What would you do?

[raptro5618]

I guess there are three times recently that I have had this happen and I am not sure what to make of it.

Two time in my frequent hunting spot got a sort of solid 37 - 38 with a pretty high tone using all metal default settings. I was able to get a location using a scan one way and then the other. There were other readings in the area but I could repeat and get the signals I like. Dig down 10 inches, hit coal ashes. I still get the signal when I wave the detector but the pinpointer picks up nothing or beeps on pieces of coal.

The other time is in my yard, solid 38 in one spot. Dig down 10 inches nothing. Nothing on the pin pointer either. Wave the detector and I get a solid signal which does concern me because my detector is awful when air testing. Hold something out too far and you get nothing.

Both signals show that the object was deep. I know this number is relative and to me it seems most meaningful when it shows something shallow and you are down 6 or more inches and there is nothing. Usually for me that means junk or an empty hole.

Would you dig deeper, give up, Buy a x-1, or are these readings just flukes that happen. When this happens it is very frustrating and confusing. Am I missing by not digging deeper or should I have realized I am wasting time.

 

[Quattro Tim]

I get the exact same thing at the beaches alot of the time and it drives me nuts!!!

 

[beachguy777]

Raptro. I feel for ya. Seriously, I'm not absolutuly sure, but it may be voodoo or you might not have dug deep enough. Please take this with a grain of salt. What I'm really trying to say is, you know, there are times when absolutuly nothing makes sense, but...., there may be some answers here. I have dug some pennys at about 12 or more inches on the beach with my Quatro. This "bad boy" does go deep, so......, you might not have duge deep enough. The other senerio, (might) be the coal ashes. I guess these coal ashes can play hell with a detector just like severly ironized soil. You know what you (might) do, is bury a coin down 6 or 8 inches in the (same) soil and see if you can find it and see what the depth and numbers say, I mean hey... that ought to give you some real answers as to whether the coal stuff is throwing things off or whether the detector is working right or not. If that doesn't work, bury it 3 inches deep and if that doesn't work, go to a good soil place and try it again. You see where I'm going with all this is trial and error stuff, but I really think it could give you some answers. As far as the air test not working that great, I've always heard air tests aren't as good as the real deal because after a while the "ground conditions" can help you go deeper as in damp soil, the so called aura around a coin after it's been in the ground for a while, etc. Let me know what you find. I can certainly see and feel where you'd be frustrated, so would I, but maybe some of these ideas might get you some answers. (feelin' for ya), Marc Trainor. ( I can certainly relate to this.)

 

[JHM]

If I really wanted to know, I would keep digging as long as I got a good signal. It may be a large piece of rusty iron. One time ,I dug up a 3 inch long bolt that was about 12-14 inches deep. It gave a good high tone 38 signal . After it dried out on top of the ground , it read a negative 10.

 

[NV Desert Rat]

Sounds all to familiar to me, especially in damp conditions. I often times feel like "I needed a bigger shovel"; not good if you are trying to be neat and tidy in a park setting! In our desert mine areas in Nevada, I find the leaching of old mining pipes and equipment drive all my machines crazy. (Minelab, Whites, Tesoro and Fisher)

 

[raptro5618]

In the park there is only so far I can dig because it pile gets bigger than the sheet I carry can handle. A bigger sheet would be the answer but I feel a little bit concerned digging what looks like a shallow grave when I am in the park. Once I hit solid ash I pretty much figure that is what is causing the reading.

I did get a pretty solid 30's reading Sunday when out in a wooded area and kept digging partially because my pinpointer detected something. Down more than a foot was a solid bar of rusted iron shaped like an oval link. Once it was out the signal was gone.

I think that I am going to invest in that sunray x-1. Some days it seems like these empty holes are more of a problem. Seems like the dryer it is the more frequent this happens. At least with the x-1 I could dig down as far as I can and if I cannot scan anything well it must be burnt iron or something in the coal ash.

My current pinpointer will beep on coal or partially burned coal. So it is hard to dig more when you get a signal when you are in ashes.

 

[beachguy777]

Boy, that's pretty scary. So it sounds like while it was wet it read a totally high reading and when it was dry it went down to the iron reading. That's amazing. Food for thought.!!!

