Pinch1Off
New Member
If you get fooled and see that you need to keep digging further than you thought, do you usually keep going? I used to but now I usually stop before finding the item, how about you?
How deep is too deep for you?
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GKL
Forum Supporter
For me it depends on various factors on each individual dig.
If it was a pretty solid signal or an "iffy" signal.
If it is an "iffy" signal then it depends on if the ground is easy to dig or if it is hard clay or mixed with gravel.
After first digging a normal depth and not getting any beep from my pinpointer, before filling it back in I'll rescan it with my detector to check if it might be a little off to the side as occasionally when pinpointing with my detector I won't have the hole accurately centered and might have to dig a chunk off of one side of the hole.
Of course all the above is with the understanding I had already (before digging) rescanned the area with the coil raised to make sure it would not likely be large trash like a crushed can.
(I have had deep digs where after digging the signal was gone but no find)
If it was a pretty solid signal or an "iffy" signal.
If it is an "iffy" signal then it depends on if the ground is easy to dig or if it is hard clay or mixed with gravel.
After first digging a normal depth and not getting any beep from my pinpointer, before filling it back in I'll rescan it with my detector to check if it might be a little off to the side as occasionally when pinpointing with my detector I won't have the hole accurately centered and might have to dig a chunk off of one side of the hole.
Of course all the above is with the understanding I had already (before digging) rescanned the area with the coil raised to make sure it would not likely be large trash like a crushed can.
(I have had deep digs where after digging the signal was gone but no find)
TNTGross
Elite Member
I use a Kobalt drain spade shovel and on a "deep" signal, I will go a foot or so deep. If the item is deeper than that, I tend to let it go. If it's over a foot, I know that it is a large item and I do not want to do all the extra digging to get to it, or to get it out. I have on a few occasions when it is a signal that may be that deep and be worth it. Like a 26-28 or 39-40 on the Nox. But not an 18 or 21. Odds are good it will just be a big piece of junk.
Not me in pic. Lowes photo
Not me in pic. Lowes photo
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GKL
Forum Supporter
.....good point, I agree some TIDs show it might be a target worth the extra effort !
Pinch1Off
New Member
If you get a signal on the detector that says it's deep, but when i use my garrett pinpointer it won't beep until I dig a few inches then when I put the pointer in the hole it will beep, does that mean it's big and likely deeper? That happened to me a few times today. I'm a newbie.
GKL
Forum Supporter
A handheld pinpointer has a limited range so if it beeps the target should be fairly close.
Also realize that a Garrett pinpointer can sense objects off to the side also, so there is a possibility the object might be in the sidewall and not deeper in the bottom. So scan around the sidewall also and not just at the bottom.
Also, make sure you ground balance your pinpointer at each new hole by touching it on the dirt while turning it on.
(I knew about ground balancing my detector, but just recently realized I needed to ground balance my pinpointer also to insure more accurate operation, especially in highly mineralized soil)
I recently had a dig where the pinpointer would beep at the loose dirt I had spread out on a cloth but I couldn't find anything at first, turned out it was a very thin strand of wire that was very hard to see, amazing what a detector can sense !
I use a Fisher F2, which isn't the deepest of machines. I tend to focus on coins, so if my F2 goes beep, the coin is usually less than 6 inches deep, which I can access with a "one scoop deep plug" of my Lesche Sampson shovel.
Sometimes, the target will be deeper than that, with my Garrett Carrot going off like mad at the bottom of the hole, but even after digging another half inch or so, the target is nowhere to be seen. By then, I realize it's probably a target that's far bigger than a coin and probably less valuable, too, i.e. trash.
If I'm feeling lucky and I have the time, I'll just continue digging and stop at around 10 inches or so, although this depends on where I am. If I'm in my own yard, my patience determines how much deeper I go. If I'm on someone else's property, the ability to "leave no trace" determines how deep I'll go.
