Deft Tones

I lost it in my bag, lol, but I wanted to take a picture of a half-clasp broken from a gold chain that I dug from 2 inches the other day. Very tiny 1mm wire 4mm in length- a target that impressed me how good it sounded off. I also found the tip of a ballpoint pen just below the thatch in the grass. That's my first wild micro with the Deus. Time to break out the gold stud earrings for tests. Edit: I found the item I mentioned and another small very thin non-ferrous found by Deus 4.0

I've finally broke down on a rainy day and loaded up V4.0. With less than a dozen hours on it in heavily contaminated soil at my proving grounds I can confirm it hits smaller non-ferrous, and hits it better than V3.2 did using the same settings I almost always use. It seems to have gained slightly more depth in full-bar soil, maybe 1/2 - 3/4 inches... so that's good. Seem to be some qwerks with the new disc range that takes some getting used to. Zero discrimination in 3.2 does not translate equal to 4.0 zero discrimination...from what I've been hearing. Have yet to pin it down exactly, still playing. And the tracking is better...so it seems. It tend to think it's an improvement overall.

No doubt pickings are getting slim. I pay attention to the rings others wear in my daily travels, and pretty much only the 50+ crowd still wears gold regularly. The good news is that with all the immigration in the last decade the groups from cultures where only gold is prized for jewelry become the butter. Old gold is getting harder to find (rings anyway) so I watch where the Mexicans and Cubans play soccer. Hoods - going to have to hunt more hoods too. Me, I'm currently focused on chains and earrings - the two more easily lost items that are harder for the average detectorist to find. I see more travel for fresh hunting grounds in my future. Good hunting. Still lots of gold jewelry out there.

I've felt the pain. My first (only found two) 14k herringbone chain got jacked up (almost severed) from all the luck of stabbing right into a free end 3 inches from a clasp on the first plunge. Never again! The dainty chains are the worst to extract from grass roots.

I know you guys are above my pay grade in experience, but do you really probe for jewelry? I understand probing for coins and it is fast saving time, but jewelry (ring, necklace, earring) no way. I've broke rings (thin ladies bands) skewering them through the hole (thought I missed) and balled chains broke in half. If I know it's not a coin I won't probe and pop.

Here is unit designed, IMO, by a right handed person. There are others but this came to mind first.

But the average person has two arms, so make detectors that are functional for either. I hear you on the custom armorer. There are some assault weapons I can't aim and shoot unless I want a face full of hot brass. And once you have a lefty-specific item like a rifle, it's sometimes very difficult to resell! We mostly make due or entire lives in my estimation.

I'm mostly ambidextrous, kinda like you. Write best with my left, throw best with my left, shoot from the left Eat with my right, dig with my right, bat from the right, golf from the right Then things like painting, hammering, fishing, disc golf and it makes no difference what hand I use. Feels comfortable both ways. I think it's because lefties are forced out of their comfort zones by a right hand dominated population.

I used to think I only needed a screwdriver as jewelry doesn't settle down too deep... I've since altered my view on that based on a few rings that were isolated slamming signals in soccer fields (shhhhhh!) and I could not resist looking to see what they could be... I tried the first time, I really did. Was an awakening my third time at 7/8 inches. Shallow jewelry is both true and false....IMExperience. The truth is no one or two techniques cover all situations, and a good well rounded public-area detectorist should learn all of them, even combining them, and adapt to the ground conditions for each signal. Getting wordy, sorry. TRX set to max holds the key for me 90% of the time for targeting most jewelry. It's a jewelry hunters pinpointer for sure. If it's not beeping I'm not peeking. And trace it with the TRX - don't pop chains with that screwdriver! They're hard enough to find intact, so don't risk it. Keep the incision as close to the target as one dares and raise the sod up only enough to recover the item from the side of the now exposed soil. I use these and order of preference is as follows: Popcorn (screwdriver popping). Straight slice/lift/popcorn. J slice/lift. Pie slice or modified V/lift. C or U slice/lift. Flap Plug. I doubt any of the very intelligent people here need a hand-holding description, but I can clarify if needed. I carry 3 different tools. Screwdriver, soil knife, Predator Raptor. Some recoveries I end up using all 3. I see it as the art of recovery. After lots of park hunting I like to get out in a farmfield and dig like a sloppy honeybadger for practice.

Well, yeah, all the time in this backwards right-handed world! One learns to adapt or seek out smart designs. I've been interested in certain units, read all the specs, then start imagining actual use when I finally realize the unit of interest was designed by a right-handed person - no thanks! If I need to use finger gymnastics, or engage a second hand to access a common function - that's a design fail in my book. The unit had better have a longstanding god-like reputation among seasoned detectorists or I won't ever bite. There is no reason a metal detector should not be ambidextrous.

