Iffy Signals

B

Brian

The latest metal detecting bible says 'Using the expression iffy signal is an admission of ignorance. The more signals you can recognise, the fewer times you will need to hide behind this catch-all phase.'

What does everyone think ?
 
The latest metal detecting bible? Hahahaha Who wrote that?

I think it basicly means the more experience you have with your detector the better off you'll be. ;)
 
Ignorance??? If you metal detect, you WILL have some signals that you can't identify or just don't sound right. IFFY, I recon you could say that. If you don't have any iffy signals, your detector is sitting in the closet and you are not using it.
pop
 
POP you hit the nail on the head. If I get a signal that just ain't quite right I dig it. Lots of times it is junk, but sometimes it turns out to be a good find. When in doubt, DIG! :D
 
About those iffy signals...one of our club members found a double struck connecticut copper. This is quite a rare find! He got a questionable signal so he had a friend scan it with his detector. His buddy said "Its Junk"and went about his business. He decided to dig it anyway. The coin was in the ground on edge. Its worth over $400.00.
 
I think that an "iffy" signal should not be used to determine whether or not a target should be dug. To me, the term "iffy" descibes the chances of an item being junk or good.

Iron signals are not iffy to me. If I get an iron signal, I dig it only if it is a really strong, solid, repeatable signal. I'm in this for coins (hopefully old) and jewelry, not relics, screws and nails.

The signals I consider to be iffy are the ones that bounce from foil to nickel to pulltab, and from dime to penny. Every time I get a foil-nickel-pulltab signal, I hope for a small gold ring or earring, but brace myself for a wad of foil, pulltab, zipper, or fishing tackle. Same with the dime-penny signals, which can be a dime, penny, or a coin tilted on edge, but mostly turn out to be washers, snap buttons, or other copper junk. I dig these signals all the time, and every once in a while, something good pops out.

Don't let an "iffy" target ID readout make the decision to dig for you, if you do, you will be passing up the 1 or 2 good finds out of 100 on these iffy signals.

HH!
 
A form of target masking is what messes with my head. Ala> swing left and Dong swing right and DING. Most of the time its usually trash (rusty nail or what have you) but every once in awhile its trash next to a coin. :wow:

So....
On old abandoned homesites i TRY to dig it all, as you just never know till ya dig it up and get the trash out.
 
I think you have to decide wether you are going to dig everything or cherry pick. If you are digging all the iffy sigs don't matter. if you are being selective I guess you let your concious be your guide. There are days the junk just over welms you and you get choosey. Cladius.
 
This is whats classed as a 'gem' from 'Advanced Detecting' by Norfolk Wolf. 'One of the countries leading authorities on metal detecting and sort after detecting guru'.
Funny thing is that a couple of pages from the book review David Perkins has written up about his Minelab Rally trip to Corfe Castle where after 40 minutes of bits of lead and shotgun cartridges he got an iffy signal, removed a little soil and it improved slightly and ended up digging 18 inches to find seven gold Bronze Age bracelets (950- 750 BC).
 
To tell you the truth, digging the "iffy" signals with the SOV/WOT on the beach has found me alot of Gold rings & old Silver. I don't use a meter at this point in time, but a good pair of headphones such as the Black Widows pays dividends when listening for the tone of Gold! Really get to know your detector and it's sounds! Just my thoughts. H.H.:-)
 
Brian said:
The latest metal detecting bible says 'Using the expression iffy signal is an admission of ignorance.

Sounds like yet ?another? statement by someone who thinks they know it all. You see lots of letters like this in the detecting magazines, people who have been detecting a few years and think they have an answer for everything.

Metal detecting is not an exact science, there are so many factors involved when you hear a signal. I tend to dig more "iffy" signals than I used to, I've also found that on a field surface, the signal can change just by scraping away the top inch or so with your boot.

There are a few hints and tips which can bring you more success, but in the end it?s down to practice, and gaining experience with a machine you know.
 
Actually it makes a lot of sense, just another way of saying "learn what your detector is telling you", learn what the signal means and next time you get a similar one you will have a better idea what it is.
 
I admit i'm ignorant and dig iffy signals at a trashy park with perhaps perhaps a million pieces of trash and think digging the iffy target to find a Barber Dime that noticeably hit as zinc once :?: and subsequently never going higher than pulltab is a good thing. Perhaps to appear more intelligent we could say "Decided to dig the target that didn't meet the standard parameters of a solid target response" . Nahhhh i prefer digging the iffy target :D Just being silly. HH Bill
 
Learn your controls , understand your detector and what it's telling you , USE IT , set your controls where you like them (especially the discriminator) and dig every signal it gives you. This way you can "learn" what it's telling you but most important you can now "rely" on what it's telling you.
 
I still think there is a tendency in some magazine articles, to over complicate the hobby. In my mind, you get a signal, then decide if you want to dig or not, there's no mystique about it . Ok, there is a learning curve, but that's something we all have to learn for ourselves. ;)
 
Thats the point Alan. Your not really supposed to make an informed decision. His previous 'Treasure Hunting' articles mention how he sees people wasting their time sweeping targets in several directions, consulting the meter etc .
I prefer to see people taking a little time and considering all the infomation the machine provides. Then err on the side of caution and dig.
 
THE BEST WAY TO LEARN..........

Is, if you have the room. If you don't find some place that is big enough.

Then you make what I call a



"Test Garden"


Now you can do this in different ways. This is the way I did it:

I've got an area about 30 yds X 30 yds.

Stake it off every 1 yard

String it so you have a grid or checkerboard effect

I put the same grid on paper

Correspond every where the strings cross with a number or letter

Bury objects at different levels and positions

Record what you bury, and depth, and position with the number and or letter for that spot

Drop the string straight down and begin sweeping areas.

Record on paper what you can about each spot and type of signals you get



Other things to remember:

I did this, wrapped up some things I had found in zip-loc baggies and a little duct tape worked well.

If you have some of the real things, bury 'em! That's where the grid comes in!

Bury two coins side by side

Bury a large coin on it's side.

Bury trash too. And mix it up in the grid.


Things I have burried:

Gold watch
Gold nugget
Pewter chain
pull tab
hot rock
1853 Large cent
Aluminium can
two Mercury dimes SXS
thin silver necklace
silver class ring
rifle shell casing
1922 silver dollar
Solid copper bracelet
Compressed foil
And more!

Hope this helps. ROOSTER
 
Here's the thing that's been driving me nuts. I call 'em Ghost Signals. I think I have a signal and the depth meter might say its at zero or just 2 inches. I dig, I find nothing. I sweep again and no signal. Others I dig and it says its right there and I still don't see anything. I end up covering several of the holes back up, not finding anything, but still getting an iffy signal. As, far as being selective, I think I'll go crazy if I dig every hit at this farm. The signals are endless, but not always consistent.
 
I have an area of about a acre ranging from low through medium to high mineralisation. All types of items buried from junk to gold. The most interesting thing is checking say a alloy coin and seeing the variety of tones if a tone machine or readings with a VDI meter. Shows you how careful you have to be and that you can't just lift a chart of VDI readings off the net and hope they will match your sites.
Bearbqd have you just tried digging a hole where there's no signal to see if the empty hole gives a signal ? Or reducing sensitivity ? What machine are you using ?
 
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