8/21/19 Report - New Salvage Finds Down South. Coins Found At Eroding Site. Metal Detector Testing and Noise Adjustments. Storm Scene.

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

Silver Ewer Spout Find.
Source: https://www.melfisherartifacts.com/

What do you think the object shown above is?  I'll tell you below.

Down south the crews of the Dare and Magruder recently found silver coins musket balls, pottery shards, a barrel hoop, and a possible carpenter's file.  

They also found an ewer spout very much like one shown above.  I know that the single view didn't give you much of a chance of figuring it out.  Multiple views are always helpful.

The spout shown above was found on the Atocha site years ago and is pictured in the melfisherartifacts database.   Entire silver ewers have also been found with the same kind of spout attached so there is no question of what it is.

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I got a few responses on John E's mystery object that I posted yesterday.

Joe D. looks like an aluminum sprinkler repair tool!

And Susan E. Plumber's multi-tool.

Steve M . says That is definitely an automotive battery connection cleaner.  I have seen those in the 70s but could still be in use today.   They cleaned the lead clamp inside and the lead post outside.

I think John will be able to decide which of those it is.

Thanks to all of you for the help.

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An archaeological site being eroded by the sea revealed Roman coins and pottery.

"The main problem is that everything is under a metre of sand and we're wondering if it blew in in the big storm in 1330 - so it looks like it's been buried for a long time and it's superbly preserved."

Archaeologists' initial estimations think the Roman pottery could be from around 200 to 300AD while the fort is thought to be from the Iron Age, which dates from around 800BC to 43AD.

"That's not to say Romans occupied the site but perhaps a tribe lived there that traded with the Romans," said Dan Amor, of the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust...

Here is the link for more about that.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-49397328

1. Luke 3:5 ⁵Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low...

--- Yesterday I described some air tests I did. It seems I can't do that without repeating the limitations of an air test, and the importance of not making too much out of the results. You have to start somewhere, and an air test is a convenient starting place when you are just starting to become familiar with a metal detector.  You can form some initial theories to be tested more effectively at a later time, but an air test will not tell you what you will get in the field with real targets. An air test is an OK starting place, but that is about it. If you want to compare metal detectors, the best way is to take those detectors out to the area you want to detect and compare signals on UNDUG targets. Don't dig the targets until after you have thoroughly explored the signals and all of the adjustments you might be interested in. It is important that the targets remain undisturbed in the naturally settled sand or earth to get a good test. If you are interested in the wet sand area, compare the performance of your detectors there. If you are interested in submerged areas, test there. Or dry sand, test there. Test in the same type of area you want to detect. Testing in dry sand for detecting in wet sand will give you very misleading results, but it will help you learn a bit about your new detector before venturing into the wet sand. Also, when conducting a test, you should sweep as you would naturally sweep when hunting. Since I conducted the air test in an area with a considerable amount of electrical interference, I wanted to make a few comments about that. The Ace 250 isn't bothered too much by electrical interference (much less than some metal detectors) but when you need to, you can turn down the sensitivity. The Ace 250 does not have other additional options for dealing with that. The Equinox has a frequency check function to find the best frequency for you. Besides that, you have several choices that you can manually select. You can choose multi-frequency or other specific frequencies. I found that both 5kz and 10kz worked well when I needed to adjust. Sometimes multi-frequency works well, but if you are getting a lot of noise, you can easily change frequencies. You can just cycle through the various frequencies and use the one that seems to work well. From my limited experience, I've been impressed by several things about the Equinox. I didn't expect the display to be as clear and easy to read. Also, for the variety of features that are available, the options are easy to understand and use. The human interface was well designed. Eventually I'll get around to testing it in the field on real targets. That is what really counts. ---

Source: nhc.noaa.gov

Way to the north is Tropical Storm Chantal, and on the other side of the Bahamas is another system that could form. I'll keep an eye on that one. Happy hunting, TreasureGuide@comcast.net

12/15/18 Report - How To Be More Successful. Underground Cables. Diamond Size of Chicken Egg Found in Canada.

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

In my yesterday's post I posted comments from Dale J. about buried cables being the cause of noisy metal detector operation in some locations on the Treasure Coast.  Steve M. then sent the following message.

Today’s post you talked about buried cables, most boat GPS chart plotters will show submarine cables, so anyone anchoring, dredging etc, will know it is there. If you have a boat with one you just cursor to the beach and check to see if there is a cable. I will do that and get back to you about that. Some are not being used and some are. With my PI detectors I pick regular power lines at a fairly close range and the huge cross the state ones pretty far range. I suppose that a submarine cable coming under the beach would do the same thing. 

Steve then checked and this is what he found.

Rio Mar Cable Location

Submitted by Steve M.

 Steve said, I did find 2 different places with several cables each at Vero.  Looks like that is the only place along the Treasure Coast that has cables. West Palm Beach inlet also has some.  You can see where the cables are and the Lat and Long of each place approximately.  Hope this helps.  I am sure it would mess with any detector.

