CliveHamy

Hi Nuke em, Some great finds, thanks for sharing them. What part of the UK are you in? I'm not getting the same luck, what settings are you using? - I assume Beach 1for Dry settings, and Beach 2 for wet sand and in the water. - Are you making any changes to the basic settings. Normally I prefer the fields inland, but I've tried the beaches here in Devon. My Nox seems much better than my old Garrett especially in sea water, first time out I discovered two old sixpences, but not much else since. Hence my question about your location. I assume its in a more popular location? I generally search two beaches, one that is busy in Summer, but I suspect that there are other detectorists that check the beach every day. The other beach was used to practice the D Day landings, it's remote, windswept, and pebbly, so not the crowds, I do find .303 cartridges and shrapnel. Any tips on avoiding can slaw? I find whole cans at 22, but fragments at any number down to about 7. Finally does anyone know what ZHU YA LIAO ZHI XIE KE LI means? (I've tried translations on the web) I've found a packet washed up on the beach - size of a T bag, with lots of printed Chinese writing and those words. I assume it's a sort of herbal medicine. Cheers Clive

Hi Steve, a great report, I really enjoyed it, especially your observations on our British ways. What settings did you use whist during the trip? I assume Park2 with an increased IB? Or were you in your favorite gold mode? P.S. the Wavery white lines go with the Pedestrian crossing, means no stopping, and always fines, points on the License if seen by the police. Re the Weather, we have new weather fronts (with rain) coming in all year round from the West roughly every 3 days, so very variable. Sometime between May to September, we will have one week of blue skies, warm weather no rain, due to a stationary high pressure zone, but we never know when. The North is Colder than the South, so as mentioned the best time to come is when the farmers let you on their fields. Pasture and Meadow is available all the year round, but long grass is a pain. Cheers Clive

I use the RavPower Qualcom quick charge 3.0 iSmar+, for my noxit has two ports so I do headphones as well, but anything that works with the nox

Hi Dubious, I've been searching for APTX low latency earbuds, very hard to be sure from the product descriptions that they are LL. Are the CX 6.00 BT definitely Low Lotency in the NOX meaning?. Want to be sure before paying £80+. Does anyone know of any other Earbuds that are definitely LL Aptx? Amazon seem to show two others as Low latency but I have my doubts:- Bluetooth Headphones, BlitzWolf Magnetic aptX Stereo IPX4 Sweatproof Wireless Sport Earphones In Ear Earbuds for Running Gym (Low Latency, 8-Hour Playtime, Microphone, Volume Control, Secure Fit) - Black £23.99 Bluetooth Headset, Rockrok Wireless Sport In Ear Headphones Sweatproof Earbuds With Microphone for ios and Android (Bluetooth 4.1, APTX Low Latency, Noise Cancelling, Tangle Free Cord, Volume Control) £14.85 Cheers Clive

Hi Andy Somewhere on this blog (NOX FAN CLUB) was a topic which had a link to a clip of someone testing many, many types of gold rings. They recorded their weights, purity etc and VDI's it was pre the latest update. The VDI where in a wide range depending on weight and purity. I remember all were solid tones and VDI numbers, except a few interesting cases where the rings were split, or wrap-around not a continuous band and in those cases the VDI's moved around. (A bit like with horse-shoes! ) If I find the post again I'll provide the link.

Hi Steve On handbooks, I see that we've got V2 of the instruction guide out. Can you tell us how much has changed, and is it worth us all printing out the latest copy? I've done that, but could not see any changes (not a thorough check). Is there a corrections sheet, could save the planet a lot of paper and printer ink!, Cheers Clive

Brilliant finds, great reporting, thanks for the target ID's, what did all metal show up? and what Mode did you use/prefer, I assume either Field 1 or 2? Cheers Clive

Hi Steve Re:- "The F-Pulse takes a little getting used to after using the Garrett Carrot (Pro-Pointer AT) a lot. It does want to interfere with my Equinox more than the Carrot. Rather than change the frequency on the pinpointer so far I turn the F-Pulse on before doing the Equinox frequency scan, and that generally does the trick" I've noticed the same problem with interference with the NOX . Does this approach work without having to be repeated throughout a day? i.e. switch on the F-pulse, then the NOX, then you can switch off the F-pulse until you need it? Also if you do adjust the frequency on the pinpointer and then turn it off, will it remember the frequency for the next time? If so does it remember it if you have to take out the batteries, or have you got to do the whole process again? (I've got R1 software and get frequent lockup's) Finally, if you have a break, and switch off your NOX, do you need to do either process again when you start out again, or will the NOX have retained its previous settings? Cheers Clive