How timely! It's been very dry here the last week for late winter/early spring. Yesterday I took my family to a nice older park in a local suburb so the kids could play. I sometimes come here to hunt by myself too. Eventually when I got my detector out and was doing my thing around the water feature/ spray-ground, I came across a zinc penny signal. When I went to pop the very shallow coin (practically on the surface) through the thatch with my screwdriver I popped out an entire 6 inch wide irregular shaped shallow plug. I was surprised! Calling it a plug is generous, it was simply destruction of sod. I went on to recover can slaw and bottlecaps again and again from every single f-ing dig that some jack-off left all around this sprayground area. You can't hardly see them now because the grass is all dormant, but come spring....those plugs are gone- cut right off at the roots just below the surface. I tamped them down hoping they will stay but come mower season it's going to be ugly. At least I took all the trash from the holes I found so perhaps there will be no association made. I literally want to strangle someone after I beat them down with their machine. Then I will simply cover the body with shallow cut sod. Pisses me off greatly! Man, I'm now getting upset again....lol.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/03/17/teen-finds-744-carat-diamond-arkansas-park/99296000/

I really have no goal except to enjoy life and each hunt before I eventually die. Oh, I do have a detecting goal of sorts, but it's a moving target: To master my favorite metal detector.

Looks similar like an old time license plate reflector off an auto or motorcycle.

As far as I know, and everything I've ever read about the V3i, this is the first time I've seen it claimed that its frequencies are not transmitted and received simultaneously. What about the DFX (never had one), I thought that machine was dual frequency simultaneous transmit/receive. Something isn't translating well, I think.

Shooting jewelry with a gun will devalue it really quick. I wonder what caliber is best. Sounds like a fun place to work!

I personally would never run any higher end machine at max settings my first session out. I'd make sure I was familiar with more tame settings first. But that's just me.

They are reviewing the protocol for gold found, i.e. drafting rules and laws to curtail these guys for next time. Go get em while you can Digger Bob!

Thanks Steve. Nicely written. I'd feel like I'm three years old reading some of the various things posted by you and other members to this site... but that's why I keep coming back! I like learning. Will the full article be posted here some day for those non-subscribers?

Pretty cool for kids. My first detector was a radioshack model. With nobody to mentor an 8 yr. old it didn't take a set of batteries and I gave up. I could have done well without help if I had one of these back then. FF to today and my 5 year old (almost 6) could probably run this machine very well. He does pretty good with the beep and dig Deus at the moment because it can be collapsed to his size and is as light as a toy. I'll likely just give it to him as I can't sell it without taking big loss. He only digs (screwdriver) by the numbers for surface finds now, and I've warned him, you can't do that forever!

Great advice anywhere one hunts. Walk to your spot, shuffle when you get there.

The discontinued Sovereign line rates right at the top for saltwater beach detecting. About as simple as they come too.

Interesting read. Viddy makes a great point because I know how to mod the item he mentions. I had never considered turning a VX3 into the 3i. That's an idea that has merit! I imagine these secret menus lead to at least a splash screen, owner ID security, and who knows what other goodies. I have to know. I'll work on that next time I'm sick and stuck in bed. I don't want to hurt Whites at all. I'll only hack my own machine for my own purposes. It can't be to hard, it's not even a phone. Need to find a used/damaged machine and then backup my current V3i. I do want (not need) a new V3i...so I don't have to change lower rod/coils as frequently. Oh, man. The hardest part - explaining myself to the wife what the hell I'm doing buying two more machines without selling any. She is going to have my head if I'm not careful. I need to quit hanging with enablers. Thanks.

I have all those resources and a few more. I've got everything I can find on the V3i that is on the internet. These MR instructions are old news for those who scour the web. I'm not planning to jack my machine up, but even if I did I'd have excuse to purchase another new V3i while waiting for Whites to fix my current machine... repairs I would pay for. My V3i is out of warranty anyway, so it's on me. I'm not planning to be without a wifeV3i. I'd rather not waste time hacking the V3i to find this information myself. So, please, I can't live with a mystery that is knowable. I give you my word I won't spread the information if given to me. If I work for it and find the menus on my own... I may feel differently. You see, I just collect information, and honestly I may just look around and never do anything with it, but forbidden knowledge can't stay that way with me when I am interested...at least not for long. No matter your decision, thank you for the tip-off. I will have the information one way or another. Thanks for the great machine Whites. On track to hit 4k hours with her this year. Respectfully, A happy V3i and TRX customer.

Would it be possible for me to get that secret menu information? I want to know everything about the V3i. Even privately. I'll never tell a soul. Despite its flaws and quirks, I love this machine so much! I hunted a virgin uptown sports complex today - quarters everywhere and almost no trash! Took the time to run the same sideline behind the Deus and found 7 different dimes on edge that banged hard on the V3i 6x8sef. I realized right there that for me there is no better machine and my jewelry hunts. I'm all in this year on my V3i. As many hours as I can towards mastery.