REAL_RAT_FINK
Forum Supporter
Not sure which vanquish you have, but if the 540 (possibly 440) hold the all metal button and you can turn on the iron bias. Then disc out 0-10 and 35-40.. you won't be able to disc out all iron unfortunately but this should help.
Monte
"In Memory of"
There are different classes or types of "iron" and some can be more of a challenge. You can have Iron Nails or similar 'Wire Iron' like cut fencing. Maybe you encounter other 'Iron' or Ferrous debris like pieces Cast Iron stove parts, an Axe Head, Bolts or Nuts, etc. And any of these items can produce a different effect on an EMF based on their size, shape and orientation to the search coil, such as a bent Nail.Rad1sh: said:
Then you have man-made objects that can really irk a detector user, such as crow-type Bottle Caps, Washers, or Rusty Tin (which we call 'tin' but it really isn't). ALL detectors can have difficulty dealing with various pieces of Iron debris, and it can be handled using Discrimination, or with some using an Iron Bias control if a detector has that function.
In my current ten Detector Outfit I have two Vanquish 540's, one that keeps a 5X8 DD mounted full-time, and the other that wears the 9X12 DD. Iron junk can have a slightly different effect on a detector based upon the size and type of the search coils, also, and by how close they are to the coil's EMF.
Don't get fooled by the different "Multi-Frequency" claims or suckered into thinking they are infallible, or that they are "the only way to go." I appreciate my V-540's for what they can do or might do in various hunting environments, but I am also aware of their limitations.
I've learned, and continue to learn, how they and my other makes and models deal with typical Iron debris because I mainly Relic Hunt old sites that have an abundance of very densely located Ferrous -metal challenges to deal with.
I have been hitting three different ghost towns this past 7-10 days and comparing the performance of different detectors and coils in the tough conditions, and mainly using the 540 w/5X8 DD to better work in and around the iron trash. On Saturday, for fun and education, I used an Equinox 800 w/6" DD coil and settings that came close to duplicating the V-540 in the 5-Tone Jewelry mode.
On the Equinox 800 I had it set for 15 kHz and made changes to 10 kHz, 20 kHz and Multi-IQ on different targets I located, to include Iron Nails and various sizes and shapes of Rusty Tin. Some was visible n the surface, some just out of sight at ½" or slightly deeper, and some targets were in the 2" to 4"+ range.
I worked a worn narrow 'path' that wound through the dense sagebrush and around a foundation hole for 15 minutes. An easy route to follow and double-check using a different detector and coil. I swapped the EQ-800 w/6" DD for the V-540 w/5X8 DD and re-hunted that same pathway.
The V-540 handled the Rusty Tin much better in the default High Iron Bias, and I also found a few small copper rivets, a spent lead bullet, and a sterling suspender buckle. The EQ-800 was worked over those spots but didn't provide any sort of digable audio response, or nothing of interest in the non-ferrous range.
I only reject -9 thru -6 on the Vanquish (the first 2 Disc. segments), and using the default High Iron Bias setting, most of the problem Rusty Tin produces a lower audio tone and the numeric VDI read-out is generally -4, -3, -2 and -1, whereas, if I select Low Iron Bias, those same pieces of Tin shards give the next highest audio Tone and report a VDI in the 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 range. In problem areas like that, I generally leave the setting at the default High Iron Bias.
YES, I do:Rad1sh: said:
Tip #1.. Do NOT use the All Metal Accept Horseshoe button.
Tip #2.. There is no Tip #2.
This was the 'glitch' I anticipated and confirmed within 10-15 minutes after I assembled my first V-540. If you locate over most black asphalt or some other more 'mineralized' medium, set the Volume and Sensitivity to maximum, then select each Disc. mode with their factory default Discrimination. Hold the search coil about 6" above the ground and bob the search coil to about ½'-1" and back up to 6". In the Coin, Relic and Jewelry modes you won't hear any response. Not on the down-stroke or the up-lift of the coil from the ground.
