X-70 Advice - Sensitivity/Prospector Mode

[nero_design]

I'd like to ask for the advice of some of the long time users of the X-70:
I've decided to take the long drive to the Goldfields tomorrow morning - The region I will be exploring has been extensively mined during the early days of the gold rush so there's PLENTY of iron junk lying strewn all over the place. Some of it is the remains of pots, horseshoes and thousands of iron nails. More than160 years worth.
The area I'll be examining: whilst small, was where more than a thousands tons of gold was extracted, most of it alluvial and a great deal of it was quartz reef mined. Some of the largest and most plentiful gold nuggets was found there. The locals tell me they always find some when out with their detectors... the problem is that all I find is iron in this area. And loads of it. 99.9% of targets dug for me here have been iron junk. (see pic below of the sort of materials I found the last few times I stopped by this area).

The soil is very mineralized. I'm using the DD 5x10 Elliptical HF coil. If All-metal-mode is selected, I get a target every 14 inches or so in every direction.. so that's useless. Some of it is ironstone hotrocks, most of it tends to be a nail or scrap. Rarely, but occasionally, it's modern junk like a soda can or a piece of tinfoil from a camper. I realise that gold and iron are often associated with one another so I wasn't considering changing my method


*I don't have a lot of time to play around with settings where I am as I may not return there for some time and would rather not stuff it up.
I've only used the X-Terra 70 in default mode settings so far but I 'Noise Cancel' & then 'Ground Balance' each time I power up the X-70.
I use Auto GB & Tracking. Pretty darned good at finding metal now! I'd just prefer it to be gold.

My Question:

1/ I'm wondering if it would be to my interest to adjust the discrimination beyond the 5 bars in Prospector Mode?
2/ Would anyone recommend for or against adjusting the detector's sensitivity?

I have no doubt myself that there's the occasional lost, dropped, undiscovered and hard to find nugget out there. The locals also tell me that when detectorists from out of town stop by, "They always find gold in that area". It's too rugged and large to be picked clean in my opinion.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Its situations like that where a good Discriminating VLF detector has it all over PI's (unless you have the patience of a Saint) . You stated that you feel All-metal mode is useless because of the all the iron, on the contrary, in those conditions having Target ID in all metal works to your benefit. In heavy iron dialing in more iron mask can actually run the risk of losing more gold than you would using all metals ferrous non-ferrous 2 tone mode. The difference in target response and recovery speed will allow you to ID the iron much faster and get on to the next target. Perhaps it will miss a small nugget on occasion compared to the prospecting modes greater sensitivity but the benefit of being able to quickly ID and ignore more of the iron far outweighs the risk in that type of environment. JMHO

Tom

 

[Digger]

when I hit a target, I'd switch to Prospecting mode (zero masking) for target sizing. Judging by the size and shape of many of the iron targets in his picture, implementing a sizing technique would have eliminated many (if not most) of them. JMHO HH Randy

 

[nero_design]

How would you apply a 'sizing technique" (other than scan for length of target)? Most of those larger items fooled me into thinking the item was smaller than it was. Some of the loudest responses I had came from tiny .22 caliber cartridges there. I'm afraid I couldn't fit the enormous Pick Axe I dug up in the picture.... I should point out that it was found at the entrance wall of an actual hand-dug gold mine. As you can guess, it's probably stupid for me to ignore targets in this region... but at the same time, I don't have a set rule for examining this area. I actually enjoyed some of the old metal implements I found but I don't want to waste time this trip... I'd like to be more efficient at weeding out the junk metals.

How does the zero masking for sizing work in Prospecting Mode? I assume that's just going to be the same as all-metal.

 

[Digger]

Target sizing isn't a magical process. It is exactly what the name implies. An attempt to determine the approximate size and shape of an object by referencing the size and shape of the audio response. Although it isn't an exact science, it will help determine whether an object is a pick axe or a small nugget. Gold nuggets come in every shape, size and varying degrees of purity. The coins I hunt for are round, flat, and the conductivity hasn't changed much over the years. Not being a nugget hunter myself, I won't profess that I know the in's and out's of gold prospecting. Hopefully some of those who practice this aspect of the hobby will respond. But I do use the Prospecting mode to size targets I come across while coin hunting old homesteads. Many deep iron targets sound like coins. By switching to the Prospecting mode, I can determine if the object is symetrical or if it is long, like a bolt or even a larger mail. If I set the iron mask to zero, it won't discriminate out any ferrous targets, allowing me to obtain a more accurate "size and shape" of those old, deep, iron objects. As well, sizing with the Prospecting mode helps me sort out most of those old crushed soda cans at the local park.

