FIRST HUNT 3 HOUR HUNT WITH THE MINELAB EXPLORER SE! NEED ADVICE AND HELP!

[Detectingfreak]

Alright. So I was really excited this morning to take my new Minelab explorer SE on its first full hunt. I woke up at 6:20am in the morning, not meaning to at all since me and my dad were not leaving until 8:30. I was just going to follow my dad in my car while he was in his car to the spot on Mercer Island. Basically after he dropped me off, I started hunting a house that was built 1887 and then was converted into a college in 1905. Since, I did my research and everything, I got on the grass next to the Dormitory's and started getting hits.

When I was digging them up, I had a little bit of trouble. Since I did not have a Sunray X-1 Probe yet, I could not recover the coin quickly. In fact, all of the coins that I went over, I could not recover at all. I filled the holes back up and decided that I would dig them back up when I get my Sunray X-1 probe. I have never seen anyone else metal detecting at this site and there were a lot of targets in the grass that I wish I could of dug. But, since I am a beginner, I had a hard time understanding how to pinpoint the detector in order to find out where the coin was underground. Does anyone else have trouble like this with their minelabs? I know there is nothing wrong with my Minelab Explorer SE because I got it brand new and it was working really great in the sand! I was wondering what your advice was on pinpointing? I really need help with learning this skill so my Minelab Explorer SE can find the coin faster under the grass.

Anyways, After trying to pinpoint the detector, I switched it back to detect mode and decided to go to the beach on the other side of the park. I walked down the path and 5 minutes later ended up at the beach. There was no one in sight and it was a fairly good sized beach. I started on the left side of the beach and got quarter after quarter signal until i had 4 of them. Then I went into the middle and the right and found 6 dimes. I am assuming that the Minelab Explorer SE is hungry for mostly Quarters and Dimes. While I was going back and forth across the beach, I got 4 pennies. One of the finds was a 1964 penny. Theres got to be silver somewhere in this park! Also one of the quarters was 1967 which is three years away from silver!

After Spending 3 hours at the park learning my Minelab Explorer SE, I decided that it was time to go and I would pick it up another day and practice with it some more so then I can get the really awesome finds later on during the summer!

I was running in factor settings by the way and I thought they were exceptional for me and I understood what everything meant on the screen and what I would be digging up.

I love this machine!!

Anyway here is my finds:

 

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[CladMaster]

Nice finds! Practice. The pinpointing can be tough with the SE. When I started using it, I figured out fast that you need a probe with this machine. Don't get discouraged, it is a GREAT detector and you will pull some super deep coin with it.

 

[Dman]

Great finds for the first time out. On pinpointing, sometime the edge of the detector picks up the coin first and you think you have it centered but actually the coins is on the outer edge of the coil. When you swing over the target and you get three beeps the center beep is where the target is. I hope this helps.
Dman

 

[EARTHWORKS]

Use your pinpoint and it will be dead center.

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Detectingfreak...here is how I use my Se... I use digital coming from and still using the dfx also digital. Will work on smartfind screen soon. I sweep from each direction trying to center target...once I feel I am near center...I slowly drag coil toward me until the signal drops off....the target is directly past the end of the outer coil in the center...also I know probes are great such as the x-1...but I can pinpoint now no problem with the Se dead center and can also tell when the coins are on the surface now by tone/sound. I plan on getting an x-1 but for now my bullseye 2 is fine. Also you may want to purchase a smaller coil...I have been using the 8 " Minelab coil...but starting tomorrow I will be using the stock slimline coil on the Se and the 5.3 Eclipse on the dfx... Flipping smaller coil on one than the other and letting them go at it! Hey try the method I suggested let me know.. Gregg.

 

[silverfreak]

Congrats buddy. You're on your way now. Trust me...get that probe asap. I absolutely would not ever hunt without it. It saves you a good hour's hunt time out of a 4 hour hunt...just by being able to locate a nail off the bottom side of the hole when chasing iffy hits...not that I ever do
As for pinpointing. I just hit the pinpoint button and give quick, short, side to side swings to find the target center. Then quick, short vertical movements over the target center to find the perfect spot. Takes about 5 seconds and is usually dead on unless the coin is on edge.
Congrats on that new machine

 

[Metal Head]

Hello!
I just got an SE too!

I have not had the trouble pinpointing that you hear so many people have.

Today was also my first day out and I popped 27 coins in and hour which is amazing for me especially since they all had some distance between them.

This thing is like a Ferrari.

Here is my technique that I learned after about the tenth coin:

Pinpoint has the highest PITCH at dead center from what I can tell.

1.) Move side to side to find the highest pitch. Low conductivity items are harder to differentiate pitch but coins are easy.
2.)When you hit that highest pitch stop on it, then move in a sraight line forward and backward to find the highest pitch that way. DO NOT do the x thing it is a waist of time. The item will be right about under the center. If you cut a 6x6x6" plug you will almost always have it in the plug.

This is based on the factory settings (hold power on for 2-3 seconds to start in factory mode)

I am really glad I did not listen to nay sayers on this machine. I only dug 5 pieces of trash. The digital mode is really nice, its great to be able to see the ferrous content.

Good luck!

 

[49r Relics]

I had some regulars here help me out when I got my SE a couple weeks ago. Their advice was extremely helpful. I also watched every movie on the Minelab owners forums.

I have the SE and the Sunray X1, honestly, I rarely use the probe because my pinpointing is so exact that I only ever need the probe except on deep coins or weird soil conditions where it's hard to see any coins with my eyes. All I do is stare at the ground and concentrate where on the grass/ground/sand it is hitting the target peak, then turn sideways 90 degrees and repeat. The target is always right under my red colored M logo. I look at the depth before I lean down to dig and depending on the depth I am able to pop the coin right out. The SE in pinpoint mode will pick up adjacent targets so sometimes you have to get out of pinpoint mode and re-lock the target.

Speaking of which, here is another important tip. When using the Sunray X1 Probe . . . when in the hole and trying to pinpoint, you may get vague signal(s) even though the target is right there. Just go back into detect mode, use the probe in the hole and when you see the target ID relock onto the target, switch back over to pinpoint and you will then hear the target clearly with the probe.

I get more of my buddies wanting me to come use the probe on their targets than I use it on my own. I was a little overwhelmed until I got the 8" coil. Now that I am using that coil, life is much better and I feel like I have been on the SE for several years now.

HH, Mark