schoolofhardNox

Since we are all bitchin' 😄 I mean rationally discussing our preferences, I just want a waterproof GPX 5000 in a lighter box with an internal battery🤬 If they make it in the shape of a tire tube it will float 😆. No weight at all.

9 minutes ago, Joe D. said:

   That's a scratch, where, I believe, stupid me nailed it!!😵 And it was in awsome near uncirculated condition!!😔

And I'm outta likes today!😔

It almost looked raised up. That would have been a cool error coin if it was. Hey at least you didn't scratch a 1916 D 😲 We all scratch coins sometimes. It makes you very careful afterwards for quite a while 😄

40 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

No problem, yes, I have Andre pencils, and some new ones that look cool but I haven't used them yet. 😀 I will definitely ask him! 👍

Always clean your coppers dry. Use those pencils around the first digits of the date, since you know what those numbers are. Light pressure and in a very minute circular motion. Don't rush it. Just blow off the dirt you've loosen up, as you go. Do other parts of the coin if you are not quite up to doing the last digit. Just my 2cents worth.

I don't have a Legend so I can't tell you much about that, but a lot of guys hunt by discriminating out almost everything, except a slot for nickels and another wider slot just above zinc cents. That includes all copper cents - silver dollar. They usually have a small buffer of 1 or 2 numbers each way to account for ground conditions. So if your nickles read say 12, then they would allow 11, 12, 13. So you would get some gold possibly. Like other said, set your recovery speed/reactivity faster, and slow down you coil speed. I would use a 1 tone of 2 tone program since all the rest is discriminated out, you won't need multi/variable tones. Once you get the hang of that you can loosen up discrimination to include other numbers. You could also try a single frequency if you have that option. You Tube some videos of park hunting with the Legend and see how they do it.

33 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

Wow, what an extabbaganza! 😀 (Now I'll have to fix that next time I want to use the real word) 

You sure show the uninitiated what using a PI is like, the "dig it all" of it.

Great and realistic hunt again. 👍

You can have my tabs 😄 I could never dig it all on that beach 😲 otherwise you would see a lot more iron. Believe it or not that is the cherry picked version. I did pass on a lot of the obvious iron. Yep, PI's are not for the faint hearted. Some people using PI's, take the time and analyze their targets and they probably dig a lot less iron than I do, that's for sure. Most people  who are used to discrimination don't like PI's and go back to their detectors. Most of the veteran hunters have had experience with both (and some with BFO's too) and can handle the differences when needed.

Great hunt! I love barbers (except the ones that want to cut my hair) 😄. Very well rounded hunt. My guess on the half cent is 1808, if not then 1800. Both those dates had the high last digit almost touching the bust. The 1803 was the flat top of the 3 style and not a rounded top, so unless the corrosion made that top part look round, but it really is not, then it can be an 1803. In that condition it will be hard to get that last digit clearly. If you are still pulling out stuff like that, then just imagine what is hiding below or right next to iron 🧐

1 minute ago, Sirius said:

Two people asked me the same question 2 days ago, I just told them I don't watch TV 🙂
It also seems like you pull up a ton of trash with the GPX, but it's hitting those good targets too! Is it difficult to discriminate between ferrous and non ferrous with that detector? Cause I noticed you picked up a ton of iron.
 

Most of the wire iron was with the Manticore. The small single pieces of iron and some of the big iron was with the GPX. When the small iron gets deeper, it's better to just dig it and not waste too much time wondering if it's a deep coin or just iron. I dig really fast, so I just dig it. The pull tabs killed me the most from that hunt - low conductors and not one of them was gold. On the GPX, the low conductors are harder than high conductors to tell apart, because the small iron has a small footprint and won't double beep. The longer pieces will either double beep, or when you circle the coil around target, you will usually hear a bit of sound from two opposite sides of the target. So circle the coil tightly around the target, if its small you will not hit it with the coil and you will hear no sound, but if it's elongated, you will hear a slight sound from 2 opposite sides of the target (like 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions). It's not full proof, but it works when you want to take the time and figure it out.

Nice looking ring. We get those ship spikes up here but ours probably date in the 1800's. You guys go back a bit earlier and can have some gold or silver from them ships as well 😍. But that Mercury is what I am wondering about. Is that line that goes across her cheek raised up or is it a scratch? If it's raised up you have a coin that came from a pretty significant cracked die.

14 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Even the stock White's TDI/SL and its waterproof sister?  Given your next post, do you mean specifically in magnetic black sand?

Another hard day's work for you while we sit on our couches and watch.    It's amazing how many targets you recover.  BTW, what is that long skinny thing on the right side of the non-ferrous junk photo?