That certainly does match up well with the noisy area at Rio Mar.

Thanks Steve.

One other consistently noisy location is just south of the Fort Pierce inlet.  Those that are south of Rio Mar and Turtle Trail are very consistent.  I also mentioned a less strong and more sporadic noisy spot at Pepper Park.

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Just in time before you send your list to Santa, miners in the far reaches of Canada announced that they found a rough 552-carat yellow diamond, which is the largest diamond ever discovered in North America and the seventh-largest diamond ever found.

The diamond—about the size of a chicken egg-- was discovered in October in Canada's Northwest Territories-- in Diavik-- which is about 135 miles away from the Arctic Circle, Mining.com reported...

https://www.foxnews.com/science/552-carat-yellow-diamond-found-in-canada-largest-ever-in-north-america'

---

I was watching a recent episode of Oak Island ( I think it was episode 5 of seascon 6 ) and one of the Laginas said that the metal detector finds always raised more questions rather than answering them.   I once wrote that would be the case.  Isolated near-surface finds that are part of no particular strategy will very seldom answer any big questions.  Just think about it.  The island has hundreds of years of history and therefore has tons of metal objects left behind by many people doing many different things, most of which have little nothing to do with the Money Pit or any major treasure activity, and even when they do have something to do with those things, it will be difficult to interpret or prove.  I  also conjectured that they were using metal detecting finds to fill air time and have something to talk about since they didn't have much of anything else in the way of significant finds to talk about.  Otherwise it would seem that the metal detecting efforts were only symptomatic of a generally disorganized search strategy.

One thing they really need is a well-defined goal with specific objectives.  I've heard different people on the show describe the goals in very different ways.  The TV guy once said for him it was all about the story.  One of the Laginas said what he wanted to find out is if "anything" happened on Oak Island.  I interpret that to mean "anything big or treasure related."  Somebody else said they wanted to find out what is in the money pit.   Viewers might think the show is actually about finding some huge treasure.  If you listen to what different people on the show say, they have different views of what it is all about, and that shows up in how they search.  Their goal is not clearly defined and therefore their search is unfocused.

Different detectorists have different goals.  Some are out for a little leisure.  Others want some exercise, and a nice day in the sun.  Some go out and stroll around and hope to be lucky enough to find a little this or that.  Some hunt coins.  Others hunt jewelry or caches.  Some say it is all about the hunt.  They just like the activity.

Every detectorists should have a good idea of what it is they want to accomplish.  It is not so important for those who want a little recreation or exercise, but it is very important for those who really want to maximize the return on their time or who want to find something big.

What do you want to accomplish?  I mean really!

Writing down your goals and objectives can be a big help but isn't always necessary.  If you want to improve your rate of success, the first most helpful step will be defining your goal in very specific terms.  Your search strategy can not be focused unless your goals are well-defined. Well designed goals will also help you develop theories and test hypotheses.

I won't get into the details of what makes a well-defined goal.   That would take too long. As a consultant, I used to teach that to Fortune 100 companies and graduate school students.

To give an example, lets say your goal might be to find 100 pieces of gold jewelry in a year.  That defines a specific type of target, gives a quantity and a time frame.  Those are some of the things you might want to include.   That will help you to assess your progress and stay on target.  It will help you remain focused.

Goals can change.  Lets say your goal is to locate and identify the Atocha.  Once you have accomplished that, your goal might become recovering all the treasure of the Atocha.  Or if during the search you discovered another worthy target, you might change your target.

Although it might seem very basic and unnecessary, well defined goals will help anyone who wants to accomplish something difficult.

Poorly considered and poorly defined goals will result in a disorganized search.  Without well designed goals, searches will not be focused and will seldom answer significant questions.

Besides well-defined goals I highly recommend the development of theories that can be tested, but I'll have to talk about that some other time.

---

On the Treasure Coast will have around a two foot surf for at least a few days.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

11/16/18 Report - Some Metal Detecting Tips. A Couple More Holed Coin Finds. North Wind But East Primary Swell.

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

Holed 1858 Flying Eagle Cent.

Photo by William K.

'
William K. sent this photo of an 1858 Flying Eagle cent.  He said, With the small hole I assume it could have been affixed to a charm bracelet.

Sometimes coins used in jewelry are not real coins.  The photo makes the wear on this one look strange to me.  It might be the focus or glare from the lighting.    


Below is a photo of an 1858 Flying Eagle cent shown on the APMEX web site, where it is listed as VG and has a price of about $50.

Thanks William.

---

Here is another holed find.  This one from Palm Beach.

Holded Olympics Commemorative Coin

Find and photo by Jerry P.

Here is what Jerry had to say.

Here’s a holed coin I recovered on Palm Beach Midtown Beach. It was July last year when I dug it from the wet-sand after some nice erosion during that week.