Sounds like a great location - Watling Street. Now that's a real Roman Road. Have you tried looking at www.lidarfinder.com ? You may see some ground works that could be Roman, - rectangular stuff. Or I wonder if anyone is publishing the recent aerial photos mentioned in the news in this hot weather. Of course, the challenge is getting the permission. I heard someone say the other day that they never find anything Roman beside a Roman road because people don't stop until they get to a way station. But I suspect that there would be burials along the way, and maybe shrines. Are you sure you need a deeper machine? The NOX gives me signals that I'm not prepared to dig as they are more than a shovel's depth and I've got limited time. My challenge is deciding what not to dig..... Cheers Clive

Thanks for that, more luck, I was not far from a Roman road, so I decided to check a slight rise in the field nearby... When I dug it, it was hard to pinpoint, - lots of mud and I think it got stuck to my boot!. I tried using the detector on my boots to check but of course the eyelets gave off a signal, - would have made a good sketch from The Detectorists! Anyway, I've learnt a lesson, I'm going to use signal-less wellies from now on.

Correction Field 2 used

My first Roman Silver found with the NOX, Field2. VDI 14/15, default settings 8 inches down, 4 units on the depth gauge. Lovely tone Believed to be a Silver Denarius by Septimus Severus AD209, This side Minerva, the other side the head of one of his Sons either Geta or Caracalla, commemorating the victories achieved by the Romans led by Severus and Caracalla in Scotland AD209 -10.

Hi NCtoad. Thanks, the reason for my question is that often when I detecting what I call a variable ID object I do get a different Pinpoint ID from the search ID. I find it is fairly common. I've no doubt that when the target is a nice symmetrical coin then the two ID's will be the same, but when you get an object where the search Id is say varying on each sweep say 13/14/15/19 etc then when you switch to pinpoint the ID may be consistently 12. (I've noticed it tends to be on the lower end of the scale). I was wondering if pinpoint was using a different algorithm to the different search modes and whether it would be more reliable as an indicator of the object. (I've also noticed the depth Indicator is often different in the two modes as well) I guess that in your theory, what I am seeing is the last search ID indicated being "grabbed" and displayed in the pinpoint mode. Your model is a good simple explanation but alas means there is nothing extra to be gleaned about the ID of the object. I'm hoping that someone from Minelab can confirm how it works....

Hi Unearth, great questions. My standard approach has been to use Field2 or Park2 and to double check my +ve signals by seeing if there were any -ve figures in AM, and if so, to walk away and not dig. Now this is my approach in typical English fields. I would get say a 100 signals in a field and say only dig 10 of them because of the -ve numbers in AM. Of the 10 I dig, I would still get about 60% of them turning up as corroded metal (not showing any -VE in AM), some as horseshoes. - The rest would be coins and interesting artifacts. Now I've wondered what I'm walking away from, conscious that iron could be hiding a finder, so occasionally, I'll dig out a signal which has a good signal and negative ones in AM, but to date, I've never found a good object. Now so far I've just been using standard settings, not changing Sensitivity, Ground Balance, etc.. but this last weekend I was in a field where in one really large area (half the field) every step I got -ve figures in AM. Now what I do not know was there genuinely there a lot of ferrous rubbish or was this just a local mineralization issue, and regardless of the cause, what is the recommended remedy anyone? Is the answer to ground balance to make the -ve's in AM go away, or should I turn down my sensitivity? - Any recommendations?

Thanks GB-A, I've tested a rusted c20 one, got similar 13 then 14/15/26 depending on orientation.

A request for advice. What VDI would you expect to see when detecting an Iron-Age Axe Head with the NOX? Anyone got one out there that they could test? I've got permission to dig a great site for one day only this weekend close to a Monastery, an Iron-Age Fort and a Norman Castle. Normally I would use Field 2, All metal and no-dig when there is an All-metal signal. Often in a field, I'll get over 100+ signals, (The nox is brilliant in detecting, much more depth than my old machine. The challenge is knowing when not to dig!) and will only dig a few clean signals. Because this site has great potential I do not want to miss out. In my past experience, I've found a modern rusty ax-head and its signal with another machine was all over the place.

hi tnsharpersooter, great feedback. A question. What was the VDI for the target. Did you see a different ID when in pinpointer mode? Cheers CH

