Focus on depth

It seems like alot of beginners get caught up in the whole depth thing and miss masked target separation is just as key as depth alot of times even more important

Separation is important if you hunt in high iron areas, as many of us on this forum, do often.

To get to the old coins you have to have a deep machine and depth is high on my list. I know many old coins are found only down to 6", but I also know, from experience, there are coins (in better shape) much deeper in the 14" to 20" strata.

I have one unit for around old home (better separator) sites and one for areas further away from the old homes (deeper unit). If I could have it all in one, hallelujah! That's why I have an eye on the Vista and GMP units Keith, Tom, Amc and others are talking about.

Most old coins, in my experience, are concentrated closest to the old home location and get sparse as you move away from the homes' perimeter. Therefore, a fast unit will be best because there is also more iron/trash closest to the home from renovation to fires to gatherings, over the years.

Throughout the history of the old home, soil is added around the home for better drainage or to build back up from years of erosion. Gravity kicks in, pulling the coins deeper, and now you have coins that are too deep to detect and surrounded by junk.

So, what's more important separation or depth? Tough one...

ozzie --

I agree with you, but will add one thing...according to NASA-Tom, it's not ALWAYS an either-or. A more powerful machine will, at times, fare better in an unmasking sense as well. He says that if you are using a small coil, on a limited-depth unit, and at, say, 6" deep, a weak signal from your machine reaches a ferrous and non-ferrous target roughly co-located, it often happens that the iron "overwhelms" the weak signal, such that an iron ID is reported. However, if a STRONGER signal, transmitted from a more powerful unit through that small coil, sees that same 6" deep ferrous and non-ferrous target that are roughly co-located, the signal will, at times, NOT be as easily skewed by the iron, upping the odds that you may have a shot of seeing some non-ferrous hint in the ID/tone -- and thus upping your odds that you might dig that target...

Steve

Certainly two important factors and certainly debateable which causes us to lose good targets...Guess thats why more than one unit or for that matter acc. coils come into play.

Many factors to consider and knowledge is power and equates to more goodies in the pouch...

You are right Steve..... knowing the type of targets you want to hunt helps as well. With that you can choose the right coil/machine for the best target RESPONSE.

Dew

squarenail_cache Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It seems like alot of beginners get caught up in
> the whole depth thing and miss masked target
> separation is just as key as depth alot of times
> even more important

Efficient and comfortable digging has got my attention big time, more so on the comfortable part.
Means more trash/targets out of the ground equals more enjoyment/less masking.

HH
Johnb

Depth is critical. If only folks were aware of what coins/targets are in the 11" - 19"....... and deeper depth range.......... it would be an eye-opener.

I would like to see a Mfr make a specialty detector (not a general purpose unit) that would:
Not do well in parks.
Not do well in carpets of nails.
Not do well in aluminum trash environments.
Not ID targets well.
But....... rather........... have performance that presents 'game-changer' depth capabilities.......... and only with accurate ferrous vs non-ferrous differentiation....... to fringe depth. That is all.
This would be a open-field and woods hunter.......... where targets are few/far in-between.

Yes........... it would be ideal if the unit had more features/ID capabilities; yet, the complexities may/would preclude invention/inception/roll-out. If concept is kept simple/basic........... it should be more ascertainable.

Tom, sounds like you are talking about a PI machine with a large concentric coil....... or, it has got to come close.

Tom in SC

A PI does not do what Tom wanted
"and only with accurate ferrous vs non-ferrous differentiation....... to fringe depth"


PI does not id to fringe depth.

Gee Tom, sounds almost like a Blisstool.

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

................no...............

tom, how close to your performance description was your 1265x magnum?
chuck.