It is a Commemorative coin from the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona Spain. The value is 25 PTAS, whatever that is. It was corroded to a zinc Penny when recovered.

I also recovered a $1.00 US Statue of Liberty modern coin & a 2003 10 KOIIEEK (Russian coin??) as well as a couple of small jewelry pieces that day.

So even though it was a short hunt (right at LT) it was quite productive😎

Note the different dates on the different sides.  It was evidently minted in 1991 for the Summer Games of 1992.

Thanks Jerry!

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I like to use different detectors at different times.  The best metal detector for one situation, might not be the best for another situation.

In my yard, the best choice is not the metal detector that I most often use at the beach.  There are several reasons for that.  The biggest reason is the ambient interference from overhead power lines and buried cables.  The metal detector I most often use at the beach is more sensitive to that noise and even though it has a frequency check and tries to find the best frequency, still does not do as well as another much less expensive metal detector.

As I've said in the past, I look at metal detectors very much like golf clubs.  You select the one that best suits the situation.

A change in environments can make a big difference.  It is not only the electrical interference that makes a difference.  While my more inexpensive metal detector usually does a fine job in the dry sand at the beach, it is not nearly as good in the wet salt sand.

Of course there are also different target types.  One of the favorite Treasure Coast beach metal detectors, misses a lot of iron, and people don't realize it.  And you don't have to be running any discrimination.  It simply does not detect iron as well as some other metal detectors.  Whether that is a good or bad thing, depends upon what you are trying to do.

Besides environmental factors and the operating characteristics of your metal detector, there are behavioral factors that are very important.  By that I mean how you use your detector. Many people fail to realize the importance of coil speed, for example.  Moving your coil either too fast or too slow, can cause a big loss in depth.  Your detector's performance can be affected a lot by how you move the coil.  Jerking the coil when you change the sweep direction can cause a lot of false signals under some circumstances and also reduce depth of detection.

You may or may not be fully aware of how sensitivity varies under different parts of your coil.  In the past I've recommended testing to determine the how sensitivity varies under different part of your coil.   My experience is that the cone of sensitivity is not always exactly what the operating manual suggests.  It can be helpful to know where the spot of maximum sensitivity is and how that compares with different areas under the coil.

Those are just a few things that you might want to be aware of.  It is easy to fall into habits.  If you've been using the same metal detector for a while and detect the same types of places, you might not even take the time to adjust settings on different outings, but things change.  There can be a different amount of ambient noise or interference on different days, for example.

On the other hand, absolute best depth or sensitivity might not be that important to you.  Again, it depends upon what you are doing.  You might not think some things are important, but I think it is good to be aware of various factors and be aware of the trade-offs and how your decision making can affect outcomes.

There are times when I don't care about getting maximum performance.  Maybe I'm running a quick check of the area, but if I find there is reason to really tighten up and go for that last smidgeon of performance, I'll do that.

I'm an empiricist by nature.  I don't automatically accept what I hear.  I enjoy experimenting and testing things out for myself.  I hope that you do the same with whatever I say.

---

The tides are still small.  Today we'll have some north winds, but the primary swell will be east, and the surf will be only about two feet.  I don't expect much.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

7/6/16 Report - How To Conduct More Meaningful Ground And Air Tests With Your Metal Detector. Summer FUN Convention.

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

Florida United Numismatists, Inc., is hosting the 10th Annual Summer FUN Convention in Orlando Florida, July 7 - 9 2016. The convention will be held at the Orange County Convention Center, 9800 International Drive.

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I was looking for something the other day - don't remember what - and ran into a video showing some fellows testing and comparing metal detectors on a small piece of buried gold.  They did what most people do.  They buried their target and tried the different detectors to see which did the best. Only one detector gave a good strong signal on the target.  Although I saw a few problems with their method of testing, I wanted to focus on one problem that is not usually seen as a problem.  Almost everybody makes the same mistake.

As you know, there are several things that will affect a detector's signal.  The nature of the target is one thing.  Its composition, size, shape and how it is laying will all affect the detector's signal.

Of course the ground will affect the detector's signal.

And the environment, including such things as electrical interference, will affect the signal.

So will the detector's settings.

But one thing that is not often taken into account is the behavior of the detectorists.  If you watch either an air test or a ground test, you'll always see the same behavior.  The target, relative to the coil, is moved rapidly, in very short sweeps, and right over the sweet spot of the coil.  That is not how the coil is moved in actual field use.  As bad as that is, there is yet another problem.  The exact position of the target is known, which is not the case when you are hunting.  That is a more serious problem than you might think.

When scanning ground during a hunt, the coil would usually be move more slowly, and the target would usually not be directly under the sweet spot of the coil.

When conducting either an air test or ground test, if you want to get results that are similar to actual field performance, the exact position of the target should not be visible to the operator.  I've conducted psychology experiments and know something about how the sensory systems work.

