Tesoro silver W/out a readout screen?

mlitty said:

Some work on volume. I don't have a screen or modulated volume, knowing my usual max depth, I just raise my coil until I lose the signal. That gets me within an inch or two.

From what I've learned, most detectors are calibrated to guess the depth based on a coin sized object. It's faster to have a screen read out, but not necessary.[/QUOTE When you raise the coil until you lose the signal, {for example, you're 5 inches off the ground at loss of signal}does that tell you the target is 5 inches deep at that point?

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mosrto said:

mlitty said:

Some work on volume. I don't have a screen or modulated volume, knowing my usual max depth, I just raise my coil until I lose the signal. That gets me within an inch or two.

From what I've learned, most detectors are calibrated to guess the depth based on a coin sized object. It's faster to have a screen read out, but not necessary.[/QUOTE When you raise the coil until you lose the signal, {for example, you're 5 inches off the ground at loss of signal}does that tell you the target is 5 inches deep at that point?

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I think it would depend upon how deep the machine goes. Say a machines' max depth is 7 inches. You raise the coil 5 inches high and the signal goes away. I would assume the target is 2 inches deep. (Unless it's a pop-can.) Kind of a cool technique. I don't use it, but maybe I should try it.

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mosrto said:

mlitty said:

Some work on volume. I don't have a screen or modulated volume, knowing my usual max depth, I just raise my coil until I lose the signal. That gets me within an inch or two.

From what I've learned, most detectors are calibrated to guess the depth based on a coin sized object. It's faster to have a screen read out, but not necessary.

Click to expand...

When you raise the coil until you lose the signal, {for example, you're 5 inches off the ground at loss of signal}does that tell you the target is 5 inches deep at that point?

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The fun of detector selection.

mosrto said:

I was looking at the Tesoro silver u max. How do you determine depth,type of find etc. without a screen I'm looking to buy my first detector. I also have the minelab Terra 30 in mind. Thanx .

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.. One thing to keep in mind with the two you mentioned (Tesoro Silver µMAX and Minelab X-Terra 30) is that they both rely on a fixed Ground Balance. The Silver µMAX can be tweaked internally, if you want to or know how to, but the X-Terra 30 is not adjustable. If the ground mineral environment is much above 'average' (whatever that is) it will not work well and can false annoyingly.

You're looking at models in a lower-end price range and if that's where your budget limits your shopping, then you have to take what you can get. There are several makes and models in a similar price range that can provide you with visual Target ID, such as White's Prizm series and Garrett's Ace 250.

As for the merits of visual Target ID, it can be useful, but it can't be trusted. It can give good info, but it can fool you. The good that can come from having TID is that in some applications, for some people, it can add a little bit of 'fun' by suggesting something exciting. It can help provide an idea of what to be looking for in the way of coins during a recovery. It can lend a hand in making a 'dig/no-dig' decision.

My XLT has visual Target ID. My modified IDX Pro has visual Target ID. My Bandido II µMAX doesn't. I like them all for what they are and I don't expect more from them, or any detector I have or use, that what they can do given the types of site environments I am hunting.

As an example, I went hunting with some friends during this past few weeks and we all made some good finds. They were using White's XLT, Classic ID, Classic 5-ID and Explorer II and I had my three units. Some of the finds we made include a 1906 Barber 10¢ at about 4" that didn't give a consistent, typical TID read-out on Chris's Explorer II that you would expect. No other targets nearby, it was just very dry ground. I watched as he recovered a silver '60 Roosevelt 10¢ a little while later from about 5"± that also gave a visual and audio indication that it was possibly something like a modern zinc cent or an older Indian Head cent.

At an old resort site Chris used his Classic 5-ID when he found another Barber 10¢, and that was only about 3" or so deep. They had removed a sidewalk and it was in the disturbed dirt along the side where the sidewalk used to be. The visual TID jumped back and forth and didn't lock on even though the 10¢ was so shallow, but upon recovery it was found to be co-located with a rusty old bottle cap.

I got an 1898 Barber 10¢ on the surface of the ground where they were doing some renovation and spread around some old dirt. It didn't however, respond as a silver 10¢, but more like a zinc-to-copper 1¢ would. The reason? Nearby trash, just under the coin a bit, that masked the signal somewhat.

At the same site I have recovered about 8-10 wheaties and only half of them 'read' like they should. The others caused a very jumpy TID and the VDI numbers averaged well below a coin and more closer to a pry-tab.

At a site where they tore down an old school I did get a 'proper' TID response from a Mercury 10¢, and the same with an 1892-o Barber 10¢ I got on Tuesday. The Merc. was laying flat in about 1" or leveled dirt with nothing anywhere near it to mask the signal. The Barber 10¢ I nabbed when I spotted quite a few mole mounds in a shaded tree area at an old park where once stood an amusement park. It was in maybe 1"-2" of loose dirt the critter burrowed up for me.

Many of the better coins I have found during this long dry summer did not produce a TID that would be considered 'lab perfect.' Chris did dig a nice 25¢ reading that turned out to be a good-sized sterling silver ring, and my 50¢ reading on Tuesday was another fib. Not even a coin at all, just a heavy Tiffany & Co. sterling bracelet.

Target ID can be useful, but there are too many copy-cat targets out there for Target ID to be 100% accurate. It's much less than that. Add to that ground condition issues and nearby masking trash and accurate TID is only perhaps 15% to 25% right.

I have TID, and I sometimes glance at it for a mental note of what I might be looking for during recovery, but if you fall into the rut of relying on visual TID for make the call, you're going to leave a lot of good and interesting targets behind for others to find.

Coin depth reading is sometimes useful, but it's really a rough guess sort of thing, also.

I always suggest that a newcomer give consideration to some of the mid-priced models rather than start with a low-end unit. Not that low-end units can't make good finds, but because they usually offer better quality, some better features, and good coil selections.

A suggestion, if you don't mind, would be a White's M6 (if you're shopping for a new detector and not used), because it is easy to use, has good depth, features auto-tracking to establish and maintain a good working ground balance, a nice full-range variable discriminate control, and a good Target ID display w/coin depth read-out.

In the end, it is the audio response that we ought to listen FOR and then listen TO in order to gain info about a potential target identity or classification. I have long relied on, and touted the merits of, a "Beep-DIG!" approach to successful detecting. A model without a display can work fine. Having a little extra info is simply a bonus to help. Just try not to get hooked.

Monte

mlitty said:

Monte,
I was a little overwhealmed by the wall-o-red when I first saw your post, and so didn't read it my first few times back to this thread. Seeing Mostro's reply, I was intrigued.

Thank you in deed. Your description of the response and targetting of the different high end models not only makes me think I can do ok with my entry level detector for a while longer, but makes me think I might go back and dig some more of those "foil" targets to see what's really down there.

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

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