Monte
"In Memory of"
Well, Big Treble, you've asked some routine questions I have heard through the years regarding the NBPT as well as many other tests or examples of detector use and adjustment.
I like 'simple' so let me keep the questions that way. Do you search the same locations where I'll be going come sun-up? How about the last half-dozen posters on this thread, are we all going to hunt the same sites today or this weekend? Are we all looking for the same desired finds, or do we have different sites and goals when we head out?
Let's take that same half-dozen people. Are we all using the same metal detector model? I doubt it. The same size and type search coil? Most likely not. Are the settings we use all the same? How about on the count of three we all swap detectors, then before we go detecting, we have someone else in the group, other than that detector owner, adjust all the settings for us to use. Do you think we would enjoy that hunt? Not likely.
We could use the time spend to try and learn some goods and bads about that unfamiliar detector, but all the while we will likely feel we just aren't getting the level of performance as we would with our own detector of choice, favorite coil for certain applications, and setting that will bring us the level of performance we want.
Well, I am determined to use a detector that provides me the levels of performance I feel work best for me so that the end results might be pleasing to me. Your detector choice, coil choice and settings might not achieve that.
Then again, you might have a site or two to search this weekend and there's a strong likelihood that my detector and coil pick and settings would not be what you feel is the right set-up for you and you're site selections or to achieve a performance level you demand.
A lot of devoted 'silver shooters' went the way of the Minelab FBS series which have been good picks for hunting old grassy parks and providing good audio responses on mid-depth to deeper silver coins with very good visual TID on deeper silvers. Generally better than a lot of the completion over the past 15+ years.
I have owned a half dozen different Explorer series units and I know what they can do. But since I have owned and used a half-dozen of them, and worked them in a wide range of sites, I have also found that for me and the types of site challenges I encounter, they are not very good performers.
They are heavy and awkward balanced for me. They don't do nearly as well on lower-conductive targets such as the US nickel and a lot of gold jewelry. And most of all, they just do not handle the very densely littered sites I have enjoyed finding and hunting since '69 occasionally, and since '83 full-time.
Most of these are ghost towns, homesteads and other places that have a very dense amount of nails, often in abundance and closely spaced. There is other debris as well, some non-ferrous discards and some ferrous, to include annoying rusty tin.
Long ago I wanted, needed really, a detector and coil set-up to provide me the best in-the-field performance when in those dense iron nail environments. Naturally we can never know exactly what we might encounter. It might be a coin or trade token I'm hoping to find positioned over a nail by an inch or so, or it could be a nail above a desired target.
Maybe there is more than one desired object close to one or two nails? Most often the iron nails are in greater abundance. There are more of them and they could be closer to the keeper or a little farther away, maybe a little shallower or perhaps a bit deeper.
The thing we don't usually know is what we might encounter with the next sweep of the coil ... but one thing we also know is that we want to be as best prepared for the challenges we face it order to have the best chance of having a successful detecting jaunt.
The more challenging the trash, meaning more and in a difficult arraignment, the more demand is put on the detector/coil combination, the adjustments, and how the detector was engineered to be able to deal with it.
Do you ever hunt in a densely iron contaminated site? Most folks don't hunt the types of places I do as regularly as I put time in and don't really understand or haven't experienced such bad ferrous environments.
It is, however, adjusting or tuning the detector so that it doesn't have too much Discrimination or rejection of the undesired debris. Maybe selecting/adjusting for the particular search mode we prefer, such as 2-Tone, 3-Tone or some other multi-tone option.
So, in those respects it is 'tuning' the settings desired, and also matching up the best search coil size and type for that particular detector model.
Naturally we have to have a 'baseline' of what we expect to occur to determine what a breakpoint is between passing and failing. In order to be able to make that determination we have to have a reasonably valid 'test' that can be used over time so that all 'testing' is fair.
I used to use a few set-ups that closely matched some of the in-the-field encounters I have had over decades of serious hunting, and then one day, as I described in a previous post, I came upon an Indian Head cent in a ghost town that was surrounded by four rusty iron nails.