There is always some level of noise, and a signal can be interpreted as noise, and noise can be interpreted as a good signal.  When the location of the target is known, any noise that occurs when the coil is over the target will be interpreted as noise, and the threshold for detecting a good signal in noise will be much lower when the operator knows when there should be a signal.

I've done this myself when I was testing a new detector in a noisy environment with a lot of static. Noise when the coil is over the target will often be interpreted as a good signal when it is actually noise.

People do not realize how much the tendency is to interpret noise or a marginal signal as a good signal when you know that the coil is centered over the target and a signal is expected..  You know when there should be a signal and therefore interpret almost anything as a good signal when you are expecting a signal.  Noise created by hitting the ground or grass or any random noise will be interpreted as a good signal when you know that the coil is over the target. That tendency is multiplied by a coil that is being moved in short bursts over the spot.

The stereotypical very short and rapid movement that is inevitably seen during air tests and ground tests when the location of the target is known and centered under the coil, is unlike anything that would normally happen in the field, except after a target has been located and is being pinpointed.

To get more significant and realistic air and ground test results, move the coil relative to the target like it would be moved during a hunt.  Remember, most of the time in the field the target will not be under the sweet spot of the coil.

In addition to moving the coil more realistically, during ground tests the operator should not be able to visually identify the location of the target.  He can close his eyes and start a few steps away, proceeding the same way he would in the field.  You might be surprised by how often the target is missed altogether when that is done.

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Gold and silver prices have been going up for the last few days.

---

It looks like we'll be having another week or two of smooth surf on the Treasure Coast.  There is no tropical weather to watch.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

4/17/15 Report - Most Popular Posts. Marginal Signals. Detector Adjustments & Sensitivity. Shipwreck Gold Nugget.

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

Ancient Gold Pendant
Found With Metal Detector.

You probably noticed that I made a change to the first page of the blog.  It now displays eight of the most popular posts of the past.

I think this is a great feature because there are six or seven years of posts now, and that can be overwhelming.  This provides a good new way to see if there is anything you missed or simply want to revisit.

The post about this gold pendant is one of those popular posts.  It is listed at the top of the list.

Last night I stumbled upon an old post reporting on the find of a gold nugget on a Treasure Coast shipwreck treasure beach last year about this time of year.  That particular post didn't make the top eight list.   See the 3/17/14 post for that and more on gold nuggets.

Enjoy.

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Back a few days ago I talked briefly about rounding your curves on your sweep pattern as shown in the illustration below.  In wet sand an abrupt change in direction at the end of each sweep can cause false signals at the end of the sweeps.  This especially occurs when the change in direction occurs where a recent wave stopped and left a line dividing wet sand from dry sand.  If you have your discrimination up or your sensitivity low, you won't hear those transitions, but there can be a cost to that.

An increase in noise near the end of sweeps can cause you to miss what I have called marginal signals, which also frequently occur near the end of the sweeps.  Marginal signals can sound a lot like the noise caused by the coil passing over the line between the wet and dry sand.  Ignoring marginal signals can result in a significant reduction in finds. It can be difficult to distinguish between noise and marginal signals, but double checking will do the job.  When you sweep in both directions over the questionable signal, signals that remain consistent will be good signals.

Adjusting your detector to avoid all false signals can cause a loss in sensitivity that will cause you to miss good but borderline targets that are either small or deep.  Experience can help you distinguish between noise and marginal signals.  Double checking some of those hard to distinguish signals is always a good idea.

It is also a good idea to sweep your coil parallel to the water instead of East/West or towards and away from the water's edge.  That way your detector will not have to adapt to the changes in moisture levels and mineralization on each swing.  That will give you more depth, and if you are running hot, fewer false signals.





If you run your detector hot in all-metals or pinpoint mode, you can hear all of the changes in the moisture and salt levels etc., but you can learn to distinguish those sounds from real targets.  The same goes for black sand.

Many people feel like their detector doesn't work over black sand.  They hear the black sand and give up.  In an all-metals mode you definitely can hear the black sand, but you can also hear many of the targets in or under the black sand.  

An edge in the black sand, made by a scoop or foot print or something, can cause a signal that can be difficult to distinguish from a signal caused by a good target.

It is a good idea to work in different areas of the beach (dry sand, wet sand, and in the water) one at a time instead of making your detector adjust as you go back and forth from one to another.  With some detectors, you will want to ground balance again if and when you go from one of those areas to the next.

One time a fellow using a high-end Minelab gold detector told me that when he was sweeping North/South along the water he could detect targets deeper than when he swung perpendicular to the water.   He said he thought it had to do with the earth's magnetic fields.  He was a very bright fellow, but what he was really observing was the loss in sensitivity caused by his detector trying to adjust to the rapid changes in moisture and salt when sweeping East/West.

----

On the Treasure Coast today the surf is a touch higher.  We are having some good negative low tides though. 

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

4/9/15 Report - How To Increase Metal Detector Finds By Investigating Marginal Signals. Waterloo Skeleton Of German Soldier.

