GB_Amateur

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.

Just in case you didn't think of this: did you check yours with a magnet? Also, can you weigh both? (I guess not now that you've epoxied them onto tongue depressors. 😄) I'm not a hunter, but when I was involved in balloon borne science experiments, there were issues with what kind of ballast was used. (Various types of shot were used as ballast.) If I recall, in Canada we were not allowed to use lead due to concern over its environmental impact. Steel and glass were substitutes for lead in that application. I noticed Jason and DwD mentioned composition differences also. Knowing Carl (well, his reputation that is) I suspect he sent you something close to pure lead.

Nice story. Is this the tool you're referring to? Appears lightweight, which obviously makes it easy to carry along, especially if you have a ways to hike.

Randy Horton (and friends) did a great job with that freebie. Although I liked it when I first read it (after getting the X-Terra 705) I don't think I appreciated it for its full value, at least partly because I wasn't experienced enough to understand it properly. It's not just about the X-Terra series as you've shown again. Time for a refresher read! Ditto on being able to expand the high end. Sometimes I get iron targets up there and although they tend to show telltale non-coin signs, the extra resolution could be of value. But I'm with you, if it's above Zincoln and reasonably consistent (or even inconsistent if weak, meaning it might be deep) then I'm digging it. I'll take a Wheat penny over a clad quarter anyday, but I'm going to dig both.

I did a google search with the following entry: detectorprospector.com Equinox charger That produced half a dozen threads where this subject has been discussed. People here are quite generous with their help, but if you can do some of the work yourself, everyone is better off. You could then even create a new post summarizing what you've learned, making it easier for future researchers. This site is truly a cooperative which works best when everyone pitches in.

I'm sure someone who has used the Gold Racer can answer better than I, but I'll give it a try. No. I suspect the chart is really just showing typical response digital TID ranges. For example, I think you could find/make pieces of iron that would pretty much cover the entire range. You might not be able to get the super low dTID's for the higher conductors but I suspect you could fill a lot more boxes than shown. In particular, the Gold Racer's primary goal is finding naturally occurring gold. I'm assuming that's what the gold column represents -- typical sized naturally occurring gold, not your usual gold jewelry ring. Whaddaya want, a free lunch? 😄 P.S. Hope I'm wrong because your thinking outside the box would be a revolutionary trick -- discriminating gold jewelry from aluminum trash.

And if you don't want to go the headphone route, I'm pretty sure you can turn the volume to zero. Having said that, I agree that for most detectorists and situations, eliminating volume information is counterproductive. Underwater when you don't have the waterproof headphones? I would think vibration (which many Nokta/Makro detectors can do, not just the Simplex) would be a plus. I say that having never gone (and not expecting to ever go) underwater with a detector.... The deaf community is quite appreciate of Nokta/Makro's vibrate feature, BTW.

Had to laugh around 7:13 -- in what sounded like a disappointed voice: "looks silver...". Glad you show your settings, the digital TID's, and some of the trash. Videos that are merely clip after clip of just eye candy may attract the limited-attention-span masses, but dedicated detectorists want more. Ditto Joe's videos where he sometimes shows how much time, effort, and patience goes into a single (and often trash) target. Real detecting.

It worked in my case! Thanks, Jeff.

Certainly randomness (luck) plays a bigger role than most of us accept. Although I keep records, I don't set out on a hunt to break records. My goal (when park or school detecting) is simple -- come back home with one old coin (and here I include any Wheatie as an old coin). Sometimes I don't meet this modest goal, but I don't get bothered by it. Two secondary goals -- have fun and learn something. If I were to not meet those I would be bothered, but that doesn't seem to happen. Attitude is the key there; luck only rarely can interfere. Similar here. We've conformed to a cashless society. Even plastic credit cards are on their way out. My modern coin finds are modest compared to many, and I still find in the ground a factor of at least 30 or 40 what I get in change at the store, etc. I hear ya. One of the many tradeoffs of detecting -- how much time do I spend digging trash? I have pretty strict VTID selection criteria. Even with that, this year (mostly at one park) I've found 17 keeper nickels (mostly Buffies), 112 non keeper (all Jeffie) nickels, and 713 pulltabs. If I see even one 15 or higher (but below Zincoln -- different category) flash on the screen I don't dig. I also use plastic tools often, to prevent damaging the target. Sounds like our recovery principles have a lot in common. And, yes, the dry part of summer has arrived early this year. Fortunately I have a placer (glacier) gold creek within driving distance. All I have to put up with there are mosquitoes and heat. Digging is not a problem. 😅 Hope you find some more keepers soon to show us.

