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Steve Herschbach

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Posts posted by Steve Herschbach

    New 9.5"x5" DD Coil For Nokta & Makro

    in Nokta / Makro Metal Detectors

    Posted

    The Makro and Nokta 9.5" x 5" DD closed elliptical design has been discontinued in favor of a open style design for the Impact, the IM24. The new design is not bouyant like the old design and so will be popular with water hunters in particular. Part numbers for the new coil are available for other Makro and Nokta models There is also a new 5" round coil for the Nokta Impact.

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    RC24 Black 14 kHz - Racer 1 (Red Racer) and Racer 2

    FC24 Black 15 kHz - FORS CoRe

    FR24 Black 19 kHz - FORS Relic

    FGP24 White 19 kHz - FORS Gold+

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    • Like 1

    Saltwater Settings For ATX

    in Garrett Metal Detectors

    Posted

    Whenever I turn on first thing each day I usually do a full reset by holding the pinpoint button down while turning the detector on. The main thing this does is return to a neutral ground balance setting. I will always do this if moving to a new location.

    ATX FACTORY/DEFAULT SETTINGS
    Mode: Motion
    Discrimination: 1 (Lowest Setting)
    Sensitivity: 10
    Threshold: 7
    Volume: 10
    Ground Balance: Neutral
    Ground Track: Off
     
    Ground balance is a filter that can rob performance if applied more aggressively than is warranted. If you have no magnetic content in the sand you may want to try and run the ATX without employing any ground balance at all. Doing the factory reset insures you start clean with nothing retained from the last session.
     
    If you employ no ground balance you are in the more powerful "straight PI" mode. Expect there to be some response to wet sand but it is normally manageable, especially higher on the beach. Running without ground balance usually means moving the coil slower than normal to let the threshold autotune keep up with the audio variations. Play with the sensitivity setting to see how high it can be set and still have a stable detector.
     
    If the wet salt sand still signals too much, you need to add ground balance, discrimination, or both. I have not experimented enough to know which has less impact on performance - using the disc control exclusively or just the ground balance. I have usually used a combination of both. My settings for in water use in Hawaii were Disc 3, Sensitivity 7, and fully ground balanced underwater to salt range. These would be worst case type settings.
     
    Time invested in on site experimentation is time well spent.
     
     
    kauai2.jpg
    • Like 1

    Silencer Setting On Deus?

    in XP Metal Detectors

    Posted

    The Deus Silencer setting is like most filters. Nearly all work by trying to eliminate weak signals in favor of stronger signals. This being the case, applying a filter always results in some loss of depth and sensitivity. The trick is that that problem you are trying to fix (false signal) has to be worse than the problem you cause (decreased sensitivity).

    The Silencer is supposed to reduce faint spurious signals created in dense ferrous trash. Let's say on a scale of 1 - 10 most good targets beep at 6 and above, but you are getting lots of distracting faint 1 and 2 signals. Increasing the Silencer can greatly reduce these faint false signals allowing you to concentrate on the better signals.

    Now on a later hunt this spot is "cleaned out" and you want to find what you missed. It may be that one of the faint 1 - 2 signals is a faint good target. By reducing the Silencer setting or turning it off, you now get these faint hits. Thirty are false signals but one is that nice silver coin you were looking for. Of course they could just as easily all turn out to be trash.

    Basically, I leave filters turned off unless forced to use them. I know when this is because I am ready to give up because of too many false signals or "noise". Apply just enough filter to do the trick, and no more.

    As always it is an individual thing as we all have different tolerance levels both for noisy detectors and for the amount of trash we are willing to dig to get a good item. People who do run detectors noisy basically don't trust the machine to do the filtering and prefer to use their ears instead. This can be fatiguing and a judicious application of a filter can result at the least in a more pleasant detecting experience.

