Fortitude

Having the health and energy to recover the 'non-coin' signals in highly populated areas can be 'trying'. Over the past several years....... I have converted a hunch, to a theory, to a proof, to a science. I have placed extensive/explicit focus on discovering: 'what depth' does aluminum trash end; subsequently: what depth does older era/period implements reside.......... and at each 'specific' location/site............ all variables computed. This knowledge/skill-set will substantially increase the ratio of 'keepers' to trash. Armed with this skill-set........... it has opened doors that would (otherwise) not normally be achieved.......................but........................ most importantly.......................... expose/surface/bring-to-light higher-than-expected value implements. At the end of each (and every) hunt, , , , , it seems like miracles have accrued/transpired. With 40-plus years of swinging a coil............... I (finally) feel like the (so called) hobby has become profitable, professional, exciting.............. and plain-and-simple: FUN. I have touched on this data in other articles/threads; yet, due to another plateau being ascertained........... it is well worth sharing.

In a nutshell:
1) The deeper you dig, the higher the ratio of valuables-to-trash differentiation.
2) The deeper you dig, the older the targets.
3) The less aluminum (modern) trash you dig, the better the good/bad ratio.
4) The more intelligent you dig, the higher the value/profit ratio.
5) The more intelligent you dig, the more energy is reserved for digging better/deeper targets.
6) Different sites = different dirt = different depth/sink-rate.

Achieve the best skill-set, use the best equipment, have the most fun = Life is short!

And a little luck doesn't hurt either.....Certainly words of wisdom and you only get out what you put in all walks of life.
Some guys just love the clad of tot lots and others travel, research go for the deepies etc. In any case as long as your having fun....

Most erudite.

I tell my friends and anyone else who cares to listen that if you are afraid to dig a deep hole, you will miss on some very cool stuff.

Still, one thing still vexes me and that is small pieces of aluminum foil which once they reach a relative deep level in the dirt, they can sound like a good target. I have applied much sound analysis and I think I may have the answer but I am not 100% confident so I dig.

Talk about something being 'trying'!

Pinpoint twice, dig once

Good solid info Tom...

Its all about attitude and understanding of equipment use in whatever site your in to get the most out of the site...

A $150.00 compadre can find as much as a CTX if you use it wisely and have the abiltiy and means to explore a site to the fullest...

Find the one spot your machine is strong at and use it to your advantage....

If a site is not giving up items and you can EXPLORE the site more freely and in an intrusive way then theres a host of other option's available without buying new equipment...

Pinsestraw removal,,sod removal,,,Brush removal,,,Rock removal,,, pit digging...

I have removed trees before...used bobcats ... etc...so theres always options if they are DOABLE..some sites you cant but alot of sites you can with permission...

I had a woman one time let me remove the grass in her yard ...I put it back of course.. but I fund alot more stuff jsut by the advanatge of being able to gegt closer to the artifact's....

One guy let me excavate a trench line in his backyard....He did not even know the trench was there...But He was impressed after it was exposed.

Keith

Keith,

Where you removed the sod............ there would be great value (and for documentation purposes) in knowing how much sod/dirt was removed....... how much closer/deeper your (new) initiation point was............ and how many targets were recovered that would not have been recovered...had you not removed the sod.

((( Time permitting!!! )))

I dont have any hard recorded info Tom...Other than just what in my memory...yet do know more non ferrous was found.. enough to warrant it....

whats funny is its not just the added depth gained by removing say 5 inch's of dirt and grass...it's also how the detector interact's with raw dirt ...some machine dont appreciate the AIR-GAP that grass straw leaves etc casuses...and aslo certian machien interact with iron unmasking better when the airgap is removed....NAils seems to like to float to the top in the frost zones jsut like light weight brass buttons.. so at time they are in the same strata almost in the top of the soil...Yet the airgap can casue you to miss the non ferrous...

That brings up a side note..

Not sure if you have played with the CTX... but if you have some raw dirt, no airgap,and the non ferrous and ferrous are close to the surface to maybe 4 inches the CTX in Conductive mode 6 inch coil will open your eyes to what other machines have ignored...Very strange.. yet the dirt must be exposed or have no airgap...I have yet to see another machine approach this unmasking in this scenario....

thought I would mention it since we were talking of exposed dirt..