Yep, in most black sands in my area. I should have said that 🙄 I keep forgetting that there are other areas that don't have to deal with that stuff. Lucky (or unlucky) them.  🤔 That long thing is a mystery object. It was still in its sealed plastic sleeve when found. I'm not sure what it is, and it sounded like it has a spring inside of it. I'm not pulling off them caps 😄.

Beach hunt # 23 was at a beach I have not done in years. This is an area that I wanted to try out the Manticore to weed through the junk and also try the GPX to hit targets below the vast amount of cobble that lay exposed in one section of the beach. But as we all know, things don’t always go as expected. First thing I noticed was that the bulldozer was at work and there were many big piles waiting to be spread out on the beach. Sounds like a win-win situation, as that sand must have been removed from somewhere else on the beach. I pulled out the Manticore and started hunting around the big piles. Unfortunately there was a lot of broken wire from the slat type fences they use to keep that sand banks in place. They work well but get busted up quite a bit from big storms. Also, the beach had exposed black sand on its surface. There were older copper cents at 2-3” deep, so I knew there would be better targets there. Unfortunately, the Manticore (like the Equinox) does not do well in exposed black sand. 2-3” on a coin was all I could get. Bummer ☹️  I messed with some of the settings but soon gave up. I don’t know if Minelab is holding back on some of the technology that can make their newest detectors work in black sand or if it’s not possible for Multi IQ and Multi IQ+ to work if black sand is present. Either way, I abandoned the Manticore and quickly fired up the GPX. I went back to the same area and started popping coins all over. Now there are drawbacks to the GPX, since I also started to hit pull tabs at 10+” as well. I figured there must be a gold ring somewhere, but not today. I thought I struck gold twice today, once in a hoop earring and the other was a stunning 5 heart stone earring. Too good to be true. Both were bling and no amount of close scrutiny would put the letter K on either of them. I did get a silver Mercury and Roosevelt, along with a silver ring and earring, so all was not lost. You can clearly see the difference in the amount of coins and jewelry between the Manticore and GPX when conditions get harsher.  😉 The beach has potential, so I may hit it again with the pulse. Now if I can just stop people from asking me if I watch “The Detectorist” comedy series. 🙄

On 2/9/2023 at 12:57 AM, Joe D. said:

   Another great report(s) and finds! Nice to see that the M-core is working into your lineup well!

   With a little "PI inspiration" from you and others, I recently changed my beach lineup as well, with a couple of PI's! Been running a TDI SL & Miner John 7.5x12 coil, with much improved depth, over my 800! And also got a Tesoro Sandshark to back it up in the wet stuff! Don't know if they can compete with the GPX, but they were considerably cheaper!!🤑 Still gotta do some mods to the TDI, to squeeze out even more depth! Than hopfully find your kind of spots to "pillage"!🏴‍☠️ (F350 term)!!😂🤞🍀

Keep up the good work!!🍀👍👍

 

You will gain lots of muscles now that you have PI's. 😄 Any PI will get you more and deeper targets. The key is to use it in areas that have been "cleansed" of the surface targets and where you know there may be deeper targets. You don't have to compete with the GPX, just have to compete against your beach. It's just you against the sand 😉. The TDI can go very deep as well, and it's pretty stable too. I had a beach hunt yesterday where a PI was a must. The Manticore (and the Equinox for that matter), failed miserably at the black sand areas. Could hardly pick up a penny at 2-3" Maybe if I would fool with the individual frequencies I might have gotten 4" 😆, but I'm too lazy and intolerant for that. 😇 back to the trunk you go and out comes the PI to save the day.

I would think that a 6" coil at max sensitivity would be good on the wet slope looking for chains and micro jewelry. Something I may try when the beach is ripped up from a storm, once the big coil is done searching. Nice score on the pair of earrings!

Nice, old finds. That does look like a part of an old (17th century) folding knife. We found a couple of them with that curved, blunt bottom. Are those lead pieces net weights?

I would think (guess) that there are just test points on the boards, and that there is an acceptable range of tolerance that allows a unit to pass. They can't all measure out exactly the same. So maybe some machines are still in the acceptable tolerance range in certain areas and others that are spot on, just like the lab prototypes. But then there is the coil, and that is where I think the tolerance is most important. Put together a unit who's PC board just makes the lowest tolerance level and place a just acceptable coil on it and you have an under performer. Put together the perfect unit with a perfectly balanced coil and you have a machine that just works great. I don't know if that scenario is what is going on, but in my head, it makes perfectly good sense 😆

Awesome find. When you break into the 1500's there isn't much further back you can go around here.

