at pro ghost signals?
- Thread starter erik7181
- Start date
matthias
Elite Member
Hey there. Are you possibly bumping the coil or sounding off on something huge underneath you (maybe a pipe?). Does your detector act up when dirt hunting? Do you possibly have sand caught between your coil and coil cover? Did you Ground Balance? To be continued... GL and HH. Matt
Dflan83
Elite Member
go over the target a couple times. Make sure the signal is repeatable and then change angles approximately 90 degrees from where you last checked the target. Make sure target is repeatable.
Make sure your ground balanced. If your in wet sand you must turn the sensitivity down and ground balance to about 15
Make sure your ground balanced. If your in wet sand you must turn the sensitivity down and ground balance to about 15
Jay_781
Elite Member
Were you hunting in wet sand??
TheCoilist
Elite Member
I run into that quite often on the beaches here in Texas. Highly mineralized sands sometimes give me a ghost signal from hell.
Generally, I can circle the 'target' and get a repeatable signal. When I start digging say after a few scoops and about 10" down, the signal is still there and suggesting another 6" down.
What I have begun keeping track of is that at that point, I start getting to some black sands which is highly mineralized. These pockets drive me crazy and I am well aware that at that depth there is very little chance that it is a small target if anything at all. I just fill the hole and move on.
Generally, I can circle the 'target' and get a repeatable signal. When I start digging say after a few scoops and about 10" down, the signal is still there and suggesting another 6" down.
What I have begun keeping track of is that at that point, I start getting to some black sands which is highly mineralized. These pockets drive me crazy and I am well aware that at that depth there is very little chance that it is a small target if anything at all. I just fill the hole and move on.
Firstring
Senior Member
You are saying beach...wet salt sand or dry sand? Using a coil cover? What do you know about hot rocks or coke from beach fires of back in day?
Jackalope
Junior Member
Huge chunk of rusted iron at several feet down will do that. Could be a spike from an old pier or flat sheet of metal (sometimes even soda cans act like coins at 8" when they are at two feet or more deep. It is'nt a coin sized object (or ring) as you've dug past the suggested depth for that.
Iron, by the way, produces a much stronger secondary field than non-ferrous could ever make with it's puny eddy currents. Iron does this by aligning its Fe domains to the coil magnetic field - when the coil field collapses (it's AC current which reverses) the iron domains return to their pre-scrambled orientation. The action of the domain causes a strong secondary field that enhances any eddies generated in the iron skin surface. The net effect is a deep iron target that mimics a non-ferrous target at depth. Put the spike nearer the surface and the opposite polarity of the iron signal will show clearly as ferrous in most detectors with decent disc.
Jackalope
Iron, by the way, produces a much stronger secondary field than non-ferrous could ever make with it's puny eddy currents. Iron does this by aligning its Fe domains to the coil magnetic field - when the coil field collapses (it's AC current which reverses) the iron domains return to their pre-scrambled orientation. The action of the domain causes a strong secondary field that enhances any eddies generated in the iron skin surface. The net effect is a deep iron target that mimics a non-ferrous target at depth. Put the spike nearer the surface and the opposite polarity of the iron signal will show clearly as ferrous in most detectors with decent disc.
Jackalope
gulfcoaster
Junior Member
When that happens to me, I look for red-rust sand while I'm digging the target. Often at the beaches here, a ghost signal like that is a nail or something that has almost completely rusted away. Or, it might be an aluminum can 2 feet deep, as someone else mentioned.
airscapes
Elite Member
In the dirt, a rusty steel bottle cap will sound like a silver quarter.. but for a bouncy VID.. Common problem.. BIG targets with the halo effect in dirt will show the same depth as you keep going down.. probably the same in the sand..
This article is very helpful to understand this and other target issues.
http://metaldetectingworld.com/metal_detector_search_coils.shtml
This article is very helpful to understand this and other target issues.
http://metaldetectingworld.com/metal_detector_search_coils.shtml
Dsm_mechva
Forum Supporter
Maybe ground balance or sensitivity settings
