X-terra relic hunting advice

[GADiggerDan]

I've been relic hunting with the x-terra 50 for the last 6 months and have found the 50 to be a good relic machine. The only thing that bothers me is the high tone - 45 false signals when coming off the edge of iron objects. I'm not complaining specifically about the x-terra......all metal detectors I've ever used will sometimes false a good signal coming off the edge of iron.

Anyhow, I read someone's post a while back that stated they would notch out the 45 to prevent this false signal. I found this to be a beautiful solution. I was thinking, "how many half dollars or dollars are you likely to find in a civil war camp anyway"? The buttons I've found have been in the 20 to 36 range. And bullets in the 12 to 30 range. I have no idea on buckles; I haven't found any.

Well, I changed my mind yesterday.

I normally run in all metal mode when relic hunting but I got in the habit of notching out 45 in areas that have lots of nails and other trash. Then, when I walk out of the nails, I go back to all metal mode. Yesterday, I just happened to be in all metal mode, when I got a good repeatable 45. During several sweeps, I got a lower number occasionally, but mostly 45.

It was a confederate cast brass "I" button 3 to 4 inches deep. I decided right there, I will never notch out 45 again. I hope this might help some other poor soul who may have read the post about notching out 45.

P.S. I haven't tried an air test on the button, but I bet it won't be a 45. I've noticed that the ID numbers (and false high signals) tend to increase in very wet soil. It hasn't stopped raining here longer than a couple of days for the past two months, and the ground is VERY wet.

Danny

 

[BarnacleBill]

Hi Danny,

In your case I think the exception confirms the general rule. As you note the very wet soil which is probably a factor affecting the iron wrap. And the coil frequency and type will also have an influence on what iron wraps & what doesn't. I believe notching out 45 has it's place as you had been using it in heavy trash areas. Although in this case notching out 45 may have caused you to miss this target(even though you mention it did ID lower occasionally), not having 45 notched out may lead to missing other valuable targets. And by this I mean that having 45 notched out allows you to move quicker through trash and therefore cover more ground. It has allows you to move quicker because you are not having to look at the screen with each high tone audio report.

As with the use of any notching or discrimination they have their strengths & weaknesses which we all have to decide upon depending on our hunting styles and desired targets. Just as an aside an X70 or X705 may exhibit a decided benefit with a greater notch range, 44, 46, 48. Therefore your button may fall into the 44 or 46 slot and still allow 48 to take care of the iron wrap issue.

Congrats on the button!

HH
BarnacleBill