ON THE HORIZON = MDT-8000

Peter......yes. Try both methodologies. We're trying to help you find the 'secret sauce' for your specific dirt!

Quote

NASA-Tom
Re: ON THE HORIZON = MDT-8000 New
August 14, 2019 01:15AM
Posts: 8,203
Peter......yes. Try both methodologies. We're trying to help you find the 'secret sauce' for your specific dirt!

Thanks Tom!! So-Interesting about using Black Sand in dirt. Two things I noticed right off the bat:

1) Signal would hit in one sweep (left to right) but not in the reverse direction. (right to left)
2) The tone "presence" seemed stronger in Mix. ie; the first tone was stronger, the second "conductive" tone was weaker or missing altogether.

All using Mix mode and sweeping over a Merc dime laying flat at 9.5" in soft dirt. Also ground balanced.
The crackling of the tones is getting the best of me... The adjustment of the rear cap made it a little worse. Will try another way, and another adjustment.

Thanks much for the help.
Peter

What was once impossible..... is now easy and obvious. BUT.......... if : You don't know...what you don't know........ it continues to appear/look impossible.
-Thomas Dankowski

Peter. Wow. You DO have bad dirt!
Yes..... your threshold-depth (which is primarily determined by your mineralization/bad dirt)…….. is what is causing the 2nd tone (in Mix Mode) to drop out. This is very typical of extra deep targets.
The neat thing about the MDT is...… at least it DOES have other Modes/options to additionally test..... to see if it helps even further......with bad dirt.

((( I think a new battery cap is headed your way. )))

Pretty sure I’ve got the same problem with my cap also. Sometimes when I replace it the unit will not turn on until I remove the cap and put it back on.
Been wondering what problem is....

Many times..... if you slightly unscrew the cap (from fully seated position)….. maybe 1/8 of a turn...….. all is well.

Trust me when I say this:

Ability to go deep is a GOOD problem to have... Remember from your Inland video, "It's (detector) job is to read metal". I really feel the right combo is there, just needs to be dialed correctly. I would be thrilled to discover those perfect settings not just for myself, but to share here.

Thanks on the cap! It's a bit of a mild annoyance as the signals I am going for are faint and as you know, require a certain level of concentration.

Working on my test garden still. I am amazed just how much ferrous trash is in my yard. Cleaning out with the GoldMaxx is taking way longer than expected.
When I get the section completed, a "complex" test area will be a huge benefit.

Peter

Wow. I'm REALLY glad that you are building a complex test-garden.
You will benefit the most. It's a real eye-opener..... and priceless value-added tuition.

This is to Tom, Larry, Cliff and Dew. I need to know something. . . . . . now that you guys have had the Tarsacci for approx. 1/2-Year. This has to do with 'skillset-evolve'. Where are you guys currently at specifically with :
1.) Sensitivity
2.) Threshold

Tom, for me mostly 8 Sensitivity, -1 or 0 for Threshold dependent on conditions and beach.

90% of the hunts All Metal switching to verify targets when I can't see the screen. (murky water)

On a side note, two MDT's can hunt 10 feet apart ( with the same frequencies/settings) in the water The machines will let the hunters know when you get to close together. You will start hearing the other machine when you get closer however you will still hear targets over the increasing noise.

