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How Reliable Are Negative & Positive Numbers?


unearth

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It has been stated that, when you get a target, if you drag the coil back you may get a negative number indicating a ferrous target. But, sometimes while doing this I get a negative number and a positive number. So...my question is, when do you decide to dig? If there are any negative numbers you don't dig, or if you get only one or two negative numbers you still go ahead and dig? I've had targets, when I pull the coil back, give me nothing but negative numbers, those I do not dig. But, the ones with both negative and positive numbers, give me pause.

Thanks in advance for your input.

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Interesting

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hi,

For Parks I stopped using this a checking method as I found it unreliable

Its something to do with the multifrequency I think

+ IMHO it does not work too well in trashy places (many of the parks I often hunt)

I now prefer to use the Gordon Heritage 10khz checking method for ferrous ...it tells me to probe or walk away - its probably iron

 

Relic hunting where I am allowed to dig a nice big hole I dig most good tones or I may be walking away from silver/gold next to iron.

 

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I mostly dig the iron foolers unless they are large or deep (with a fainter dragged out tone) then I pass.

It doesn't matter to me if negative numbers show, that is if I am actually watching the meter during the process,  or there are iron tones mixed in I dig based on consistency of tone when the target is well centered under the coil.  

Like TNSS said it's also my experience that deeper targets can have faint iron sounds mixed in but still give a consistent overall tone and TID reading at some point in off angles of approach when centered.  As he said it could be the ground itself or migrated iron from well rotted iron objects causing this.

If approached with good coil control the Nox is very consistent on borderline targets. In fact, the word "iffy" almost doesn't apply with the NOX.

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Hi Unearth, great questions. My standard approach has been to use Field2 or Park2 and to double check my +ve signals by seeing if there were any -ve figures in AM, and if so, to walk away and not dig. Now this is my approach in typical English fields. I would get say a 100 signals in a field and say only dig 10 of them because of the -ve numbers in AM. Of the 10 I dig, I would still get about 60% of them turning up as corroded metal (not showing any -VE in AM), some as horseshoes. - The rest would be coins and interesting artifacts. Now I've wondered what I'm walking away from, conscious that iron could be hiding a finder, so occasionally, I'll dig out a signal which has a good signal and negative ones in AM, but to date, I've never found a good object. Now so far I've just been using standard settings, not changing Sensitivity, Ground Balance, etc.. but this last weekend I was in a field where in one really large area (half the field) every step I got -ve figures in AM. Now what I do not know was there genuinely there a lot of ferrous rubbish or was this just a local mineralization issue, and regardless of the cause, what is the recommended remedy anyone? Is the answer to ground balance to make the -ve's in AM go away, or should I turn down my sensitivity? - Any recommendations?

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