what settings on a minelab SE when starting out?:confused:

[Detector Man]

What settings should i start with on a Minelab SE?
I started with Factory Presets...but should I have the display screen on DIGITAL or SMARTFIND ?
DO i need to tinker with other settings? the sounds drive me bonkers..i expected it....
what numbers should i pay attention to on the Ferrous and Conductivity numbers so that i know its something "good".??

is there a way to figure out if its a nickel or a quarter or a dollar coin? my xlt spoiled me in that regard.
Please keep it simple

Yes ive viewed the DVD and im going over the Andy S. book...takes me a while to digest the information.

 

[YODAinMN]

I'll be on the same boat as you real soon (probably by the end of this week)

 

[Detector Man]

good luck...a couple observations...the weight is no where what i expected..i kept hearing HEAVY .....also was aware of the STEEP learning curve....the tones are not like the "normal" tectors...right now i have figure out what they mean...i hear tones all over the place...lol...

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Smartfind would be your best tool at this point. With digital being your secondary when determining what your Explorer is seeing. And eventually you will find that the tones are your best way of deciding to dig or not, followed by Smartfind and Digital. There are a few folks out there who hunt by sound alone ... I am not one of them yet. I had a good first year, but still dug a ton of junk.

 

[Detector Man]

thanks Dave.. so the Smartfind it is...
when looking at the Smartfind display , the target could be anywhere on the right side? do i have it right?
i pretty much dig everything - so i know what you mean about digging lot of junk.

 

[MNCoinhunter]

I, personally, will dig anything that has a good repeatable tone on the right 50% of the Smartfind screen. A lot of guys will narrow that down to the top-right 25% of the screen. But I like to dig nickel signals also .. which, like gold, will fall in the bottom center portion of my Smartfind. I've got nickels down pretty good .. especially when it comes to the tone that they produce. Yet, pulltabs will sometimes sound identical, so I will switch to Digital to check the numbers, which will most always be different from nickels. And I almost always detect with Iron Mask on, set at 22. Although that setting would be a bit of sensory overload for someone just starting out. Every new user would benefit from detecting in factory settings for a good 20 hours minimum..

 

[sgoss66]

Hey McDave --

Can you elaborate here, when you said...

But I like to dig nickel signals also .. which, like gold, will fall in the bottom center portion of my Smartfind. I've got nickels down pretty good .. especially when it comes to the tone that they produce. Yet, pulltabs will sometimes sound identical, so I will switch to Digital to check the numbers, which will most always be different from nickels.

I STINK at digging nickels, as the few times I try, I usually dig a pop-top (square tab). I'd like to hear how you have "perfected" it. Obviously, you can't quite share the "sound" you listen to; for me, pop tops often sound good and I think I'm digging a nickel or a nice gold ring oftentimes! But maybe you can share what numbers you look for, and what numbers on the digital screen you get on the square tabs that you can tell the difference?

Steve

 

[MNCoinhunter]

Well, I did'nt say that I had perfected it. And I still dig pulltabs that appear to be nickels on the Digital numbers screen. Nickels will mostly fall in the 10-05,6,7 to 11-05,6,7 .. where pulltabs will fall in the 10-05,4 to 09-06,5,4 and 08-06,5,4. There is that fine line where I still get fooled. And nickels on edge will read that low occasionally. But, as I had mentioned a couple of months back, being a musician lets me pick nickels out by sound. And they more often than not sound off in the key of "D" on the bass side ... give or take. Pulltabs tend to give a more of a "hollow" sound for lack of a better word, where nickel tones are a bit more "solid" I guess. In Smartfind .. nickels will sit (full square) on the bottom line either dead center or off to the right a bit. And pulltabs will lean even further to the right sometimes but still sitting on the bottom line. Being that this is gold territory I will dig it anyways. I would probably find more silver if I did'nt stop for all of those bottom-line signals ... but I just can't help it.

 

[sgoss66]

Gotcha -- basically, you are saying that square tabs usually read JUST A BIT lower than nickels which, if someone forced me to, I would -- my lack of skill discerning nickels aside -- have said the same thing. Nickels usually read with a conductive number of 5 or 6, it seems to me, while square tabs are 4 or 5 more often. That would have been my guess, as well, SO -- I'm going to dig some nickels next hunt! I haven't found one yet this year (again, I had given up even trying...)

Steve

 

[DaugBiscuit]

nickels will sit (full square) on the bottom line either dead center or off to the right a bit.

I'm always amazed at how things vary from place to place and in different soil conditions. Example; where I live the nickel will not fall full square on the bottom line but it will rise just a little above the line and almost align itself perfectly with the WHITE rectangle of the Pinpoint On/Off indicator. But, it will not be sitting on the line; if it's on the line, it will almost always be trash. As far as the numbers are concerned, I do not know what they are because I never go the Digital screen.

 

[MNCoinhunter]

nickels will sit (full square) on the bottom line either dead center or off to the right a bit.

I'm always amazed at how things vary from place to place and in different soil conditions. Example; where I live the nickel will not fall full square on the bottom line but it will rise just a little above the line and almost align itself perfectly with the WHITE rectangle of the Pinpoint On/Off indicator. But, it will not be sitting on the line; if it's on the line, it will almost always be trash. As far as the numbers are concerned, I do not know what they are because I never go the Digital screen.

You are correct. And I did fail to mention, that if that nickel signal is above the bottom line slightly, there is a very good chance it's a nickel. Or, of course, one of the older style thick pulltabs. Sometimes you just can't win and a guy is better off just digging to be sure it is'nt something good.

 

[detecterx]

One of the first things I started off doing is running the factory coin pattern and adjusting the sensitivity to one point below unstable to stable with minimum falsing. After running that for a while I changed the variability to 10 to maximize the sound differences between targets. Casually bumped up the gain and limits working them up to maximum 10. Finally I switched to iron mask mode factory and was able to identify targets cursor positions and corresponding sounds (coins, jewelry). After more and more practice I would drop the iron mask lower, and lower, and lower. Now I simply just adjust the iron mask level a few clicks dependant on the locations I am hunting.

The moderator of this forum has several excellent post covering these topics rather than re typing and taking the thunder, maybe someone can provide the links, ( I am not computer savy). But I assure you stick to these forums and you will be light years a head.

HH,

Tom

 

[Detector Man]

Great suggestion...thats what im looking for...i think some of these posts should be permanently (sticky?) available...the other thing i need to figure out is WHAT sounds should i be focusing on...or is that a youtube type of question?

Thank you again...everyone has been helpful

 

[detecterx]

Detector Man

Talk about a goldmine here is a wealth of great information... I suggest you read up and follow the links this post will take you to. 3/4% of the time I agree with Bryce, main difference is he is way up north and I am way down south so some twicking will be in effect for you when you get comfortable in your location and settings.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?19,1550896

HH,

Tom