Went out today with the 12x10 for 6 hours to areas that have been really pounded. Pretty slim pickens. Some clad and a Canadian copper. Lot of zincoln. Bunch of junk. Didn't have sensitivity set below 20. Average 24, all on Semi Auto. I'll try 18 this week. Manual. I'm running the blocked coin pattern and cross checking with digital. Getting a ton of 00-27 through 00-31 deep and digging large iron (old door hasp, rusted carriage bolts, nail piles) 10 to 14 inches down. Everything set at 10 except tone at 6 and variability at 8. Conductive. Imagine baseball diamond dirt with grass topping 15 inches deep (4 hrs), except for an area I had mill slag and peat near an old 1874 house site (2 hrs). Ton of hot rocks. Not discouraged at all. I've been skunked a lot worse than today's pile.
I can find nickels and now know the tone. So every day out will be a chip of learning. I never really expected it to be easy as pie but I really don't know the machine yet. That'll take months
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Hey, the year is young...and you're just getting warmed up after that RIDICULOUS winter. Lemme do my impersonation of a fortune cookie for you: "You will find many silver & gold too, young grasshopper"
How you liking the new machine? Give us the review...
Joe
Well I can't say how much I like it just yet. I do like it though. I think (?) I'm pushing it too hard with sensitivity. The flipping thing goes deep. A lot deeper than the Delta but of course that's apples to oranges. And I'm using Conductive when people are telling me I should be using Ferrous. And I think I'm too used to thinking max 8" for a good hit. I got one of those detector buddy slings and it works. So that alone slows me down a bit and the separation on the 12x10 is fabulous, as good as my 13" Ultimate on the Delta. But the power that this machine has really hasn't sunk in yet. Even at 20 sensitivity I was getting fluttering/flute like high tones tight 00-28, 29, 30 but no depth reading. The null out was constant. Then I'd lose the signal. I thought that using the smart screen boxed in for coins would eliminate any iron but the few of those I dug, were in the upper right and close and jumpy, and turned out to be nails and bolts. At 12"+. Checked the hole, re-swept the hole and zilch. Signal gone. So I know now that if it's in the upper right and half revealed it may just be a large piece of iron. I'd would have dug all of them but it was getting monotonous. I'll just have to keep working with it. And I'm going to areas that have been pounded to death. That's going to have to change too.
Not a bad start. What detector you using?
The Minelabs seem to be the only units that can punch through our mineralized dirt here in NJ with any authority. The depth on them can't be beat, and the VDI is damn near perfect...even at extreme depth. Of course, it's not going to be spot on perfect, but, for instance, if you're getting a 10" whisper signal & the VDI is showing consistent coin numbers, and the TONE is good, the target is repeatable from all angles, and the size is small in pinpoint mode, 9 times outta ten it's a coin.
I run my Safari in all metal. This helps enormously on many fronts...
The ML's as good as they are, aren't speed demons when it comes to the reaction time. They also null in discrim mode over an unaccepted target. So, if you pass over a rejected target, and it nulls while you're sweeping over a good target, you won't hear the good target. All metal solves this problem. You also hear everything in the ground. Let's you know what's there. Of course...
I'd suggest you keep playing with the settings until you find your comfort zone. But, one day, try running in all metal & prepare to be amazed.
Joe
Yes. AM I tried once on the first day but not for long. I think I've got my gain up too high too. I was hearing null all the time & running that coin program from Mike Moutray kills the recovery time quite a bit.
Again, you have to do what works for YOU
The Delta's are sweet little units, but, as you said, apples versus oranges. Hope you got a damn good knife, because you're going to be pulling stuff out of some deeeeeep holes!
Joe
Sounds like you're running an E-Trac??
Best way to run one is WIDE open screen
once you add the tiniest bit of disc to an etrac it will null AND you lose depth too - which means you lose targets
screen wide open
multi tone is best
fast on
deep off
response norm
high trash on/off depending on site
manual sens 25 or more if you can
vol gain to preference
threshold to preference
everything else to preference
running the etrac as above will get you the deepest, most targets found, and in any type of ground conditions (ie) trashy parks, iron infested sites, home sites, beach, etc.
if multi tone is too much for you at 1st - use 4TF until you get used to the machine but keep switching between the 2 until it clicks with you
it takes a bit to fully learn the E-Trac to its fullest potential - not a turn on & go like many others
Killer machines though and DEEP with the larger coils you can buy!
A must have for trash work is the 4.5x7 DD Excelerator EQ2 coil - that coil is unbelievable!
SE Pro Relic Hunter. Newbie here. Not to detecting. I'm still trying to grasp all the machines capabilities. Got a lot of tips from everyone and I'll try each set out over two or three trips and see which I like the best for start up use and save the remainder for other situations. When I first ran the Delta, for example, I only used AM 2 for about a season. Then a friend down in Texas told me to try Discriminate and notch out up to 55. The machine was slower at response, but I started hitting good stuff all over the place.
I never went back. Same thing I imagine happening with the SE.
Hope everything thaws soon for you up there. Those guys on both coasts are killing us!!!
well done there..........