Then, activate the Horseshoe button in each of those modes and listen. You're likely going to hear an audible 'Beep' on the down-stroke of the coil as it approaches the ground in the Coin mode and Jewelry mode. This is an indication of a slightly Positive Ground Balance.
When the Horseshoe button is activated in the Relic mode, you will hear an audible 'Beep' on the up-lift of the coil when pulling it away from the ground, and this is a suggestion you have a Negative Ground Balance.
The EQ-800 can do this as well if the GB setting is at the default '0' or off a little, but it provides an Automated or Manual GB control and with a proper setting, there is no 'glitchy' false report. The Vanquish doesn't provide a Ground Balance function, and I sent my first V-540 to the Minelab USA service center for any correction.
I'm sure it would have to be done in software, but my Vanquish 540 was finally returned with a sample rock I sent to demonstrate that behavior. I sent it with a 5-page hand written report of the bad behavior. and was told they forwarded that written report to Minelab in Australia. I did not have any paperwork of any kind in the box with my returned detector. I asked for a report from the service tech, and yet there was nothing. Not even a form letter from Minelab indicting it had been in for service. That was not impressive.
My 2nd V-540 also has the exact same glitchy behavior, but with both units I found the best way to handle that. I selected the default mode I preferred to base my Discriminate Custom mode with, and as mentioned earlier, I reject both of the first 2 Disc. segments. This lets me hear nails and most Iron trash and works well enough for me w/o the Horseshoe button being used. I only use it to switch in and out of Low Iron Bias.
Monte
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diggindaboot
Elite Member
Monte, your post is why one can never say, X is the best detector.
diggindaboot
Elite Member
I don't have a clue about the Vanquish because I don't own one. However if it's like a Nox regarding vdi numbers. If you disc out 0-10 you will lose the opportunity for most gold jewelry. Not all but most.
I'm not sure which thread I read this but I have the impression that the V 540 can eliminate those twist off bottle caps ( The caps on long neck beer bottles, not the aluminum screw on and off tops on quart size bottles) (notice I have to refer to "beer bottles"
) Using the iron bias features.
Those twist offs have nearly ruined a hunt as the 705 seemed to love the $#&% things. They ring just like a US quarter or silver. Sometimes I can wiggle and pull the coil and they would give a scrachy sound, but just a little. Problem is deep oxidized reddish colored quarters sometimes do this too. So can a Vanquish eliminate these pesky screw caps with iron bias?
) Using the iron bias features. Those twist offs have nearly ruined a hunt as the 705 seemed to love the $#&% things. They ring just like a US quarter or silver. Sometimes I can wiggle and pull the coil and they would give a scrachy sound, but just a little. Problem is deep oxidized reddish colored quarters sometimes do this too. So can a Vanquish eliminate these pesky screw caps with iron bias?
I was looking for an answer to this as well and found it in the manual under the "Using all metal to check a target" section. With the low iron segments discriminated out, the mixed signal only comes in with the good tones/id's. If you use the all metal mode and sweep it again, you'll hear the iron tone as well, so you can guess that it's a nail or whatever. I'll try this today so we aren't digging foot deep holes for a nail. Our target id numbers were pretty consistently 21 on nails, larger iron tools were in the low/mid teens, and twisted wire (fencing maybe?) were in the mid 20s. With the all metal on, they would likely have given us stronger iron tones and we could have passed on them, but digging them was still good learning for a first time out. My 10 year old was happy finding a bunch of iron stuff anyway. We found a couple of tools really deep.
Rad1sh
Full Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2019
- Messages
- 138
Update on my vanquish 440 and iron
I have figured out how to use the horseshoe and am currently working on picking good targets out of iron and trash. This is going rather well and I am less frustrated. I think the issue was I did not quite understand the proper use of the iron disc and was/am used to turning the iron audio down so it’s background grunts.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have figured out how to use the horseshoe and am currently working on picking good targets out of iron and trash. This is going rather well and I am less frustrated. I think the issue was I did not quite understand the proper use of the iron disc and was/am used to turning the iron audio down so it’s background grunts.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
