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Hunting in iron with Equinox 800

CarsonChris

Elite Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
1,911
Location
Carson City, NV
I’m struggling at old iron laden sites. Does anyone have a good video of someone hunting in iron infested sites that has sound and TID?

My park hunting is going alright. Starting to find deeper coins I missed with the AT Pro. Was thinking I didn’t pinpoint properly on some of them but found I needed to dig deeper!
 
I can tell u how I am using the nox 800 in iron. The most important thing I have found is to turn the sensitivity down. I run 13-19. I run in 2 tones. I turn the iron volume down to 1. I disc out 1-10 if there is modern garbage. I ignore the IDs and dig all repeatable tones. I use park 1, FE at 0, and speed of 6 or 7. Some guys prefer park 2 but you should experiment and see which works better for your ears.
 
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What specifically are your struggles? Falsing? Or just the end results were disappointing?

I'm afraid I won't be too helpful, but give the gurus more details
 
Find a different site! Some may like working iron infested sites and I'm sure it can be rewarding. Just not for me.....On a more serious note, the previous suggestions have helped me. That said, you'll still be digging some iron, just less of it. My L-5 probably looks like a porous, crusty glob of iron.....so the less unrewarding holes I dig, the better off I am....lol!
 
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What specifically are your struggles? Falsing? Or just the end results were disappointing?

I'm afraid I won't be too helpful, but give the gurus more details

Both. Probably due to lack of overall experience. I started detecting in January. I’m trying to find deep signals at old sites. The iron falsing can overwhelm the senses as it seems every inch of ground is screaming with flat tin or bent square nails. Really want to pull some silver.
 
Digging in iron is hard. You're not necessarily doing anything wrong if you are digging some iron. The nox is a hot detector and signals on some iron. bent nails and small flat iron are a problem for lots of detectors. The best you can do is trying to limit iron digs. For me its the quality of the tone. Does the signal have a beginning, middle, and end. Its hard to describe but I feel that iron has no beginning or end and a loud middle. Just a burst. I qualify the signal with my ears from multiple directions before I ever look at the ID. I notice a lot of low 20's associated with iron falses.
Another popular way to hunt iron is using AM with 50 tone. Just remember to turn the sens down or the falses will be to much. I hope this helps.
 
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Both. Probably due to lack of overall experience. I started detecting in January. I’m trying to find deep signals at old sites. The iron falsing can overwhelm the senses as it seems every inch of ground is screaming with flat tin or bent square nails. Really want to pull some silver.

A couple points to keep in the back of your mind.

If other detectorist left silver, remember some of that might be real hard to hear or find for any machine. There may be so much junk surrounding the silver, their might be only 1 -2 angles you can make it sound good at.

Imagine your target is in the center of a pie, with a double d coil you have 180 degrees of angles to cover that target. If you have let's say a 10 degree variance, that leaves 18 angles that could produce different results depending on the other objects under the coil.

Many old sites may have had a lot of activity but that doesn't mean there were activities where coins were involved. Think of an old farm. Farmers worked outside 8-16 hours a day. But I bet none of them went to work with as much as a penny in their pocket. There was no McDonald's to get a breakfast burrito and a double mocha latte on the way to work.

The same with many others when 5hey went to work at the mines or the mill they took their lunch and that was about it.

Falsing iron is tough for many detectorist and many machines. Iron sounds better when the sensitivity is cranked up, also walk around the target. Follow the 3 S`a sound, shape and Size. Using the double d wiggle it should pinpoint in the same spot from different directions and should pinpoint small.

If your struggling with your machine in a specific area( let's face it your still learning) do some clad stabbing. If you want to learn to dig coins,practice on coins. Listen to them and walk around them, silver sounds much the same way but deeper.
 
A couple points to keep in the back of your mind.

If other detectorist left silver, remember some of that might be real hard to hear or find for any machine. There may be so much junk surrounding the silver, their might be only 1 -2 angles you can make it sound good at.

Imagine your target is in the center of a pie, with a double d coil you have 180 degrees of angles to cover that target. If you have let's say a 10 degree variance, that leaves 18 angles that could produce different results depending on the other objects under the coil.

Many old sites may have had a lot of activity but that doesn't mean there were activities where coins were involved. Think of an old farm. Farmers worked outside 8-16 hours a day. But I bet none of them went to work with as much as a penny in their pocket. There was no McDonald's to get a breakfast burrito and a double mocha latte on the way to work.

The same with many others when 5hey went to work at the mines or the mill they took their lunch and that was about it.

Falsing iron is tough for many detectorist and many machines. Iron sounds better when the sensitivity is cranked up, also walk around the target. Follow the 3 S`a sound, shape and Size. Using the double d wiggle it should pinpoint in the same spot from different directions and should pinpoint small.

If your struggling with your machine in a specific area( let's face it your still learning) do some clad stabbing. If you want to learn to dig coins,practice on coins. Listen to them and walk around them, silver sounds much the same way but deeper.

I do ok with the clad stab, about $40 since January 1. Unfortunately I don't have an old park to hunt. Very limited on the chance of silver in my local park. Maybe some 60's silver but I doubt anything older.
 
Practice. Scatter some rusty nails in a small area of clear ground. Put sens at 18 or so. Run all metal and 50 tones. Scan the nails and walk around it and see what you hear. Then drop a dime or quarter in the middle and do it again. Pay attention and try to learn as much as you can from each dig.
 
Practice. Scatter some rusty nails in a small area of clear ground. Put sens at 18 or so. Run all metal and 50 tones. Scan the nails and walk around it and see what you hear. Then drop a dime or quarter in the middle and do it again. Pay attention and try to learn as much as you can from each dig.