That was a natural, as-encountered, challenging scenario so I made an exact replica of it to make my initial Nail Board Performance Test, and through the years it was used to help others check out their detector coil set-up, evaluate many detectors I was interested in, compare various prototype detectors from different manufacturers, and has become a standard for me.
It's become a standard for quite a few others as well as they have worn out many urban Coin Hunting places and have moved on to learn more about Relic Hunting older sites. They also find that quite often nails, and other small iron debris, is now their main challenge rather than pull tabs, foil, screw caps and other non-ferrous junk.
My Pass/Fail requirement on the NBPT is that a detector/coil has to get a minimum of '6' out of the possible '8' hits to Pass. Less than 6-out-of-8 and it is not a combination that I will use for serious Relic Hunting in dense ferrous debris sites. It might be fine for traditional Coin Hunting, but not for my Relic Hunting needs.
Now, while 6-of-8 is a 'passing' score, it's kind of like getting a 'C' grade for me and I prefer 'B' or 'A' performance, therefore all models in my Regular-Use Detector Team are in the 7 and 8 out-of 8 category.
Will my detectors perform well and to your standards for the types of places you prefer to hunt? I'm not sure unless I go where you go and put them to the 'test' of performance that you expect to have. The same goes for anyone else.
But, will your detectors perform well and up to my standards if you join me in my adventures to the types of places I like to hunt? I don't know, nor will you, unless you check them out on a NB and maybe come and join me on one of the many Outings and detecting jaunts I am involved in.
The more important thing is that we all have an open mind and are willing to learn from others and from our own experiences afield. Make sure we have equipment that best fits our needs, then get out hunting and enjoy life.
So go out and have fun, which is really why we enjoy this great sport. If you have any questions, you're welcome to contact me directly via e-mail.
Monte
[email protected]
I like 'simple' so let me keep the questions that way. Do you search the same locations where I'll be going come sun-up? How about the last half-dozen posters on this thread, are we all going to hunt the same sites today or this weekend? Are we all looking for the same desired finds, or do we have different sites and goals when we head out?
Let's take that same half-dozen people. Are we all using the same metal detector model? I doubt it. The same size and type search coil? Most likely not. Are the settings we use all the same? How about on the count of three we all swap detectors, then before we go detecting, we have someone else in the group, other than that detector owner, adjust all the settings for us to use. Do you think we would enjoy that hunt? Not likely.
We could use the time spend to try and learn some goods and bads about that unfamiliar detector, but all the while we will likely feel we just aren't getting the level of performance as we would with our own detector of choice, favorite coil for certain applications, and setting that will bring us the level of performance we want.
Well, I am determined to use a detector that provides me the levels of performance I feel work best for me so that the end results might be pleasing to me. Your detector choice, coil choice and settings might not achieve that.
Then again, you might have a site or two to search this weekend and there's a strong likelihood that my detector and coil pick and settings would not be what you feel is the right set-up for you and you're site selections or to achieve a performance level you demand.
Okay, and it is quite easy. You detect, and you have certain locations or types of sites you like to work, and there might be various site challenges you know you want to be able to handle, therefore you select a detector and coil combination that might handle those challenges the best.
A lot of devoted 'silver shooters' went the way of the Minelab FBS series which have been good picks for hunting old grassy parks and providing good audio responses on mid-depth to deeper silver coins with very good visual TID on deeper silvers. Generally better than a lot of the completion over the past 15+ years.
I have owned a half dozen different Explorer series units and I know what they can do. But since I have owned and used a half-dozen of them, and worked them in a wide range of sites, I have also found that for me and the types of site challenges I encounter, they are not very good performers.
They are heavy and awkward balanced for me. They don't do nearly as well on lower-conductive targets such as the US nickel and a lot of gold jewelry. And most of all, they just do not handle the very densely littered sites I have enjoyed finding and hunting since '69 occasionally, and since '83 full-time.
Most of these are ghost towns, homesteads and other places that have a very dense amount of nails, often in abundance and closely spaced. There is other debris as well, some non-ferrous discards and some ferrous, to include annoying rusty tin.