 

[beachguy777]

Man o man, Raptro. That concerns me. I'm so surprised that iron would give you a 30 reading. That freaks me out, but I guess, there's something about it in the soil conditions, or dampness or whatever that would give you such a high reading for iron. Maybe the sunray could save you some time on this stuff. I'm wondering if the ashes or coal could be throwing this thing in to the high readings. My detector is pretty solid on the readings vs the metal content. I mean, if it's iron it is a low reading and if it's copper or coins it's higher. I'm pretty baffelled here, but just keep trying things.

 

[beachguy777]

Hey, NV desart rat. I'm almost scared to ask you this, but is it OK to detect "anywhere" in Nevada. I had a real bad experience over there with a ranger that pretty much told me not to even detect in Nevada. What's up here. I can understand them being uptight in the mining areas but what about the local parks, sidewalk frontages, etc.????

 

[edgemano]

I have a quattro i had a 37/38 at 11" on the scale dug down 15" and come to find it was a penny at 3" on a 75 degre angale!!!! talk about pulling your hair out. this is not first time this has happend.

 

[raptro5618]

was it on the side of the hole? Most of the time the signal is inside of the hole. I have dug wider and deeper but these signals still remain a mystery to me. Yesterday got a 38-39 with a very high tone ferrous and after digging down it was a larger piece of aluminum or tin not sure which. On this site 36 or 37 could be aluminum, a penny, a dime or ashes.

 

[Golden]

a couple of things to bear in mind is: if you're finding a target or "keeper" at a different angle to what position you believe to be pinpointing at, well, it can happen when the object, like a coin, is standing on end in the ground. You come at it in your sweep from one direction, no signal, but from another direction, bang, you've got a signal. Where you think it is, it isn't. But the object is still in the vicinity of the hole you've dug. The Quattro isn't always going to give you a true reading as to position, this is where our mind takes over, because we then start to decipher that the Quattro is trying to tell us that anyway. It's not that the detector is failing, it's just telling us something different to the norm. A target can also give a halo effect, which can make it appear bigger, wider, deeper. If you're absolutely sure that it's there, keep digging, just to verify the fact. Even it turns out to be a pipe, or large rusty object, by digging it, will confirm a lot for you. All part of the learning game. As for getting signals in coal, my dilema is the signals I get when detecting at the beach in rocky iron ore type ground that gives great signals all over the place, but it drives me nuts too, trying to find the keepers for the falsing. If you've ever unsure about the coal, just bury a coin in it, run the detector over it, and when you get that well known definite signal of a true target, you'll know if your reading things right or not. I've learned when to walk away, and when to keep digging trying this method. Interesting subject of coal. The only large amounts of coal I've ever dug in, are in bottle dumps where the coal from past fires are dumped along with other finds. I beleive if you are detecting in All Metal Mode, no matter ground you're in, you're in the best setting to find targets in coal. Enough said!
Cheers Golden

 

[NV Desert Rat]

Yes and no...

Roughly, 85% of the land in NV is owned by the BLM. That in itself is a good thing, to a point. We don't have a lot of "private property" issues here. The problem occurs when you have what is listed as a "historic site" or "historic district". Virginia City (Storey County) is designated as a a historic district...off limits. Historic sites are usually designated by the State, those would include places like Pine Grove or Berlin (which happens to be a State Park). State owned/operated parks are a no-no.

So, I have been operating under the guide that if you are not on a posted "historic site", "State Park", "private property" or a known "historic district", you are usually ok. Not sure which area or location in which you had trouble, but I have not found too much problem with the BLM folks, etc. I do use quads, which take me beyond the point of where many of these folks "patrol" anyway.

Also, I believe there is a law that if one finds an artifact that is at least 100 years old, you are supposed to turn it over to the State. Frankly, I have never heard of that happening!

We have a lot of territory and quite honestly, I can't recall the last time I encountered a BLM/State Ranger. The funny thing is that the authorities are more or less in the dark also! I know of a detectorist that carries the "Regs" around with him, should he ever be stopped and had to educate the Ranger as to the actual law.