If you was to cover that with a fine layer of dirt you would NOT find your dime or quarter with the Equinox.
 
If you was to cover that with a fine layer of dirt you would NOT find your dime or quarter with the Equinox.

Mine will.
I live and hunt in massive iron...depth is an issue here but it is for all brands, what our biggest problem here by far is iron masking.
It is insane around here.
Deep South mineralized red clay soil, our state mineral is Hematite, and I have not only naturally occurring iron in my ground but most of my sites had old homes or neighborhoods that were knocked down long ago.
I have taken my Nox into all kinds of areas and it deals with masking better than anything I have used so far.
In a private lawn filled with iron I have been hunting for years, a small patch of ground I have hit hundreds of times with 4 other detectors and many different coils, I brought the Nox in when things went dark for a long time.
It lit up this site, I found coins I never got a peep on before and believe me I have been resorting to digging the most iffiest signals for a long time now so if I got a hint of anything I would have gone after it...but on these I never did.
So far I have found a few more wheaties, a merc dime and a shocking surprise...two silver 50's rosies sitting in the same tiny hole.
It was easy for the Nox, the signals I got over these coins weren't exactly perfect or even super stable, as a matter of fact if I was still brand new to the thing I would have never noticed them but over the last few months I noticed some quick, repeating behavior that I learned can be, and usually are, indicators of non ferrous targets masked by a sea of iron in my devil dirt.
None of these coins were deep, the merc was only a few inches down.
The areas I found them were near sidewalks and curbs, areas I hunt over and over again.
The fact is my other detectors just couldn't see them and the Nox did, or at least gave me a fighting chance to find them after I learned a few helpful things.
This was no fluke, I have done the same thing at many other totally scoured sites, also.
The Nox has made a big difference hunting around here in our iron, I really believe that.
Evidently other s do to because I have 3 other friends I hunt with that own Whites, AT Pro's and Max's and all got a Nox...and haven't picked up any of their other detectors since.

Iron is a problem for everyone but for some of us it is way worse than many can imagine.
If you live in an area like we do you are forced to figure out better ways to do things, it is an ongoing daily process and I had to learn a lot and learn it quick to deal with this place...and I have although I still need to get better.
The key is starting with a tool that can give you an edge of only a little.
For us that live in iron the Nox is the best at it so far.
 
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Practice. Scatter some rusty nails in a small area of clear ground. Put sens at 18 or so. Run all metal and 50 tones. Scan the nails and walk around it and see what you hear. Then drop a dime or quarter in the middle and do it again. Pay attention and try to learn as much as you can from each dig.

A person can do as you suggest.
But what one will see (hear) in the wild won’t be the same many times.
Iron that has corroded and in the ground undisturbed will false more than scattered nails place on top of the ground.

A good trick is, in the wild. To place shovel about 5-6” from where you are gettting a signal. Shove shovel in the ground and shift the ground slightly. If iron targrt signal will disappear or actually give iron tone. If nonferrous it will still sound off as nonferrous. This trick will save one from some digging. Works with most VLF detectors too it seems. At least all I have tried.
 
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? PRACTICE!

Well hey Dude, you just started in January! It might take a while for you to be able to hear the audio nuances...I predict You will be fine, you seem dedicated to hunt in all weather and committed to success...It may take another 6 months or a year depending on how fast YOU grasp the subtle notes of the dirt symphony to distinguish a C flat from a B sharp!

What worked for me, was to set up in comfortable (weak) settings..not too hot.....Keep going for the clad and learn valuable lessons from it..masked multidenom slants/stacks/tightspills..Human travel patterns, and especially helpful is developing a very speedy and comfortable excavation method!

The reason I say this....the more you dig the faster, the quicker your ear developes to accurately discern the identity/depth/profile/size/composition/location of ALL targets! Let alone the alternative coil manipulation techniques you will learn!

As a Noob, If you go out and dig 200 targets in 3hrs, you essentially CONDENSE the learning curve!..you just keep at it and get faster and faster and faster and hear/dig more targets and tones and excavations than most people will ever hear in 5yrs...Its like getting a Masters Degree in 1yr on account of you had the 4yr experience in the REAL World in less TIME!

In one year, you will be a better hunter just based on practice and volumn of finds pulled than most guys with 10yrs behind the coil still diddling around for 2 minutes trying to figure out what this next target is!

Clad is an important instructor to listen to...Just DIG It! Wallow in the speedy and abundant targets! The clad built skills and muscles are translatable! All of a sudden, your brain and ears get so attuned, you are like a Maestro dirt Conductor and dont have to dig everything if you dont want to...But you could if you had to, on account of thanks to clad, you are so DAMN FAST its effortless!.....:laughing:

This is an Audio based Sport.....All of our hearing and comprehension is degraded and different at various levels...so, you got to learn on your own and possibly some of these 'shortcuts' may be helpful for you to get better faster....

Dont trust TIDS...Trust your ears and the sensitivity in your hand with a stabbing tool......All of a sudden, you are calling the targets..."Thats a dime at 3"..Theres a Q at 4"....Theres a Pulltab at 2"...Wait! How come I cant stab this pulltab as easily as the thousands I've stabbed before? BIG Gold Ring! Hey, whats this strange signal that sort of sounds like another zinc penny but exhibits a larger profile signature? Big Gold Ring! :laughing:

You may also Condense your learning curve by reading as many posts as you can and observing the 'junk shots'...pattern your discipline based upon the success displayed by other Members here such as Beephead...
 
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