Want A List Of Detectors That Can Find Iron Relics

[Rick N. MI]

Using the gun part for an example and the Equinox w/ 6" coil going it over the long way it has the same id as the nail. Again the other detectors I listed get great both way hits. I found this part using a Lobo ST w/ 8" concentric in a field.

So if I wanted to dig this part in a field with the Equinox I would have to dig nails too.

[PimentoUK]

The problem with the T2 is going to be down to the 'sensitivity hole' , the worst case being when Disc is set around 25-30. The F75 in DE (default) mode has the same issue, when Disc is set to around 11. A quite significant loss of sensitivity occurs, not that the User Manual makes any mention of it. On the F75, increasing Disc from 1 through to 11 causes a progressive loss of sensitivity. Increasing it from 11 through to 23-ish steadily increases sensitivity back to 'full' level. I guess on the T2 this is roughly 1 thru 25 thru 50 ( I've never used a T2)

The F75 thankfully has JE ( Jewelry ) mode, which does things differently, and seems to not suffer the 'hole', being sparky regardless of disc settings. I haven't really tried large iron hunting on my F75, so I can't guarantee JE is the best mode, though.

[Steve Herschbach]

A possibility for an oddball like me would be to hunt in all metal or something like the Deus Pitch Mode, and size the targets, just digging the larger stuff.

I get now where you are coming from. You want a detector that has a true linear response to ferrous and puts it where it should be on the target id scale. In theory the larger the ferrous item, the lower the target id number should be. This White’s chart is typical. 0 in the middle. The larger the positive number, the larger the non-ferrous item. Going the other way, the “larger“ the negative number, the larger the ferrous item.

The problem is detectors not doing this even though they are supposed to. Large iron often “wraps around” to read as very high non-ferrous. And many detectors have issues with flat steel, putting it in the gold range. The Equinox is indeed an offender, and my new Tarsacci is even worse on flat steel than the Equinox. My DFX on the other hand is one of my better machines at putting ferrous where it should be, and are most Minelab BBS and FBS detectors. 

Something that helps a lot on any single frequency detector is a concentric coil. Many issues with flat steel and bottle caps originate with the DD coil attached. A White’s detector with a concentric coil will usually be a very good machine for working with ferrous, as will many Fisher detectors. That’s where a F75 has a big edge over a T2... ability to use concentric coils.

[Mike Hillis]

That is interesting, Rick.

We don't know what we don't know when we don't do that type of hunting ourselves.

 I guess it has to do with how the design engineers treat big iron.  We tend to think of iron as iron but it has a discrimination range just like non-ferrous and the DE's have to figure out how they want to handle the FE range and the related iron effects, too.   For most of us we want to keep all ferrous buried deep in the ferrous range so we don't get fooled buy it, yet still be able to adjust our disc around the FE/Non-FE break point.  

Big iron typically wraps around to the high conductive side and small iron floats around the FE/non-FE break point.    Its why we can disc out nails but not axe heads.   Add to that the fact that the DE's also try to extend the high conductive break point to FE as far as possible in order to keep high conductors responding as high conductors as long as possible before it crosses over the FE boundary.  This also affects how big iron crosses that boundary in reverse.

When you add in detectors that also have a mineral range it gets even more complex.

Thanks for bring this subject up.

HH
Mike

[Rick N. MI]

LOL, yes you get it. Seems the older detectors move bigger iron up and the newer detector are moving the iron low. I understand the point in not wanting to dig any iron. When I relic hunt I like digging the bigger iron too.

I've been detecting all summer in the lakes. Not doing well. No gold yet. Only 2 silver earrings so far this summer. Not even many targets in the water. I don't know if people aren't swimming much in northern Michigan or if other detectors are getting it all cleaned out. That's why I was thinking about doing a little relic hunting. Lucky for me the Gold Kruzer really like the bigger iron...but I'm going back in the water again. It is very peaceful and a lot cooler. Lake Michigan is much cooler lol. I've been in Lake Michigan the last 2 days.

[kac]

On my MK @ 14khz (for vdi purposes) discrim 3-4 will eliminate small and medium square nails, 4-5 will eliminate larger nails and I can still hear larger iron like buckel loops etc. 0 discrim you can still see the numbers alone and just keep in mind 4 and lower is usually junk. I prefer to use iron audio on that machine rather than discrimination so I have a smoother audio and it doesn't blip or skip especially in 2 tone and deep mode. My AT Pro has more latitude on iron 0-40 vs the MK that is 0-15.

[GB_Amateur]

7 hours ago, Rick N. MI said:

I'll try it with the Equinox. Notch out an old rusty nail and dig the low tones....

Just a reminder -- I think this applies to all modes.  On the Eqx 800 you don't have to listen for low tones if you'd prefer some other tone range.  You can customize the tone audio frequencies ('pitch') and volumes of the different regions (and choose the start and end digital TID's of those regions) to suit your preference.