     

    • Like 3

    Ground Balancing Goldbug Pro- Is This Right???

    in First Texas - Bounty Hunter, Fisher & Teknetics

    Posted

    A perfect ground balance would have absolutely no audio change when the coil is raised and lowered over the ground. If audio is produced such that it sounds like a target when you sweep the ground, you need to work with the ground balance and sensitivity. In a perfect world you eliminate ground effects with these controls. However, the worse the ground (worse meaning you have to keep playing with detector controls) the more often you have to adjust. I have been on a lot of ground where I can set the ground balance in the morning and forget it.

    And then you have Rob's ground - every ten feet.

    Remember, ground balance is about obtaining a smooth threshold sound. If you achieve that, numbers flashing mean nothing really. You actually do not need the screen. I can tape over the screen and run the machine just fine.

    • Like 1

    New User Seeks Advice On First Detector

    in Metal Detector Advice & Comparisons

    Posted

    You can find good and bad commentary on any detector. Don't pay too much attention to it. Since you are new stick with a very well known name brand with good accessory availability. The popular brands all make very good detectors and with few exceptions there are no real turkeys. The bang for the buck is now $500 - $600 and if you go with a popular brand name unit in that price range you will get a good detector with good warranty support. Go with a feature list that fits your intended use.

    Again, I was keying in on waterproof, so AT Pro makes sense. It is only one of the most popular detectors ever made. A lot of people own them. That being the case, more people also complain. Even though the percentage is small, the sheer number of AT owners means stuff will happen. Whatever, Garrett makes good machines and if you have a problem, good warranty support.

    Similar but more expensive model the White's MX Sport is worth a peek.

    If you decide you actually don't need waterproof then there are many good choices. Too many really. Here is a way to weed out a lot of odd brands and models - stick with models that have lots of online forum activity.

    • Like 3

    Ground Balancing Goldbug Pro- Is This Right???

    in First Texas - Bounty Hunter, Fisher & Teknetics

    Posted

    Welcome to the forum!

    As long as the detector is acting properly ground balanced (little or no response when coil raised and lowered to ground) then I would not worry about it. Ground and even individual rocks are not homogenous. In theory if the ground phase strays too much and too consistently from the ground balance setting it is time to ground balance again. In reality however it is the audio responses that best clue you to this. Just bounce the coil over the ground, and as long as it does not respond dramatically you are good to go. If in doubt however, you punch that "Ground Grab" button.

     

    • Like 2

    Garrett AT Max Delayed Until September?

    in Garrett Metal Detectors

    Posted

    Official word from Garrett...

    "Final field testing and customer input on the AT Max metal detector revealed some opportunities that Garrett engineers are taking the time to implement. These updates include the addition of a built-in volume adjustment feature, allowing control of the detector volume when operated without headphones. (See illustration on the following page of the revamped AT Max control panel.)

    Due to these updates on the AT Max, current plans are to begin shipping in August. We apologize for the brief delay, but believe that the results will be appreciated by our loyal AT customers."

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    • Like 1

    Win A Free Detector - Fisher Find Of The Day

    in First Texas - Bounty Hunter, Fisher & Teknetics

    Posted

    Oops, turns out the roman coin was found with my MXT! I edited your quoted copy of my now deleted post to reflect that.

    However, the medieval "hawking bell" was found with the Fisher F75. It is a small silver bell that was attached to a hunting falcon's leg. Different pairs of bells made different sounds that allow the hawk to be identified by sound. All "non-coin" items more than 200 years old made of precious metal must be reported by the finder in the U.K. and separately evaluated as "treasure". Museums can bid on these but in my case better examples already existed and so I did get mine back.

    Medieval "hawking bell" found by Steve Herschbach with Fisher F75 near Colchester, England

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    • Popular Post

    GB2 Vs. Gold Monster 1000. A New Champion?

    in Metal Detector Advice & Comparisons

    Posted

    On 6/21/2017 at 11:45 AM, Hobo said:

    There has to be a limit on the size of fly speck that it is practical for a person to spend the time digging.

    From my perspective it is more about finding bigger gold by finding smaller gold first. The tiniest flyspeck can be an indication that leads to better things. No gold being found at all leads to an area being written off whereas that tiny flyspeck will focus the interest and perhaps lead to better finds. I promise the person that has never found gold before with a detector will look at any size gold as being a huge nugget!

