can Garrett find the classy through the trashy?

[FirstMatter]

hey, this is my first post here, pleasure to be part of the group.
my question is about my Gtax 550 and what the best way to know if there is some real Silver or anything else good amidst the trash and nails. I just saw a tutorial on the T2 and i saw how they have number values and anything below a certain number, is most likely trash. Do you Garrett users have any advice? I know to dig everything and i do, but after seeing that tutorial on the T2 i am wondering if i can get a little more savvy.
im hoping the answers arent going to be, "upgrade your machine" for now, im a gtax 550 guy, for now
thx
FM

 

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[bill from lachine]

Well the GTAX 550 was my first machine about 20 or so years ago and I made some decent finds...back then I was pretty much just coin shooting so didn't find much in the way of gold or relics....I did find a fair amount of silver with it though.

Now I pretty much dig everything from foil on up even a lot of scratchy, iffy signals and manage a fair bit of gold, buttons and other interesting doodads....that said proper coverage of a site will get you more keepers regardless of the machine we use.....grid it off....go slow and do the overlaps and the goodies will come....if it's gold your looking for that mostly falls into the foil, pulltab and nickel range.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[Sandman]

FM these video's that tell you that the numbers will ID certain targets is not entirely true as it is a marketing ploy to make users think thats all we have to do is watch the numbers. The fact is the detectors only see the conductivity of things and many things can have the same conductivity. Target masking comes into play when you have more than one target under the coil at once. One item gets discriminated against and the other is accepted at half value. A smaller sniper coil will have a better chance of getting one item under the coil at once and reporting on it more accurately. Silver is very conductive but gold can be in the foil range Thur nickels and pull tabs. If you disc these out, forget the gold rings. Screens can make you not dig items making you believe they are junk. No need to upgrade unless you just like to learn new detectors like I do.

 

[bill from lachine]

Sandman,

Well said.....when I stopped being a slave to the screen and went more by sound my gold, button and relic finds went through the roof.

So many variables involved the screen is just giving you a best guess as to the target....depth, soil moisture, angle and shape of the target, etc.....all come into play.

I tend to use the K.I.S.S. method (keep it simple stupid...lol)...if it beeps dig it and once in awhile you'll come up with a surprise keeper.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[Bart@Big Boys Hobbies]

The Garrett AT Pro with a 5x8 DD coil is DEADLY in trash and has GREAT separation!

 

[John-Edmonton]

The Garrett AT Pro with a 5x8 DD coil is DEADLY in trash and has GREAT separation!

I second that one......

 

[freddy williams]

You machine should do good for just starting out but if you want to by all means upgrade it. Myself I prefer the 705 minlab over the garret At pro. just my preferance though and if I am going to be in or around water I use my tesoro tiger shart the number are just as everyone says a marketing gimmick is all Listen to the tones and check the numbers and see what you dig that should give you an idea what silver is sounding like and the number it gives you. I always dig everything even though I have been doing it awhile, why do you ask. At one time I would pic and choose witch tones to dig and my brother was hunting with me and crossed some ground I checked already digging what I wanted needless to say he found 2 gold rings and a morgan in AU condition so after that I just dig it all... no more numbers to go by. HH

 

[FirstMatter]

Thanks for the info guys. Sandman, thats a good quick lesson on how target masking works. though im still wondering how the Higher number values on a T2 for example equate to the Gtax' screen. Stronger beeps? i wont go too deep into it as i dont actually have the experience with a T2 or similar machine, but on a Gtax 550 a pull tab could be a gold ring, or just a pull tab, but on the T2 would you be able to get a signal and know for sure by the number if its one or the other?

Im thinking that half of what it takes to be good at MDing is choosing good spots to hunt.

looking forward to reporting back with some good finds.
FM

 

[Stormrider51]

Thanks for the info guys. Sandman, thats a good quick lesson on how target masking works. though im still wondering how the Higher number values on a T2 for example equate to the Gtax' screen. Stronger beeps? i wont go too deep into it as i dont actually have the experience with a T2 or similar machine, but on a Gtax 550 a pull tab could be a gold ring, or just a pull tab, but on the T2 would you be able to get a signal and know for sure by the number if its one or the other?

Im thinking that half of what it takes to be good at MDing is choosing good spots to hunt.

looking forward to reporting back with some good finds.
FM

The short answer is "no". The number won't let you discriminate out pull tabs. The problem is that they don't have a single number. They have a range of conductivities that are displayed as a number by the detector and that range falls right in the middle of the nickle and gold range. The conductivity varies based on several factors. Pull tabs come in different sizes and shapes for instance. Different sizes and shapes mean different conductivities. It also makes a difference whether the tab itself is folded over the ring or extending out from it. The only good thing I can say about them is that they are aluminum and I throw them into the sack with the aluminum cans that I sell at the recycling place. The truth is that you have a choice. You can dig every target that registers above the foil/bottle cap range and be sure of getting any rings/nickles down there. Or, you can accept that by setting the detector to reject most pull tabs you will miss some good stuff. I'm going to add that finding clad coins or even silver ones can't compare to the first time you flip a gold ring out of a hole.

Storm

 

[ringtone]

I use an Ace 150, and just dig every signal so I don't miss anything.

My junk pouch is much bigger than my keeper pouch.