Copper test spike - very interesting results

I have a friend from the U.K. that comes out every October for a few weeks with his girlfriend so she can visit her sister. The girls go shopping and the guys go metal detecting

He's an avid detectorists, and has been at it for something like 30-40 years (early 70's). He uses a CZ6 and a couple of British machines I've never heard of.

He brought a "test spike" over this trip. We were in Nevada at an old mining ghost town when he broke it out, and we pounded it into the ground. It's 6" long, about the diameter of a nickle (possibly a little larger) and the tip is made of solid copper (I'd like to know the exact dimensions of the copper tip, but I don't have that info). Granted being a mining town, the ground was pretty mineralized, but the eye opener was that none of us could get a good signal on this 6" deep signal, more often then not it came in as iron on FIVE different machines, it certainly wasn't a signal anyone admitted they would dig!!! The machines included the F75 SE, T2 SE, AT PRO, CZ3D, and V3i. What an eye opener to know you're severly handicapped right out of the gate IF the spike is really telling us that?

I'm not sure how scientific this test was, Tom have you ever seen these "test spikes" ?

Happy hunting,
Brian

No...... and I presume the bulk of the stick is not metal. Only the tip is copper.

This really shows you how severe the dirt mineralization can 'fail' a detector.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No...... and I presume the bulk of the stick is
> not metal. Only the tip is copper.
>
> This really shows you how severe the dirt
> mineralization can 'fail' a detector.


I should have stated that, but yes you are correct. The spike is made of some type of plastic resin, except for the tip. What I don't know is how much of the tip is copper, in other words, is it equivalent to a U.S. small cent or ? The English chap said they use them to tune their machines up in each field they hunt for optimal results. It's a great idea.

I simply use a wooden dowel rod (slightly smaller than the diameter of a broom handle)..... and have a "KNOWN" target (a clad dime) glued to the end of the 'exact length' dowel.

A key feature is that the spikes are removable.

The problem with leaving the dowels in the ground is that in some cases the top of the dowel can get grown over with grass and disappear. Then you no longer know the exact depth or the location of the coin which are the two most important factors.

Making them removable is an excellent idea. Not only is the dowel adjustable precisely to the surface but you can take it with you and do tests in different types of ground anywhere.

I made four using silver dimes. I drilled a hole in the top of each dowel and attached a string to easily pull them out of the ground when I'm done.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2011 02:19PM by Badger in NH.

Makes one wonder with all the junk in the ground how many good targets we miss over the years.

Masking is indeed a problem and I feel the reason large areas are never worked out as the elements move the masking targets and we get the goodies the other guys and gals left behind....

I believe NASA-Tom estimates that 90% of good targets remain in the ground, due to masking (I believe that's what I read in one of his articles here on this site...)

Steve

Here in Europe the detectors, for the most part, are concerned with separation/unmasking and not depth (so much). Wonder if there are other and better ways of picking up targets in iron or trash outside of the accepted fast recovery speed?

Like the idea of a test spike. With new sites I often bury a coin and check it with my V3i to find the best filter. It is a lot easier to just carry around a spike or the like to do this.

EMS