My Soil Sucks Please Help With Equinox 800

[bethanyb1201]

On 3/25/2019 at 12:44 PM, steveg said:

Bethany,

There is not a lot I can offer, that Chase has not already said.

Two things that confuse me are, 1.  you say you are getting very good depth with a coin buried in your test garden, and 2.  you say you had good luck digging many silver coins with a Bounty Hunter 3300, but not with your Equinox.

These two things seem confusing.  While you may have "hot soil," and you sound pretty certain that you do, if you were digging silver coins in large numbers at 6" deep with your BH 3300, you should be easily able to equal that, at least, with your Equinox.  YES, it's a more sensitive detector, and thus can be more "noisy," but you should be able to run your sensitivity down to a lower level (mid teens), and still equal or exceed the depth capability of your 3300 -- while at the same time, reducing falsing/noise that you are receiving.  I would think that these "solid high tones" you are getting are chunks of iron -- and iron will, of course, often report as high tone several inches away (off to the side) from the actual location of the target.  I suspect that you are hearing nails, etc., that are probably 3-4 inches offset from where you are digging your holes, and that's my guess as to why you are "digging to China" and not finding the target -- it's off to the SIDE of the hole, not deeper down into the hole.  

I would suggest this -- take a silver coin (or your penny) along with you, to one of those sites where you are struggling with high tones that seem to be "ghost" or "phantom" tones.  Then, dig a hole IN THAT DIRT, and bury the coin about 8" deep.  I suspect you will be able to detect this coin.  If so, perhaps this will give you some confidence that even in these sites where you are getting high tones that you can't seem to locate when digging, you will still be able to hear a coin, if there's one there.

Also, I'm curious what you mean, when you say "repeatable" tones.  Do you mean "repeatable" when you swing left-to-right over a target?  OR, do you mean "repeatable" as you rotate your body 360 degrees around the target, sweeping the coil over the target from ALL angles, and listening to how the target reports/changes as you rotate around it?  One big "telltale" sign of iron, is a target that may "sound good" with left and right sweeps from ONE angle, but then the target's tone begins to sound degraded/poor (and often changes in location) when you turn your body 90 degrees and sweep over it.  If you are rotating all the way around the target, while sweeping the coil over it, and you are STILL getting solid, consistent high tones, then there may be something else going on.  But, I suspect that the soil issues you are mentioning are at least somewhat of a "red herring," right now, and that what you are mainly dealing with is ferrous trash, that is "falsing" -- giving you a high tone -- especially when running fairly high sensitivity...

Not sure if this helps any, but that's what I suspect you are dealing with.  If you are getting good depth in your test garden, and had no trouble digging silver with your Bounty Hunter, there is NO REASON that you can't accomplish the same with your Equinox (unless there is something wrong with the unit itself -- which I tend to doubt given the good results from your test garden).

Steve

I completely missed your response. My phone only lets me respond to the messages I get notification on. I logged out and seen your comment and logged into reply. My last few posts should have answered alot of your questions. I have sent in 2 soil probe samples each 10 inches by 3in diameter plugs that represent the most extreme soil in the deepest places I hunt. I should get back a detailed report on the effects of electromagnetic properties and other tests they dont normally run in my area. I am in non iron ,mineral rich farm land country. The old school I have hit the mother load at is only played out in the front. This area is only 6 in or so deep at max before it hit solid clay. The Dream spot is the old sports fields behind the school. They have deep 16in plus of loomy sandy rocky soil before clay. This and the local park which is also deep are two gold mines in waiting. Once a coin gets past the thick thatch layer I would bet it takes no longer than 5 years before the coin hits clay. This type of soil is light and airy and during the rainy season some of the sandy loomy soil becomes almost like liquid and items drop deep FAST. I have tried everything you have suggested and I should have included my background in my post so people didnt assume I was a newbie and waste time with basic info. For that I am sorry. I think I have the digging to china thing figured out. That happens in the area where the rocky sandy loomy soil starts to switch. So between the glass like rocks and the heavy minerals and the energy depleteing sand and loomy glacial soil spells ultimate disaster for a detector. It thinks something is there when its not. Once you get to the clay layer and break it up then you will lose the signal. I think it all has to do with how the soil is structured in layers and the layers maximize the negative effects of the minerals. Breaking that bond then cripples the lossy materials ability to soak in a signal and not return hardly anything. The computers dont know how to reqact to nothing coming back or to maybe a small percent of a part of the signal. Kinda like how a hollow spot in the ground will make the nox and most other top end detectors sound off. It also could be tue soil is high ph level so Iron could have disolved and once that hallo is broken with no trace of red due to black soil would make a vanishing signal. I will have an answer for everyone in 6-13 weeks lol... I also just found out when I seen the JULIE guy(call before you dig name in my state) that GPR doesnt work around here and code required all pipes cables or anything utilities related in town be either trenched and refilled with rock and sand or a small metal railroad type spike must be put in the ground every so often for the length of the line. I will figure it out!!!

