8/19/17 Report - New Video To Show How To Identify Target Shape From Audio Signal Alone. Tropical Activity and Predictions.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Harvey is going to cut across the Yucatan and then back out into the Gulf again.

L92, which is the next one to the east of Harvey is headed towards us.  The question is how strong it will be.  It did not strengthen last night.  It has a ways to go yet though.

Right now the surf is only one to two feet on the Treasure Coast.  Nothing big is predicted at this point.

The tides are pretty big.  There are some nice negative tides.

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ATX Coil Over Broken Iron Shipwreck Spke.
Source: See link to video below.

I've talked a lot about how much you can tell about a buried target from the audio signal alone even if you are using an All Metals or Pinpoint mode.  The audio signal will tell you a lot about the target's shape, size and depth if you really understand your detector.

I made a video that demonstrates how you can tell something of the shape of a buried object from the audio signal alone.  In the video I used a quarter (just for comparison), along with a fairly large bolt, smaller screw, piece of an iron shipwreck spike, and an odd shaped piece of metal that responds a little bit like a fish hook.  I usually can identify fish hooks by the sound of the signal.

I used a Garrett ATX, although you would get the same type of results with many other metal detectors.  I used this same technique to identify target shapes before I ever got the ATX.  It worked exactly the same when using an Excalibur, for example.

I put the items on a board so you could see them well.  I also cut the sensitivity of the Garrett ATX down to less than half, just to temper down the signal, and used Motion mode, although the results would be similar using the Non-motion mode.

When you run your coil over a long straight object you will get a different type of signal depending upon the direction you move the coil.  You'll see that clearly in the video.

When you move the coil over the long object from one end to another, you'll get a double signal.  One towards each end of the object.  And if you move the coil over the object at 90 degrees to that, the signal will sound very much like a coin-shaped object.  So if you swing in one direction and get a regular signal and then change the direction of your sweep 90 degrees, you'll get something like a double signal.  You can also get an idea of the length of the object something by the amount of time between the double blips.  There will be more time between the blips when the object is longer.

Here is the link to the video.  There is really a lot of good useful information in this video if you really study the objects and signals they produce.  If you don't want to dig nails, you don't need a target ID meter on your detector.

https://youtu.be/Mu7sbkrLC1k

If you move the coil too fast, you might not always catch the double blip.  You can gather additional information by varying how fast you move the coil too.

All of this is does not have to take extra time.  You can do it while pinpointing.

If you dig all targets, you don't have to do it at all, but if you are at a site littered with nails or other long narrow objects, you might want to be more selective.  This is a type of target ID that does not require a ID meter or any particular metal detector mode or function.

Notice that on the last object, there is a break.  I don't know what to call that thing right off, but you get what I'm calling a double blip when you sweep the coil in both directions.  The latch on the object is open.  You get the double blip in both directions, instead of just one direction like you would get with a bolt or nail or other long thin object.

My main point is that if you learn to analyze your signals, you can get a lot of information from just listening to the audio signal.  I always say that the human brain is a better processor than the detector's circuitry.  You can also learn to get a good idea of the targets depth and size from just the audio signal.


Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net