Detecting from a different perspective

Some good discussions have been had over the years on this forum...You see I do go back in history here and read occassionally.

It is also noticeable how some folks still believe in and have a lot of confidence in some of the older models detectors.

I should point out for any new members reading here,,my detecting experience limited to under 6 years.

It has been both a short journey and long journey.

I have learned I think a lot,,,both from members here and while afield.

The question comes up here occassionally,,,where folks are inquiring which detector is best,,and on what type targets.

So what has advanced detector technology really brought us???

Depth comes up a lot,,,but basically this not changed a great deal.

Target ID at depth has been achieved better here with the FBS/FBS 2 units.

But has any other advances been made??

Some will probably say separation and or unmasking.

Are they correct??

I think so.

But here is something I feel gets left out,,and folks are usually geared mind wise to only the nonferrous targets and or the good nonferrous targets.

What do these better separatoring detectors as of late,,,,what can they tell us some of the older ones can't??

A little story first,,,I started off with a .white's V3i and shortly after transitioned to a Minelab ETrac.

I liked the etrac and found some nice finds with it.

But as I progressed with detecting,,and began to run other units,,,and then as of late started running some of these "better" separators,,,what have I noticed???

As I ran my etrac in sites,,,,what I later learned after running these better separators,,,is I couldn't' realize through use,,,just how bad a site was littered with ferrous material.

Now I did notice for whatever reason,,,some sites didn't produce any nonferrous finds whatsoever using Etrac,,,even using multiple sized coils.

And while I did notice my threshold dropping out, and or remaining silent---- this DIDN'T paint the real true picture of how the site is riddled with ferrous materials.

When I began with etrac,,I also ran sometimes with a silent to near silent threshold volume,,,so I WASN'T get an accurate picture of site.

Now some who post here,,may actually when in a site dig in a few places where their detector seems to lock up with maybe more ferrous in areas the a others-- to see what exactly are the ferrous contents,,,,but this is not possible or at least morally the right thing to do in all sites.

These better separators,,,I fell paint an overall better pic of the site,,,,they paint a better pic of ferrous density to a point--- iron or nails under additional iron or nails,,not.

And this better painting of a site,,,I feel tells us,,,how to better go about hunting different sites,,,,with settings,,coil sizes,,sweep speed, etc.

When you are out detecting,,,especially when you go to a new site,,,,think about the above--- no matter which detector you use.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2016 10:01PM by tnsharpshooter.

True that... but the nulls do give us a few clues.

Some times you just need to stop thinking about the what if's and just hunt.

ozzie Wrote:
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> True that... but the nulls do give us a few clues.

True,,,but I think I can take a Racer with stock coil,,,Nokta Relic with stock coil,,or a Deus,,,and actually pick out better the odds on favorite sites (from a ferrous materials) perspective where one of these better separators will " show off" their capabilities while running smaller coils.
Key phrase odds on favorites-- certainly no absolutes.

Certainly not an explorer,,or etrac,,,CTX will do a better job,,though slight.

goodmore Wrote:
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> Some times you just need to stop thinking about
> the what if's and just hunt.

Hunted yesterday,,for a long time.
Gent I was when was running his new Nokta Relic and popped a merc.
He was tickled to death.

Site was very polluted.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2016 12:20AM by tnsharpshooter.

goodmore Wrote:
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> Some times you just need to stop thinking about
> the what if's and just hunt.

Totally agree with you,you dont find anything stuck in front of a computer screen talking about it,you have to be out swinging your detector,been out most day and evenings for the last 2 weeks,its peak detecting time here in the UK,crops are off,its rained so the ground is no longer like concrete and also wont belong before most of my permissions are deep ploughed again,which is of course good as it usually brings up new finds.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2016 08:28PM by Junk and Disorderly.

TNSS, I think you are getting the Right Idea,

I used the Minelab Musketeer Advantage and it was a Great machine in all site but The Dealer talked me in to buying the Sovereign GT, That was a big mistake because they Null like crazy in the disc mode because the Iron mask keeps running in the back ground even when it is turned off and in my Iron filled sites no matter what coils was fitted the threshold would not return until it found a clean spot which is nigh on impossible over here, And The Etrac did not fair any better, I run it against the MXT 300 using the 12" Concentric coil in the same pegged out patch, First to run was the Etrac and it found 3 coins and a whole heap of crown caps that it ID'd as good targets, So then I ran the MXT over the same patch and dug 9 more coins,

I don't speed hunt but I cover every inch, and having a faster separation really boosts the finds rate and I was digging deeper coins even using the 950 / 9.5" Coil, My finds rate went through the roof and I found more highly prized Items in the first week than I did in 5/6 years of running the sovereign,

I got in to using the MXT's because I took my GT and my Etrac around a mates house and he threw a ultra fine Gold Chain on the Ground and said try that, Well I tried every coil from the little Joey and SEF's etc etc and nothing I did would make the Etrac or the GT See it or pick it up, then he rushed indoors and came out with a machine that I had not seen before with the 5x9/6x10 coil on it and it was hitting on that chain every which way and I was dumb founded, And that machine happened to be the first MXT Series so the next day I was at the dealers and I came out with the MXT 300, First day out I ended up with over 1/2 ozt of 18ct Gold find 3 Items In one 4 foot sweep of the Coil in an area that has been a local dealers test site for nearly 50 years and it has fell victim to hundreds of club rallies etc and it has been done to death by every bloke and his Dogs best Mate, So that told me I had something special in the MXT,

I can honestly say that not once since June 2010 have I ever been skunked, Which is the reason why I have no interest In changing brands, My finds at that one site range from bits from a Roman Centurions Helmet to Roman Coins to Gold from the 1800s to Bits of Bombs from WW II to modern Coins and modern bits and pieces, I am digging coins in 10 to 12" in depth when ever I go there and some a lot deeper,

These newer faster machines are having a huge impact, BBS and FBS served us well at some sites and they did hit the deep silver etc but as those find are recovered there is less and less left for them to find on inland sites and these newer rocket ships are getting between the junk making it even harder for BBS and FBS machine to make finds.