Cliff

Im at 9 and 0. Mostly like Cliff said the sand and conditions. BUT... i can say when sand gets moving and we get down to more minerals in the hard pan i know it. So i dont know how i might set it with a lot of minerals/iron. Those settings still worked well on Tybee and St Augustine thou for me. I SHOULD turn it down sometimes but dont ..... because in AM i find it easy to determine a false signal. Much like the Xcal.... even in the dry sand i rarely use anything but AM. I have to add my high settings can make the digits change a good deal depending on where the coil is over the target. Like you once said the machine requires good coil control. Ive learned how iron reacts in the water as well ..... i think lol. Mostly slow high pings coming from wrap around in the 27 28 range which i have notch out giving me those slow pings compared to a better target. High settings might also make it a bit more difficult chasing deep targets in a hole PPing them. Looking at the screen ... it can give a lot more digits.... like i said based on where that coil is over the target. BUT for me its all about listening carefully for a target. I dont dig every targets like most SAY the do. But i do dig a good deal that produce iron and non ferr digits. I dig NO targets that give me a solid iron digits ..... AT ALL. In fact im concentrating on gold so anything in the 1 to 10 digit im digging for sure. My machine tends to up scale digits...... which might also be because of my high sensitivity. IE a pull tab at 8" or more which air tests 6 or 7 might jump to 23. Ive dug and dug these ..... i feel pretty confident i could pass most targets 13 and above and not miss gold. Gold tends to be a pretty solid digit. Cliff mentioned being able to hunt together at a given distance. Thats true......BUT the up side is you can hunt beside most other machines with little to no problem. Tom...... I find the MDT to be like the Xcal when operating in PP, well except its even more quiet. Like the Xcal...... PP mode allows you to run full sensitivity just out of auto..... something you CANT do in disc. That makes a huge difference in depth and the ability to run smoothly with NO recovery. Also when out of the water..... i see the digits jumping from i assume EMI but in AM you dont get the constant ping pongs you do from disc....... AND if thats caused by EMI it doesnt seem to affect me finding deep targets...... they seem to come in loud and clear. To me the type of AM/PP used by the MDT and Xcal is far BETTER than land machines AM which processes the signal. I much prefer REVERSE disc and using the disc mode more like a PPer.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2019 11:29AM by dewcon4414.

Cliff & Dew...…. VERY good engineering data/notes. Thanks! Glad you have landed at higher performance Sens & Thresh settings. (Time/skill-set: pays off)!
Yes..... the Tarsacci has a true All-Metal Mode...…. and is 'why' I hunt the wet-salt beaches with a Tarsacci. The All Metal Mode allows the unit to be run with higher Sens settings; subsequently, providing more depth/performance due to these higher (allowable) Sens settings. When a unit falses in All Metal mode..... the audio is more of a murky, washed-out, weak audio......that is highly discernable. When a unit falses in a ID Mode...… it is a full "on" BEEP...… leaving the operator thinking 'good solid target'. . . . . subsequently, forcing the operator to run a lower Sens setting.... so as to mitigate/avoid 'falses'.

Tom & Larry..... still hoping you can chime in.

We have both had very limited hunt time due to health issues. I hope things will turn around soon. I appreciate the progress being posted! My settings are the same as Dew. Larry has a bit hotter machine and is usually SEN 7 or 8 and 0 I believe.

Past(or)Tom
Using a Legend, a Deus 2, an Equinox 800, a Tarsacci MDT 8000, & a few others...
with my beloved, fading Corgi, Sadie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/19/2019 05:14AM by Pasttom.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> the Tarsacci has a true All-Metal Mode...
> …. and is 'why' I hunt the wet-salt beaches with a
> Tarsacci. The All Metal Mode allows the unit to be
> run with higher Sens settings; subsequently, provi
> ding more depth/performance due to these higher (a
> llowable) Sens settings. When a unit falses in All
> Metal mode..... the audio is more of a murky, wash
> ed-out, weak audio......that is highly discernable
> . When a unit falses in a ID Mode...… it is a full
> "on" BEEP...… leaving the operator thinking 'good
> solid target'. . . . . subsequently, forcing the o
> perator to run a lower Sens setting.... so as to m
> itigate/avoid 'falses'.

YES Tom....that is a perfect description of the differences between the modes AND exactly the reason why I continue to use AM over Disc or Mixed... when I do "try"
mixed, it isn't long before I go back to AM. I do however get tired of switching modes to verify the target when I can't see the screen.

Cliff

I use mixed mode when i cant see the target.....with the notch set at 27 it gives me the info i need in most cases on a solid iron hit. Otherwise..... im digging it. One other thing a TRUE AM does...... its just not affected as much by the salt water as disc mode. Thats why people use REVERSE disc on the Xcal and CZ. The MDT doesnt suffer from slow recovery ..... but machines like the Xcal do. running in a true AM can almost eliminate that....... as well as its ability to handle EMI. This extra sensitivity .... can make the difference in picking up deeper and smaller targets as well while running quieter.

