what is good setting for coin

[Anonymous]

I am starting to catch on a bit as I get more experience, but would sure appreciate if some of you guys with a lot of experience would give me a couple of tips. I am in a grassy area at the county fairgrounds, built in the 40's, doesn't seem to have been hunted to much, I went in and got a load of sig and dug three coins, and a couple of false holes. what would be a good advanced window and settings, dont think too much trash except for maybe a few pull tabs and maybe some misc junk, and also a setting or window (for S2) that would be good for an area that is old stage stop 1870"s and old town site with just a few foundations, but seems to have a lot of junk. The old dance hall and saloon built in the early 1900 as still there but no longer used, I tried to hunt but seemed to have a lot of junk, and Alu cans, but I am sure it has not been hunted or hunted very little, and i want to go back just as soon as I get a bit more exp. But I have seen several suggestions as to tone, Iron Mask, window, sens ans so on, would like to get some ideas to try out and see what I can learn and practice and kind of see what is best for me, would really appreciate your input, and I am sure it would help others and I have seem some others wanting some book on the type of settings. I have seen some in the questions but they are kind of part settings and I keep getting confused as how to combine for the best one or two to try out, I am going out and learning by trial and error which i guess I have to pay my dues but if anyone would be kind enough to offer a few suggestions it would be greatly appreciated, You don't know how much this forum is really helping and I am learing a lot from the questions submitted by the others. Thanks again, Ken

 

[Anonymous]

Ken,
Even though I have used the Explorer for a year and a half and have over 200 hours on it I am no expert, but this is what I do.
If the area is full of rusty iron from nails to bottle caps i will run the iron mask at a -9 or so and go slow and listen for the high pitched tones that I will check out by going around the target to see if it will repeat or if it moves or the tone will change from differnt angles. Now if it sound good fron 2 or more angles and dont move, or even questionable I will dig them.
If the area is more full of pulltabs and other modern junk and I figure I can find deeper and older coins there I will use one of my saved patterns. The one I use the most is I
blacked out the whole screen in edit, then use the large cussior and put it on the top right of the screen and go to the check mark so it will be accept and move it acrross the top of the screen untill I have around a inch of black on the top left and hit the accept button again so it takes it out of the accept mode. Now I will hit the detect button 3 times untill I get to the learn mode and using the medium cussior I will go again to the check mark of the accept mode and take a nickle and run it in and out to the center of the loop 4 or 5 times, stop and push the check mark again to take it out of the accept mode. Push the detect button 2 times and you will be in the smart screen mode of operation. This will get me all the coins and even those beside nails, but I will not hear most of the pulltabs or some of the other junk. It will also not get most gold ring either.
Now in the real junky areas where I want to cherry pick out the coins only I will go to the learn mode and black out the screen completly and use the medium curssor and use differnt coins and use the learn mode to learn each one I may want to find. It is not perfect as you still will get some junk and still miss some coins close to iron or where there is a nickle and another coin together, but it will work. This is one I hardy ever use and stick with the iron mask at a -9 and my other pattern for coins and will switch back and forth between them with iron mask on the most.
I was using my one coin pattern at a newer park and didnt have too much time and it had a lot of new zinc pennies in it so I went to learn and rejected them by pushing the button untill I got the X and used a new penny to learn to reject it and it worked good and just dug the dimes, nickles, copper pennies and the quarters
Just make sure when using the learn mode you turn off the accept or reject before you detect by getting a blank square.
Good Luck.
Rick

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Rick, that is exactly what I was looking for, I will use those either this evening or tomorrow and let you know what I found. Ken

 

[Anonymous]

The iron mask at -9 takes out most of the dark, I thought the purpose of iron mask was to have more dark to stop the iron from responding and only get the cross hairs in the white area. I am really getting confused on Iron Mask, and I am seeing that is what the more experienced hunters are using, do you use IM in "smart" or " advanced or what, also what about the one window that is saw as and example where there was a medium sized opening in the upper right and a small opening in the lowere more to the center for nickles that was a saved screed. I know we all will develop our pref as we learn but like one of the guys said it took him a month to learn something that he was able to pass on in a day, I a really trying hard and I am really appreciative of all yours ande the others tips, so I am getting a composite of experience that is really helpful, that is the reason I am asking so many questions, and I am sure my questions are helping other newbies because I would think they would encounter similar problems, so thanks so Much for your help again. Ken

