Why not dig ALL signals? Afterall we here it time and time again.

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't ALL repeatable signals be dug?
Surely as good as the XS is, it is still not that accurate that we can afford to ignore repeatable signals (especially those high tones top left of screen!)
I have been in the past few weeks digging those top left high pitchers (after Jim advised here) and indeed most of the time they are iron, but I have found four coins next to iron by digging them. Why isn't everyone digging ALL repeatable signals? Surely we are still a long way off from a detector being 100% accurate.
I once only dug signals I thought were worth digging, but a recent change in tactics of digging All repeats has payed off- even if iron does come up a lot of the time, I have as I said benefited and I also have peace of mind.
Paul E (UK)

 

[Anonymous]

just got my new explorer today so im a bigtime newbie .. can ya define what ya mean by repeatable signals ... does that mean youre gettin a signal from more than one direction?

 

[Anonymous]

Yep, I dig all positive signals. I also dig one way signals, but so far ALL one ways tend to be junk. I will continue digging one ways as well as all repeatables.
I realise we have to have a certain amount of trust in our machines, but how do you learn what your machine is telling you if you DO NOT dig ALL signals and gain a knowledge of the tones and digital readings and what they represent?
To me it is like learning a new language: How can you have a conversation with someone fluent in that language if you only know a few words?
The machine is in effect talking to you in a 'foreign' language i.e it's language, and we have to learn what it is saying to us.
I just cannot understand why people ask should I dig this or should I dig that (something I have been guilty of also) If you want to learn then dig it all until you know what the machine is telling you.
Rant over <IMG SRC="/forums/images/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">
Paul (UK)

 

[Anonymous]

Because sometimes esp. in very trashy areas it is impossible or not practical to dig EVERY signal,
as you would be digging about 5 - 10 targets with every sweep. It would make more sense to dig every signal that appears at least halfway down on the depth meter, although this can be misleading as it is calibrated to measure the depth of a quarter size coin up to 12 inches. (smaller junk targets can appear to be good, deep targets). I verify these with my periscope probe, so i dont have to dig at all.

 

[Anonymous]

I have one particular field here in the UK where I have found four silver hammered coins dating from 1066-1400's. When I began detecting on this field, it was full of trash and I did not find any hammereds at all. Just the odd george and victorian pennies and half pennies.
I had a hunch there were coins to be had there from the history of the site, and the remains (underground) of old buildings.
I dug EVERY signal in one half of the field and whala up came the hammereds from beneath the junk iron.
Not practical to dig every signal? I'd hate to see what people are missing who think like that!
I have cleared one half of the field and in the cleared half I got the hammereds a roman bronze coin and medieval horse harness deco/ buckles etc.
I have been over and over the second half through the summer, which is still full of trash and yes there are four or five junk targets in most sweeps. The ground is hard so I haven't cleared much junk yet, but over the next few months I will (during our wet winter <IMG SRC="/forums/images/wink.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">) and I can assure you I will find even more medieval stuff.
In my opinion people are being misled on the capabilites of the XS. Sure it is a good machine and I will not use anything else- until something better crops up. But to say dont dig all signals because it aint practical in my opinion is nonsense. The XS aint that good it can tell you whats below the trash in very trashy areas!
Paul (UK)

 

[Anonymous]

Paul, I can definitely see your point if you're in a site (especialy fields or beaches where digging like crazy isn't an issue) with old valuable hammered coins and relics. However, many of us in the states hunt park areas that have nice green grass but are literally paved with pulltabs and other junk, and the grand prize is usually a 1954 silver roosevelt dime worth 50 cents. For those areas, it's just not practical, because of time, the low value of the usual grand prize, and the general destruction of park property by digging hundreds of holes, to dig every iffy signal. The guys who do well are the ones who can distinguish the slightest hints of a valuable below trash.

 

[Anonymous]

I too have spent a session digging top left high tone signals only to find iron but should't the question be "why a high tone when target is definitly iron"?

 

[Anonymous]

I am a big proponant of digging all signals BUT there are times when it doesn't make sense. One is when you have a small time limit so you dig only the "coin" tones. I regularly set my discriminate high when I only have a little time to hunt.
However in parks, school yards and fairgrounds that have old coin potential, I still like to dig all signals because to get the deep old coins you have to remove the trash. In these and other forums, you constantly read of guys going over and over a trashy site and continue to find older deeper coins. Obviously another place to "dig all" is when relic detecting.
This "dig all", takes a lot of patience and may not be for you. If not, there is nothig wrong with discrimnating and detecting lots of sites if keeps you in the hobby.
Good Luck
Jim Vokes NY