DIG5050

The Apex seems to have only a single recovery time. I don’t know if the ATMax is the same. The recovery time hampers the ability of the detector in target separation in a trashy site. I think you are going to experience difficulty in trashy areas with nearly any detector. In trashy areas, the 5 x 8 coil definitely makes it a lot easier to hunt with the Apex. I use it a lot around old home sites. When it comes to trash and size, i.e. siding scrap, I try to “size” the target with the pinpoint function. If it seems too big to be a coin, you can choose to dig it or skip it. As the targets at the site begin to diminish, I can go back over it later and dig. I bought an extra lower shaft and mounted the 5 x 8 coil so I can quickly swap them at a site you cannot cover a lot of ground with it quickly but you will separate the coins from the trash better. Even the ‘Nox has smaller round and oval coils available for better separation in trashy areas, even with its adjustable recovery time. Good luck hunting!

Great job, Hibernia1776. You did it! It just goes to show how hard it can be for a detectorist to find an object on a site that we know is there, let alone when we’re trying to find something without prior knowledge of it. The iron and other junk can mask the signal if interest, making it very difficult to determine whether to dig or not. Plus, the detector technology has improved over the years making it possible to detect in junk laden areas, and still find objects of interest. You witnessed that effect first hand. Congrats! I hope you will enjoy detecting other places now that you know detecting can be rewarding in lots of ways. It’s a great hobby,

It sounds like You've cleaned out all of the clear sounding targets, and some of the junk targets. When you hear the sounds like you mention in your post above, those targets are ones to dig, assuming the ring is being masked by iron, such as a rusty nail. I don't have a Vanquish, but bouncy VDI and sounds like you mention are common to lots of detectors with VDI. If you have a nail tangent to a target, you might only hear the target's true response when swinging from one direction, iron sound from the other three directions, because the detector detects the iron first in those 3 directions. Or if a nail is pointing to a target you might hear the target's true response when swinging from 3 directions, 90degrees apart. The fourth swing might be simply iron sound. Nails above or below the target make it harder to find so swinging in 4 directions as GB_Amateur mentioned in his post above can sometimes help. Anytime I hear a decent tone mixed with iron buzz I go over it repeatedly until I decide if I want to dig it or not. Most of the time, it turns out to be a desirable target; but sometimes not. Try not to hurry through the detecting process. If you swing too fast, your detector's recovery time between targets might further mask your ring. I would go back over the grid you mentioned and mark some of the iffy signals like you referenced above, and dig a few of them. I hope you are able to find your ring.

First don’t panic. The house is going up for sale as you said. It is not sold or closed upon. So you still have a decent time to search for it. Locating a buyer and time for closure normally takes a while. Next, is there a chance that your parents let someone else detect the yard? If so, someone else might have found it previously. If not, read on… Locating a gold ring in a junk filled yard is not an easy task, even for a seasoned detectorist. It takes time and getting to know the machine, it’s sounds, and other characteristics. Since you have several detectors to choose from, try each detector with some similar gold rings so you can hear the tones each produces. You can adjust the sensitivity or disc to make sure you can pick up each and every ring. Choose the detector that seems to give you the best response to the ring closest to yours, but make sure the settings let you detect all rings you try. If there is iron in the yard in the form of nails, etc., choosing a detector with a double D coil with the sensitive strip in the center of the coil like the vanquish, rather than a donut shaped coil might help. Try searching the area moving in a left to right pattern, then change your direction of pattern 90degrees. Sometimes this helps. You’ll have to listen for a tone like the ones you heard when you listened to the reference rings you tested. If you hear anything like the sound of the reference ring, dig it. Even if the sound is preceded by an iron tone, or followed by an iron tone. Iron next to the target could mask the signal (shifting its tone up or down) and make it more difficult to locate. I’m sure other detectorists will chime in with helpful suggestions. Good luck in your endeavor. If you find it, let us know.

I stand corrected regarding the recovery speed in various modes. After a brief test using the same discrimination settings for both the US coins mode and the custom mode, I do not see a faster recovery speed in the custom mode. Hence, the recovery speed is the same in at least those two modes, possibly all of them as stated above. This past winter I spent a lot of time playing with settings on the Apex to see what best suited my needs for the machine, and believe that I tried the US coins mode on groups of different denominations of coins 3” apart. I don’t recall adjusting the US coins mode disc settings so I might have experienced one coin masking another affecting the sounds emitted by the detector. The lack of sounds during masking of coins created the perception of missed targets, or slower recovery speed. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

I like the name branded forums. Presently, I have a Garrett Apex that fulfills most of my detecting needs. If I want to read about ML or XP or Nokta, I’ll jump to their forums and read. But to me presently, the current format is preferred. That said, my Apex is equipped with the Viper coil. I purchased both the Ripper and the Raider coils for difficult sites.. I mostly like the Ripper for detecting old homesites to get through all of the iron and it does a great job doing so. The Viper coil does a pretty good job at this as well, and covers more ground faster. I have not used the Raider coil enough to comment yet, but you can feel it’s extra weight on the end of the detector’s lower shaft, and it has a bit more depth than the other two coils. Once you learn the Apex’s tones, and that there are different recovery times for different detecting modes, and how to use the iron audio to your advantage, it’s really a pretty decent machine for the price point. Plus the fact that Garrett is going to move forward by improving the firmware periodically, AKA rev. 1.28 update, to best of my knowledge, have never released user installable updates previously. For me, the Apex is exactly what I wanted in a machine; turn on and go without a lot of pushing buttons; with just enough adjustability to work most sites for which I am interested, and then some. Let’s all “Keep Digging” guys and gals, no matter the detector of your preference and finding the nectar. That’s what matters.