On my mind -- Random Thoughts

NASA-Tom Wrote:
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> And that's just it!
> I'm now of a different mindset. For the past few y
> ears........ I have been running iron discriminati
> on (via a form of tone-break).....on what ever uni
> t I'm using (((usually Manticore............someti
> mes D2)))........ in carpets of nails. Extremely l
> ow tone-break/Ferrous Limits/Iron Disc....in carpe
> ts of nails.....sure does induce a lot more 'falsi
> ng'.......yet........also allows a non-ferrous tar
> get (amongst nails) .... to burp through the headp
> hones ...a bit more readily.
> BUT......... here is what I have REALLY changed =
> I now (more than ever) dig: micro-pits. ---- I fi
> nd a (potentially heavily masked) non-ferrous targ
> et....with a metal detector....in carpets of nails
> . I dig a 10" x 10" x 10" plug. Yesteryear.......
> I would try to find the non-ferrous target as quic
> k as possible.....and move on. Now........today...
> ..... I remove EVERY piece of metal out of the dug
> plug. Then........ I ALSO put the pinpointer down
> in the hole....and 'micro-pit' dig. This small 10"
> pit (hole) will get every piece of metal ...recove
> red out of the hole....... using a Fisher F-Pulse
> pinpointer (deepest pinpointer on the market......
> as of current time). I am always surprised as to '
> how many' metallic implements come out of the grou
> nd. MOST are ferrous. Some are non-ferrous . , . ,
> . , . , . , . , . and some of these non-ferrous ta
> rgets are a genuine 'surprise'. Right now........
> . I ONLY dig micro-pits (and mini-pits) in areas t
> hat are heavily littered with SQUARE nails. (Older
> -generation nails).
> Recently........ I have been digging mini-pits. Th
> is is performed without a detector. Only a shovel
> and a pinpointer. I'll dig a 2-foot x 2-foot x 2-f
> oot plug out of the ground....... in a prime locat
> ion....... and have-at-it with a N52 (very strong)
> Rare Earth magnet in one hand........ and the Fish
> er F-Pulse pinpointer in the other hand. ((( I lov
> e it.... when the magnet is NOT picking up the pin
> pointer-detected target!!! ))) My most recent site
> ..... is producing 27 nails...... to 1 non-ferrous
> target. 27:1 ratio. When you come home with 25 - 3
> 0 non-ferrous targets...... one or two of them....
> ... are bound to be good 'keepers'.
>
> In Ft. Meade, Florida....... at a even older site(
> s)....... I would dig regular 'pits'. These usuall
> y ended up being 13-feet x 9-feet (by......down to
> : 31" deep). I was averaging 105:1 .....ferrous-to
> -non-ferrous ratio volume of targets. Sometimes th
> e non-ferrous target....would be VERY significant.
> In Archaeological site recovery......... I would d
> ig multiple 1-Meter X 1-Meter pits.
>
> In a nutshell: You would be SHOCKED as to 'how' te
> rrible today's metal detectors are....at unmasking
> . It's: THE PAINFUL TRUTH.
> A pit-dig will: Expose! A pit-dig is: an eye-opene
> r.
>
> Yes....... it takes a certain monomaniac/psychosis
> mindset to perform micro-pit, mini-pit & pit digs.
> IF you want to dabble into this....... I would rec
> ommend starting out ONLY with micro-pit digs......
> .. a small N52 Rare Earth magnet....... and a supe
> rior pinpointer. ONLY perform this in carpets of s
> quare-nails........ meaning: high human co-habitat
> ion/traffic......with age/era.

Tom, I'm curious as to what size rare earth magnet you use for collecting ferrous in your pits. Most I've seen for sale are not longer than a couple inches or so although I did see one much more expensive one that is 150mm (about 6") long.

For my all-out/serious pit-digs......... I use a (N42 strength) 350-lb pull Rare Earth magnet....... that is approx 4"x2.5"x1" in size. I have it mounted on one end of a 1x4 stick...... that is about 5-feet long. This way..... I can remain standing.,.,.,.,., swinging coil with one hand.........then using magnet with other hand.,.,.,to find all the ferrous targets the swinging coil just lit-up.
So far....... this has been the most efficient way that I have discovered (to date)........for my pit-dig excursions. , . , . , . , . in the attempt to remove the MEGA masking component.