Keith

Yes....... have tested CTX-3030 in combined, open screen, conductive, 50, Sens 24, 25, 26 & 30 in both excavated dirt and open fields with minimal (almost zero) grass. Exclusively with 6" coil in carpets of nails. This was a 3rd Seminole Indian War site (1849 - 1858). A couple of non-ferrous targets were found behind GMP & F75 SE............. due in part to a different 'window-of-opportunity' with the 6" coil on the Minelab (vs. 9" GMP coil and 11" DD F75 coil). Still............. to witness the DE's/CDE's of Minelab tackling/combating carpets of nails /// iron infested areas ............. is a highly commendable/welcome mission statement. (More than most folks/detectorists realize).
Yesteryear........ where there were people, there was trash.
Where there were massive amounts of people,,,,,,, there were massive amounts of iron/square nails from (no longer existing) buildings...... and massive amounts of non-ferrous implements. To be able to see through (or....... at least somewhat audibly mitigate) carpets of nails.......... is a stupendous game-changer.
Most recent case-in-point:

Zero non-ferrous targets detected.
Then.........dug/excavated another 5' x 9' pit.
102 non-ferrous targets recovered.
721 ferrous square nails recovered.

Remember, If I were to tell you: Here is a 5-foot by 9-foot area. There are 102 non-ferrous 3rd Seminole Indian War targets within this 5' x 9' area. Go get-um! Some are quite shallow. None are detectable.
What would you do!
What would you think!

And then.......... what if I were to tell you: Here is a 500' x 900' area with the same ratio of ferrous/non-ferrous circa 1849 - 1858 targets/implements in the ground............... all of which have major National Historical significance to this Country.

If I do my math right:
5' x 9' = 45 square feet = 102 non-ferrous implements.
500' x 900' = 450,000 square feet = 1,020,000 non-ferrous implements.

Starting to paint a picture? These are real numbers......... and actually a bit on the conservative side. This actual particular fort site is approx 2000' x 1700'.
The primary non-ferrous targets are usually:
BB's, buttons, buckles, bullets, bullion.

Good info Tom...

Thanks for taking the time to stress the point ...

I remember years ago as the relic fields dried up and alot of the hunters were giving up...and even saying within the next few years there would not even be a Minnie ball left to dig.....

funny is it not that that was 30 years or so ago and yet the finds still keep coming...and actually some of the best finds have come in the last decade in hunted out site's for many people...


I know the fileds are not like they used to be as far as easy surface picking....but at the same time I honestly believe that a small percentage of finds have been made in any site..dirt ..rocks..iron..etc mask a ton of stuff....even the airgaps of the coilo to the soil is detrimental to the hunt...

But as your post implies with FORTITUDE success will happen...

Thanks for the info on theCTX also..

I was wondering what your view was on it...

especially since you have completely different soil from me...almost a 180% different...

If you do have the means to the CTX again or if you own one heres a simple setup I find useful in the densest of nails...

Wide open screen
Co 50 tone
Fast on
deep off
High trash activated
Ground locked not tracking
Smooth(MANDATORY)
Sens auto +3

ignore the constant high iron ring concentrate on the lower tone's....
The smooth takes care of the irregularities of the target shape...and helps you listen for the tone dip .. if you get a dip in tone work on that spot and see if you can get it to really fall low if t does go to the flat blub sound investigate...

it's almost like a non motion disc mode....really sleuthy like this...you can meander through iron for hours and pick out the subtle tone dips...

back to the smooth option only...I find the normal or long allows for too much target shaping tone...that is a nail will drop tones form the head to the shaft to the tip..it gets to busy and non prodcutive... the Smooth will hold the same tone for the nail head shaft and tip...and if something of other conductance is in the field of view of the coil it will warbel the tone enough for investigation..

I try not to chase too much of the mid tones if they lock on and dont go any lower in the nail beds becasue they are usually coin sized weird pieces of iron...the lower blats are the most productive..

This setup works best on a site thats is not prodcuing no more..With abiltiy to get the coil close to the soil...

I find this setup to be very advantagous...