Sorry to hear about your health issues Tom.

Thanks, Dew! Larry and I have been needing knee replacements for a while and it makes things difficult at the beach. Not surprisingly...
I can sneak off to the local park some mostly with the Nox & XP. I am going to try to get out today for a bit with the Tarsacci. Just had a nice encouraging chat with Dimitar. He mentioned following your progress and was pleased with your gift.

Past(or)Tom
Using a Legend, a Deus 2, an Equinox 800, a Tarsacci MDT 8000, & a few others...
with my beloved, fading Corgi, Sadie

....is this the 'Hottest' thread with over 61,000

Prior to it, if I recall, 'Ghound's "Equinox was the most viewed???

I glad he like that.....thought I’d pass on a find that was found with his machine. With the true AM and a few inches more in and out of the water I feel it grabbing some gold there just pass up. I don’t try and guess depth on targets out there.....but I’ve dug some really deep gold.....and the biggest tell is I’m ahead of last years gold finds. I really had to hunt intensely with the Nox....so to say I’m ahead of the game speaks for how well this machine works. I like that in the water bottle caps tend to be more iron also for the most part are in the dime range and bouncy

Larry & Tom. Wow! I had no idea...… and pray for your recovery! As we age...… we discover the most important thing in life (and about life) is: HEALTH. Even love and loved ones … mean nearly nothing..... if you are in severe health.

About a Decade ago..... I was giving a seminar at FMDAC...…. and (some of you may know him)….. a guy named Carl McFeeders once said to me: IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT I WAS GOING TO LIVE SO DAMN LONG...… I WOULD HAVE TAKEN MUCH BETTER CARE OF MYSELF. He said this with zero laughter..... and with zero smile. Dead serious. I will never forget this statement.

Health is a blessing. Family is very important... even when I feel bad I’m glad I have um.

Yes NASA Tom, Carl said a true statement.

When we are young we feel unbreakable, so we push the limits. The smart thing to have done was to look (if you can) at our parents illnesses and health problems that could possibly be our weaknesses. I have and are getting some of the same problems as mt parents, these days. Taking care of my self properly didn't really happen till I married and had children. Now I'm a grand pop of 3 soon to be 4 grand kids and it's ever so important to be here as long as possible. Heck, in the 70's I didn't imagine I'd be around past 2000..it seemed so far off.

Well, here we are. Eating our raw and fresh veggies, staying active and taking our supplements to hopefully ward off what may be around the corner. I believe keeping romance with our wives or girlfriends is also high on the list. Attitude and a want for adventure keeps things interesting and it's a must.

The old boy scout motto's about sum it up.

""What If""...…. Dimitar were to 'crack-the-code' for Culpeper dirt?

(((What would other Mfr's think/do?)))

If he cracked the code for Culpeper with the Tarsacci that would be awesome! I just want to know if it's ferrous or non-ferrous, I don't need accurate ID, although it would be a plus.

Only problem I see, is it's got to be pushing PI depth or most will still use a PI because most everything left is deep or in thick iron. The Equinox and Deus work well in the iron patches. The GPX is king of depth and other than digging a few bent nails, I and other veteran users can pretty much tell good targets from bad with the GPX when setup correctly.

Pastor Tom and Larry,

Same here, need two knee replacements both left and right knee are beyond babying. Recently, had temporary surgery to buy me time with one of the bad knees. Temporary fix until I get both knees replaced the next two years. I’m still recovering from this latest surgery, bad knees are not fun.

I’ve got Larry’s phone I’ll give him s call soon, we were suppose to meet a few months back and hunt with out Tarsacci detectors. But my knees gave out right after our PM conversation, wishing both you and Larry the best.

