Problem With Telling Good Targets Next To Iron

[stateguy]

So I was beach hunting with a friend the other day on the beach. He was using the Minelab EQUINOX 900. I was using MANTICORE.  
He asked me if I could here this target he was hearing and what I thought it was. 
I swung over the target it was a short and fast response coming up in the RED id numbers 24  and I told him it was junk (iron).  
On his machine he said it was a 24 in a factory beach setting ( don’t know what they were) and Disc mode. 
What it was a nickel possibly next to iron. I say that because when he put his in all metal he got iron tone. 
So my settings I am using is Tom Danowski settings so you have some idea. 

So how do you know if a good target is next to iron with the MANITCORE without seeing where the dot falls on. I am was relying on the red numbers. 
I am not good with the sounds of targets especially in this mode I am in. I really just look at numbers first

[fishersari]

On 1/15/2024 at 11:18 PM, stateguy said:

it was a short and fast response

I don't know what the sound was like.. but for me this is the hint to further investigate i.e changing recovery speed if needed, cross check, re-swing on the targets much slower..etc... I didn't depend/use the red line or the traces alone.. its the combination of things if I need to use them.. for me the traces and numbers are supplements to the tones.. always the tones first.. I am still using the old software.. I think the red big number is confusing and clouding the judgement to determine nonferrous/ferrous, masked target.. 

I always run all metal btw..

[fishersari]

1 hour ago, stateguy said:

So how do you know if a good target is next to iron with the MANITCORE

to be honest I am still learning.. its not I always know or can differentiate masked targets (especially really iffy one) all the time lol... 

[EL NINO77]

The factory setting of the Beach program... for Euquinox 900 uses the recovery speed 6 setting - which is a really good setting for unmasking coins with iron,,,,,

In my opinion, you had ....the recovery speed setting on Manticore significantly lower ... and therefore Manticore was not optimally set for such a separation situation....

[stateguy]

I have it on 4. That what recommendation for Tom Danowski settings I believe 

[midalake]

14 hours ago, fishersari said:

I always run all metal btw..

Horseshoe mode on........A big YES. 

12 hours ago, EL NINO77 said:

In my opinion, you had ....the recovery speed setting on Manticore significantly lower ... and therefore Manticore was not optimally set for such a separation situation.

Correct!

1 hour ago, stateguy said:

I have it on 4. That what recommendation for Tom Danowski settings I believe 

I am unable to use settings on my beach that other people use elsewhere! 

[TampaBayBrad]

I never did the software update, so I don't get the red #'s. I would surely dig a 24 though if it was solid and wasn't bouncing. 24 to 27 stands a good chance of being a nickel although sometimes a pull tab. (if you want to dig a nickel) If it's bouncing to other #'s besides 24 and grunting and not on the center line, I probably wouldn't dig. You should be able to hear the nickel as a solid hit sound among the iron grunts and see the nickel as a dot on the nonferrous line even if there is iron nearby.

[Jeff McClendon]

3 hours ago, TampaBayBrad said:

I never did the software update, so I don't get the red #'s. I would surely dig a 24 though if it was solid and wasn't bouncing. 24 to 27 stands a good chance of being a nickel although sometimes a pull tab. (if you want to dig a nickel) If it's bouncing to other #'s besides 24 and grunting and not on the center line, I probably wouldn't dig. You should be able to hear the nickel as a solid hit sound among the iron grunts and see the nickel as a dot on the nonferrous line even if there is iron nearby.

Hi stateguy,

I am learning the Manticore just like everybody else. Quite the detector for sure.

I don't know what kind of sand your were hunting in whether very low, low, moderate or high amounts of magnetic sand. 

I hunt on turf mostly, haven't used the Manticore at a saltwater beach yet so anything I say here needs to be considered with that in mind. Also, the dirt I hunt in has moderate to high amounts of magnetite particles, enough to easily cover a magnet with sand sized particles if I roll it around in this dirt for a couple of seconds.

My Manticore has been updated and I have the red numbers turned on, iron volume turned up and I usually hunt with the horseshoe button engaged so all target IDs are accepted.

I regularly get red numbers and black numbers on most targets from surface to 8" deep that have a target ID below about 30. That definitely includes nickels and I am talking about standalone nickels, not nickels with an actual iron target nearby.

I totally agree with everything TampaBayBrad said above.

I will dig any target that has a target ID from 24 to 27 even if some numbers are red, it sounds like it is coin sized target, the dot at least starts on the center line (even though it may "bleed" downward a bit) and like TampaBayBrad said it has a "solid hit". That solid hit is very key to distinguishing US nickels from other targets including modern pull tabs.

So, some red numbers on buried nickels may be "normal".

I will probably get some grief for saying this from people that don't want to hear it (literally) but the Manticore using its Normal and Enhanced audio themes (all I've used so far) if recovery speed stays between 3 and 6 or so, is very capable of giving some major amounts of "descriptive" audio response information that can be learned and depended on. So learning what a US nickel sounds and responds like with all of the Manticore's visual and audio aids can make digging them almost guaranteed if you learn their tendencies opposed to modern oval and rectangular pull tabs for instance. It takes some practice and no strategy is ever perfect, but the "tells" are there for anyone that wants to take the time to learn them.  

[BigSkyGuy]

Also keep in mind that a target trace that falls in the lower left quadrant (below the horizontal line) on the boundary between the greyed out rejected iron and the accepted region is usually a good target. For some reason, deep low conductors tend to fall on the boundary line no matter where the lower ferrous limits are set.