Sure do. Funny(?) story -- I was in a schoolyard and for some reason decided the area I was hunting wasn't old enough to contain IH's, so I (not so intelligently) chose not to dig the Zincoln zone. After about a 4 hour hunt I was home looking through my finds, surprised to see the wreath and then the headdress. Well, apparently it was hitting 21-22 but I sure was disappointed in myself for skipping the 19-20 signals on the ML Eqx. Most of the time digging Zincolns just isn't that time consuming since they tend to be shallow, anyway, and can be maskers in the least. I guess it's possible that a clean cut at 21 (dig 21 and above, ignore 20 and below) will get all the IH's and miss the Zincolns, but it's usually not that easy, and of course we never really know the true ID of the targets we leave in the ground. I'm sure I've left some gold rings by skipping over the pulltab zone.

Welcome, Boker13! I can see from your sidebar that this pasttime isn't new to you. And I'd be thrilled to join you at that stagecoach stop, but Oregon is a little too far for me, especially right now. 😞 Please post photos of your recent & future finds as time allows, especially if you make it to that stagecoach stop.

I've been on both sides of that fence: bought a Fisher Gold Bug Pro and wished I had gone with the (slightly) higher end sub-model, the F19. (This was back when the F19 cost more than the GB Pro.) Bought the top-of-the-hill Fisher F75 Ltd (black) and wish I had saved $400 and gotten the Teknetics Patriot sub-model. (The Ltd sub-model did come with a second coil, the 5 inch, so really a difference of about $250 since I'm sure I would have added a smaller coil.) But finally Goldilocks arrived when I got the Minelab Equinox 800. The tone adjustments alone (in 5 tone mode) were worth the $250 difference (not in return-on-investment but just the pleasure of operation it has brought me). Gold mode (for when I can get out West) saved me from having to buy a specialty high kHz gold detector ($650 and up for new models). Actually Steve H. has said from the beginning that the 600 is good at finding small gold, but it's nice to have the proportional audio that's more common with dedicated gold detectors. Finally, unlike some, I can't do without the WM08 proprietary 'wireless' option that lets me operate with my favorite headphones and earbuds. I even picked up another one 'used' on Ebay, for a backup. Plenty of people are happy with the 600 sub-model, and some (like Jeff McClendon) enjoy both. Really does come down to personal preference, as usual in this pasttime. I suspect you'll enjoy yours.

Two silver coins in one day is getting rare these days, unless you can get access to a spot that was frequented by leisure activity and has never been hunted. Well done! The condition of the Merc is particularly nice and as far as the Barber goes, still attractive even with the ding. Good that you're returning to that spot. Sounds like it was at least semi-popular back when silver was still in circulation, having found the dimes and the Wheatie. If you haven't been, don't forget to dig 12-13 (and even 14, particularly if it shows 13 as well) since that's where nickels vTID and the wartime nickels (always having a large mintmark over the dome of the Jefferson Memorial) have quite a bit of silver, roughly 3/4 as much as a dime. There may be Buffies and V-nickels in that ground as well. Some have found Warnicks with even higher vTID's but I haven't. And make sure to check the vTID after getting the target pinpointed/located directly above the coil attachment screw. That's where vTID is most accurate. If after doing that you see 10's or 15's then, in my experience, it's not a nickel. 12-13 is the sweetspot but also getting some 11's and 14's can still be a nickel. And if you're digging all non-ferrous, well, at least practice predicting what you've got before you dig. (Apologies if you know all this, but others will read it and they might not.) I've put detecting on hold over the last week and probably at least the upcoming one, too. Besides the heat and humidity, our part of the Midwest hasn't had appreciable rain for over a month and the ground is so dry it's almost impossible to dig a plug and get it to return and stay. (Just a dried up pelt that wants to come loose with the least little disturbance.) Some use the screwdriver recovery technique, but there are downsides to that and it tends to keep you close to the surface where it's mostly (but not always) modern coins. I woudn't discourage anyone from going that direction; it's just not for me. I'm retired and our winters have been mild (no ground freeze, or if it does it thaws quickly) so I can wait. But I have relatives I visit in Wisconsin so I know what you have to deal with in the winter....

To make this clear, "all terrain" here includes underwater detecting, and if you are going under water yourself then kac's recommendation of waterproof wired headphones enters the picture. Note that the Minelab Vanquish is not a waterproof detector, other than the coils. The Nokta/Makro Simplex is the (price) entry level detector capable of underwater use. But being single frequency only, it will struggle in salt water. Water detecting covers a wide range of uses -- fresh vs. salt on the one hand, and coil submerged, detector (control unit) submerged, and detector+operator submerged on the other hand. Some detectors have none of these capabilities and you can go up to all, including everything in between. Not surprisingly many detectorists who hunt around water prefer a fully waterproof detector even if they never plan on *intentionally* dunking it. Accidents can happen....