GB_Amateur

Are you going to get a gusset/stiffener welded onto the weak spot? Seem to recall you did that last time. That was quite an epic journey. The stories that shovel could tell...

Welcome, DF! (Did you forget to attach the 'W'? ) Don't sell yourself short. Everyone's experience level is welcome here, and given your time in the hobby and arsenal, I suspect you have plenty to contribute. I feel for you regarding summer weather. In some parts of the country (e.g. Arizona) that is compensated for by mild winters, but having been to northern Texas (your area as well as Amarillo and Lubbock neighborhoods) many times in multiple seasons I know it can be pretty uncomfortable then, too. Enjoy your new ML Eqx 800. It took 1 1/2 years for me to get comfortable with mine (admittedly I'm a slow learner), also coming over from some Fisher models, and I still have a lot to learn, so don't get discouraged if initially your experiences don't match some of the wow-factor posts you read here.

That link has some interesting data, although it has left me with a lot of questions. It certainly illustrates the different raw phase change scales of the DFX's 5 kHz and 15 kHz single frequencies. Differences among various targets (particularly silver alloy vs. clad USA coins) has left me scratching my head, though. I can see (in theory, at least) how better digital TID resolution could help distinguish between coins since the uniformity and quality control at the mint is very high. But there are no size/shape/weight standards for jewelry. And that pretty much carries over to pulltabs (shown in those data in the link, in fact) and even (weight-wise) to all kinds of bottle caps. Naturally occurring gold? Aluminum foil? Can slaw? Duh. Is that effectively why you (Steve) say "...I always tend to come back to digging all non-ferrous in some chosen range..."?

Wow, Steve! I didn't intend to take so much of your time. But it helps me a lot (and surely some others) to read the details. I chose the above quote for both parts (separately): 1) That is a very low recovery speed. I'm glad you mentioned slow, deliberate sweeping and interrogation. Have you found that with recovery speed 2 you squeeze out noticeably more useful information? I typically use 5 but have gone down to (only) 4. 2) As I'm sure you know (maybe not everyone, though) F2=0 is as low as one can go -- lower than FE=0 which I've read here is roughly(?) F2=4. And you also mention the iron 'pollution' of the site, particularly square nails. Have you experimented much with the Iron Bias settings on the Eqx? If so, care to reveal some of your conclusions? I'm trying to do some experimentation myself. I haven't found it an easy project so far. (I will report my results, but as of now it's way too preliminary and as I learn more my conclusions may change.) Thanks for the extra effort.

Do your observations apply to all TDI models or just the small box (SL)?

Good advice and detail. Sometimes we fall into that trap of forgetting that not everyone knows the lingo. Most coins and rings are round,...HOWEVER, there are exceptions.... I cut and pasted these particular comments because I think one extra bit of clarification is called for. Even when the target is circular/disk, if its orientation in the ground is not horizontal (parallel to the surface) then the 90 degree angle of attack approach (what I like to call the investigation technique being discussed 😄) can give quite different visual TID's from the different directions. I'll finish with a rephrase of Monte's (experienced detectorist who posts here) trailer wisdom: your eyes are your best discriminator.

As usual, some of us got off topic a few days ago on this thread: We got into a discussion about insect repellants, what works in some areas and for some insects, etc. I have a question and decided to start a new thread, on this specific topic, which will also probably get hijacked. My specific question to 2Valen is: what concentration of Permethrin are you using? I have some spray stuff but it's only 0.5% Permethrin. I doubt that's what you are dilluting. Also, you say "add the correct amount...". Could you be more specific. I get eaten alive by chiggers and although spray Deet works OK, they still seem to find a way around that to a limited extent.

Good advice, but I would take another approach on one particular suggestion. Palzynski stated: Only dig clean and repeatable signal on both directions. IMO, there is considerable value to dig *all* targets, even iron targets, when learning a new detector. That goes for veterans and rookies alike. It's just as important to know what you aren't digging (more accurately, to surmise with less than 100% accuracy what you are not digging) as it is to find out (by digging) what you think are good targets. Having said that, investigating the target ("...signal on both directions...") is a good discrimination technique to develop if you haven't already. Even that takes quite a bit of practice.

As I sit here on the sidelines, it's easy to toss ideas out there which have likely already been considered and rejected, but... Would a hardwired version (even option of coil choice) be too much of a manufacturing headache (or cost) to be implemented? I seem to recall Fisher doing just that -- selling a detector for which you had the choice of hardwired coils. (Steve, I'm recalling a spreadsheet table you posted of what I think were water hunting detectors and their features. I can't seem to find it by searching.) Those who want swappable coils would have to put up with the capacitative coupling noise. So I guess I'm suggesting more than just two versions. All this optionality assumes there will be coil choices once the AQ gets past the current stage. And of course there's always the portability issue of a hardwired coil, although that concern usually is dominated by the shaft and there's no reason (at least that I can see, other than possibly cost) of requiring the shaft, cuff, etc. not be completely removable, just leaving the coil (via cable) attached to the control unit. Oh, that's right. Steve, I just read a post where you said the manufacturers ignore 90% of your suggestions. Imagine how high that number gets when those suggestions come from mere pawns.... Maybe the answer is that there are already workarounds as have been discussed here. That costs nothing more than operator time (and possibly a bit of annoyance).

Excellent finds, Steve! Could you give us a few details, such as how deep, which detector(s) were you using, what were the digital TID's, were you fighting through vegetation? I've never found either of these type coins, but have a trip planned to a Colonial homestead (as soon as we can get this C-virus under control) and hopefully there are some oldies waiting for me there.

I tried 0.020 inch thick polyethylene sheet, used in some construction applications. It wore out the first time in the field. Unfortunately I'm not helping you find a solution, other than to say "don't bother trying this!"

I think this is a misunderstanding, or at least an unrealistic expectation for disposable lithium AA's. Here is a plot in the Energizer 91 datasheet which shows that when brand new, the voltage is upwards of 1.7 V but it falls off quickly:

Thanks for your tests. Still haven't borrowed JW's Nugget Finder 6"x8" Sadie Advantage? (He probably thinks you're at the ski slopes, not to return to a *real man's* pasttime until the spring thaw. 😄) Now you have me wondering if anyone has gotten White's TDI coils to work on the QED. (You'd likely be one to know, or Reg Wilson or Karelian.) White's (I don't think White's actually made them, but they did sell them for a short time, or maybe it was Jimmy Sierra...) had a 4"x6" for the TDI. I don't think even you or JW has a PI coil that tiny!

So the nominal sized 4" x 6" (e.g. NEL, CORS aftermarket manufactured and some factory originals from First Texas and Whites) don't do the trick? The aftermarkets are (always?) DD's. Is that a problem for your sites?

Thanks for compiling these and posting them for our use/interest. IMO, the person who gave the #3 answers has best confirmed what outsiders (posters here on detectorprospector.com -- not connected with Minelab) have deterimined independently. If there seems to be a conlict between the three, go with #3's answers.