Wanted: Information On Minelab Equinox Gold Modes

[Tiftaaft]

Difficult to tell if I would have "heard" these coins while hunting in multi... I just know that I have hunted this area more times than I can count with various machine/coil combinations with various settings... but yesterday... using gold mode 1, stock coil and setting up the disc at 10 and below... I got three very clear 12-13 ID's that ended up being Jeffersons.  A 24-25 that ended up a 1939 wheat at 8 or 9".  And thin but and somewhat repeatable 28-29 that ended up being the silver Washington I posted in my "Quest" thread:

The quarter was on edge about 9 1/2" down, and I did cross check in Field 2 - 50 Tone... the tone was there, but I had to really work for it.  It was only there in one direction too.  Iffy to say the least, even knowing where I pinpointed it with Gold Mode, and using ultra short sweeps.  Hind-sight... of course I would have stopped... But there was enough scratchiness to the tone, I might have dismissed it without the Gold Mode verification.  I think I will be using it more...  I didn't even mind the 1 tone... I had committed to digging everything I could get a repeatable tone on... so why not?  Then again... that is what my Vaquero does too :).  

Of course, I have a pocket full of pull tabs and ring pulls... but that was expected. 

One hunt result:  Powerful mode I will be using more.  ~Tim.

 

[GB_Amateur]

3 hours ago, Tiftaaft said:

The quarter was on edge about 9 1/2" down, and I did cross check in Field 2 - 50 Tone... the tone was there, but I had to really work for it.  It was only there in one direction too.  Iffy to say the least,....

This is consistent with an on-edge silver quarter I found last summer (and think I had been over previously).  I failed to check with Gold Mode but found it while searching in Park 1, Recovery Speed = 4 and barely got a (non-diggable) peep investigating with Field 2, RS = 7.  Mine didn't pinpoint properly (probably 4 inches off), I think because it was on edge.  Mine wasn't as deep as yours, either -- somewhere in the 6"-7" level.

What was your Recovery Speed in Gold mode?  And were you in multi-frequency (not 20 kHz or 40 kHz single freq)?

BTW, I'm headed out shortly following Jeff's advice to hunt in Gold 1 at a previously hard hit spot.  I hope I do half as well as you did.  (I think I'll use the 6" coil.  Quite a bit of construction/demolition trash there since it's in the side yard of a homesite that had the house razed a couple years ago.)

[Tiftaaft]

8 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

What was your Recovery Speed in Gold mode?  And were you in multi-frequency (not 20 kHz or 40 kHz single freq)?

I was in multi in the Gold mode... I wonder if single freq would produce different (better/worse) results... should have tested that.  Recovery 6.  Had I thought of that... I probably would have slowed it down to 4 which is where I normally hunt... but maybe that accidental combo helped find the coin. I too, should have opted for the 6", but was afraid of the depth limitations on this site... all the oldies I have found have been no less than 8", I will try that next.

You can't tell from the pic, but my pinpoint was off-center too... maybe 4" like the one you found.  I had to chase the target away from the center of the hole... that usually means falsing iron... which is what I thought I had until that quarter popped out.  Good luck today... I hope you do twice as good as I did!  Anxious to hear your experiences using gold 1.

[GB_Amateur]

5 hours ago, Tiftaaft said:

Good luck today... I hope you do twice as good as I did!  Anxious to hear your experiences using gold 1.

Out for two hours (weather was perfect).  Here are my setting and impressions of the hunt:

Settings:  Picked up EMI higher than gain=20 so settled there.  (Not a bad place as Jeff has said more than once.  You don't need max gain on the Eqx by any means.)  Multi-freq, Recovery Speed = 5.  Iron Bias F2=0.  I started out wide open but saw that wasn't going to work with all the iron hits so disced out everything below +5.  (I rarely run any disc but your mention of the Tesoro Vaquero made me realize I actually use threshold disc with my Vaq and it works well.  So use it with this method.)

Mental discrimination:  First thing I noticed (which is typically the case with small coils anyway) is not to be in a hurry!  My swing (left to right) amplitude was less than 3 feet.  I always try and overlap 50% on my subsequent swings, regardless of coil size.  Anything that ID'ed near USA nickels (12-13 is the sweetspot) and from 20 and up (that includes the Zincolns which aren't badly deteriorated, plus -- in my experience -- the Indian Head pennies and early Wheats.

I'll post a photos of all my dug targets tomorrow.  The site I was hunting has only been detected by me (AFAIK) multiple times with both the Fisher F75 and Minelab Equinox (medium and small coils with both detectors) and has been my best producer (old coins per unit area) as it was previously a homesite built in the 1920's where I suspect children were given pennies to play with and keep them occupied.  (For once rugrats paid off for me.  )

I only found one keeper and it was well masked -- a ~6 inch deep Wheatie.  The combination of 6" coil (with which I've searched this area before) and Gold mode gave enough indication on this very iffy hit to cause me to dig.  But I had other better sounding/ID'ing signals which turned out to be nails, in some cases two nearby nails conspiring to give a high TID (coin range) tone & ID.

My preliminary conclusion is that this method is a good unmasker but requires patience.  It's not a panacea (not that anyone advertised it as such).  I have more experimenting to do, such as turning the recovery speed up to 6.  I also have an even trashier site which has also produced old coins on that I'll give it a whirl in the future.  Bottom line is this is a good tool for the toolbox.

