tracking, you might be sweeping too slowly or passing over the target too many times; target may be too deep for a "positive ID". If these suggestions don't answer your question, give me some more information and I'll see what else may be going on. HH Randy

 

[nero_design]

My friend used a cheap, generic detector recently and its instruction manual stated that targets displaying multiple numbers were 'junk' - HOWEVER. as Digger just pointed out, targets composed of multiple metals of varying conductivity as well as multiple targets at different angles will also trigger the same response. Needless to say, my friend's detector was unable to handle the highly mineralized soil here and he was often lucky just to get a signal. The same coin at a slight angle will often produce different target numbers depending on which angle you approach it.

 

[nugget71]

there is the experimentation period which can either be alot of fun or just plain frustration. The next time you approach the same situation find out what mode you are in (all metal, pattern 1, 2 or 3.) And also try prospecting mode to see what kind of response you might get from the same target, this will help you out in future outings and will also get you to know how your detector reacts in each different mode. Like Digger says it could be a sensitivity issue that is causing the machine to behave erratically and simply by turning this down a few levels can fix the problem. The Sov's are great detectors and have a good reputation I'm interested to know why you chose a 70 besides the obvious. Was there a particular reason as to why you chose the X-Terra 70?

 

[westewoo]

thanks for the reply guys. i guess the learning kerv starts here.
i was useing pattern1 with no other discrim sections locked out, auto ground ballanced, and noise ballanced, sensertiverty reduced to 13, and soil conditions were just cold and wet soil. it seems like it was 1 target, but there could be a variation of up to 14 points on the meter.
the reason i went for the 70 and sold my elite was the weight factor, and i like the idear of a meter.i baught my wife one first in november,(still not been used) and i absolutley loved it, watched the dvd, and thought "no more ringpulls"
i got top money back on the elite, and i even made money on selling it as i was the second owner, and i only had to put

 

[eebee]

Your problem is probably due to settings. I had an erratic number problem on mine for a while. At first I thought it might be power lines but it wasn't. What I discovered was that there are 3 contact strips that the earphone plug meshes with when the earphone plug is inserted into the jack. Somehow one of them became compressed not allowing for complete contact with the plug. With a little delicate surgery with a tiny screwdriver I was able to push the contact up into approximately the proper position. In case any of you are having erratic number problems, this might be a reason why. It probably happened when I put the plug into the jack a little sloppily. Hope this might help someone.

 

[Digger]

OH Oh! Unfortunately, my coin charts and the articles I have written for coinshooting only apply to US coinage. That pound sterling sign in your post tells me that all bets are off on target consistency! Since I base my opinions on works for me, I can't say one way or the other about your 14 digit bounce! I will say, however, any detector that is set to reject pulltabs will also be rejecting a variety of valuables. (rings, gold coins, etc) If you don't mind missing some of these targets in an effort to rid yourself of pulltabs, use Pattern 2.

I suggest you make yourself a test garden. I have one that is about 19 years old, and is filled with all denominations of coins I may happen to come across. In addition, I also buried an assortment of jewelry items and trash I find in this part of the world. I buried them at various depths, at different angles, and placed some of the trash adjacent to the goodies. Then it is just a matter of practice, practice, practice. Learn the proper settings, the different audio responses, the TID variations and sweep techniques that work best for you. HH Randy

 

[willy]

Did you try turning on the target stability feature? That might help, especially in bad ground. ..Willy.

 

[nugget71]

with your new 70!! Please post some photo's of your finds from time to time as we like to see how everyone is going.
Cheers!

 

[westewoo]

thanks for the replys again, i completely forgot about the target stability, so thanks for that willy, and thanks to randy for pointing out about discriminating good tarkets, as well as the ring pull.
i guess im just panicing. i need to master this machine now, before the wife gets out with hers ,and shows me up again, by getting all the best finds
we used to go course fishing, and she used to beet me there too

 

[nbforrest1863]

new to this and was having probs with numbers jumping on my targets as well. How do you find and use target stability on the 70? thanks

 

[BarnacleBill]

Page 20 in the manual has the info on the purpose of the feature and how to activate it. But there are varying numbers, and then there are varying numbers. The stability feature is to help in the instance where ground noise caused by minerals in the soil is further filtered. In a sense it turns the X-Terra from what the ancient detectoristas call a 2 filter detector, into a 4 filter detector. But, there are a wide variety of reasons target ID will vary, how much it will vary, and how it varies, such as:

1. The width of the target segments of the detector, i.e. X30 vs X70.
2. Electrical interference, RF interference, nearby detectors etc.
3. Ground noise, hot gravels, cobble fields, hot rocks(negative & positive) etc.
4. Target position, coins at an angle etc.
5. Target shape, can slaw, ratty foil etc.
6. Not being centered over the target(critical with some coils).
7. Nearby trash that causes you to pinpoint between the trash and desired target, giving a wrong ID on the desired target.
8. Sensitivity set too high for ground or trash conditions.
9. Deeply buried large iron objects that cause the ID to pull.
10. Various coatings that form on coins.

Combinations of all of the above, plus there's probably a few more causes, but I'm only on my first cup of coffee.

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Digger]

n/t

 

[John LA]

I will remember this tip and use if needed but can't see the logic of it. I can't see how the output audio would affect the numbers. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

and probably without realizing you are doing it. What Bill said ie. varying your sweep to find the proper sweep angle, speed and best centering of the target all contribute to giving a more stable ID. The rest of the conditions Bill mentioned we don't have much control over. It may be a good idea to practice "working" a known good target to get a feel on how these variables come into play.

HH Tom

 

[Tinfoil]

n/t