PINPOINTING WITH YOUR DETECTOR

Pinpointing with many of the detectors today, you may find on occasions that the target pinpoints too large, again I have advice for you on that. Simply hold the pinpoint button down to pinpoint your target, quickly while over the target, release the button and immediately press and hold it down again--while over the target with just a very slight motion (swing). You will immediately notice that the pinpointing of the target has become much smaller, thus helping you dig less dirt, a smaller hole to find the target and causing you to ' find tune' your target. This action is called "retuning" which is not explain in owners manuals, but does work on any detector that has a pinpoint button, switch or press pad. Again, just 33 years of experience talking here. How about detectors without the pinpointing feature? You must remember that the less expensive detectors as a starting unit and will seldom have the pinpoint feature/button or switch. If it does not have a pinpoint button, you still have a way to help you pinpoint your target. Any detector you use without a pinpoint ability, you simply raise the detector head slowly higher over the target your trying to pinpoint as you swing it. You will then notice that the target will become narrower and narrower until you can see it is centering over about a two inch square spot on the ground that you are still getting a beep over. All detectors 'detection area' reduces in size (in a cone shape detection field under your detector's coil center, being the strongest point of your detection is the center of the coil) as you detect targets deeper, then the same holds true as you slowly lift your detector as you swing over the target your detecting. You will soon learn to pinpoint targets much closer on any non-pinpointing and even detectors with pinpoint abilities without the need of pushing a button or pressing a touch pad. Remember, all detectors in discrimination are motion detectors. So you must have the detector coil in some slight swinging motion in order for discrimination to work. In any detector with a pinpoint feature, by pressing a button or pad changes your detector to a "all metal" mode of detection that needs no motion to detect the target, yet also has no discrimination on any target. Thus allowing you to pinpoint a target by stopping over the target when you hear the loudest sound from your detector. Also accounts for detectors without pinpointing feature as to why you must continue a slight motion over the target, for you do not have a true "all metal" mode so to pinpoint the target easier. Let's not forget, that for any detector to run smoothly, you must find a good setting for your sensitivity control. Too much sensitivity can cause a lot of false signals and chatter. Simply reduce the sensitivity by reducing that control and you see a much smoother response to good targets only. I hardly ever see a detector that you need more than 3/4's of the sensitivity control setting for that detector's strongest depth yet not too sensitive so to give me many false signals and a noisy operation. Now you can tell good strong targets from trash targets or small pieces of scrap metals.

 

ADDITIONAL PINPOINTING TIPS

SHAPE OF MAGNETIC FIELD

 The magnetic field from the coil is shaped like a snow cone, where the center of the coil is the strongest point and has the most depth of the field. Thus the field tapers away from the outside edges of the coil as the field gets deeper (maximum point of the cone) and is the reason why you miss many targets, especially those that are up against a tree. Thus the deeper penetration is further from the tree.

MAGNETIC FIELD UNDER THE COIL

 Adding to the previous tip: in trashy areas where you could use a smaller coil to separate the trash from any good targets that may be next to the trash, you can still make use of your standard coil you now have on your detector. Remember when I told you the magnet field off your coil tapers into a cone shape and gets smaller the deeper it goes into the ground under the coil.

In trashy areas you can simulate a smaller coil by using the coil you already have on your detector by shortening the length of your detector rod. Now you are able to swing your detector coil up off the ground a better distance, thus the area of the field actually going into the ground is much smaller in diameter - like that of a smaller coil. This will do the same as a smaller coil as far as helping you separate trash from good targets. You may look as though you know nothing in the field to other folks while hunting with your coil so high off the ground, but in fact you may be finding more than the other hunters because you know the theory of what the magnet field is doing and it's shape that you can not see under the coil.

RELIC HUNTING AROUND TREES

One of the tricks I use the most in hunting, especially relic hunting in wooded areas, is understanding that the magnet field that comes off the bottom of my round detector coil creates a cone shape effect and any objects entering that cone shape field will cause my detector to indicated metal under the coil. However, when butting the detector coil up against a tree, the cone shape of the field under my coil is in the direction of away from the tree, thus a great deal of ground is not covered against the tree itself. Understanding this and that the tree root system will bring up objects from many years ago and which are very deep in the soil, I have learned to simply rock my coil into the tree or slightly tilt my coil towards the tree so to move the cone field of the detector up against the tree and roots below the soil as I swing. This has proven to me many times the unbelievable amount of missed targets other hunters have passed by. Simple swinging your coil up against a tree is not covering all the ground that could hold a precious target or two for you. I know, for two years ago using this trick I found an 1889 Five Dollar Gold Coin - proof to me that it was worth paying special attention to my swings until it became habit in and around trees to tilt that coil towards the tree slightly as I swing. I have many times come out of the woods with a handful of bullets and my partners had none.

 

• Don't just wander around.  Use a Grid Pattern.  Start a search by running East-West.  Once you have searched that area, switch to a North-South pattern.  Then to ensure complete coverage, run sweeps at a 45° angle to the prior pattern.  This will help cover any spots you missed earlier.

• Always, ALWAYS, recheck the hole after you retrieve your target.  Multiple coins in one hole are common, especially in areas where people can sit against a tree, or where they are knocked to the ground and rolled around (like tackle football).

• Always, ALWAYS, fill your holes!

• Carry a towel or a Frisbee that you can put the dirt you dig onto.  This makes for a very quick cleanup of the hole, plus you don't leave any dirt on the grass that people can see.

• If you're just visiting a new site and/or scouting around, then go ahead and "Cherry-pick" the good targets.  However, if you realize that you will be coming back frequently, then start digging the trash.  This will ensure that you don't have to "redetect" that trash targets.  That trash might just be masking a good target beneath it.  Besides, if it reads as a pull-tab, it might just not be a pull-tab, but a gold ring.

• Speaking of gold, if you want to find gold rings, you have to dig those foil and pull-tab signals.

• "Where there's Wheat, there's Silver. "  Basically, if you are finding wheat pennies, slow down!  There should be some silver dimes in there.

• "Indians Come in Tribes."  If you find one Indian penny, slow down, there are usually more.

• Regardless of machines, most Indian head pennies read as a zinc penny.  Therefore, if you get a zinc reading at 4" or deeper, DIG!

• Keep track of the sites where you've dug deep, old, coins at.  After a good rain, go hunt that site thoroughly!

• From the www.angelfire.com website

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