Happa54

19 hours ago, ☠ Cipher said:

I had the 600, and I think the biggest reason I sold it and bought an 800 is precisely this...I didn't want to have to keep asking myself the very question you just have. Just having to wonder if I was missing anything or leaving anything on the table drove me nuts! 

Excellent point Cipher !!! In fact, above all others IMO. 800... on my way !!!

Hey everyone… I hope you all had a great weekend hunt.

I cut my teeth in this hobby on the ML Safari which is basically a tone machine, and the TID’s are secondary. This is the way I run my 600. I like to hear all tones. I don’t know anyone who has the 800 so I don’t know what tone breaks sound like but I am guessing there are 5…correct?

I like to hear a nickel as a nickel, a dime as a dime, quarter as a quarter, and so on. Au naturale on tones is what I’m used to.

I have been going back and forth in my decision to either purchase the 800 or keep the 600. For me there is a technical aspect between the two that would seal it up for me…. And that is;

Pound for pound, is the 600 just as powerful or equal to the 800 when maxed out at recovery speed 3 vs recovery speed of 6 on the 800? 3 on the 600 is equal to 6 on the 800 but are they really equal as written in the manual?  Some of you own both models… do you see any differences when running both at speeds of 6 or 4?

I have noticed through reading and watching videos that most Nox 800 owners don’t seem to hunt often above 6 or 7 on the recovery speed.  In fact, from my observations, most 800 users seem to hunt at 6, 5 and 4… and for obvious reasons mainly due to loss of depth and erratic signals. I hunt mostly in recovery speed 2 on my 600 which is equal to 4 on the 800.

So, being that my emphasis is on tones and slower recovery speeds, is it really necessary to upgrade to the 800? Who hunts in speeds of 7-8? I hunt the some of the most polluted parks in L.A. and I go low and slow. Learned that habit from my Safari.

I am clear on the loss of gold prospecting, profiling, etc. with the 600 but I am not concerned about these features.  I still use my Audio Technica or Grey Ghosts Ultimates and have wires dangling but I prefer it this way since I am into hearing quality tones.

Your input is much appreciated…. Thank you

Hey everyone...

There are horse paddocks a few miles from home. I stopped in once before a few months ago and got a merc, some wheats, modern clad, bits and pieces of jewelry and metal grommets or ornaments off of clothing. I dug a bunch of quarters there which tells me that no one is hunting the area. These digs came from the grassy areas surrounding the paddocks. 

On my return yesterday morning, I decided to go into the paddocks (all the gates are open) to see if I could find rings, bracelets or whatever metal objects my Nox would pick up. The ground is an inch or two of crushed rock, not quite sand, and real gritty. It was like finely crushed gravel...lots of tiny rocks. Below this topping, is some sort of concrete floor or something rock hard. Don't know what it is but my Nox was getting high conduct signals from down under and I couldn't break through. I gave up on it. 

Here is my scenario...

I started in Park 1, factory settings. My audio was extremely choppy. No consistent signals. Took off IB, went to 50 tones... still choppy and erratic. I felt myself panicking a little. What to do? I put it in Park 2, factory settings. Still choppy and erratic. Did a couple of noise cancels and ground balances, to no available. I thought to myself, "I'm outta here".  

Is this what beach hunting is like? No can't be. This was strange and I knew that I have to research and discuss with members on the boards. 

Digging history, always cool finds

Awesome ring... way to go!!!!!

Hey Unearth.....Haha !!! Reminds me of my 1st day out with the Nox. 

I too hunt the So Cal (Los Angeles) polluted parks. My first day out there it sounded like machine gun fire through my earphones.

Coming from the ML Safari, which is a much slower machine, I couldn't believe the quickness in its recovery speed. It was overwhelming and I immediately didn't like the machine. It was just too fast for me. But I will say this... I did get a merc and an injun my first day out irrespective of my frustrations with it. 

Take the advice of Chase & GB.... they have given you some suggestions and comments that are above my understanding of the Nox. As for me, I just slug it out in these parks and try to train my brain to tones and depth.

In real heavy trash, I block out mid-conductors but leave 12/13 open (nickels and gold). This for me calms the machine down cuz it eliminates a lot of the pulltabs you are hearing. This way I can hear more high conductor targets and cherry pick from them. Even still, you will hear the screw caps, rusted iron etc. But this is where you listen and learn the tones as there is a slight but noticeable difference from these and coins.  In light trash, I just go all metal so I can hear it all as a way to train my brain to the tones & targets. 

