Maximum clarity over depth?

HistoryStudent · Mar 17, 2017

I've seen many discussions about achieving maximum depth from various machines, in my case the AT Pro and Teknetics T2, but for me and at the places I hunt depth isn't the problem. Accurate target ID's are the problem.

Both the AT Pro and T2 (and others I assume) can be tricked by things like big iron, bent nails, pull tabs and bent nails and more bent nails. Discrimination only partially works. I can set my AT Pro to ignore everything under 39 and I still get hightone chirps and chatter from bent rusty nails. Bigger nails will sometimes even give repeatable and clear high tones. With the AT Pro, I can know that it's iron. The machine is telling me it's iron yet it still gives a high tone -as if it's ignoring it's own Iron Audio sound. Weird.

I understand that with practice a person can learn to ignore those chirps and chatters and broken signals but is there a way to get better target id clarity at the expense of some depth? Or, is there a way to set an AT Pro or T2 to truly ignore ALL iron.

I've gotten to be pretty good at cherry picking items mixed into nail beds but it's mentally very tiring. I've tried adjusting sensitivity and discrimination and they work to a degree but I guess I'm wondering if there are any tricks that others use to make their machines stop IDing bad targets as good targets?

5 mile · Mar 17, 2017

Iron is pesky, It fools us all from time to time, if in doubt..dig.

We all hate being fooled and nuisance holes we dig.

Sometimes you might find something good thats iron, or it could be a good target in the vicinity of iron.

Florida Tabdigger · Mar 17, 2017

Rusty iron and wet coal...you can usually tell by the inconsistent readings from different sweep angles, but you gotta dig-em to see if something good is there too.

HistoryStudent · Mar 17, 2017

The only reason I dig sketchy signals, especially iron is to see if it's masking something else. Masking isn't limited to iron either. There have been many times when I've dug a single brass signal and found three more when I rechecked the hole. I assume masking can work with any type of metal.

Is there a detector made that can truly ignore iron because it's iron, irregardless of the shape or size?

brianw4brian · Mar 17, 2017

5 mile said:
Iron is pesky, It fools us all from time to time, if in doubt..dig.

We all hate being fooled and nuisance holes we dig.

Sometimes you might find something good thats iron, or it could be a good target in the vicinity of iron.

yep. nokta impact is getting some testing done. its been tested in certai areas. anyhow it works great but only in certain landlocked areas. cant wait to see how it works in gold field or really bad iron areas on the beaches. anyhow time will tell as technology advances.

airscapes · Mar 17, 2017

HistoryStudent said:
I've seen many discussions about achieving maximum depth from various machines, in my case the AT Pro and Teknetics T2, but for me and at the places I hunt depth isn't the problem. Accurate target ID's are the problem.

Both the AT Pro and T2 (and others I assume) can be tricked by things like big iron, bent nails, pull tabs and bent nails and more bent nails. Discrimination only partially works. I can set my AT Pro to ignore everything under 39 and I still get hightone chirps and chatter from bent rusty nails. Bigger nails will sometimes even give repeatable and clear high tones. With the AT Pro, I can know that it's iron. The machine is telling me it's iron yet it still gives a high tone -as if it's ignoring it's own Iron Audio sound. Weird.

I understand that with practice a person can learn to ignore those chirps and chatters and broken signals but is there a way to get better target id clarity at the expense of some depth? Or, is there a way to set an AT Pro or T2 to truly ignore ALL iron.

I've gotten to be pretty good at cherry picking items mixed into nail beds but it's mentally very tiring. I've tried adjusting sensitivity and discrimination and they work to a degree but I guess I'm wondering if there are any tricks that others use to make their machines stop IDing bad targets as good targets?

This where a multi tone (tone for every VDI is nice) You discriminate with your ears.. I run my DFX wide open from -88 to +95 and discriminate by ear .. I hear what I am listening for then check the screen..
If you are hunting in trashy areas, a smaller coil can help separate all the items. If you swing over 2 items that are close together the machine is going to combine the 2 metals as the are seen a the same time.. so if a pull tab and quarter are right next to each other the pull tab pulls down the quarter VDI and the quarter pulls up the pull tab and you get a broken sound or with a many tone machine a bit of both sounds.. so if you are not just cherry picking you dig it up and see.
Also I run my machine a lower sensitivity in trash, especially when I know there is nothing deep or I am not going to dig a 6" hole in the high school field.. In the words or farm field then I go looking for depth..
Hope that helps.. not apple to apples but if was simple there would be nothing to find as it would already been found!

IDXMonster · Mar 17, 2017

The problem seems to be,and its annoying,simply in the way machines of ANY kind find targets in the first place. They measure Conductivity. One WHOLE silver coin gone over with the sweet spot of the coil gives a reading of being "this Conductive". One EDGE of a bigger piece of iron gone over with just the outside of the coil COULD ALSO produce a reading of being "this Conductive",but for JUST a micro-second. You will NEVER get rid of ALL falsing on iron,unless you shut the machine off. The best thing to do,IMO,is firstly turn down your Gain so it doesn't enhance EVERY tiny teeny iron false. This will give your ear a chance to discern a "true coin hit" which is a bit longer with a smoother response. It literally takes hundreds of hours for some to develop that keen ear,and being able to tell iron falses from coin hits is the hardest thing to learn. Some machines false less than others,but they all will and do. This is where a small coil also helps a lot,not so many falses under the coil at a time.
If you're after deep non-Ferrous coin sized targets in a lot of iron,you have only one choice,and that's to dig it all. I try to stay far away from such places,while others cannot resist...

Chefjuan · Mar 18, 2017

I understand that with practice a person can learn to ignore those chirps and chatters and broken signals but is there a way to get better target id clarity at the expense of some depth? Or, is there a way to set an AT Pro or T2 to truly ignore ALL iron.

What I have come to understand is that with practice you DO NOT ignore those chatters. That is where the treasure lies!! You want to hear everything because like previously said, iron may be masking something and that is something and you might want to dig it. If it sounds good and is repeatable I will always dig it, even with iron tones. Deep iron often turns into brass or sometimes silver once the plug is opened. The most important thing that you need to know is that there is something under your coil. The. It's up to you to make the decision to retrieve it or not.

Cherry picking makes me happy. You might get all the easy signals but your leaving the smaller older stuff in the ground. Remember that next time your out digging clad quarters.

Good luck and happy hunting and listen to the forum, once you get serious about this hobby it's true nature starts to come out.

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Maximum clarity over depth?

HistoryStudent

Senior Member

5 mile

Florida Tabdigger

Elite Member

HistoryStudent

Senior Member

brianw4brian

Full Member

airscapes

Elite Member

IDXMonster

Elite Member

Chefjuan

Elite Member

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