2 hours ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

That's quite an interesting comparison between the Manticore and GPX. Congrats on the gold ring, well done!

Thank you. It really does show what each machine can do in about the same amount of time.  Although not a true comparison, since I can't fire up both machines on a beach at the same time.

2 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

Nice hunt!  Congrats on the gold.

Comparing the Manticore to the GPX is probably a test, but you certainly proved it will hold its own.

So I guess you create a scale with your hands and decide whether you want less trash and shallower finds, or more trash and older, deeper stuff? 😀 🤔

Seems to me a win/win either way, but the point is you still can go deep if you want. 👍

Thanks.. Yep, unless a beach is completely sanded in, I'll be running the Manticore first and then going over it again with the GPX. The Manticore still gets me 10-12" if the EMI is mild and the sand is wet and mostly free of black sand. I think it will work well on flat beaches. I'll have to try that on a real low tide sometimes. This tide was a +0.3, so not very low at all.  But if you want deep, the GPX is the way to go. Wet sand I was hearing 15" softly, but solid.

Beach hunt # 22 was at a small beach that I was going to try some shallow water hunting at. Tides were not very low, but there was enough of the exposed beach to keep me busy. So no water hunt – saving it for warmer weather. I started with the Manticore and dug a lot of iffy targets so I could learn a bit more about how I can cherry pick, but still be confident that I am not missing anything in the small jewelry range. I could see holes in the water from the water guys and finding coins on the dry areas was a challenge for the Manticore. No 100+ coins this hunt. I did get a beautiful 53 reading at depth, and after extracting it and pinpointing it, I kept saying  to myself (in jest), this is the perfect gold target ID. So I scrape the sand away and there pops up a 7 gram, 14k man’s ring. This never happens when you say it’s going to be gold, at least it doesn’t for me. But that’s what it was and quite early in the hunt. I also hit a really beat Mercury and a bit of a toe ring. I later switched to the GPX and soon found out that the coins were out of range of the Manticore. They were 15+ inches deep and I was hoping for some more gold, but nickels is all I kept getting for low conductors. Sun setting, I called it a day. My first gold with the Manticore, and it hit very nicely tone wise and display wise. I’m liking this machine a lot.

2 minutes ago, DSMITH said:

I was going to give a link where Meril accused Mine Lab of Lieing, but it looks like it has been removed LOL

Minelab reached out to him. He is re doing the video and including answers from Minelab on questions he had. They did not ask him to remove the video. He decided to make it private for a short time and then to delete it and redo it with any corrections or misunderstandings he may or may not have had. We shall see.

Here is how I do mine. I hate it when I scratch a coin.... no excuse for that, but poor pinpointing and digging technique.  I generally don't scratch the dirt off a silver unless it's a Roosevelt or Washington. I try and wait until I get home. The reason is I have found quite a few 1916 Mercury Dimes. If I rub the dirt on them, then I take the chance of one day seeing a "D" mint mark on a coin that may have passed grading. I haven't found that "D" yet, but who knows. Here are two examples of coins I dug and lightly washed the dirt off of them. Sent them into PCGS when they had a grading special if you joined. All the other silver and of course all of the coppers were rejected. This was just before they started slabbing environmental damage or cleaned on them. I was pleasantly surprised with the grades, higher than I expected. So, for most people it's up to them, but for me I rather wait and see if I have something with nice details, even if it's a common coin. I buy those do it yourself slabs for those coins.

When they use those digging knives and scratch the coin drives me even more nuts. 😄 Then they just say" Oh well at least I saved the coin from being in the ground" 🤬 But they never stop using that digging tool and continue to gouge more coins. 🙄

Nice that you got your SLQ. They aren't as common as you would think. Barber is more common to find than SLQ. It takes a certain site that is popular during their minting to get more that one SLQ's. And those trimes are even harder to find. A tiny coin for sure.

1 hour ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

Wow, that's a heap of coins and copper and silver is always good to find. That grassy field might be hinding some deeper silver the others missed. Well done!

Thanks. The fields are a weird consistency. There seems to be a layer of top soil around 9 inches and then a old, hard pan like layer below that. Almost everything is 9 inches and above. After that it's very hard to dig, and I'm not sure if there is an older layer than what everyone is reaching. I have yet to get a target in that hard layer.

1 hour ago, F350Platinum said:

Wow! You're starting to look like a VLF Hunter man, trash to finds is pretty even. 👍 😀 That's a lot of coins for this time of year, I went to a local beach and got .87. 🤣 not worth it. 

That ring looks really nice, seems to have some fancy hallmarks, so you probably knocked out of of the park there. Add two silvers and a ton of modern change, that's a lot of digging. 👍 

I wonder what took a bite out of the heart, or is that by design?