    I think it's the same old story - this detector is not better than that detector per se. Each has strengths and each has failings. That's why I own several. The key is to know which ones excel at what tasks and then apply them appropriately. You can pick any detector apart for its failings, but I try to focus on the strengths, not the weaknesses. I guess that's because I am a glass half full person. The main goal of the GM1000 was to produce a detector that would be as easy as possible for a novice to run while still being powerful enough to perhaps suit more experienced operators. That is the standard by which it needs to be judged, and I think Minelab has succeeded admirably in that regard. And more shocking to some of us, at a price that is extremely competitive. Currently a Gold Bug 2 dual coil package runs $849 and the GM1000 with two coils runs $799 plus includes rechargeable batteries and headphones.

    • Like 11

    New Stainless Steel Sandscoop Options From White's

    in Metal Detecting For Jewelry

    Posted

    From https://www.whiteselectronics.com/product/hexscoop/

    "This HexScoop is built for metal detecting beaches and sandy areas. So what makes it different from all of the other sand scoops out there?

    With hexagonal-shaped holes the HexScoop has an edge over traditional square-mesh construction. Each hole is laser-cut at 7/16″  – so it’s the perfect size for smaller rings and jewelry that other scoops tend to loose, but offers enough surface area to allow wet sand to fall through with a good shake.

    Even though with the thick-wall stainless steel construction and reinforced handles, our large and medium HexScoops are light enough to drag behind you all day. The handheld model is perfect for getting down in the sand. Each scoop is emblazoned with a laser-cut White’s logo – perfect for showing the competition who runs the beach!

    The HexScoop is offered in three sizes:

    Large* – 8″ x 4.5″ opening $129.95

    Medium* – 6.75″ x 4.5″ opening $119.95

    Small – Handheld $84.95

    *Large and medium scoops ship without a handle. We suggest purchasing a shovel handle from a local hardware store – it will float and give you several seasons of use, even in salt. Handle opening is 1 3/8″."

    new-whites-sandscoop-metal-detecting-beach.jpg

    • Like 2

    Garrett ATX Strip Down & Rebuild

    in Garrett Metal Detectors

    Posted

    The whole project was done to poke a stick in Garrett's eye about building a lighter weight ATX. Though they are well aware of my thoughts on the matter so far they have not shaved so much as an ounce off the ATX. It really is a shame as there is an excellent light weight and relatively inexpensive PI nugget detector screaming to get out of that heavy housing. 

    • Like 1

    Win A Free Detector - Fisher Find Of The Day

    in First Texas - Bounty Hunter, Fisher & Teknetics

    Posted

    Do you use a Fisher metal detector and want a chance to win a new Fisher metal detector? We give away a free metal detector every month! All you have to do for a chance to win one is be featured in our Find of the Day contest.  Here's how it works.

    Send Fisher a direct message at our Facebook page     www.facebook.com/FisherResearchLabs. with the following information:

    1. Picture of the find, preferably with your detector in it too. The better the picture the better chance it will be selected and featured as a Find of the Day.

    2. Tells us what it is. We have to know what your find is in order to feature it. (The more information you can provide the better. Country of origin, time era, what it’s made of gold, silver, brass, etc. Any information you have will help)

    3. Tell us what detector you were using (Sorry, but it must be a Fisher model)

    4. Tell us what country it was found in.

    Featured Find of the Day posts are not selected by how impressive the find is, as we believe all finds are impressive in their own way. This way a handful of clad coins can be selected one day and a Roman brooch or a Civil War belt plate could be selected the next day.

    If your find is posted on our Facebook page you are automatically entered in a random at the end of the month and one lucky winner will win a brand new metal detector! 

    Good luck!

    2001-steve-herschbach-ganes-creek-alaska-5-ounce-gold-nugget.jpg

    Steve Herschbach with 4.95 ounce gold nugget found with Fisher Gold Bug 2 (14" coil) at Ganes Creek, Alaska

    • Like 2
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