Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.
Here is a little demonstration using three one-cent coins and a Garrett Ace 250. In the video I'll pass the coil over each of the three one-cent pieces so you can hear the signal. See what you can tell from the signal. The coins are on the surface so you can see them, although you probably can't make them out.
The first coin had a stable bell tone. On the Ace, that indicates a coin and the meter read penny.
On the second, the signal varied from pass to pass and the meter sometimes read dime and sometimes junk.
On the third coin, the target was consistent and the meter read iron.
Can you guess why the detector reacted that way?
,
The first target was a modern zinc penny. It sounded like a coin and the meter showed it as a penny. Nothing surprising there.
The second target was very inconsistent, giving two types of signal, and sometimes showed as iron on the meter and sometimes as a dime.
The third target, was a U. S. penny, but sounded like iron and showed on the meter as iron. That target was a 1943 steel penny.
So what about the second target? This one was a little tricky. It was a euro one-cent piece, which is copper coated steel.
The Ace 250 is an inexpensive detector, but in my opinion works well for the money, but sometimes coins are not easy to identify. Many are made of more than one type of metal. Even a regular Lincoln penny is only 95% copper. And a regular zinc penny is only 97.5 percent zinc, with a thin copper coating. Much of the time you can identify a type of coin from the meter or digital output, but sometimes it is more complicated, especially when you get into world coins.
It might seem that the Ace did a poor job, however I think it did pretty well. The first target was identified as coin-like, the third as iron, and the second sounded very much like the combination that it actually was.
My main point is not what the Ace does. It is just one example. The bigger point that I want to make is the value of conducting experiments in order to get to better know what your detector is trying to tell you.
I always highly recommend experimenting with your detector and a variety of types of targets. Often the more interesting targets are not simple to identify from the detector output.
When I get a new detector I do a lot of testing. I might use the manual as a starting place, but I don't accept much of what the manual says without testing it out. I like to test a detector in various modes and using various settings on a variety of types of targets and different types of environments.
I recommend not only testing your detector at the beginning, but continuing to test it as long as you use it. You'll continue to learn about how your detector responds to various types of targets in different situations.
Someone might be very disappointed to learn that their detector wouldn't always correctly identify a penny, but there are different types of pennies, and there are other things that will affect the detectors ability to identify targets.
One big problem with relying too much on target ID I already referred to. The most interesting targets are often not common targets and that can make it risky to go entirely by your detector's ID meter. If you want to know if a target is a dime or quarter, most detector's will do that pretty well, however when you get into watches or other more complex targets, you'll need to use your own brain more. I did a video or two in the past showing how a couple detectors responded to various watches. I bet a lot of Rolex or other high-end watches are passed over simply because the detector ID didn't identify the target well enough.
In pinpoint mode many detectors give a lot of information on a target. You can get a good idea of depth and size without referring to anything other than the signal if you spend enough time learning.
There are other factors that will help you with target ID that requires using your brain and assessing the entire situation. Some types of targets will be in certain areas and at certain depths, for example.
There is no substitute for careful observation and experimentation.
Experience doesn't guarantee expertise, but it does make it more likely.
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I still haven't been out again yet. I'd like to get some recent reports.
The tides are now small. The surf is down to around three or four feet. And the wind is from the south tomorrow. None of those things are encouraging.c
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net