[Chase Goldman]

7 hours ago, bethanyb1201 said:

I have the best  success doing an auto 

 

I have the best luck in auto. I turn auto off if I have to really go over a target. The ground changes so much that in my mind I can notice a difference even if i cant.

Do you mean tracking?  Auto is just manually pumping and letting the machine set the GB.  Tracking is the machine tracking mineralization and adjusting GB on the fly while you seing away.  If you are using GB tracking, that's good.  Just be sure to auto or manually set GB at the outset so tracking can start doing its thing with GB already "in the ballpark" otherwise GB will be way off unill it can catch up which can take awhile.

[bethanyb1201]

2 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

Do you mean tracking?  Auto is just manually pumping and letting the machine set the GB.  Tracking is the machine tracking mineralization and adjusting GB on the fly.  If you are using g tracking, that's good.  Just be sure to auto or manually set GB at the outset so tracking can start doing its thing with GB already "in the ballpark" otherwise GB will be way off unill if can catch up which can take awhile.

I auto GB by pumping and then set to  auto tracking. I always refer to autoband tracking in the same breath which isnt a good idea with all the different detectors in the market. If i am on a fringe area I auto GB and leave tracking off or it will really throw the machine wacky. Thats only in a few spots. 

[Chase Goldman]

2 minutes ago, bethanyb1201 said:

I auto GB by pumping and then set to  auto tracking. I always refer to autoband tracking in the same breath which isnt a good idea with all the different detectors in the market. If i am on a fringe area I auto GB and leave tracking off or it will really throw the machine wacky. Thats only in a few spots. 

That's a sound approach.

[EL NINO77]

As you have the V3i Spectra, you could find out the value of the phase and mineralization of your terrain using Ground Probe.

[bethanyb1201]

On 3/29/2019 at 12:19 AM, EL NINO77 said:

As you have the V3i Spectra, you could find out the value of the phase and mineralization of your terrain using Ground Probe.

I know.. l never learned how to fully use the v3i. I only got it due to its ability to handle salt and other minerals. The readings are all over the place as far as pinpointing ,depth phase angle. I do honestly believe that that machine will be the one that can crack this nut. I need to have someone show me how to use it properly. I never took to time to really get deep into the machine after I seen the numbers go wild.

[bethanyb1201]

I honestly believe from watching others hunt with the V3I that it is the BEST machine on the market for difficult ground. You just have to have 7 doctorates in rocket surgery to learn what ALL the machine can do.  In the most capable hands I think that machine could get to tue depth I need in my soil but I am greedy and wont invite anyone to try :(. I need to get over myself and bring in some reinforcements.

[EL NINO77]

In the Ground Tracking menu, press the "ZOOM / VIEW" button to go to the screen that is in the photo ...:
1.then press the "MENU / TAB" button -to activate the "ZERO" function - on the Autocalibration Detector coil ... Hold the detector coil high above the ground ... 1-1.5meters ..
2. Then press the "ENTER" button, and then place the detector coil on the clean ground ... -Then get the correct reading Phases and mineralization ground in%

[Chase Goldman]

I might almost consider getting a V3i solely for that ground reading feature.  Lol.