Hi Belgy My boring bog standard advice is to start simple and follow the guidelines. Choose one of the modes that seems most appropriate for your locality as per the handbook. Gain experience in that before changing any of the parameters. Use all metal mode to double check the targets for Iron presence, initially dig everything to validate and build a model of behaviour in your mind. Try out different test objects in your backyard - good control environment. I like Field 2, but depends on your environment, I detect in the rolling fields of Devon, but when near to the Farmhouses I use Park 2 as more trashy, but target rich areas. I keep it simple to avoid confusion. Frankly it all depends on where you are and what you want to target. I see that lots of our US cousins focus on coins in Parks, whilst in the UK, many of us are interested in anything old (artifacts) in fields. But then sometimes we get fed up with digging plough shears, horseshoes, eyetubes, shotties, canslaw etc and have days focusing only on coins and digging very few targets and missing out on the interesting stuff. All good fun.

I'm about to do some detecting in English fresh water streams, I assume that the Beach modes are best suited for salt water, so I'm going to use my favorite Field 2 mode in all the default settings, any suggestions? I assume that what I could find is maybe some tiny gold nuggets, silver coins, and misc jewelry and artifacts that have yet to corrode away in the water.

Thanks again Steve, several great new insights, the key being that signal strength received is used as the main depth indicator. Does that mean if you discriminate out certain tones/ID's then you may be reducing the overall signal strength received, and then the depth Indicator may show shallower than if in All Mode? - Apologies if the question is irrelevant - You've made it clear you use other techniques to judge depth.

Thanks Steve. Your reply was crystal clear, no confusion, confirms my understanding. As usual, you've not only answered the question but provided some useful further insight. Thanks again for running a brilliant forum.

Hi, I'm looking for tips about how to tackle high trash areas specifically when you get multiple varying signals in an area. Often I'm detecting in Orchards or pastures right next to farms that would have seen activity going back hundreds, maybe a thousand years. Or my back garden an ex-orchard in a rural village which over the years has been cultivated, had bonfires, lots of activity. In these areas I get many different signals all within a few inches of each other. Generally using P2 or F2, (I like 50 tones) and I prefer not to change any other settings, I dig out any stable solid figures/tones from say 7 onwards if they have no low tones/numbers when I test with All-metal mode. Having done that the remaining signals often are a mix of good signals, some good bouncing around, and negative signals. I'm trying to detect the "shape" of the signals, aiming to identify good positive signals that should be dug, but not sure about the rest. If I see a good solid signal say in the teens say with a -negative number when tested in all metal, should I dig in the hope of say a coin sitting over/next to ferrous, or should I leave alone? Often in the past, I've had a dig it all mentality to gain experience, but frankly in these areas that is not practical as I may just as dig randomly and see what's there with a pinpointer and not use a detector at all!

I would like to understand how Depth Detection works with the Nox (I assume same for other detectors) and discover tips for improving depth detection. I've only been detecting for 1 year, using a Garrett ACE 150 with a dig-it-all attitude essential for beginners. I've now moved to the awesome Nox 800 and want to be more discriminatory in my digging. The Ace depth detector always gave a reliable indication of depth, each spade accurate to 2". I'm not so sure about the NOX, it may be that because it is detecting at such great depth (I'm finding down to at least 15") that more items seem to be >8" or maybe this is a weakness? Anyway it is a brilliant machine, by far the best choice for someone like me moving from beginner. So a) what is the physics behind depth detection?. (timelag measurement?, phase change?) b) what tips for deducing depth? (I've picked up on the triple tone for items very close to the surface, is when the nox shows 5 spades and the item is 6"down I find annoying)

I would like to understand more about what All-Metal Mode does. All the manual basically says is "this disables the current discrimination pattern so that all metal objects will be detected" I normally detect in Orchards using Park2 and Fields using Field2. My main interest is to find artifacts, Jewelry and Coins. My biggest challenge is the amount of farm-related trash such as horseshoes, odd bits of iron, etc. Often I will get a good steady signal in the teens in F2, or P2, only to find it is trash, so NOW my technique is to check it out with All-Metal as well and if I get the deep tones and minus signals I generally decide not to dig. Is this a sound technique? Ok I appreciate that if a coin is right above or below the iron then I may miss it, but I'm happy with that call. Specifically, I wonder if All-metal mode in Park2 gives different output compared to All-Metal in Field2, i.e. are the different algorithm weightings of the different Search Profiles (P1.P2,F1,F2...) still operating or does All-metal override all these search profiles and it does not matter which Search profile you are in? PS this is my first post. This is a great blog for the Equinox, I've been following it for months, well done Steve H.