Paul

PastorTom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks, Dew! Larry and I have been needing knee r
> eplacements for a while and it makes things diffic
> ult at the beach. Not surprisingly...
> I can sneak off to the local park some mostly with
> the Nox & XP. I am going to try to get out today
> for a bit with the Tarsacci. Just had a nice enco
> uraging chat with Dimitar. He mentioned following
> your progress and was pleased with your gift.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2019 04:01AM by Apolonio (CA).

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ""What If""...…. Dimitar were to 'crack-the-code'
> for Culpeper dirt?
>
> (((What would other Mfr's think/do?)))

Hello Tom,

Dimitar is an amazing engineer, if someone’s going to crack the code of Culpeper dirt it’ll be Dimitar. I need to drive up there and pay him a visit, only a 100 mile drive.

I’ll be back to swinging the Tarsacci soon, hopefully another week or two.

Paul

The pulse machines do have the Culpeper dirt figured out but they also have their own shortcomings. With the GPX, one of the most aggravating is being tethered to it by the power cord, headphones, etc. Another is horrible EMI from other detectors and almost anything else. In particular at DIV hunts, everyone has a GPX and interference is bad unless you totally isolate yourself from where most everyone else. That usually means you go away from the relics. And most people up there have gone to 15 inch size coils as the new standard, with some venturing into the 18+ inch coils. I think there's still a lot to be found in all the cut nails and ration can littered spots...but that's dealing with organized hunts specifically. Where it would benefit someone like me is back home, where the dirt is almost as bad and the EMI comes from other sources and not other detectors. Some places here require a lot of walking and that's something that always sucked lugging a 13+ pound metal detector around that you are constantly tethered to.

I'd be very interested to know what that next generation of detector might be and what it could do.

Daniel...….. very well stated. I was beginning to wonder if the GPX was the... "magic unit/answer-to-all". . . . . with having heard from several GPX owners.

Andrew...… Yes. Baby steps first. Simply differentiate between ferrous/non-ferrous first. Then...….. later on; differentiate between the different conductivities of the non-ferrous region.

Paul...….. it's hard to tell if metal detecting is: 1). Hard on the knees. 2). A good exercise that gets us off of the sofa...and out of the house.

I recently had an issue with my MDT 8000 as when I went to swap out my battery I noticed about a half teaspoon of saltwater had entered the battery cavity and when I drained it out it had a orange tinge to the water that drained out as it had been sitting for about 3 weeks since the last use. I have rinsed it out with fresh water and let it air dry and the detector still works fine. I e-mailed Dimitar but still have heard back from him as to anything else I should do to it to prevent more corrosion. I also have no clue as to why it leaked as I am very persistent with my use of silicone grease and not over tightening the cap. An update is Dimitar contacted me and It seems that the orange o-ring had moved and caused the leak.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2019 08:22PM by toddbbq.

I rarely use silicon grease...... sometime that allows the O rings to move. I prefer to remove then ....rinse them in hot water...... kind of keeps their natural stickiness. Hear you had a little problem with the Nox as well..... water behind the screen. I guess you read ...... i had 4 coil cables crack while trying to repair an Xcal. Im just glad this hobby pay for most of these repairs. I would likely get some corrosive X that would ensure that the salt water didnt do anymore damage.

I did 9 hours today. I have a hunting buddy who called last night and said him and another hunting had hit this beach for about 4 hours. with not a lot to show for it. I almost changed my plans because there are 3 shifts of hunter right now and just no real sand movement or recent drops.......its really picked over. I didnt get any gold, but i was impressed with how well the machine picked ups some of the tiny stuff out there. Dont know how these sun glasses got missed......but they were all deep. I came away with right at $5 worth of change......hand full of pull tabs and a few bobbie pins for the fun of it. The one pair of glasses are Ray Bans in good shape. 4 rings.......one is silver the others arent worth picking up lol. also 3 silver earrings. Man this is like winter hunting. On the bight side ....i had dug all those glass and they all were as deep as cans........got another hit started digging .... and again deep... im talking 20" ... thinking sunglasses again or a can lid. Out popped that heavy TU. This machine is deep..... if im not getting targets ...there just isnt any.

double post sorry.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2019 11:00AM by dewcon4414.