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

A few days ago I talked about detector coils and what I called the area of target sensitivity and peripheral sensitivity.  I'll add a little to that today.

As I mentioned some coils have good peripheral sensitivity and will detect coins out beyond the area covered by the coil.  One detector I tested consistently produced a signal nearly an inch before the coil was over various test coins.  The good thing about that is that it covers more ground.  The down side is that it makes it more difficult to pinpoint the target without going into a pinpoint mode, and it does not provide good and easy target separation when multiple targets are closely clustered.

But what I wanted to mention today is that any coil will produce partial or unclear signals near the edge of a coil or when a target is too deep or the coil is moving too fast or whatever.  There are times when a less clear signal can easily be confused with noise.  That is more true when you are operating in a noisy environment, whether the noise is due to conditions such as ground mineralization or less than optimal use of the detector.  The more noise you have, the easier it is for the less clear signals produced by good targets to get lost in the noise.

There are actually two major systems involved in all metal detecting.  One is the detector, the other is the person.  Those systems share much in common.  The psychosensory system can be analyzed in much the same way as a metal detector.  Both systems are somewhat adaptable.   Both systems can detect signals in noise to a certain extent.   And both systems can have a good or not so good accuracy rate.

In the same way that a detector can be set up to detect good targets in a noisy environment, a detectorist can focus and learn and improve on how he hears or separates good signals from noise.  You can definitely learn to better interpret your detector's signals.  It takes time, but that is something you can definitely do.  That is one reason I suggest a lot of testing and experimentation with a detector.

Don't depend entirely upon your detector to separate good signals from noise.  Your brain is more powerful than any detector.

Set up your detector to do the best job that it can under the circumstances, but also learn to better understand what your detector is telling you.  That will help you identify good targets that produce maginal signals.

If you run your detector hot, there will always be some noise, maybe slight, but still some noise.  There will always be those marginal signals.  Maybe just the edge of your coil went over the target, or maybe the target was partially masked by junk or black sand or whatever.

My point is that you can probably learn to better discriminate and identify the good signals from the noise.

When you are zipping along and hear a whisper or squeak or any signal that could easily be mistaken for noise, it might actually indicate a good target.  It is a good idea to sometimes stop and check those marginal signals.  That will help you learn to tell the difference.

Some detectors will null (go silent) on targets that are so deep that they are at the limits of what the detector can detect.   I've noticed that especially with PI detectors.  If you will stop and check those slight interruptions in the threshold by taking a scoop of sand out so you can get your coil down another inch or two, you might then hear a good signal from the deep target.  If you are running a silent threshold, you won't hear the null.  

When using what I would call a power-detector, I like to run my threshold up a little higher and carefully listen for very slight changes.  Not so much if I am just doing a quick scan of an area.

If you are in the habit of passing over anything that sounds like noise, stop and double check some of those sounds, you might discover that some of them are actually good targets.  You might cut down on misses by doing that and also by adjusting your detector, but even when your detector is well adjusted, you might be able to make additional improvements by learning to pay more attention to those marginal signals caused by good targets.

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It is very cool but unusual to track a find down to a particular person.

A skeleton found at Waterloo has been identified (without absolute certainty) to be that of a particular German soldier.

Here is that link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/07/waterloo-skeleton-identified_n_7011508.html

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Conditions on the Treasure Coast beaches remains poor.  It looks like there are at least two weeks of predicted one-two foot surf.  That isn't very promising.  It has been a very slow year so far.  We are way over due for some good erosion.

Welcome to new reader Tony who says he has been detecting for about a year and just discovered this blog.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

2/2/15 Report - Finding More With Your Detector: Balancing Noise & Sensitivity. Important Caution For Cleaning With Acid.

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

That was an exciting Super Bowl!  The winner of the whole thing was determined by a few inches.  First there was that pass that was caught after the guy laying on his back bobbled the ball and finally caught it.  Then it looked like the Seahawks would definitely score and win.  But then there was the decision to pass instead of run it in and the interception right at the goal line that won it for the Patriots.  That could have gone the other way very easily.  Just a matter of inches.

I'm temped to get into how a silly game of ball played on a chalk marked field has been elevated to one of the biggest events in the world, but I'll try to avoid that.  What I will talk about is winning and losing and how small things can make a big difference.

Have you ever wondered if you just missed that dream find by an inch, or maybe less?  Maybe you just missed it with your coil by a fraction of an inch.  Or it was just an inch too deep.  Or worse yet, you heard that faint signal but thought it was nothing good and passed it by.  It can happen.

Small things can make a big difference.  Through much experimentation I've been proving to myself how a small turn of a knob or small difference in a setting can make a big and critical difference.

Many detectorists think that a detector's response should be binary and they try to get their detector to repspond that way. (What I mean by binary is a something in which there are only two states, for example Yes/No or On/Off.)  They want to hear a good unmistakable signal if there is a good target no signal or noise at all if there is no target.  That would be the ideal, but things are seldom that simple. The world is noisy and information most often is transmitted in a background or context of noise. 