Long ago I wanted, needed really, a detector and coil set-up to provide me the best in-the-field performance when in those dense iron nail environments. Naturally we can never know exactly what we might encounter. It might be a coin or trade token I'm hoping to find positioned over a nail by an inch or so, or it could be a nail above a desired target.
Maybe there is more than one desired object close to one or two nails? Most often the iron nails are in greater abundance. There are more of them and they could be closer to the keeper or a little farther away, maybe a little shallower or perhaps a bit deeper.
The thing we don't usually know is what we might encounter with the next sweep of the coil ... but one thing we also know is that we want to be as best prepared for the challenges we face it order to have the best chance of having a successful detecting jaunt.
The best ability of matching a coil, a detector and settings so that the odds might be in my favor. It's that simple. I want to have the combination that can provide me a digable response on a good target in association with a few undesired nails.
Essentially, yes. I need to be able to distinguish there is a potentially good target in amongst the iron debris.
The more challenging the trash, meaning more and in a difficult arraignment, the more demand is put on the detector/coil combination, the adjustments, and how the detector was engineered to be able to deal with it.
Do you ever hunt in a densely iron contaminated site? Most folks don't hunt the types of places I do as regularly as I put time in and don't really understand or haven't experienced such bad ferrous environments.
No, not necessarily to 'tune' it like we do by adjusting the Ground Balance to help tune to the ground mineral environment.
It is, however, adjusting or tuning the detector so that it doesn't have too much Discrimination or rejection of the undesired debris. Maybe selecting/adjusting for the particular search mode we prefer, such as 2-Tone, 3-Tone or some other multi-tone option.
So, in those respects it is 'tuning' the settings desired, and also matching up the best search coil size and type for that particular detector model.
Yes, a very simple 'baseline' to use. Take a selection of makes and models, get an assortment of different search coils to try on them, then put them all to the test and conclude which Pass and which Fail. Pretty simple.
Naturally we have to have a 'baseline' of what we expect to occur to determine what a breakpoint is between passing and failing. In order to be able to make that determination we have to have a reasonably valid 'test' that can be used over time so that all 'testing' is fair.
I used to use a few set-ups that closely matched some of the in-the-field encounters I have had over decades of serious hunting, and then one day, as I described in a previous post, I came upon an Indian Head cent in a ghost town that was surrounded by four rusty iron nails.
That was a natural, as-encountered, challenging scenario so I made an exact replica of it to make my initial Nail Board Performance Test, and through the years it was used to help others check out their detector coil set-up, evaluate many detectors I was interested in, compare various prototype detectors from different manufacturers, and has become a standard for me.
It's become a standard for quite a few others as well as they have worn out many urban Coin Hunting places and have moved on to learn more about Relic Hunting older sites. They also find that quite often nails, and other small iron debris, is now their main challenge rather than pull tabs, foil, screw caps and other non-ferrous junk.
My Pass/Fail requirement on the NBPT is that a detector/coil has to get a minimum of '6' out of the possible '8' hits to Pass. Less than 6-out-of-8 and it is not a combination that I will use for serious Relic Hunting in dense ferrous debris sites. It might be fine for traditional Coin Hunting, but not for my Relic Hunting needs.
Now, while 6-of-8 is a 'passing' score, it's kind of like getting a 'C' grade for me and I prefer 'B' or 'A' performance, therefore all models in my Regular-Use Detector Team are in the 7 and 8 out-of 8 category.
Will my detectors perform well and to your standards for the types of places you prefer to hunt? I'm not sure unless I go where you go and put them to the 'test' of performance that you expect to have. The same goes for anyone else.
But, will your detectors perform well and up to my standards if you join me in my adventures to the types of places I like to hunt? I don't know, nor will you, unless you check them out on a NB and maybe come and join me on one of the many Outings and detecting jaunts I am involved in.
The more important thing is that we all have an open mind and are willing to learn from others and from our own experiences afield. Make sure we have equipment that best fits our needs, then get out hunting and enjoy life.
So go out and have fun, which is really why we enjoy this great sport. If you have any questions, you're welcome to contact me directly via e-mail.
Monte
[email protected]
seeing Monte school some of u haters ha ha ha:
