Tiftaaft

Since it is the start of the new year, I was just wondering what everyone's top few detecting goals are for the year. 

My goals seem modest at the start of the year, but there is usually an item or two on the list that I have to hustle to achieve.  ;)

For 2019 - my top goals are:

• Best my gold jewelry count (which would be 7 pieces of gold this year... I forecast that my foil/pull tab count will also be a record this year too).
• Hunt in 6 different states
• Finally find the elusive (to me) 1800's coin (closest so far was a 1902 Indian in 2017)
• Nugget hunt for the first time (and hopefully not the last)

Of course I have some other goals around silver coin counts, wheatie counts, hours hunted, and a few new locations that I will be embarking on my updated "Quest for a Silver Coin" challenge, but these are the ones that will be a challenge. 

So guys and gals, let's see 'em!

Happy 2019 Hunting everyone.

Tim.

Thanks for the great 2018 Year in Review post GBA!!  I will work on my summary this weekend.  I too track all my finds, but not quite as detailed as you.  I am definitely going to add the "pull tabs" column in my sheet for 2019.  and  +1 on the war nicks comment.  I am amazed how many I found this year with the EQX!  Great Year GBA!  May 2019 be even better for you!  Tim.

30 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Tesoro is gone now so we can officially ignore them without feeling guilty about it.

Steve, this is the saddest and funniest comment I have heard in a long time.  Those of us who appreciate what Tesoro was (and still is) also understand the deepness of that comment.  Tesoro was all but ignored in the recent digital age of detectors, but still an amazing line of machines that continue to hold their own.  Not trying to re-kindle the debates here, but I will always consider my Tesoro's my secret weapons.  I appreciate reading between your lines on that comment.  :)Tim

I have the zlynk system for use on another machine... just had to buy a new carrot (my old one developed a hole in the end, and while it works, it is a bit sensitive to falsing) so I opted for the zlynk carrot.  I am considering attaching the zlynk system to my Equinox so I can pair my carrot into my earphones... one more thing on my shaft, but it would be nice to hear the pointer in my phones.  I would consider the Garrett headphones if I did that. 

I agree Bill, it would be very nice to have them work together.  Maybe the next Minelab pinpointer will include wireless connectivity to the Equinox.  But I am a big fan of the carrot, and the zlynk technology... tried and true... at least for me.  ~Tim.

3 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Tift,  Actually that is quite a stunner.  Besides, if you are proud of it (which I certainly would be) then why not share.  My situation is a little more different than most TH'ers as I've been dong this for a few years and being a dealer, I have access to almost all the popular machines.  Very nice find and thanks for sharing.

Thanks Gerry.  By the way, that ring with the emeralds is my favorite.  what a beaut! ~Tim.

Not as spectacular as the rings above, but yellow with ice is always welcome in my finds pouch.  10K band with 10 channel set diamonds.

I would be very happy with your slow November Tom.  Nice detecting there.  The IHP's continue to roll in... and that looks like a beautiful Barber dime... what year??  Tim.

My hunting partner and member of this forum, Flysar is with Ringfinders and covers this area (Pacific Northwest).  His approach and the heartwarming stories he shares with me about reuniting families with their heirlooms are part of why I love this past time so much.  He truly puts happiness back in people's lives.  Much respect to him, proud to call him my friend.  ~Tim

Most likely operator error giving me these erratic results.  ;)

Thanks for the responses everyone. 

I had a hunt yesterday that I felt like I was holding onto both reigns trying to control the 15"... constant barrage of tones all over the scale.. I don't blame the 15"... I blame myself for not matching the coil with the site.  I will continue my education of the Equinox and the 15" coil... as they say... time takes time.  :)

~Tim.

5 hours ago, amergin said:

Congratulations, thats exactly how it worked for me before up dating Firmware, I was delighted that it did as promised and found items missed after multiple visits with different settings with my 11" coil,  As the focus of this discussion is seeing who has noticed a difference after firmware let me know if you up grade and see if it all changes, it appears some people are fine and some have really seen a difference, I will post comments from another forum also I know Calabash digger sold his due to the same problem I am having

 

Keep up the good work

 

Thanks for the redirection.

I come from the school of thought "If it ain't broke... don't fix it".  I don't intend on upgrading my firmware due to the success I am having with the original.  As others have suggested in this and MANY other thread and forums... if the new firmware doesn't do it for you... roll it back.  How many other machines give you the ability to tailor the machine programming to the type of hunting and ground/target conditions you have?  Not many, and I think that is pretty cool.  My opinion is the engineers at Minelab have already addressed this concern..  it is the original firmware.  

My apologies for posting off-topic, I have nothing more to add to this thread.  HH and good luck. ~Tim

On ‎11‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 3:14 PM, SnohomishDigger said:

GB - this one was found in western Washington, about 30 miles north of Seattle. The photos are after washing with dish soap and water to remove some clingy soil and mild staining. It came out of the ground looking very much like this - quite bright compared to the Jeffersons and buffs I’ve found around here. Other nickels I find will range from dull grey to red/orange.

Found a 1945 War Nick today in SW Washington... came in at a solid 16 at about 7".  My Equinox seems to love war nickels (or maybe I love digging them) I think I have pocketed 6 or 7 this year with the Equinox... ranging from 12 to 18 on the ID scale.  Tim.

I have been hunting with my 15" coil for the past 3 weeks or so, and I have seen a shift in the ID's compared to the stock 11 and the 6".  For example, my first hunt I noticed that the two 1911 Wheats I dug, both were ID'ing in the upper 20's.  (27 - 30).  In between the two wheats, I got a solid high tone that was id'ing in the mid 30's (32 - 37) which ended up being a 40's rosie.  In my subsequent hunts, I have found that the nickel range is pretty solid (12-13) and zinc pennies usually don't come in above 20... so pretty similar to the other coils... but higher conductors... copper pennies and above, all seem to be coming in more bouncy and with several points higher on the id scale.  Yesterday I dug a clad quarter at about 3 inches... solid 35.  I don't mind... I am digging anything in the nickel range and above a 17 without question anyway... but was just wondering if other 15" users have see the same results. 

By the way, my standard setup is Park 1, 50 Tone, Recovery 5 or 6, IB 0 on the new firmware.  I have disconnected the coil and re-installed it, run a factory reset on the machine, and even reloaded the update to see if any would change the results.  No change. 

Having said all that... I am really enjoying the performance of the 15 in my ground.  Definitely a good addition to my arsenal for those wide open parks and sports fields!

Tim.

I have the 6" loaded on my 600 with the original firmware... hunted with it today... found a 7" War Nick in difficult soil in a trashy area next to a baseball field concession stand (you can imagine the noise there).  While I am switching back and forth between the stock and 15" on my 800.... this 6" never fails to uncover something I didn't expect.  Do I dig some iron?  yes.  Is that different than any other of 15 machines I have used... resounding no.  Your mileage may vary... but I am in no hurry to take the 6" off.  Tim.

Tom, looking at your finds, you must have spent a fair amount of time on those 12-18 TID's.  I also failed to notice the number of wheat cents in my vision being blinded by all the IHP's.  That is some target rich ground you were hunting.  Can't wait to see your next installment.

Tim

Nice finds for the month Tom.  That is quite a haul on those IHP's!!  Tim

You are KILLING me Bryan!!!   Man!... huge congrats!

19 hours ago, Cabin Fever said:

First hunt with my new 15” coil and I am definitely impressed.. The weight is so light for a big coil that I didn’t give it a thought all day.  It pinpoints with ease but you will appreciate and miss the capabilities of the stock 11” coil once you find yourself in heavy trash.. This should be expected of course but I was still able to isolate a couple coins near iron on todays hunt with the big coil. It just took a little more effort.. The thing that was most noticeable was how hard it hit coins at  9-10 inch depths..  All coins found today were between 8 and 10 inches except the Shield Nickel hung up in some roots around 7”.  My friend who I consider a better hunter then I, did not find ONE old coin today with his MX Sport.  This is a very tough sight and everything is real deep. The guilt factor was getting so high by the end of the hunt I almost didn’t want to find another coin.  It’s much funner when everyone is doing well for sure.  

The IDs and depth gauge accuracy seem better then my 11” stock coil.  The Barber Dime was a full 10” with solid mid to high 20s all the way around.. No doubt it was a coin. In fact I told my friend I thought it was silver before I dug.  The ground is tough around here and very few Detectors can ID anything correctly past 6”.

To sum up my experience, the 15” Coil is a great addition to the Equinox coil lineup.. It’s a no-brainer if you have large open areas to hunt with moderate or less trash.. It will spend a great deal of time on my 800 for sure!

Bryan

 

Dang Bryan!  I'm on the wrong side of the state!  Awesome finds!!  I can't wait to get my 15" this week!!  And I can vouch for your comments about the tough ground and the 6" limit.  If this 15" gives a little better response at the 6+" range... it is a game changer (on a machine that is already a game changer). ~Tim.

6 hours ago, EL NINO77 said:

One of the possibilities of comparing the current and the new firmware is to locate 10-20 suspected signals in the terrain, and then verify them on another firmware ... at the same time...

This is very true El Nino.   I have done this test once (although it was with the 800 and 600 on different firmware versions... but all other settings equal according to the manual).  I had intended on doing a more comprehensive test like this sooner... and still do intend to do that.  Unfortunately, I usually have short windows of time to hunt (so I am reluctant to spend it testing rather than getting my knees dirty and digging up as many desirable targets as I can in the short window of time I have to hunt), and then the 6" came - so I have that comparison to get my hands around... and now the 15" is shipping to arrive early next week.. .haha.  I need to take some vacation time from work! 

What I did find in my short test between firmware versions using the 11" coil on the two machines, is that the 10 targets I found with the 800 on new firmware, hit equal, or slightly better than the old firmware.  2 targets specifically sounded better on the new... one happened to be a silver rosie, and the other a 6" wheat on edge.  That isn't to say I wouldn't have dug them both on the old firmware machine... hard to tell when you have a spot mark and are cross checking... what would actually happen in a one machine real hunt... but under the conditions, with the targets I had, and minimizing but not eliminating all the variables (maybe my swing path was at a slightly different angle even thought I was walking the same path... etc), that was what my findings were. 

Hopefully a more comprehensive test sample and report to follow.

Tim.

7 hours ago, Alluminati said:

Some days my coffee tastes better then others.

One of the most intuitive things I have ever heard Alluminati.  Nicely stated.  ~Tim.

Great information Dew, thanks for sharing.  I have added that setup in my notebook as "Dew Tones" :). 

I hunted a modern high school last night for about an hour using the "3 tone/5 bin" setup I talked about on another thread... which is decent for cherrypicking coins around trash, but it is amazing how fast your brain (well... at least my brain) adjusts to ignoring a mid tone, even though I fully intended on hunting them too.  By the time I finished my short hunt, I was already ignoring the mids, and stopping to look at the highs.  Spending more time learning the nuances between the 18 tone, 13 tone, and 20 tone... I really believe will help my brain not categorically dismiss those mid tones.  ~Tim

On 10/30/2018 at 11:53 AM, dewcon4414 said:

changing the high digit bins to 13 really makes cans larger now...... and i catch deep dimes and quarters easier that might have just given a short high pitch before

Dew, so did you set the non coin signals to a high tone, to make them sound smaller?  I definitely noticed the "size" difference with a tone 25 that you mentioned.  

The beauty is that the bins and tones can be pretty easily tailored to each users ear.  I applaud your outside the box approach!  Tim.  

Wasn't exactly sure where to post this... but thought it most relevant on this thread.  It was a rainy day here, so on a lunch break, I put on my slicker and decided to hit a little triangle patch near a park in my town's "old neighborhood" hoping to find an oldie or two.  I also wanted to try the "3 tone" setup discussed above.  I made iron the low tone, 11-13 & 20-40 the high tone, and everything else mid tone.  Even so... I dug a few mid tones for good measure, especially when they were hitting hard.  Near my car on the way back, I got a SOLID high tone... locked in at 11.  In 50 tone, I may have looked and kept walking as it would have caused me pause because it was near nickels, but I probably would have passed because it was rainy... I was in the "old neighborhood"... and I was really looking for an old coin under the conditions.  But I have to believe... because it was HIGH tone and yelling at me... TID be damned... I dug the 11.  Glad I did.  Appears to be 10K, with 10 channel set diamonds (yet to be tested). 

There is another thread about turning the tone scheme on it's head and setting high tone to the gold areas, and low tones to the coin areas - so our conditioned response to dig high tones will find more gold (and foil and other junk targets)… at least that is what I took from the thread.  I'm starting to think there is some validity to it. 

BTW, this is my first Equinox Gold.  E800 - 11", Updated firmware, Park 1, Custom tones/bins as outlined above, recovery 6, IB 2.   

~Tim.

I have tested gold mode out in a few tot lots.  Usually when I want to clear out every bit of foil and every bobby pin (surprising they are still used in abundance around my area)… and hopefully small gold.  It is a powerfully sensitive tool. If only I lived near gold country, I would be prospecting with the 800 regularly. ~Tim.

2 hours ago, midalake said:

For the beach! I am still wondering WHY I would want more then one tone? If it is out of the "ferrous" area and repeats, DIG IT.  There is still lots of information that can be garnished from every signal by hunting in one tone like: Size, depth, length, and then comparing every signal in the same tone.  Convince me otherwise!  Dave

I hunted a tot lot this weekend and decided I would dig anything that gave a non-ferrous reading.  I switched over to 2 tone, and I get it.  If it beeps, dig it.  I found a few pieces of junk jewelry that probably wouldn't have warranted a pinpointer had I been in 50 tones as I normally hunt.  In a tot lot, I don't mind picking through bits of foil and trash because it is easy recovery in the wood chips.  I found a pocket full of clad which made the day a moderate success, and had there been any gold or silver in the chips, I'm confident I would have found them.  The only downside to 2 tone for this type of hunting is... the play structure sounds like every other diggable tone, so a tight swing pattern is key.  In 50 tone, I am somewhat able to hear the different tone of the structure, but then again, it masks targets close to the structure anyway.  all even.  BTW, the 6" coil is much easier to manage in those tight quarters (no pun intended) than the 11".  ~Tim.

Nice Bryan!!!  I need to work my way up to the Spokane area to learn from the master!!