You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

[mn90403]

Yesterday I went back to a park my kids go to often.  It has a modest sized playground with sand.  I've found different patches over the years of coins, cars and a little jewelry.  It gets detected often by others as well.  After the fires in January all of our park sand has been scrapped down as a fear that there was toxic smoke affecting them.  This has taken the surface down quite a bit but there has also been some clean sand added back.

When I started yesterday the detector and settings were pretty ratty.  This is not normally the case but I know near one sand area there is a buried recycling tank.  Several of our parks have this now.  Everyone should know what is really under their park surface for EMI reasons.

My normal settings I use at the beach (beach low conductors) just wasn't getting anything.  No fresh drops and nothing in the hard, compacted sand.  I tried All Terrain and didn't get much improvement.  I came upon a spot and looked down and saw something shinny and it didn't detect.  What?  I picked it up.  It wasn't plastic.

Let me think ... I had just been talking with Reese about the Manti and Prospecting Mode (Goldfield) and his great nugget finds.  I was on a thread about All Metal and we were talking about micro jewelry and this certainly qualified ... let me try PROSPECTING (GOLDFIELD) for JEWELRY.  After a little bit of setting up and checking my settings I put that little earring down where I saw it and it SCREAMED at me (with Prospecting Audio)!  Oh my ...  I adjusted the threshold (because I was in Prospecting Audio) and sensitivity a bit and off I went over the remainder of the sand.  It was surprising.

Here is the little earring

I found that I could adjust the sensitivity of the Prospecting mode (Goldfield) and detect pretty close to some larger metal objects.  The ID of the target was still available but the sound was much better than the other beach or terrain choices.  Soon I hear something else:

It was the earring to the right of the Superman.  I tried some other settings (modes) and it was almost soundless compared to prospecting (Goldfield).  I would have skipped it.  At this point I'm wondering how many other times I could have used PROSPECTING (GOLDFIELD) in a park and found more.  I kept going around the scrapped and less scrapped areas and down deep I heard something.  I was down about 6" now and it didn't sound big but it was lodged in the hole and would cause me to bend my sand scoop.  I almost stopped digging with the thought it was just a piece of old pipe but it had kind of a copper ID.  Out pops Superman!

 

There is one more convincing find in this picture that will make sure I give Prospecting (GOLDFIELD) a try on nearly every park in the future.  A bit after I found SM and I covered the hole I got a screamer sound.  I scooped and detected and no target.  This actually happens a lot in the other modes so I looked and hanging from my scoop is that fine chain.  It had not been a grunt sound like my chains at the beach.  This was a high tone.  I looked at the chain and there are no large pieces for clasps or charms.  It is pure chain, probably mostly copper.  Still it was loud.  I just haven't found anything like this in that park.

What I was able to 'sense' through finding the other targets is prospecting (Goldfield) is the closest to all metal without target processing.  The bobby pins sound different.

Maybe this is why some beach PIs find more 'stuff' than the Manti or similar.

In the evening I went out to my local beach spot and went back to beach modes and as you can see it produces ... even sometimes very small.

This dog that has learned a new trick is going to try it on regular turf and grass one of these days and make a few plugs.  I might even try PROSPECTING (Goldfield) at a coin hunt on low sensitivity and make it act like a GBII!

(Footnote:  While I was at another park this afternoon with the boys I realized I used some terminology that would be confusing.  On the Manticore there is a Prospecting Audio.  This can be used on all of the modes including Goldfield.  I think Goldfield is called Prospecting on the 800 and I don't know about the others.  I'm going to make it clear when I switch to Goldfield in the post above.)

[phrunt]

You can use prospecting mode and single frequency 40kHz and not have the EMI problems associated with SMF thereby not having to lower the sensitivity near as much, I use this method all the time prospecting near to or under powerlines like at the "Golf Course" you went to in NZ.  I've found gold I would have never found in SMF due to the EMI by doing that.

That was a good hunt, the boys taken Superman off you yet? 🙂 What's the hole cover in the bottom of him for? Does it take batteries? 

I really like these modern SMF detectors, so versatile once you get used to them and even thinking outside of the box like you just did helps, I even used field modes on the Nox 800 for prospecting quite often going over ground I'd already done with the Gold Mode, seemed to pop up a little more, it's like using another detector.

 

[Compass]

Interesting results M - thanks! I used to use "gold" mode on the Equinox in fresh water lakes because I preferred the audio and it hit gold chains deeper than in other modes. Yes, it did behave more like the PI's that I am accustomed to.

I use the prospecting audio on the Manticore for the same reason and have been hunting in All Terrain General but haven't tried the "Prospecting Mode" yet. Sounds like something I need to look into. 

[Salone]

2 hours ago, phrunt said:

You can use prospecting mode and single frequency 40kHz and not have the EMI problems associated with SMF thereby not having to lower the sensitivity near as much,

This is what I do with the Legend Goldfield mode. It is so much smoother for me and it can be tuned a little hotter. 

3 hours ago, mn90403 said:

What I was able to 'sense' through finding the other targets is prospecting is the closest to all metal without target processing. 

Good Job! 

[mn90403]

6 hours ago, phrunt said:

What's the hole cover in the bottom of him for? Does it take batteries? 

That is a battery compartment.  It would have a moveable arm if not frozen.  I've detected this sand many times before.  I don't know why this particular toy would be missed but I know some of the other targets were not seen in the other modes.

That brings up the question which has probably been answered but where are the default settings listed for the different modes?  I know I've seen a 'chart' for the 800 but I don't know where a similar layout is for the Manticore.  If I remember some of Steve's comments in the past ... Goldfield is SMF by default, right?

[Knomad]

You happened upon something I have been saying for years, if you want max depth and sensitivity with the 800 and the Manticore, use Gold Mode, I do not like that it limits tones and discrimination, BUT I prefer the steady target reactions compared to the Broken or clipped sounds in the other modes, And it is far deeper in most situations. And you still get the I.D readout, so once used to it you don't really need the discrimination anyway, unless dealing with frequent hot rocks.

And keep it in Multi Frequency, Unless as Phrunt pointed out you need to deal with certain EMI.

[stupot]

Good post and always something to learn.  I've not used prospecting as the areas i have arn' t up to that sort of finesse.

But now you've tried it with success, I'll not forget if the opportunity arises.

Keep us informed and very well done indeed.

[GB_Amateur]

14 hours ago, mn90403 said:

That brings up the question which has probably been answered but where are the default settings listed for the different modes?  I know I've seen a 'chart' for the 800 but I don't know where a similar layout is for the Manticore.

Do you mean this?  (Last page = 83 of 2nd edition of Instruction Manual.)

[rvpopeye]

WTG on finding the settings to open up that stubborn ground mn ! 

So THAT'S what happened to Superman after the Kryptonite episode ..