Noise is not always noise though.  Sometimes it is actually information that is not perceived, interpreted or appreciated.

One day I was using an Excalibur in the wet sand and in and out of shallow moving water, and there was another fellow up the beach a ways also using an Excalibur.  The other fellow was up away from the wet sand.  When I was putting my detector in the car after leaving the beach, the fellow came up  wanted to see what settings I was using.  He saw me detecting in the wet sand and moving water and didn't know how to do that without getting a lot of false signals.

The main difference was that he was working in discrimination mode while I was using pinpoint mode.  He was getting a lot of what we call "falsing."   I wasn't getting falsing - at least none that was bothering me.   I'm not saying that I wasn't hearing salt mineralization and other things.  I was.  But I knew what it was, and I could still hear the good signals caused by actual targets.  I can often tell the difference. 

I'm not just talking about the Excalibur here.  That is just one of many examples.  Many other detectors act very similarly.   You get something very similar, for example, between the motion and non-motion modes when using an ATX.  Yes you can ground balance etc. in motion mode, but in non-motion mode you hear more, both what you might consider noise and good targets.  That is not for beginners, but when you are ready, you might want to try learning to really use non-motion mode.

My primary message today is that if you try to get your detector operating in a binary state, giving only good signals and eliminating all noise, you're bound to loose some good targets along with the noise.  Don't be afraid of noise.  Learn to identify the sources of noise.  And, of course, learn the difference between real noise and good but marginal signals.

There are many techniques that people use to eliminate noise.  They include ground balancing, reducing sensitivity, discrimination, etc, but remember that not all noise needs to be eliminated, especially when you learn to identify the differences and what your detector is trying to tell you.

Many people do not think their detector works well in black sand.  They think they can't detect in black sand and avoid it.   Methods such as ground balancing or discriminating black sand can work o some extent but can also dramatically reduce detection of good targets.

For me, the objective is not to eliminate all noise, the objective is to hear more good signals that indicate a good target.  Yes noise will hide good signals, but many methods of reducing noise will eliminate good signals too.  My approach is to try to reduce the noise to signal ratio, but only so much.  There is a fine line between reducing noise and working with noise.  In my opinion, many people make the mistake of trying to eliminate too much noise rather than learning what the noise might be saying and learning how different sources of noise sound different. 

To some extent it is a personal matter.  Different people like to do things differently.  I'm not saying one way is right and the others wrong, but for me I prefer to work with noise rather than eliminate it along with many good signals.

That is all I'll say about that today.  Maybe I'll get more specific some other day.

----

I mentioned Bill P's method of cleaning silver coins the other day.  Since I lost the original post on that, I gave you a link to a similar procedure.  Thanks to Bill's original instructions, I often use his method rather many of the other common methods.

Bill was kind enough to write in with an important reminder for using Muriatic acid.  Here it is

The method you just blogged is accurate. The most important thing to remember when diluting ANY acid is: ALWAYS ADD ACID to the water or diluting agent NEVER add the water or diluting agent to the acid. A violent reaction could occur splashing acid everywhere. Remember it this way: AAA (always add acid). Hope this helps. -Bill P.

Thanks much Bill for our continued help!

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On the Treasure Coast today I'm seeing a stiff South wind and small surf.  That is supposed to change later this week.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

1/19/15 Report - Some Problems With Air Tests: Physical & Psychological. Calm Surf and Sandy Beaches

Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.

Fresh Cut Found On Treasure Coast Beach Yesterday.

Everybody knows that an air test won't tell you exactly what you can expect in the field.  An air test doesn't have to deal with things like ground mineralization, but in my opinion there are much bigger concerns and limitations.

When you test a detector you are not just dealing with one system.  The detector is an electromechanical system, but when you use a metal detector there is actually a much more complex and important system involved - your nervous system, including your sensory system.

Before I address those systems and how they play a very important roll, I want to talk a little about air tests.  There is the problem of generalizability.  An air test is not like a field.  There will normally be some difference in how far your detector will detect an object in air and how deep it will detect an object buried in the ground.  Most everybody knows that.  But those differences are not due ony to the differences in the ambient environments.  Some differences are due to how air tests are conducted.

I'm sure that most of you have conducted an air test and have watched others conducting air tests.   Carefully observe the human behavior involved. 

Usually a person conducting an air test will start close to the coil where a distinct signal is achieved and move the object farther from the coil until the signal is no longer distinguished.  One problem is that during an air test, the object is usually moved right over the sweet spot of the coil.   Most often that does not happen in the field.   Usually the object will be off one direction or another.  During an air test, people usually seek the sweet spot until they get the absolute best signal.

In the field during a hunt, an object will only fall under the sweet spot a fraction of the time.  In more cases than most people think, the object will not pass under the coil at all.  In the field many objects are missed by inches, and when the coil does pass over them, it is just as likely that the object will be at the edge of the sweep, and only occasionally under the sweet spot.