 

[Anonymous]

Ken, all that a lower iron mask setting (say -10) does is make your detector see a coin aliitle better in iron. At this point I wouldn't be too concerned with this. -6 to -8 will be a fine setting and will get you most coins if not all. Remember iron mask is just the level of iron so any good repeatable signal should be dug no matter where the crosshairs hit. A coin next to iron may very well hit on the left side of the screen. GO BY SOUND!!. Setting up your explorer only accepting the top right box for coins may also be a good idea for the sites you describe. It may also eliminate any iron falses that are fooling you. Forget the nickle box for now it will will only give you more to deal with while your learning. I use this sometimes in trashy areas and it does seem to do well. Try sense at 30 semi auto, gain 8, and fast sounds. Take your time and give the detector time to reset itself. There is no substitite for time but all your questions should sure help you make the most of yours.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I understood all that except semi-auto, I am going over to practice, I will do the IM at -8 or -9 and practice learning the sounds, will let you know how it goes, and I will play around with the upper right window, not sure what that gets, I have met a fellow detector yesterday who said he has an area where some old gold coins were found by some hunter friends of his about 20 years ago, they were on top of the ground, so we think they didn't find them all as they were not detecting just hunting and just saw them and picked them up. I doubt if they got them all, so we are going to look around with the SX (he doesn't have one but really wants to get one when he has $$$) SOOO what do I use to hunt for some gold coins and possible other coins in area OR maybe just try for the Gold Coin, Thanks Ken

 

[Anonymous]

Semi sense is a setting where the detector automaticaly adjusts itself to the ground conditions at hand. It will smooth as long as you don't go too fast. GOLD COINS!! Dig all signals and take your time. I would dig a huge plug and if you pinpointing is less then perfect use a plastic or hard rubber style digger. It might not totally prevent a hack in a good coin but sure will make it less severe. The site sounds like it has awesome potential. Wish I could go too!!

 

[Anonymous]

Ken,
I think you should try something that may make you see how the iron mask works and you may undertand it better.
Put a rusty nail beside a dime about a inch away from it and try it in the disc mode you made with the top right open and go over the dime and nail together and see if you get a signal, then try iron mask at a -8 or so and see what a difference it will make. Next try putting the dime and nail apart so you will hear it good in the disc pattern and lift the coil off of it while swinging the loop over it while raising it and see where it will break up or lose the signal. Now try it with iron mask at a -8 and you will see that you will get more depth with it in iron mask and get the dime closer to iron than in a disc pattern. This is why we run iron mask at sites that have a lot of iron in them.
I still play around with mine a bit and have seen where I get a signal in iron mask that is on the left side of the screen, but is repeatable and sounds good, but when I go to my disc pattern it is either broken up or no signal at all and when dug is a coin beside a nail.
Good luck Ken, the Explorer take alot of patience and pratice before we get good with it as you see with all those that put theirs for sale as they didnt have the patience.
Rick

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

Hi Rick, Just got in from hunting, about 4 hours, got 6 quarters (newer about 1980's) 10 dimes, Roosevelt, 1970's but also got one barber 1906S in absolutely perfect condition, about 20 pennies, I just dug them to practice pinpointing, I knew what they were, EXCEPT some rang high like the dime and really fooled me,????, did get three nice wheats, but still having problems pinpointing and recognizing the deeper stuff, got lucky with the dime but dug several empty holes or at least I gave up. AND some signals I jsut didn't dig, just could't get a good pinpoint, JUST for your info I pinpointed two coins (rang like a dime) about 8" apart, dug two holes both pinpointed in center, but dug to china, finally removed the piece of dirt and grass inbetween and lo and behjold there was a screw in the middle, when I took it out the center coins were gone too, so this SX does give some really strange readings, NEED to learn how to correct. Thanks, KW

 

[Anonymous]

Ken,
One thing with the Explorer it is hot on the edges of the loop too but not as hot as the center and you will get 2 or 3 signal off of one surface target. when I get 2 or 3 together like that I will lift the loop up a inch or 2 and if it is one surface target it will be one signal.
This is one of the reason when making a coin pattern you want to go in and out to the center of the loop and not accross it as it will get several signals and mark of several differnt areas on the screen.
You just need to pratice and learn this detector and from experience you will learn alot.
Good luck.
Rick

 

[Anonymous]

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