Keith

With our hunger to hunt the highest human travel areas (with subsequent highest amount of iron)........... ANY 'edge' in performance is quite advantageous. At the moment........ I do not have a CTX; yet, should the opportunity arise, I will certainly try your settings. I have tried most..... but not all of the above settings........ due to limited time with unit.

"Exclusively with 6" coil in carpets of nails. This was a 3rd Seminole Indian War site (1849 - 1858). A couple of non-ferrous targets were found behind GMP & F75 SE............. due in part to a different 'window-of-opportunity' with the 6" coil on the Minelab"

A couple!?
More like 1/2 dozen, lest you forget the Ft Meade challenge I passed!


The CTX really is amazing in iron w the 6" coil. Better than the DEUS? Not sure yet.....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/15/2013 01:55AM by Aaron.

I would have said the CTX 6" was a tad more convenient in Iron than the Deus V2. But that is my personal ear/opinion.

Expecting to see the new Deus V3 version to again level the playing field.
Just as long as the Silencer is kept switched off, else it just goes "dead" in and around iron. Too much one way hits.

High end machines, no doubt about that.

About fortitude,... you really need a good helping in life and detecting.

Understanding the tech your using, being able to select the wright tool, knowing your history, getting permissions,....
I can understand why the overzealous treassure hunter quickly becomes dissapointed when his trash appron is bulging!!

Oh well, for the less fortunate in the fortitude department,.... there's always Ebay!!

Lately I've been applying my fortitude to coils and bottlecaps, another conundrum?!?!?

HH
Johnb

Tom I witnessed a very similar occurrence with the removing of the top 6" of dirt on an area about 15' x 40' in a park close to home. I had hunted this area many times with at least 4 different high end machines including the F75 LTD, V3i, Etrac and Tejon. I was confident there were no more non-ferrous targets until the top layer of soil was removed in order to extend a parking lot. Well any way there was over 30 non-ferrous targets found when the dirt was removed 12 of which were wheat pennies. There was a very limited amount of time to hunt before the gravel arrived, but I'm sure there is a lot of targets lost forever by the asphalt It pays to watch for construction sites.

If the first 6" of topsoil were removed in a small area........... and a dozen more wheat pennies ...... (and plenty of other non-ferrous targets) were then detectable/recovered....................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I often wonder how much more topsoil would need to be removed....to start to expose the Indian Head penny era layer. (((Assuming the age/era is supportive))).
Depth is critical.

((( I know...... I'm beating a dead horse )))

We have an interesting situation here as well, with a very old Homestead that was turned into a High traffic 'Park Area' in the early 1900's. The City scooped out a large area for a parking lot that was pounded quite hard and they even went down as far as 3' in some places (for drainage is my guess). ALL of the dirt, Tree roots and rocks were dozed into a HUGE pile in an area close to the Park in a long formation approximately 18' high by 25' wide and 180' long. There was a TON of trash in tha mix, but we were able to find many 'decent finds' (Old Gold and Silver Jewelry, Barbers, Fish Scales, Quarters, dimes, you name it..).

Since that time a couple of separators and a shaker have been installed and that moster pile is now in BIG BEAUTIFUL 20' high mounds of separated Earth (now looks like 'gardening soil) with ZERO large trash and we are finding even MORE coins and such on top and around the sides of these mounds. In fact some coins are making their way to the hard surface areas around the dirt piles (they must be rolling there after coming off the conveyer belts). Unfortunately, it's VERY difficult to detect, but we don't want to disturb it TOO much just in case they decide to 'fence it off'! Anyway, it seems they are starting to 'ferry' the dirt someplace and we can't seem to find out where (doesn't seem to be anywhere in the park).. What a Huge bummer it is not knowing where all this 'Exceptional' Dirt is going.

The next phase is slated for this summer and it will be the 'original concession' and old parking lot and my guess is that there is going to be about 10 times the amounts of finds in this particular area (we've found HUNDREDS of coins and relics there already, including some very RARE ones. This is the area where the actual Homestead sat and from what the backhoe operator tells me, test digging showed that timbers are stones are being found at over 3'! So, I'll certainly be watching for this over the summer months as construction progress'...

Cheers,