I guess it is a real crap shoot! After all, we are a gambling state!!!

 

[beachguy777]

That's a good post, Rat, very informative. It sure makes sense to me, especially what your saying about the State, Historical sites, etc. I think that's probably pretty true in any state and good advice for everyone. I know that in my "younger days" when I had an old bounty hunter, I whipped it out in Yosemite National Park one afternoon, absolutly ignorant to any of those laws, back then, and the ranger drove up and almost had a cow. She let loose on me, and needless to say, I put the detector away and quit searching. I'm pretty lucky she didn't conficate it. I was in a campground, by a stream. I guess I must have been haveing a stupid attack to be detecting there, but I'll certainly never do that again. Thanks for the informative post.:|

 

[JWQuattro]

beachguy,
Hello. I just found this post from you. I am an employee with the Nevada Division of State Parks. Would you mind telling me where this employee works? In my opinion, that's nonsense. Blanket statements like this can only lead to misinformation. Basically, anyone who wants to metal detect & uses a State park or other public area needs to obtain permission. This is no different than the norm & is not unusual. Unfortunately, you are not going to be able to use your detector in a number of State Parks. Offhand, two parks that jump out are Berlin-Itchyosaur State Park & Fort Churchill State Historic Park. The reasons that you will not be able to detect in these areas is the park designation & protection of historical or cultural resources. There is allot of discretion left to individual Supervisors, especially in parks designated as Recreational Areas.
As a park employee & fellow metal detectorist, the thing to do is ask, & request clarification. As for the U.S. Forest Service & the Bureau of Land Management, please refer to the area's Field or District offices. I hope this helps.

 

[raptro5618]

I live in PA and requested info about being able to MD in state parks. It is allowed but you need to get permission first. Also in vegetation, turf and something else you cannot use a trowel, only a screwdriver is allowed.

I am glad I can hunt in state parks but since the soil here always stains coins so that it is almost impossible to see them I wonder if I would ever find a thing using a screwdriver.

 

[beachguy777]

To: JW Quatro. I sorry, but I'm not exactly sure what your aluring to on this one, but what I was talking about was hunting at Yosemite National Park, here in California, years ago, and I had a park ranger give me the riot act about detecting next to a river in the park. I admit, that was foolish on my part, at the time, at least, I swear I didn't know it was a problem, but I sure do now. I agree with you that it's always safer and more responsible to get permission anywhere. As far as Nevada, I had a "talk" with one of the rangers about detecting at Rhyolite and she said it was definitly a "no no". I gotta admit, this stuff can get pretty complex, but I think the bottom line is always ask permission, if you know who and where to ask permission from. I mean that sincerely. Some of these towns are out in the middle of nowhere and unless you did your "homework" earlier, you might not find a park ranger or proper authority.
That's interesting what you said about the discretion of the individual in charge of any given area and whether it is a designated recreational area. That's sure food for thought. I would think that the "recreational areas" would be safer than the National Parks, any day, but I don't know for sure. Sincerely, Marc Trainor.

 

[beachguy777]

Ge whiz. How lucky I am, not to have a bunch of coal or super duper ironized red soil like back in the south east. I guess these two types of soil can even put a Quatro into a frenzy, but Golden, it makes sense to me to bury a "known" coin in that kind of soil and see what kind of reading you get. That could give you a lot of info. Good call there.!!! I'd certainly play around with the discrimination or us "no" discrimination and I'd try different sensitivity settings and reset the ground balance often. Sincerely, Marc Trainor.

 

[JWQuattro]

beachguy777,
Great reply. I was being very specific with Nevada State Parks. I have no clue about National Parks or other State parks. As for detecting out in the middle of BFE, who are you going to ask out in the middle of nowhere? There are some great places in Nevada. Personally, I have only detected in the Elko County area. Best of Luck in your hunting, Jim W.

 

[beachguy777]

Thanks, Quatro, I'll sure be careful when I get back to Nevada again. I'd sure like to try. I live here in San Diego, CA., but that one 3day trip I did in Nevada, really whet my whistle. I'd love to go back. What an amazing area to detect in and very interesting places to look at, espectiall the mining areas.:|