Thanks. I really want to get the PI out, but I have to play with the new machine to see what it brings for my type of detecting. So far I really like it, much more than the 800. It does bring back E Trac/ CTX memories but with a modern twist.  The ring is odd. I believe it's a cobalt mix and the designer has a lot of variations, but this particular model says 8K and also .925. Most of his rings are Cobalt/mix. I can't find one that is .925. I should check his site and not retail sites. It is a big ring though. That heart has that slice in it for the other person to have the key to their heart. I'm not fond of it because it was deep and rang in the silver range. I thought I had a quarter of half, but no.... I got aluminum 🙄

55 minutes ago, strick said:

Nice work there Nox...I could tell by the photos right away that you were using the M-Core before I even read about your hunt. I've been using the M-Core exclusively except for a brief stint this morning at a nail infested hotel site. The M-Core is geared more toward coins then any other detector I've ever used. It bangs hard on all of them including nickels which I'm a bit surprised you did not bother with as they usually hit well in the 26-28 range where I hunt...I've been digging an averge of 12-15 per hunt in my clad infested parks...hoping for  gold ring....that said gold rings I'm not so sure yet if it hits as well as the Nox but on coins it's a no brainer the M-Core is leaps and bounds above the Nox....there I said it 😜

strick 

I agree - it bangs on coins. Nice, solid, pure hits. No nickel digging for me. Thousands of low conductor hits, so I passed on them. I just wanted to see how much silver is left there. Not much but still not zero. I can't see a reason for the Nox except for chains and maybe tiny studs... not something I would hunt for exclusively. If I lived closer and not 2 hours away, I would dig the low conductors and keep a list of pull tab numbers and only dig the other numbers. But it makes no sense for me to mess with those low odds vs the time I have to detect. That is why I never waste a lot of time talking to people when they stop and ask me questions.

19 minutes ago, rvpopeye said:

Impressive finds pile as always  .  👍

(Too bad the purple corvette has a bent rear ax...)

Thank You. I may fix that axle and sell the car on E Bay for around 15k 😬

Beach hunt # 21 was back at the beach I found the Seated dime at. I was hoping the low tide was low enough for me to hit the rock area again, but it was not quite low enough. I only had about ¾ of an hour before the tide rose and pushed me up on the drier sand. But I did manage to find a silver/cobalt ring, and a small silver earring. The dry sand only had zincs and other trash. I did notice the Manticore loves saturated sand, although it ups the high conductors towards the 99 region. I will come back here the next time the tide is really low. Did about 3 ½ hours and decided to go to another beach and hit those big grass fields. I recently started to hunt these fields after hearing how good they have been through the years for a lot of local hunters. The silver fields they call them. I tried my E Trac there for a couple hunts, then the 800 for one or two hunts, and finally the Manticore on it. They previous hunters’ cherry picked high, (silver) conductors, so there is a lot of clad and copper cents left. I dug all high conductors, with the occasional low conductor every once in a while. There are literally thousands of low conductor targets, mostly pull tabs and foil. So, no nickels on this hunt. I dug the cans mostly to get them out of the way. You could tell they were big targets, and they rang between zinc and copper pennies. Same goes for the aluminum bottle caps. I dug those because I’m not sure where the big gold rings read yet. It’s been a while since I dug over a hundred coins, but they add up quick. The Manticore seems to do better at separating the target ID on coins in dirt, while grouping the high conductor ID’s closer together in wet sand at depth. Both wet and dry just hit more clearly than the 800 does. I even take the same path back to the car and was amazed at how many coin targets I was digging compared to the Nox. It definitely bangs out the clad quite well. I did manage 2 silvers, so I was happy about that. A long hunt but worth the time spent with a new machine. Next week, I may try a new beach dirt and sand hunt as well.

I'm somewhere in the middle. Not white sand and not extreme magnetite sand. I have found that the Manticore performs best on the wet saturated sand and does not do as well in the dry areas (with black sand showing/mixed in) In the wet areas, on my beaches, it ups the numbers closer to 99 (even on copper pennies), where as on dirt the numbers are lower and better separated. It does go deep, but I think it's best characteristic so far is the clarity and sharpness of coin signal, even at depth. I haven't posted yet, but above a beach, (grass dirt area), I hit coin after coin. I usually walk the same path back to the car when I hunt there and I was shocked at the number of coin hits the 800 missed. It's the clarity of the signal that impresses me the most. I agree that there is a lot of potential to unlock on this machine.

Awesome find. So many varieties of patriotic and store card tokens, keeps it fun. Way better than an Indian (unless it's the '77) 😄