2/25/19 Report - Mysterfy Find. Another Copper Button. Behavioral Tendencies and Metal Detecting. Site Selection. Increasing Surf.

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

Same Ceramic Find For ID

Ceramic Find for ID

I received the following email from Chief G. along with the above ceramic item.


I’m a retired CMSgt and live on Dover afb in Delaware I recently found this object on a beach where a trading ship went down in the 1700’s I have found broken pipe bowls and other objects over the years but never ran across an item like this it feels like old red brick like material but is shaped like a cork...could it be a stopper for used for mineral water the ship was carrying stuff like that it’s roughly the size of a quarter. Any help would be appreciated...by the way I enjoy your blog it is awesome.
Chief G.

I'd like to hear if anyone else has found a similar item or can ID this one.

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Copper Button Found by Fred B.

Copper Button Found by Fred B.

'
Fred B. found the same type of copper button that I showed a week or two ago.

His is generally more corroded than mine, but his shank is more intact.

Below is the one that I found and posted previously.

Thanks Fred.  He says the shank is copper.  I couldn't see much of the shank on mine and evidently mistook some of the shank for corrosion.

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Human behavior is somewhat predictable.  Some types of behavior have been thoroughly studied and are well understood.  Metal detecting involves some of those behaviors.

It is obvious enough that people tend to do what they are rewarded for.  If they are rewarded for something they tend to continue doing it.  On the other hand, if they never are rewarded for a behavior in one way or another, they generally quit.

None of that is surprising, but you can see it with metal detecting.  It applies in many ways, including site selection.  People tend to visit sites where they've found things and quit visiting sites where never have success.  Again, that isn't at all surprising.  But it can be a problem.

Just because a site did not produce for one period of time, does not mean it never will.  Beaches are very dynamic systems,  That means they change a lot.

A beach can be fairly productive for a day, week, year or more, or it can be unproductive for various lengths of time.  That is why it is important to be able to read a beach, and it is also why it is important to not get stuck in a rut.

Even if you have never had luck at a particular beach, that doesn't mean that won't change at some time.  And just because one beach has become your favorite, does not mean it should always be your favorite.

I've found most cobs at one particular beach.  It is no surprise that I have also detected that beach more than the others.  If you have luck at a particular beach, you will visit it more, and that in itself increases the chances that you will have more success there.

On the other hand if you never had luck at a particular beach, you won't like it as much, and won't check it as much, and as a result, your chances of finding something at that beach are further decreased.  It becomes a bit of what is called a self-fulfilling prophecy.

According to well established behavioral laws, if you have continual luck at a beach over a period of time, if things change and you start to find nothing there, it won't be too long before you give up on it.

If, however, you only have intermittent luck at that beach (find things occasionally), you won't give up on it as quickly if it starts to yield nothing.  That is typically what you have.   Very few of us have been lucky enough to find a beach that produces every time we visit for an extended period of time.  That builds up a level of tolerance for failure that actually will help you not give up on the beach so quickly during unproductive periods.

I've heard of people that had unbelievable luck when they begin detecting, then give up quickly when things aren't great.  If you get used to great finds right away, there is a tendency to quickly get bored with less productive outings.

I could give this explanation in the terms of behavioral psychology, but the laws translate very well to observable metal detecting behavior.

If you are aware of behavioral tendencies, you can monitor your own behavior and react more effectively.

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The wind is up this morning on the Treasure Coast and the surf will be increasing during the day, becoming higher tonight and tomorrow.

I might get a chance to check a beach or two later today.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/4/17 Report - Neat 18th Century Map Depicting A Shipwreck. The Metal Detector Signal/Noise Issue: Technological and Psychological.

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

By Pieter van der Aa, published 1706 in Leiden, Netherlands Map of a voyage from Jamaica to Panuco showing settlements along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, and Jamaica 

Here is a neat old map published in 1706.  Notice that in the middle of the gulf is a picture of a shipwreck with people and horses swimming to the island.   

Here is the link.

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF90000053

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There is a lot more to a metal detector signal than you might think.

A detector signal always exists in a field of noise.  The amount of noise will vary from situation to situation.

The first and perhaps the most obvious kind of noise is environmental.  Maybe you've been on a beach on a day when there was so much wind that you could barely hear your detector signal.  A good pair of ear phone with a volume control will help in that situation.  But that is only one type of noise.

Another type of noise is internal.  Maybe you have tinnitus (ringing in your ears), that masks sounds of a certain frequency.  A tone control can help with that.  Some detectors have a light or other visual signal if you have auditory problems.  

Visual indicators are also subject to noise, such as bright sunlight or glare.

I should mention that spending long hours over the years listening to the same tone can damage your hearing, especially if the volume is high.  Hearing normally changes some with age.

Your concentration is a factor too, especially for the subtle signals produced by deep targets.  

Concentration is also especially important when there are lot of junk targets in the area or false signals caused by the environment or poor operating technique.  You cane easily begin to ignore good or borderline signals when there is a lot of this kind of noise.  It can be difficult to tell the difference between these types of signals without listening carefully and without experience.

Some of the auditory or visual signals can be what you might call false signals.  Electrical interference from electrical lines, lightening, other metal detectors or other sources can be a problem.  One common solution for some of those situations is to turn down your sensitivity.  Some detectors allow you to switch frequencies and some have a frequency check that will switch you to what the detector determines to be the best frequency.

Underground cables and nearby transmitters can also cause a lot of noise.

I'm assuming that there is no real problem with your detector.  Bad cable connections and other technical issues can cause problems.  

You can cut down on the amount of some kinds of noise by using good technique.  Don't jerk your detector when changing coil direction.  Keep the coil flat and at a constant height off the ground. 

Jerking or lifting the coil at the end of each swing can cause a lot of false signals.  People tend to learn to ignore a lot of false signals when there are a lot of them, but some of those signals can be good signals.

Black sand, salt and other mineralization can also cause false signals and amplify and falsing caused by poor technique. 

A lot of people have trouble with black sand.   Some detectors handle black sand better than others.

No matter what detector I used, black sand never bothered me too much.  With many detectors you can learn to distinguish between most signals caused by the black sand and targets in or under the black sand.  I often also found pinpoint mode to be better than discrimination mode when working in black sand.

One way you can learn to better understand what your detector is telling you is by watching the ground carefully when detecting.  You can see the subtle line made by the last wave and if it causes your detector to react.  You can see what sound is caused by ripples in the sand or transitions in the black sand.  You can learn how those types of things will cause your detector to react, and you can learn what they sound like.

There are various adjustments that you can make, and there are trade-offs associated with each adjustment.  It is always a trade-off between two types of errors: false positives and false negatives.

False positives are when you think you have a signal for a good target but don't, and false negatives are good targets that you miss.  When you decrease one, you generally increase the other.

It is not that simple though.  If you increase sensitivity to get the more subtle signals that indicate deep or smaller targets,  you also might get more false signals, but that isn't all.  It isn't only about technology.  There are psychological effects.  Will you hear and attend to the smaller signals the same when there are more loud signals?   I say the answer is no. I've talked about that some before.
That is just one of many example.

Noise is not only a matter of technology.   It is also a complex psychosensory phenomena.

I've noticed, for example, when running high sensitivity, perhaps higher than optimal, I'll get more falsing and as a result begin to ignore more signals and that causes me to miss some good signals.  You can pretty well predict how a change to your detector settings will affect your signals.  That is the easy part.  But how does the operator react to the change?  That is more complex and just as important.

The metal detector is just one part of the system.  The other part is human.