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Depth is critical. If only folks were aware of
> what coins/targets are in the 11" - 19"....... and
> deeper depth range.......... it would be an
> eye-opener.
>
> I would like to see a Mfr make a specialty
> detector (not a general purpose unit) that would:
> Not do well in parks.
> Not do well in carpets of nails.
> Not do well in aluminum trash environments.
> Not ID targets well.
> But....... rather........... have performance that
> presents 'game-changer' depth
> capabilities.......... and only with accurate
> ferrous vs non-ferrous differentiation....... to
> fringe depth. That is all.
> This would be a open-field and woods
> hunter.......... where targets are few/far
> in-between.
>
> Yes........... it would be ideal if the unit had
> more features/ID capabilities; yet, the
> complexities may/would preclude
> invention/inception/roll-out. If concept is kept
> simple/basic........... it should be more
> ascertainable.

1266-X Magnum was far superior to Blisstool. This includes EMI, Sensitivity/Depth, ID, Stability, K.I.S.S. and a host of other performance factors.

wasnt asking irt blisstool but irt your mfr wishlist.
chuck

.>" I would like to see a Mfr make a specialty
> detector (not a general purpose unit) that would:
> Not do well in parks.
> Not do well in carpets of nails.
> Not do well in aluminum trash environments.
> Not ID targets well.
> But....... rather........... have performance that
> presents 'game-changer' depth
> capabilities.......... and only with accurate
> ferrous vs non-ferrous differentiation....... to
> fringe depth. That is all."

NASA-Tom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 1266-X Magnum was far superior to Blisstool. This
> includes EMI, Sensitivity/Depth, ID, Stability,
> K.I.S.S. and a host of other performance factors.

Yes...... that would be a good base-reference...........a boosted 1266-X Magnum............ and I know we (now) have the technology to have greater ferrous/non-ferrous Discrim abilities....... to fringe depths....... and in fairly heavy mineralization.

Well Tom . . . I have a nice 1266X in top shape with every coil ever made for it.
You did it once . . . you can do it again . . . maybe even better this time? . . .

and I know we (now) have the technology to have greater ferrous/non-ferrous
Discrim abilities....... to fringe depths....... and in fairly heavy mineralization.

PM me if you like . . . you can do what mods you need to do to prove your point . . .
then keep it for 3 mos. to do extensive testing with then . . .

I'll pay you what you feel is fair . . . then ship it back.

There's a thread on Geotech1 about improving the 1266. I seem to recall changing the filtering of the ground channel was the interesting mod.
Here it is:[www.geotech1.com]

Pimento - Fascinating stuff but way over my head especially at my age.
I would not want to send my 1266X out of the country to someone I don't
know on a whim.

A stock 1266X has a lot of further potential if unlocked . . . no doubt.

It is just that, I am surprised that my stock AT Pro punches deeper than my
stock (and tuned) 1266X in every way using the stock 10" coils of each?

I would have thought the 4.8 kHz 1266X would, at least, out gun the AT Pro
when it came to silver but it does not . . . I'm sure it could easily from what I
have read . . . if carefully and professionally modded though.

It's only metal detecting.

If anything? Doesn't this discussion beg the question . . . why aren't the knowledgeable
types looking to Mod/Super Charge the AT Pro ? Seems like a better machine with more
potential and more readily avail. and newer/improved parts, avail. schematics etc.

I have 3 MD's . . . An AT Pro, A CZ-20/21 and the 1266X and that's the way it
is going to stay . . . I hope?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2013 02:32PM by mcgov51.

Pi machines really seem to get the depth and they are becoming more popular. I agree with the need to keep disc simple. All i really care about is that the target is non ferrous

Quote:"why aren't the knowledgeable types looking to Mod/Super Charge the AT Pro?"
It's new, so not many folks are willing to invalidate the warranty. Give it a couple more years, they might.
It's waterproof case makes it harder to work on.
Like all modern machines, the electronics is very small surface mount, not easy to reverse-engineer, modify, probe, or add bits to.
It's a pretty good machine anyway, so the tuning potential is limited.
Half the clever stuff is inside microprocessors, hence not possible to modify.