Minelab settings

Jeff cant help with the settings but how do you like your EXPII? thinking of getting one here in the very near future.
 
Jeff that kind of depends on where you are hunting. I mess with settings according to ground/trash conditions. Cladius. Where you at in Mass? I'm in Webster.
 
I love it. but I am new to the sport. I got a Bounty hunter for father's day 2005, found several hundred coins. But, I was stuck at 1900.... nothing older- nothing deeper. So I picked it up and WOW. Quite a learning curve but so far well worth it.
 
Jeff,
The settings would be for your particular area and type of hunting. Off the top of my head here goes.
Iron Mask -16
Sensitivity between 25 and 29 - Manual (use auto sometimes if highly mineralized.)
Threshold 1 (barely audible)
Ferrous
Digital screen
Gain 6 sometimes 7
Volume - Max
Fast -off ( I only use Fast - on in very high trash)
Deep - on
Sounds - Normal or Audio 1 ( I switch between them)
Discriminate out the nails, and foil lump. Accept all other icons. This will give you the ability to find coins & gold jewelry as well as your share of pulltabs.


I use this for most areas near me ( parks, historic farms, etc.)
When at the beach, crank up the sensitivity as high as possible and maintain stability. Don't forget to do a ground balance any time you change anything while in the field, or change locations. I sometimes do it every 30 minutes.
 
hey thats great thanks for the info. coins are coins but i know what you mean , gotta have that depth sometimes to get the sweet stuff im looking to break into the 1700's this year. but good luck on your journey
 
Digital screen?
Hmmmm, How do you pick the target? I do realize 00 24 is good. I am not sure if I can identify targets like that... but, tomorrow I will find out.
Thanks
I will try it out.
I have never gone off auto Sensitivity but, have it on max...
Will do thanks again for the tips!
Jeff
 
Jeff,
I use the digital screen as I am used to the numbers that point out the type of coin or metal. Just my preference. There are charts to be had on the web that list the digital readouts of many of the old and current coinage. These charts are available in both ferrous and conductive formats. For beginning, just remember that the ferrous number should be low - 00 to 12, and the conductive high 20 - 32
 
I agree with WThesing about ground balancing on a regular basis. I do it any time the machine starts acting different than it has been or gets noisy. I also rely more on the tone than the readout. cladius.
 
Ditto to the tones Cladius!!! I finally got out yesterday for about 2 hours. This was the 1st time since the day after Thanksgiving. It was either work, family and Holiday stuff, or the weather was bad when I did have the time. I found myself learning the tones all over again for the 1st hour.
 
The weather is of little concern to me. I spent a year in Iraq and actually find trekking around in the snow refreshing. I am still hitting goodies in 5-6 inches of snow. I will try those settings today and keep at it. Thanks!
I will let you all know how I make out.

Jeff
 
Yeah I guess the snow would be refreshing vs. inhaling sand, and being slowly baked!!!! Go to www.bdomineau.com for those charts that I mentioned. There are others that have been posted at different boards that are a little simpler and can be carried in the field.

HH!!
Bill
 
Went out this morning for a few swings 1 hour or so.
I certainly can tell a difference. I am overwhelmed over all the tones I am getting now but, I will stick with it and dig more. Should I change my iron mask from ?Iron Mask -16 ?to -11 or so in trashy areas or keep with the -16? I am hunting a 1600s farm and tavern site with scrap metal (iron, bolts?junk) all over the place.
Thanks for the tips
 
Jeff,
I do not hunt in iron mask, although some do. I use iron mask when encountering "iffy" signals. By switching to iron mask you will hear "clearer" tones, which then may help you decide whether the target is worth digging. By staying in IM -16 you are in an "all metal" mode with no descrim and able to hear all tones. Sorry about the delay in reply, I was out of town for a couple of days.

Bill
 
Bill I am using the settings you mentioned and working between ironmask and smart screen. I am getting used to the tones now. Thanks for the help. The sensitivity setting is fine around 26 mannual but I adjust up-down when it gets chattery.
Thanks for the pointers!
Jeff
 
I've only had my Exp II since Christmas so I'm still pretty new at it. I tried all the suggested setups including IM -16 - got nowhere. I couldn't relate to the cursor position all that well and digging every target (suggested by a lot of folks) where I hunt would be great if I was a scap metal dealer. I found the digital readout tables and that I could relate to. So I built a custom program that has the left side of the screen blacked out 2 pixels deep and from top to bottom. This is the same as IM -14. I also discriminated out nails. I use this program and run in digital. I relate to numbers pretty well (my programmer background?). I am now learning to hunt by sound and when I think I hear a good target I check the digital readout. It's really helped me on finding nickels because if I get a 10 05 and it bounces to 11 05 it's a nickel in my ground. Yes, I still dig a LOT of tabs and junk but not as much as I did at the start. The other day I found a table that is very good for jewelry. I printed out on a small piece of paper and have it taped to the top of the screen housing. This has helped me to recover more jewelry - teaches me the sounds too. I know I'm getting better because when I started 12-15 good recovered targets was a good day for me. My last trip out I recovered 100 coins (all modern) and 3 charms in 5 hours. Anyway, this setup works for me.
 
Don't forget to do a ground balance any time you change anything while in the field, or change locations. I sometimes do it every 30 minutes.[/quote]

Hey T, I just got my EXP II and don't see anywhere that you adjust ground balance manually. The manual makes it sound like it has automatic digital filtering. What gives? :(
 
Ground balancing is an automated function that is accomplished by pressing the auto ground balance button. While the machine is searching for a clear channel, the coil must be on the ground and motionless. Not real hard, what it does is tweak for optimum performance based on soil conditions. Soil conditions can change in very short distance. If you MANUALLY change any of your settings, you should also follow up with a ground balance to maintain the optimum.
 
WT...

The ExpII is an auto ground balancing machine... isn't the noise cancel a function of eliminating interfering EMI? I've read all the posts on it and I'm still confused :D However, I know what works. I noise cancel often and especially after adjusting my sensitivity.
 
Joe G, You are absolutely right!

My thinking has been rather screwed up the past few days. I came down with what appeared to be a nasty but routine virus on Monday. By Tuesday, it developed into a fever over 104*. By Wednesday I was seeing what appeared to be significant swelling and bruising all over. I was unable to stand without excruciating pain, and could hardly walk. This "virus" also included a severe vascular infection. I was put on massive antibiotics on Thurs. with the possibility of hospitalization by Friday AM. The Anti's are doing their job, and I'm now on the mend. With all of the pills I was poppin, and the effect of the "virus" , my thoughts are still being "collected". My wife says I was babbaling and making no sense Tuesday night. I remember knowing what to say, but not how to say it. Thank God that it's becomming a memory now!!!!

This is one NASTY mother that not only knocks you down, but makes you feel like you were worked over by a gang with baseball bats. The docs have not seen this till now.

Better days and warm weather are comming!!!!! :D
 
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