Secondly, and no less important. the sweep speed is typically varied during an air test until the optimal signal is obtained.  I think that more often than not, people are not using the optimal sweep speed in the field. 

I've mentioned this before, but you should test your sweep speed in the field on a sample target, and then either speed up or slow down your sweep speed.

Thirdly, during air tests, the object is kept in a very narrow area just under the coil.  Most signals may be attributed to the object - not always accurately.

It is more difficult to detect a signal in noise, such as you might get in a field environment.  In an environment with noise, your nervous system will adapt and begin to ignore marginal signals such as those that you would might attribute to the target (correctly or incorrectly) during an air test.

Thirdly, as I stated above, the detector is not the only system involved.  Your nervous system, including your brain and sensory systems are also involved.  Those systems are very important.  They are very flexible and may adapt in ways you don't realize.

Here is one fun example.  Which of the following horizontal lines is the longest?  Don't include the arrow heads.

Maybe you've seen this classic demonstration before.  The three horizontal lines are the same length.  Measure them if you need convincing.

The point is that your nervous system interprets sensory data.  It can be fooled and sometimes it is wrong.

When you do an air test, not only do you listen but you also see when the target is under the coil.  Try this experiment.   Close your eyes and pass the object under the coil.  You might find that you can not distinguish the auditory signal quite as well when you are not also seeing the object under the coil.  That will be even more true if you are in a noisy environment.  Not using the visual information will make the auditory data more difficult to interpret.  During a hunt you will not see the object when you hear the signal, that means that a more distinct auditory signal will be required for it to be correctly interpreted.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not saying that air tests are no good.  I'm just saying that they can be misleading, and you have to be cautious about drawing too many conclusions. 

I think most people should probably do air tests more often.  They should not, however, attempt to evaluate a detector based upon air tests results, and should be cautious about generalizing from an air.

I hoped that by pointing out some of the problems with air tests, both physical and psychological, you will be able to conduct more meaningful air tests and draw more accurate conclusions.

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We are back down to a one or two foot surf on the Treasure Coast.  Really smooth.   That will make water hunting easy.  Also easy to do the low tide area.

The surf will not be increasing hardly at all for the next few days.

The cut shown above was not visible from any beach access.  You'd have to walk a ways to find it.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

9/2614 Report - Many Nice Old Metal Detector Finds From Treasure Coast Off-Beach Sites. Lightning Noise In Detectors Lately. GoPro Cameras.

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

Finds by William M.
Photo submitted by William

If you've been having trouble finding much due to poor detecting conditions lately, there are alternatives to hitting the same over hunted beaches. 

I've noticed more than a few opportunities lately.  On the Treasure Coast it seems there has been a lot of construction and quite a few newly demolished buildings.

Bill M. has been finding a lot of really cool stuff.  He has been getting permission to work on private property.

Here is a photo of some of his finds.  There are a lot of really nice finds there.

Congratulations William!









Notice all of the silver coins in the photo.  Below is an example of one very nice Mercury dime in exceptional dug condition.

If you want to find something old, there is a lot of it out there.  I'd say that only a very tiny portion of the old stuff like this has been found.  Most of it is still out there in the ground deteriorating and waiting to be saved.

Many places have not been worked at all, and many that have been worked still hold many very good targets. 

Very Nice Mercury Dime Found by William
Photo submitted by William

Here is a very nice 1917 dime found by William.  It has about $1.50 worth of silver in it, but it is in very nice condition and therefore worth more than that.

1917 D dimes bring good money.

Very good photo William.

Notice all of the silver coins in the photo above.

You might find the relics even more interesting.

Below is one photo showing some buttons and buckles.

Buckles and Other Items Found by William.
Photo by William.

Charm Found by William
Photo by William.

To the right is a nice charm.  It probably had a personal significance to someone -  maybe a runner.  It would be nice to know more about that.

On the left is also what looks like a hair beret and a thimble.







I've found thimbles on the beach where I'd never expect to find them.  I have a hard time telling how old they might be.  I certainly don't know anyone who uses a thimble. today.   They can be centuries old.


And here are a couple more neat finds by William.

Like I always say, There is always some place to hunt and something to be found.  William did his homework and made a lot of great finds.   Thanks for sharing William.  Way to go!



As I write, it is pouring rain again.  I went outside to play around with a detector last evening and the lightning was causing the detector to beep occasionally, sometimes giving a good "bell" tone, which on that particular detector indicates a good target. 

Lightning can cause noise in a metal detector.  I previously mentioned that one of my detectors had been  noisy lately, and I thought it might be developing problems, but I have now decided that the problem was caused by distant thunderstorms, which have almost always been somewhere around the Treasure Coast lately.   Thunderstorms can cause detector noise even when they are miles away.


Gopro makes a really good waterproof camera.  I use one sometimes, but since it is made primarily for action photography, it isn't what I need most of the time.   It is very good technology though, and I've commented on that.

