Pinpointer woes...and relics too

I've said it before, if something is gonna break or malfunction, I will be the one it happens to. This started last week with the F-Pulse pinpointer. My buddies died while we were hunting. It wouldn't quit beeping at all...would false in the air, and the only way he could get it to quit was to smack it against his hand. He has already sent it back to Fisher once for the same thing. If he smacked it just right, it would work correctly. Well until it finally just quit working all together after he smacked it too hard. He jinxed me...he asked if mine was doing anything like that, and I said no. Mine made it to the next hunt and died in the middle of the hunt. Mine didn't start beeping like his though...mine just died mid cycle and wouldn't turn back on. I just assumed it was batteries. Went to the truck and put new ones in...dead in the water. Luckily, I had a Whites TRX in the truck....which is a story in itself because it is also on the brink of dying too. I had it on my belt water hunting this summer and didn't think anything about it because it's waterproof. BUT....water got inside the battery compartment. I was able to dry it out with some rice and get it to work again but it takes spells...some times it works and sometimes it turns itself off. Sometimes it turns itself on too. So I guess I'm in the market for another pinpointer.

On a side note, I had one fairly decent day relic hunting...at least for me anyway. I took the Nox back to the place we hunted last week and I wanted to see what the 6 inch coil could do in this one particular spot that was loaded with iron. It's basically the spot I found all my relics in last week. Well...I pulled up and saw the field had been disced and covered...oh no!! It just had the corn combined off it last week and they already had it ready for the winter wheat. I caught the farmer at his barn and he told me they had just sowed it today and to go ahead and hunt because it wasn't going to bother anything. He did say that after it rains, that I can't go back in that field until it is cut....so this was a very short window of opportunity.

I knew with as much iron as there was in that site, that we had to have missed some things with the larger coils. I hunted til after dark and still didn't cover all the ground I wanted to cover....it's hard covering ground fast with a 6 inch coil. I think it paid off though. I found quite a bit of brass out of there today. I hunted in Field 2 mode and dug every positive signal. All the buttons and such, were a reading of 10 or higher. The only things I found that were 9 and under, were super small items....I mean like .22 short casings and that sort of thing. I still have a lot to cover in this field and it is going to drive me crazy waiting on my next chance to hunt it, which will be after the wheat is gone and before the corn is planted.

Pic 1....group of all finds. There must have been a post Civil War house that sat in or near this field, as I found quite a few tin back overall buttons and other non war related items. But it could have easily been a war time house as well, and that is why there is a mix of relics there in the same spot. I'm not sure....I just know there's a lot more waiting to be discovered in the field.

relics by Daniel Teague, on Flickr

Pic 2....Upclose of the whole eagle buttons. Only one is a letter in the shield. The rest are GS and all have damage of some sort...pushes, plow hit marks, etc. In fields, I typically dig more button backs than whole buttons.

relics1 by Daniel Teague, on Flickr

Pic 3....This one was my heart breaker. I was videoing when I dug this and popped it out of a dirt clod. I first thought it was a large cent. But it was too thin. Then I wiped it and saw writing on it and the hole up top. The first thing that went through my mind was...OMG I just found a ID disc from the Civil War. It was the last thing I cleaned up after I got home. I wanted it to be something cool like that but it wasn't meant to be. I have no idea what in the world it is to be honest. The best I can tell, it reads "Manier & Co's Trade Mark Cold Medicine" with the image of something in the middle. Looks like a building. If you guys have any ID, I would appreciate it.

relics3 by Daniel Teague, on Flickr

Looks like you had a great day!

Nice assortment and "tales of woe" post. LOL

Dang Daniel, You bustin' through that Ole' Hot ground!

Plenty a finds, Daniel.
I have been lucky with PP's....so far the Garrets and the one Carrot Garrett I use now (knock wood) work fine. Yes, your bud jinxed you....ask him how his vehicle is running when he does that. ><

Of the ones I have had, the original black Garrett has held up the best. It does false on my dirt though. The orange version, I hated with a passion. I have liked the TRX the best. I guess I could have bought another one of those and just not kept it submerged in the water for hours at a time...maybe reserve it for a quick rinse off. I may end up doing just that. But I just ordered a Minelab Pro Find 35. Never had one of theirs. It wont take long to see if I like it or not.

After a long hiatus in relic hunting, the bug seems to have bitten me again. I have expanded my search range and have pinpointed several locations that I am going to begin the permission asking process with. Someone here a long time back, posted some researching tips for map overlays on Google Earth. I have some awesome map overlays now and have learned quite a bit from those. Hopefully permissions will be granted and this should be a pretty decent fall/winter. I'm looking in areas that are lesser known and in theory, should have had less people seeking permission to hunt.

My F Pulse never did work right--insane falsing. I tried all the online solutions. Finally sent it in to Fisher for warranty repair. They called to confirm my address for mailing it back, so I guess they either repaired it or are sending me a new one. Hopefully, it will work better.

Nice hunt. I'm glad you are enjoying the Equinox. I bust on it every now and then, but for the money it is one hell of a detector. I never had anything better than the TRX when it comes to pinpointers. I just love the depth. I'm waiting on that 15 inch coil myself. Minelab sure likes to take their time.

nice job, Daniel!

Wayne

Same here. Unless the F-Pulse works better the second time around (Fisher just sent me back a new unit but haven't yet had a chance to test), the TRX will remain my favorite pinpointer. Good depth and I like the fact that it is primarily point sensitive. Does get a bit unstable sometimes, but turning it off and on gets it working again.

Nice finds. I didn't even know they had dog tags at the time of the Civil War. BTW, by accident the other day I came across an account of the only woman ever to be awarded the Medal of Honor--a Civil War civilian surgeon with the Union Army who sometimes went behind the lines to treat Confederate wounded. A most unusual person, then and also after the war.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Dubious -- The armies didn't issue the ID tags but the sutlers that followed the camps around offered them for the soldiers to have made and for them to buy. The ones I have seen will have the solider's name, and unit/company on it. They often are worded like "War of 1861" on them. I've really only saw them come out of the Army of the Potomac sites; those soldiers were much better supplied than the troops that were in my area. But I'm sure the same services were offered by sutlers that followed the armies here. I deal mostly with what became the Army of the Cumberland...and if you compare photos of soldiers in those units vs their Army of Potomac counterparts, there is a HUGE difference in how they are dressed and equipped. The Army of Potomac guys had a lot more fluff about them....all kind of decorative gear and supplies that they acquired from largely staying in the same winter camps for 2 or 3 years and being well supplied. The soldiers down here were hard core fighters and they simply ditched all that fluff for stuff that mattered in combat and long marches...because that's about all they ever did was march march march and fight fight fight.

My ProPointer 35 came the other day but I've only had the chance to use it once. I like that it has a + or - button for sensitivity, instead of having to do the whole push and hold, then count the number of beeps thing that a lot of them have today. Wont take long in the field to see if I like it or not.

Nice digs Daniel!

That "Manier & co” piece is a civil war era store card/token (cool find)

Pinpointers suck. The only one I’ve ever bought/used is the original black Garrett that I still have but hardly ever use! I’ve had it for a good 8 yrs now and it still runs strong. I wear it on my belt but will go 3 or 4 hunts or more without even using it once. I’ve never found them to be a necessity and they slow you down imo.