[Tiftaaft]

11 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

I started out wide open but saw that wasn't going to work with all the iron hits

Yes, I started the same way... wide open... It sure makes you appreciate the ability to set the volume on those iron hits in the park and field modes, huh! 🙂

11 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Mental discrimination:  First thing I noticed (which is typically the case with small coils anyway) is not to be in a hurry!  My swing (left to right) amplitude was less than 3 feet.  I always try and overlap 50% on my subsequent swings, regardless of coil size.  Anything that ID'ed near USA nickels (12-13 is the sweetspot) and from 20 and up (that includes the Zincolns which aren't badly deteriorated, plus -- in my experience -- the Indian Head pennies and early Wheats.

This is very similar to my test run... I was digging the shoulder tones around nickels as well (11's and 14-15's... as much to clear the can slaw and pull tabs out as anything).  I have a fairly short swing amplitude anyway, but you are right, I shorten up even more with the 6" coil.  Also, I have been including 18 and 19 as the potential IHP range... interesting that you have found 20 to be the sweet spot for them.  

11 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

My preliminary conclusion is that this method is a good unmasker but requires patience.  It's not a panacea (not that anyone advertised it as such).  I have more experimenting to do, such as turning the recovery speed up to 6.  I also have an even trashier site which has also produced old coins on that I'll give it a whirl in the future.  Bottom line is this is a good tool for the toolbox.

Agreed, at a site where I (or you or anyone) have worked it over with other mode and settings combinations... it gave me enough of a different approach to listening to what the machine was telling me in Gold mode to stop and investigate.  I want to try a slower recovery as you tested... a 4 or 5 recovery, small coil, maybe single frequency comparison against multi... just to better understand what this arrow can do when I pull it out of my quiver.  Thanks for the details GBA!  

~Tim.

[Badger-NH]

In the areas with moderate to heavy iron and nails, I would definitely try using Recovery 8 at some point.  I've been maxing out my recovery speed around some local cellar holes and pulling out some good targets that were barely just squeaker tones. Just last month I got a King George copper using recovery 8 at a cellar that has been hunted by everyone for 30 years or more. I need to go back there and try gold mode next time.

[Tiftaaft]

25 minutes ago, Badger-NH said:

I would definitely try using Recovery 8 at some point. 

Also a great comment Badger... Come to think of it.. my middle of the road recovery of 6 was probably the least appropriate... haha.  well.. live and learn to detect another day 😉 

Next time out... 6" with recovery 8 and then 4.  

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Tiftaaft said:

I have been including 18 and 19 as the potential IHP range... interesting that you have found 20 to be the sweet spot for them.

I've read that others have found IHP's with TID less than 20.  As always there is danger in assuming you won't find a certain target outside a given value if you then discriminate against that value -- confirmation bias.  So be careful taking my practice as a solid indicator.  In 5 tones I have 20 and above set high (25 value) and 14-19 at a medium-low (somewhere in the 16 to 18 value); USA nickel zone (TID's in 12-13) have a tone pitch value set to 24.  If I get a mixed tone that shows some 20 or above I will usually dig it, but something like 18-19 without any 20, no.  Nickels are something I know better since I get a lot of them and also gazillions of pulltabs.  12-13 plus a bit of 11 or a bit of 14 (or both) is diggable.  TID of 13-14 only -- I usually don't; same thing with 11-12 only.  My experience is that nickels near the surface (say 3" or less) don't spill into 11 or 14 TID bins but deeper ones can.  So I use the strength meter ('depth' meter) and volume of a hit as a secondary clue on both nickels and Zincoln/IHP's.  This technique is particularly touchy since old coins can be shallow.  (Sunday I found a Merc at less than 2 inch depth!) 

When I start out at a site that I haven't hunted before or haven't hunted in an while (e.g. yesterday) I loosen my mental discrimination bounds and eventually tighten up if my old (mental) 'settings' are confirmed.  My thought is that a site, with different ground (and different EMI) plus maybe different trash could cause targets to respond a bit differently.  Maybe that's not the case but since I really don't want to miss a coin I'm willing to dig extra trash, at least at the beginning of the day's hunt.

[Tiftaaft]

I have experienced all of what you have said as well. 

1 hour ago, GB_Amateur said:

This technique is particularly touchy since old coins can be shallow.

A few years back I also found a merc in the corner of a park that I had... and others had hunted a lot over the years... I barely broke the surface of the dirt and the merc popped out... still scratching my head on that one.  The oldest nickels I have found seemed to give me an 11-12 reading... but the depth of the signal made me chase it.  My mindset was... if this soft deep tone is a pull tab... chalk one up for the site... but when the shield nickel popped out... or on another occasion a "v" nickel popped out... I was glad I took the time to dig deep.  Funny thing... probably just mental more than anything... but I always get "nickel fever" when I start going around the base of trees... all my old nickels have been around the base of a tree... like I said, probably just my own mental focus on those tones.. 😉  

As I mentioned, I normally run 50 tones... but your 5 tone setup is interesting... I will probably give that a try at some point soon too... I do love the 50 tone setup though.  And now... alternatively... the 1 tone has my interest (and the theme of this thread... sorry for going off into the weeds a bit...)

I am going to try to hit the old school this afternoon with the 800 in Gold 1 and the 6".  Most likely over the area where I found the quarter, wheat, and yesterday the back of the pocket watch... so see what other hits are around there.  

~Tim.

 

[GB_Amateur]

46 minutes ago, Tiftaaft said:

The oldest nickels I have found seemed to give me an 11-12 reading... but the depth of the signal made me chase it.

The one thing that concerns me the most when mentally ruling out digging signals with too much 11 or 14 is the possibility that it's a nickel on edge.  I need to play around with my test stand to see what range of TID's these actually show.  On edge coins seem to be pretty rare, although maybe that conclusion is partly based on not having dug some due to this type of mental discrimination....  (Well, not for high conductors since I dig pretty much everything 20 or above.)