You will get better at it as time goes by simply by getting to know your Nox (as with any machine).

On 8/8/2018 at 5:58 PM, GB_Amateur said:

Now I have a new thought to contemplate:  if one is wanting to capitalize on nickel cherry picking, is there an obvious detector that hits hard on nickels and separates their TID's from nearby junk targets?  If not an obvious choice, please name some candidates.

I admit this might be a lost cause, given that a lot of cupro-nickel alloyed coins suffer badly from being in the ground a long time.  However, three of my 'old' coin finds this year include two Warnicks and a (unfortunately dateless) Buffalo nickel, all of which are in otherwise excellent condition considering how long they've been in the ground.

Hey GB

I know for sure either the Etrac, Safari and Nox kills it on the nickels. I can't speak for the other detectors.

Last year I was tuned in to the silver tones and other high conductors and did well. But, I tuned out the nickel signals and basically got almost nil. Over the last few months focusing on nickels signals and a couple hundred nickels later, I only have 2 buffs and a V nick to show for it.  I also got my first 18k gold ring due to a nickel signal.

Recently, I did a search to find out if buffs were being taken in large numbers, or whatever... and the buff ratio to modern nickel was not impressive. It seems that for every 150 - 200 nickels, a buff is taken. It also appears to me that the buff count is not that much better than the V's. My research may be way off but this is what I've come up with so far. 

I only hunt once a week this year, anywhere from 4-6 hours on Sunday and my nickel count could be better with possibly more buffs and/or V's or another gold ring to show for it if I had more time to put in. However, for the remainder of this year I will continue to pursue nickel signals. 

Thanx guys... I plan on working out and testing with your suggestions. I'm loving the simplicity and detecting options of this machine and I want to get everything I can out of it.  I'll report back.

As always good luck and happy hunting !!!

Steveg & Chase.... thanx for your responses.

Yup, we have shared many signals previously with my Safari but only every now and then since owning the Nox.

The flutey sounds of our FBS' machines are identical which made my learning curve a bit easier. But with the Nox, the sounds are not the same. 

Do the deeper coin tones change along with depth thus convincing me to walk past them thinking they are zinc or screw caps? Are these wheats or possibly silvers at depth? 

Thus far, I haven't dug anything over 5" but my partners are going deeper than this. Faulty machine possibly?

My primary settings are:  Park 1, NC + GB, 50 tones, 0 thrshld, 0 IB, recovery 2-3 (depending on trash). 

At other times I'll use Park 2 factory settings. 

Hey everyone... I can't seem to lock onto wheats. I primarily hunt in Parks 1/2 and Field 2. 

I use to do well on them with my Safari, but since I've had the 600, I've been doing poorly on the wheats. 

I'm averaging 1-2 wheats per outing whereas I used to dig anywhere from 10 - 20. My Etrac partner and off & on Explorer partner will dig 20 - 30 wheats in an outing. 

It seems that lately, wheats are coming in deep but my Nox isn't hitting em. My hunting partners and I don't stray far from one another and pretty much cross the same patterns...they're getting em and I am not.

I'm frustrated because I may be missing good deeper coins. I'm killing it on nickels and clad but that's about it. 

Any suggestions or comments is appreciated. 

13 hours ago, NSC said:

For these super trashy sites the 6inch coil will do very well.

Field 2 is OK but I personally would not use Park1 in these areas

 Park2 is better suited to greater trash density

Perhaps try the 10khz check on anything suspected as being iron, I find it works well for me.

Happy hunting ☺️

Many thanks to all of you for your comments & suggestions. I always take away something positive from it.

NSC: Not to disagree with your suggestion but when I'm in Park2 or Field2, I pick up the tiniest of junk targets in these polluted areas. The Nox will hit strong on itsy bitsy pieces of metal and takes me way too long to locate em even with my G Carrot. Seems that when I hunt in Park 1, the machine is a bit more tame and manageable. The jury is not in yet on the best modes for me. In fact, I like using all modes. 

But still.... it's all a learning curve for me and as time goes by I just get better at what the machine is telling me. I don't mind not having the tones breaks, etc that the 800 has to offer because I am used to hearing it all "au naturale" now in 50 tones. 

