Minelab Vanquish 540 Random Signals

[palzynski]

4 hours ago, Malcolm1984 said:

I’m completely new to metal detecting and the vanquish 540 is my first detector. I am hoping that someone can provide some advise on the random signals I am picking up. Whilst detecting in woodland I am frequently getting signals that range from 6 to sometimes as high as 39 in the exact same spot, when I dig it up most of the time it appears to be iron nails or other iron objects. I was expecting iron objects to show as a very low number or even minus figures. Has anyone else experienced very high numbers for iron and how do you know when something is worth digging? I have iron bias set to high so that should help but doesn’t seem to. I have found an old coin that showed a reading of 16 so it’s very confusing to know what to dig and what to leave. Thanks for any advise you can provide.

In my reports/posts about the Vanquish  I have always said that it  is noisy on iron trashed areas , this even for experienced users , and I understand that a beginner could find this difficult , this is normal ... There are more stable machines like some tesoros/teknetics  , the Xps , etc

My advice would be to continue to learn the Vanquish , firstly by ear and not to focus on the target screen ids . The ear is a very accurate instrument , much more accurate than a digit on a screen ... My second advice would be to use the All Metal button when the signal is doubtful . If you ear a vey low tone , then it is a ferrous ... Hope that helps ... HH

[Malcolm1984]

Hi Jeff, typically I’ll use jewellery or coin mode on high iron bias with -9 to 0 rejected. 
I have previously heard of the 90 degree technique and have noticed that the signal either changes or disappears. Thank you for the tips, I’ll give the suggestions a go. 

[Malcolm1984]

Hi palzynski, it’s really good to have your input with your knowledge of various detectors and it’s good to hear that this is a normal thing with the Vanquish 540. 
I will try listening to the sounds rather than focusing too much on the numbers to see if it helps.

[F350Platinum]

A real good trick I've learned is when you get a very strong signal, especially in the mid 20s or high 30s, try swinging the coil a foot or more above the target. If the signal is still there up to 3 feet above, it's big iron or a beer can. If it disappears at a foot or gets very weak you have to investigate.

I search in farming/hunting areas and beer cans and large pieces of iron, even wheel rims are everywhere. Ax heads, you name it. Bent/curved and heavily rusted nails and spikes will get you a lot too.

I would imagine the numbers are at least similar between the Equinox and Vanquish. On the Equinox you can push the iron bias a bit and avoid more nails, but you pretty much have a good site when you find nails. You will have to dig some of them anyway to get to the better stuff later!

[Malcolm1984]

Thanks F350, I’ll give raising the detector a go to see if that helps eliminate the iron I’m finding.