Sometimes, the target will be deeper than that, with my Garrett Carrot going off like mad at the bottom of the hole, but even after digging another half inch or so, the target is nowhere to be seen. By then, I realize it's probably a target that's far bigger than a coin and probably less valuable, too, i.e. trash.
If I'm feeling lucky and I have the time, I'll just continue digging and stop at around 10 inches or so, although this depends on where I am. If I'm in my own yard, my patience determines how much deeper I go. If I'm on someone else's property, the ability to "leave no trace" determines how deep I'll go.
IDXMonster
Elite Member
Understanding the limitations of your setup in the first place will keep you from chasing stuff that maybe you shouldn’t. For the vast majority of people who are COIN hunters, we know that we are usually limited to 10-12” on a dime in “normal turf”. Larger coins such as the one Smooth23 had can be had a bit deeper with a big coil. CENTERING the initial target is paramount, this will allow the depth indication to be as accurate as possible in the first place, most times. For instance...if I have a depth indication of 5” and I dig a 6” hole, put my pin pointer in and can’t get any response....I have a problem. If I have the same depth indication and lift my coil while still sweeping to see when the signal goes away and I can lift it 6” off the ground with a good response....I have a problem. It simply takes many hours of hunting for all of this to come into view for yourself, and then you can make a decision to walk away or not. TINY items will fool you sometimes, coins next to garbage or tilted will fool you, but many of these also fooled other people, hence the reason they’re still there. Today, we as hunters have to take more chances to retrieve anything, the simple textbook deep signals are very few and far between most places.
~Alan~
Forum Supporter
I haven't gone out metal detecting for a few years now, but when I did
virtually all of it was on ploughed fields. If it was a really sharp signal I might
have gone down about 9 or 10 inches, but any deeper than that and it was
probably a big lump of iron. The majority of my finds were in the top 3 inches.
virtually all of it was on ploughed fields. If it was a really sharp signal I might
have gone down about 9 or 10 inches, but any deeper than that and it was
probably a big lump of iron. The majority of my finds were in the top 3 inches.
Pinch1Off
New Member
Thank you all for your responses they are valuable to me. I hadn't thought to ground balance the pinpointer. Also I don't know the depth the pinpointer is indicating, if it goes to a loud constant signal does that always mean you are right on it? Like almost touching it? If so I'd definitely keep digging.
Skwerly
Elite Member
Yes!
GKL
Forum Supporter
There are variables and while it could very well be the target is very close, it "might" be from not having the pinpointer ground balanced.
I dug one hole in my own yard (before I knew I needed to ground balance my pinpointer) where even touching the loose dirt I dug out would set it off, after finding out I should have ground balanced my pinponter I went back and re-dug that hole another day and with a ground balanced pinpointer that no longer happened when touching the loose dirt, so the soil in that area must be highly mineralized.
Also, when first getting a signal with you detector (before digging at all) make sure to lift the coil several inches off the ground and rescan the same spot, if you still get a signal showing a deep target with the coil raised, it likely is a large piece of trash like a crushed aluminum can.
Also, like I mentioned before, the target might be in the side of the hole as the Garrett pinpointer will sense targets to the side and not just below the tip of the pinpointer. I had a hole where I first thought the target was deeper at the bottom, but then realized the pinpointer was sensing the target in the side of the hole as I was putting it down towards the bottom, once I started scanning the sides of the hole with the pinpointer I located the target in the side of the hole.
Edit to add: make sure you have a fresh battery in your pinpointer as I have heard a weak battery can cause the pinpointer to act goofy.
Pinch1Off
New Member
Great points thank you and just yesterday I realized I wouldn't know if my pinpointer battery was weak until it was dead, I believe I will change that battery now. Ground balancing the pinpointer may be very helpful for me as well as realizing the pointer doesn't only work on the tip...this means that if you put your pinpointer down say a 7" hole and get a solid tone, that doesn't tell you the target is right 'below' the tip, the solid tone could be from the 'side' of the pointer? And would you verify the location by scanning the side of the hole with the tip to be sure? Just im so new and am having an issue with pinpointer loud solid tone but nothing directly found digging under the pointer tip.