Gopro went public a few months ago and the stock has gone from 24 to over 80.  That is a nice return.

You'll see Gopro cameras used on some of the detecting, treasure hunting and diving TV programs. 

They claim that they will be making a video channel.  That should be good.



Other than one disturbance out in middle of the Atlantic, there isn't much to watch. 

On the Treasure Coast we are having two to three foot seas for a few days.


I have still have more finds to show and know of one other big project that I can't wait to tell you about.

Thanks for your responses to the blog poll.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net

6/414 Report - Half Cent, More Glitz, TV Treasure Hunt, Queen's Coach & Three Characteristics of Metal Detector Signals

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

Find and photo by Steve S.

Steve S. is from Iowa, but like many detectorists, visits the Treasure Coast where he does some metal detecting.

Here is how he found this half cent.

He said, Went out last Sunday to a nearby village and detected a residence built in the 1840s. This 1829 Half Cent was all that I found. Nice shape for Iowa.

That is a very nice find.  In uncirculated condition it would be worth well over two hundred dollars.

Congratulations Steve!

Photo of find by Steve S.

Half cents are rare finds.




Here is a web site that discusses and gives values of half cents.

http://www.coinstudy.com/half-cent-values.html





NBC's Today Show has been having a daily treasure hunt.  They hide an envelope containing prizes in the city of the day and then give clues to where the envelope can be found.

http://www.today.com/allday/al-roker-launches-todays-treasure-hunt-inspired-hidden-cash-craze-2D79739309



The Queen of England got a new coach.  It is Covered in around 400 books of gold leaf, it contains timbers from king Henry VIII's flagship the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545, and Isaac Newton's apple tree, which inspired him to form his theory of gravity.

Here is the link for more about that.

http://news.yahoo.com/queens-state-coach-encapsulates-british-history-220653016.html

Timbers from Henry VIII's flagship!  Is that saving history for the public?   Maybe it is.  Doesn't seem the best use to me.

Find and photo by Robert H.

I've been showing some of the finds of Robert H. lately.  I posted his trash finds one day too when I was talking about how much trash is picked up by detectorists.

Here is another one of Robert's finds.  This one is really glitzy!

Congrats Robert.  





A few posts ago I was talking about signal detection theory as it relates to metal detecting.  I talked about how signals usually exist in a field of noise.  I wanted to talk a little about three features of good signals when you are using all-metals or pin-point modes.

First, of course, is loudness.  Obviously a loud signal will tend to stand out, but not necessarily, if you have a lot of noise, including a very rough threshold or poorly ground balanced detector.  Increasing volume can increase noise as much as the signal and therefore won't necessarily be of much help.

Signal loudness, when considered in conjunction with other variables, can tell you something about the depth, size and composition of a target - even in all metals mode.  Of course shallow targets will tend to be louder.  Larger targets will tend to be louder.  And more conductive targets will tend to be louder.

Distinctness is another quality of a signal.  Signals will be more distinct (have a more sudden onset and termination) sound, when the target is more shallow.  Distinctness will generally make a good signal easier to identify in a field of noise.  However, as the target gets deeper the signal will appear more smooth.  It will not be as loud and will not be as distinct.

A third signal quality is duration - how long the signal remains loud as you sweep your coil.

You can get a very good idea of how shallow a target is by combining these three signal characteristics.  A small target near the surface will be loud and distinct.   The duration of the signal will, however, vary depending upon the size of the target.  Duration and distinctness, as I've defined them are different things.

A deeper object of the same size and composition will produce a signal that is not as loud and not as distinct.

A larger object of the same composition at the same depth will produce a signal that is as louder but the signal will not be as distinct, and the duration will be larger (The signal will be more spread out.).

If you sweep multiple times over an object in all metals mode and vary the direction of your sweep, you can get some idea of its size and shape.

One peculiarity that I've talked about before is the double signal produced by narrow long objects such as nails when you sweep in one direction and single beep when you sweep at 90 degrees to that.  I've gone over that in detail in the past.

With practice you can use your detector in all metals mode to gain a lot of information about suspected targets from the loudness, distinctness and duration of the signal.

Back to the signal in noise problem.  Signals giving faint signals are more difficult to detect in noise, as are signals that are less distinct.   Faint indistinct signals will often be lost in noise such as that created by black sand and salt mineralization or even an erratic threshold tone, however you can easily detect near surface objects in black sand from the more distinct signals. 

Learn to understand what your detector is telling you.  It might be saying more than you would guess.


I showed a photo of two detectorists on a beach a day or two ago.  They wrote in.  The detectorists are Tim and Betty M. 

Thanks to all of you who write and submit finds and information.  I really appreciate it.


On the Treasure Coast the surf today is three to five feet.  The surf will be decreasing the nest few days and we'll be back down to something like a two foot surf.  Don't expect any improvement in beach conditions.  The tides are pretty flat now too.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net