XP proved that to me about 5 or 10 years ago so I knew that such ML machines were on a down hill run, By the time I had my first MXT I was running rings around most folks and I was one of 2 people making finds in a certain area on a regular bases, XP was the only real competitor and I had the bonus of the ID and the rest was down to really knowing my machine which I was using 7 days a week 12 to 14 hours a day So I knew I had nothing to fear no matter what someone else's machine was,

Machines like the Relic are really going to open up new areas if they learn it well when you compare it to BBS and FBS machine, In the UK people have been changing over to the Deus in droves because it has all the Gizmo's of the GMP with the added bonus of a meter along with the fact it is updateable via the internet.

If I did not have the MXT All Pro then the only machine for me is the Relic, because it is a modern twist on the MXT, But for what I use the MXT for nothing else fits the bill and with my collection of Coils growing weekly they have sort of future proofed my detector because some of the things I have seen happen lately is nothing short of incredible, and I have about another dozen coils on the way, So things can only get better from where I am standing.

All I can say is get out there and test the life out of them, Get your self a set of Scales that can read down to 0.0001 oz and cut and weigh bits of lead and test your coils and test your settings along with mapping your coils detection field etc, Once you know what to expect from one extreme to the other then nothing will hold you back, You don't have to go anywhere to do this, when the TV is packed with Garbage that's the perfect time to go out in the yard or spare room and give it a go,

This is one aspect of the hobby that is constantly changing, every time you buy a new coil the fun starts all over again.

Good luck.

John.

HOGWASH!!!

D&P-OR Wrote:
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> HOGWASH!!!

Hey it's the Jacuzzi Kid,, handsome devil, Lockup ya Daughters

John.

auminesweeper Wrote:
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> D&P-OR Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > HOGWASH!!!
>
> Hey it's the Jacuzzi Kid,, handsome devil,
> Lockup ya Daughters
>
> John.


Ya lookin in the mirror again John???-------Hey---if ya would buy the right tector----you wouldn't have to be always writing all these books of yours & buyin all these MANY coils (tryin to convince yourself)!------Nah, now don't be askin me what's "right"-----I'm still tryin to figure that one out myself!!------------Del

D&P-OR Wrote:
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> auminesweeper Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > D&P-OR Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > HOGWASH!!!
> >
> > Hey it's the Jacuzzi Kid,, handsome devil,
> > Lockup ya Daughters
> >
> > John.
>
>
> Ya lookin in the mirror again
> John???-------Hey---if ya would buy the right
> tector----you wouldn't have to be always writing
> all these books of yours & buyin all these MANY
> coils (tryin to convince yourself)!------Nah, now
> don't be askin me what's "right"-----I'm still
> tryin to figure that one out
> myself!!------------Del

Well it does get confusing at times, I got 10 million Idea in my head but only 2 or 3 might work, Lol I have own a few machines in my quest to get it right and it took me a while to find the machine that suits my needs to a "T", But with all these new machines that are on the market Now, I am glad I am not just starting out, because I spent well in to 5 figures when I was first starting out. Please don't get started on which is the right detector because I would most likely buy the lot to avoid buying the wrong one, Lol

Even with what I do know, I still have more questions than Answers, But I have always been the same, Always wanting to know why etc.

Since I bought those 14x10s I think I have finally got it right, Anything bigger is all well and good but I think this is just about right when you see the depth/power and the balance of the machine, The 12" concentric has nice power but there is always that risk of going over a hot bit of ground and suffering a sudden depth loss without even knowing it even more so when you are running in Auto tracking.

I am thinking this is the best setup for open farmland it will hit Coins over 12" all day long and on anything bigger it's going to be a curse, Thing is they make em for FBS, BBS and the AT Pro and the 250 and a few others as well, I wanted one back in 2005/6 but my dealer said they were **** and I ended up buy about 10 SEF, Coiltek and ML coils. But I think it is the best all round Coil I have test even though it is not what I would call Small or even average for that matter,,,

But this is the sort of power all VLF's should have, I have always love the MXT's but this takes it to a whole new level, Giving it the power of a PI.

John.

goodmore Wrote:
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> Some times you just need to stop thinking about
> the what if's and just hunt.

Amen

Forget the computer, just hunt!

To get back to old versus new.....The new ones are lighter and better battery consumption....as far as the other aspects all depends on the operator....

Dan-Pa. Wrote:
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> To get back to old versus new.....The new ones are
> lighter and better battery consumption....as far
> as the other aspects all depends on the
> operator....

I don't know about better battery life, They quote figures like 20 to 30 hours out of 4 AA's, Yet I get 57 to 70 hours from 8 AA's in the MXT, Their quotes sound impressive but they use that as a point of Sale and it is just not So.

John.

Amen to that.

Dan-Pa. Wrote:
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> To get back to old versus new.....The new ones are
> lighter and better battery consumption....as far
> as the other aspects all depends on the
> operator..

Sadly that does not apply to all new machines with the exception of XP and Makro all the others are Fugitives from Weight Watchers..

John.