Pinch1Off
New Member
Do you ground balance the pinpointer in the deepest part of your hole even if that's where a strong signal is? Do you know if I ground balance my detector as well by turning it on while pressed to the ground? I just got a Vanquish 540 last week. Still learning because my first outing yesterday (back yard) I would hear tones but many times the 540 would not indicate any ID number at all, just blank. And thank you for your service GKL. My brother is a Navy vet as well.
GKL
Forum Supporter
With deeper holes I think I just got in the habit of scanning the sides of the hole with the tip of the pinpointer before digging any deeper at the bottom, if you find it's in the side of the hole you are glad you found out before digging deeper
I have a pack of 4 rechargeable 9volt batteries that I take with me and put in a freshly charged battery at the beginning of each hunt, and recharge that after after getting home so I always have 4 charged batteries available.
At the link below is what I got and it has been working well for me -
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084X8X45X/
Just like your detector, you want to ground balance where there is no target within range, so I ground balance my pinpointer on the dirt at the surface.
I'm not familiar with the Vanquish 540 so I don't know what ground balance function it may or may not have, perhaps a search on the forum might locate that info for you, (or maybe someone with a Vanquish 540 will see this and chime in with an answer to that) on my Equinox 800 it actually has a ground balance setting where you move the coil up and down over a spot without a target.
Thanks to your brother for his service as well !
Pinch1Off
New Member
Thank you so much Gary for all of your very helpful tips I really needed, and appreciated it! I think the 540 said automatic balancing but I'll take a better look...wish it had come with an actual physical guide, I will look online
GKL
Forum Supporter
Thank you so much Gary for all of your very helpful tips I really needed, and appreciated it! I think the 540 said automatic balancing but I'll take a better look...wish it had come with an actual physical guide, I will look online
No problem, compared to many of the members on this forum I am still a relative noob myself and still learning more and more
I did a search and here's a link to the manual that covers the 540 -
https://www.minelab.com/__files/f/414493/4901-0305-3%20Inst.%20Manual,%20VANQUISH%20440%20540%20EN_WEB.pdf
Save the link for future reference, and maybe print out a few of the individual pages you might want to refer to more often.
Martin_V3i
Elite Member
I really never called it "ground balancing" a handheld pinpointer. I call it de-tuning. If I turn the pointer on and it chatters immediately, I will quickly press the on/off button once to make it "detune." You need a decent pinpointer, with proximity tones. You can indeed GB a cheap pinpointer but you are already hobbling yourself by using a flimsy pointer, just to save investment money.
Take time and research de-tuning pinpointers, and it will really help you. Concerning the question about GBing in the deepest part of a dug hole? Absolutely not! Detuning though works inside of a dug hole, at all depths of the hole.
Take time and research de-tuning pinpointers, and it will really help you. Concerning the question about GBing in the deepest part of a dug hole? Absolutely not! Detuning though works inside of a dug hole, at all depths of the hole.
Another thing I never really knew til pretty recently, is that the Garrett AT pinpointer can also be detuned as you go to help locate the signal.
As an example, if you have a 6 inch deep and 6 inch wide hole and the pinpointer is going nuts everywhere in that hole (which will happen if you have it on the max setting), you can put that pinpointer in and do a quick press on the power button while it is getting a signal and it will detune it to make it less sensitive on the fly. If it is just sounding off slightly, when you detune it will stop entirely until you get closer to the target. You can do that to get yourself pointed in the right direction.
As an example, if you have a 6 inch deep and 6 inch wide hole and the pinpointer is going nuts everywhere in that hole (which will happen if you have it on the max setting), you can put that pinpointer in and do a quick press on the power button while it is getting a signal and it will detune it to make it less sensitive on the fly. If it is just sounding off slightly, when you detune it will stop entirely until you get closer to the target. You can do that to get yourself pointed in the right direction.