Some may consider digging old iron implements to be a waste of time. But you're going to have to dig some trash to get many of the more "challenging" targets. If it was as easy as passing your coil over the target and the detector confirming it is gold (or silver), those targets would have been gone a long time ago. For over 35 years, I've recorded the coins I dug, where I dug them, what detector and coil I was using and the date. One thing I have not kept track of is the number of "trash" targets I have dug. Even though I haven't kept track of them, I know that I have dug far more trash targets than I have coins. FAR more! But I also remember those times that, after pulling that old nail or piece of iron from the ground, I've ran my coil back over that area and found some nice coins. Not always. But enough times to make me realize how prevalent target masking can be. Many of those "keepers" are being masked by adjacent trash or an abundance of iron in the soil. With today's technology, our odds of digging up those hidden targets is better than ever before. That technology, combined with an understanding of how it works and applying the appropriate technique for specific a specific site, is what will set you apart from those who have hunted that site before. But at the end of the day, my best advice is the same advice I have pasted to every post I make..... You'll never know for sure, unless you dig it! HH and good luck on your hunt. Randy

 

[RonNH]

I can't help you on the prospecting question, but God almighty, I looked through that iron pic to what's behind it on the wall... are those diamonds? Did you find them? Nice bunch of gold too, I wish there were sites nearby where I could find some of that but the fields keep me plenty busy. Ron

 

[nero_design]

Delayed my departure for a day as my wife is feeling dizzy and is having problems focusing with her eyes (probably due to the XBox 360 marathon she was playing the other night!). Took her to the doctor, everything seems okay. He thinks she has a migraine and it might be affecting her vision. Since she shared the driving with me on these prospecting trips, I figured I'd hold back a day for her to recover. Yes, those are some diamonds and ofther gems collected from a time when I worked in the jewellery trade. I didn't find them but purchased them from the main dealer when I was designing about 10 years ago at near cost. They're a lot smaller than they appear to be in the background of the image.

Had to organize a house-sitter to keep an eye on things whilst I'm away. Returned a shovel I purchased last week as it was slightly too small and bought a better one... along with some more bug spray, a new pick axe (I blunted my last one but needed a spare ) and finally, a gold guzzler (snifter?) bottle as I intend to sample some clays and also to pan a nearby creek which I have heard so much about. You never know. Plus I find it interesting and slightly relaxing to pan rather than dig.

Now I switched to Prospecting Mode on my X-Terra 70 after reading the above post but was unable to determine if there was any change in pitch. I'm not sure how you folks have figured out how to ID a shape. I figured a target was a long metal pipe once by following the signal a couple of feet and eventually deciding it was probably a pipe just before I came to one exposed end of it. One of the few signals that seemed unusually long. Aside from that, I've dug any targets that sounded sharp pitched. Prospecting supplier seems to think I should look at a dedicated gold detector (like the 4000) but I think I'd like to keep working with the X70 a while longer.

- One more thing: I noticed that the targets which triggered my X-70 and turned out to be iron, are ignored now. Running the detector over them now results in a canceled tone. Why did they not cancel out when detecting them in the first place?

 

[BarnacleBill]

Iron targets will be rejected more the higher you have the IM Iron Mask set in Prospecting Mode. Also the closer the target the better look the Iron Mask gets at it and will call it iron.

On shaping and sizing, it is an acquired skill, usually acquired once you've dug enough junk and decide to find a technique to cut down on your work.

In the photo below is an example of using sizing and shaping in Prospecting Mode based on a reasonable assumption of where I was hunting and what type of valuable targets might be there. In the green outline are a pair of broken sunglasses, which in Prospecting mode gives an in ground cigar shaped pattern. I was detecting in the water in a boating area that I have found valuable +$100USD sunglasses, some of which I wear detecting (I'm not proud, if they're in good shape & clean).

In the red outline is a broken butane lighter for the barbie. The in ground cigar shape is the same as a pair of sunglasses in Prospecting Mode. Now if I were coin hunting in a park, I may choose to pass over this target, especially if I were finding lots of big gobs of foil. Because sizing & shaping in Prospecting Mode would tell me this is not a round object like a coin. However I might be passing up a bracelet or maybe a nice stainless steel pocket knife etc. In a relic hunting situation I would dig that shaped target no doubt. Now prospecting I don't know, if it's an area with no large nuggets, I might pass on it, but I'm not a prospector and don't feel comfortable making that statement.

May I suggest you take a blanket, gather ten detectable objects of various shapes & sizes, go outside and have your wife place them on the ground and cover with the blanket. Then you take the detector and practice identifying the objects in Prospecting mode by shape & size. One hint is to raise the coil to narrow the signal down.

[attachment 77621 goody2.jpg]

HH
BarnacleBill