My primary settings are;  Park1, multi, 50 tones, 0- IB, iron open, mid conductors blocked, nickels open, high conductors open. 

This allows me to hear the buffs, V's, high conduct coins, and now this past Sunday I got a 18k gold ring off a nickel signal. 

Thanx for stopping in and as always... HH

Hey everyone... 

I love hunting small areas with targets at every inch and want to hear your experience in them with your Nox.

I can only take 2-3 hours of pounding to the brain before I have to move on to quieter ground.

The separating of targets is a challenge, time consuming and hones your skills.

I am mostly in either Field 2 or Park 1. I block out mid conductors with nickels open at 12/13. I also open up iron to give relief to the ears from all the high conduct signals.

Upon hitting a signal I like, it goes into AM to get a better read on the target. In less trashy areas, I go AM all the way. 

50 tones is my preferred setting on all modes and I use no iron bias. 

Due to the high volume of signals I receive, makes me that much better at target identification with the exception to rusted nails & rusted bottle caps. These fool me every time.

One of my hunting buddies who like me, loves to work the heavily congested areas with his Etrac pulls out a lot of silver. 

Just the other day while hunting a terribly polluted small area in a park, he decided to dig a screeching screw cap...just under it lies a merc. He didn't know it was there but due to the age of the park and layers of century old trash, chances are good there is something good beneath. 2 weeks prior, a hunch convinced him to dig an iron signal (AAA battery) and beneath was a wonderful surprise. A Walker, GW, War Nik, Wheat, and a Merc. 

My best coins have come out of this park irrespective of it's fame to be the most hunted out park in Los Angeles. It is my opinion that these heavily polluted areas are ignored due to the insane amount of signals/targets. 

Do any of you have these environments in your neck of the woods and if so, how do you hunt them with your Nox?

Many of you may have the same approach as me in these types of environments,  but I would be interested in hearing what you have to say. 

I love this Nox in that everything that I need to do is with a flick of the thumb on the control box.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Thanx for stopping in. 

I just turned on my machine after reading this. Mine powered up to the mode I last used which was Park 1.

I hope you get it figured out. 

Your finds blow me away FT.

Congrats !!!!

Hey everyone...

My focus this year is buffs, V's and war niks..... wasn't thinking of gold.

I spent half day at one of my usual pounded Los Angeles parks. Got a little clad and 17 nickels in my pouch. 

This 600 knocks the cr_p out of nickels. I get another nickel signal (12/13) and dig approximately 4 inches.

Because I've been fooled before by coins that initially appear to be gold, I didn't get too excited. But when I cleaned off the dirt and looked real close, I couldn't find any markings. So then I thought, some sort of fake gold or something. Even the white pearl in the setting was breaking down and I thought it was plastic. 

I did the magnet test at home and it passed but still not totally convinced.... heck this could be brass maybe, I thought? 

This morning I take it to a jeweler and he puts it through his tests. He says it's 18k. Says it looks made in Asia and markings worn or very old ring. Then another jeweler repeats the process and he concurs with the first jeweler. He then says, "I'll give you $40 for it". 

I asked, "what's it worth retail?"... he puts it on a scale and says "maybe $1,000 just for the gold". I think you know what I said next. They were interested in setting a new stone in place but I told them it's for my girlfriend and I'll let her handle it. I've made purchases here before so there were no hard feelings either way. 

Thanx for stopping in everyone and as always.... HH

It's obvious you were having a blast at this site. Awesome detecting and finds !!!

Thax for sharing...

Excellent finds FT !!!!  Awesome 1800's coins. You seem to be killing it every time you go out.

I always look forward to your posts. 

You dug all those FT?

Which item are you referring to? I'm a little slow at these things. 

They most likely will be swinging well into their futures. 

Kudos to you for introducing them to the addiction...they will thank you for it later.

May I ask.... Why do you use shoo goo & epoxy if you have a coil cover?

Thnx

You dig a lot of coins in your neck of the woods. I don't know anything your currency but how much is this in US currency?

Thanx for showing your finds

Still.... something to put behind your glass display with all the other cool things. You are "digging history, one piece at a time".

Congrats on that find. 

That is excellent FT. You consistently get a good mix of finds. If only I were not too selective on what signals I dig I'm sure I would have cool stuff other than coins. 

Congrats and keep showing your stuff.

Excellent !!!! For many, some of those coins are bucketlisters. 

Congrats!!!!