2019 (wrapup) Into 2020 (goals)

[GB_Amateur]

I've found the winter / New Year period a good time to reflect on the past and hope for the future, and that applies to my detecting as well.  Since I keep a log of finds (coins and jewelry) by year I can compare that part of detecting with the recent (starting in 2017) past.  Unlike previously, 2019 came up short in every meaningful quantified category:  total collectible coins, total Wheat pennies, total $-value of common coins, total days hunted, total hours hunted, average hours/hunt.

The causes are many:  fewer permissions, fewer previously hunted parks & schools, very dry late summer / early autumn, less stamina with age(?).  Ironically all that on top of the fact that I had more free time since my work load was reduced more than half.  All of this needs to be addressed for 2020.

In terms of gold hunting, as chronicled here I quadrupled (2 to 8 😁) my lifetime native gold finds with about the same number of hours/trips West, but that is almost completely due to the benevolence of a friend who took me to one of his gold producing sites and added some instruction along the way.  I'll be on my own in 2020 which means "research, research, research!"

There are other valuable takeaways besides simply counting finds, though.  Knowledge is a big one, and required by me.  So what did I learn last year?  The biggest increase in knowledge was finally learning to listen to the quality of tones from the Minelab Equinox 800.  Along the way I went from a love/hate (exaggerated description of course) relationship to one of trust.  But that really didn't happen until the very end of the year.  You may recall I wrote a long, sad(?) post in August about a frustrating hunt of an 1850's homestead when I was driven bonkers by EMI.  That was in the heart of the dry season when not only do we lose depth due to the dry soil, but also (in good conscience) have to give up digging in public sites because of the inability of the grass/sod to heal itself.  I was at an all time low.  I can thank many of you for helping me make an attitude adjustment.

One of the problems I had previously with trying to listen and learn sound/tone quality was that I just couldn't force myself to listen to '50 tones'.  What I realized is that you can get a big boost from listening to the quality of tones in 5 tone mode.  Another surprising occurrence which I can't explain is that EMI became much less of a problem.  I used to run gain of 20 max due to EMI, dropping to gain of 15 in some cases, and even being more/less forced to switch to single frequency mode (and never 5 kHz where the EMI was worst) if I was still getting bad EMI at gain of 15.  The last several hunts I was able to run quietly at gain of 22 consistently, including in a local park where I typically had to switch to single freq.  Yes, it could be temporal/seasonal variations in EMI but I don't think so.   I've hunted that particular park year round, morning through afternoon, weekdays and weekends.  Maybe the source of EMI was removed, but that doesn't explain my experiences at other locations which also gave EMI problems in the past, but not now.  I don't think it's the recovery speed (I've been running exclusively at 5), or mode (consistently Park 1).  However, I do wonder about the 2.0 software upgrade.  My loss of EMI problems has occurred since then although I don't recall it being like a switch being thrown.  I've been hunting Iron Bias F2=5 most of the time since I loaded that upgrade in software.  Is it possible ML made other changes which lessened EMI?  And, again, it may not have anything to do with the detector.  Unfortunately I haven't gotten a chance to return to that 1850's homestead give that really bad EMI a test.

I haven't posted a finds photo lately.  Shown above are the highlights of my last 4 hunts of 2019 (all after Christmas) and first 3 of 2020.  I found a silver coin in 6 of those 7 hunts.  The dolphin ring is sterling and note it isn't a closed ring (dolphins not touching) but still came up with a TID just above Zincoln (i.e. it was about 22 on the Eqx).  The bronze token is from a local (Southern Indiana) intercity bus lines which was in business from the 1920's through mid-60's.  The two items on the left are shown to emphasize the unmasking ability of the Eqx.  That large iron loop (have no idea what it is) was about 4 inches laterally and a couple inches deeper than one of the Mercs, which itself was 6 inches deep.  In another case, the wing nut (non-ferrous TID, but I don't know it's composition) was close to the surface.  I think it ID'ed in the pulltab zone and I dug it specifically to see if it was masking anything.  Six inches laterally and 8 inches deep was another Merc.  I don't know if the Eqx probably would have unmasked that (my guess is 'no') but it does show that removing undesirable targets will pay dividends.  That Merc and one of the others are the deepest dimes I've ever recovered.  None of the coins (including the Wheaties) are valuable date+MM.

A few final points -- Steve H's online interview by Dick Stout prompted me to reread Coinhunting... In Depth.  A couple things jumped out from that book.  (I'm paraphrasing / reworking but I give him credit for these concepts, at least):  1) Why are you wasting your time returning to the same places you've hunted to death?  2) When you go out detecting, spend some time beforehand considering your goals; then keep them in mind during the hunt.  Thanks, Dick!  Those plus a few other things yet TBD are going to make 2020 my best year ever.

 

[Guest calabash digger]

 6 OUT OF 7 AINT BAD!! good luck!

[2Valen]

On 2/5/2020 at 3:33 PM, GB_Amateur said:

Maybe the source of EMI was removed,

I noticed that after the new update on my 800 the EMI seemed to be less. I hunted under some power lines in my front yard and for the first time had no problems.

What version are you running, is it the new update?

[GB_Amateur]

8 hours ago, 2Valen said:

What version are you running, is it the new update?

Yes, 2.0.  I try and get my detector upgraded about two weeks after it is released.  That way others can be the guinea pigs, but I still get the advantages pretty quickly.

Interesting that you've seen a similar improvement post-upgrade.  Time will tell if the upgrade is the fix.  Summer (air conditioning season) is the heaviest power usage in the US, I think.

 

[2Valen]

14 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Summer (air conditioning season) is the heaviest power usage in the US, I think.

However winter electric heat is worse in most cases for EMI, but the compressors do give off a lot also.

I am not sure what they could have done to suppress the EMI but I for one am glad they figured it out.

[Againstmywill]

On 2/5/2020 at 4:33 PM, GB_Amateur said:

That large iron loop (have no idea what it is) was about 4 inches laterally and a couple inches deeper than one of the Mercs, which itself was 6 inches deep.

The only thing that I have seen that looks like that is a jaw harp. If it is more rounded than flat, it seems like it would be a fit. It even looks to have a spot where there was an attached piece if metal at the top of the curve.

[GB_Amateur]

3 hours ago, Againstmywill said:

The only thing that I have seen that looks like that is a jaw harp.

Good call!  There does seem to be a small indentation right where the reed would have attached.  Mine (as seen in my original post) is very rusted from years in the ground.  I found it in a school yard which kinda fits (children playing with such an instrument and losing it).  Here's a pic I found online: