help with Explorer II please

[kycoinhunter]

Hey all I need some help with the Explorer II

Hope someone will be able to help me out! I bought md about 3 months ago I have got to take it out 3 times as of yesterday.

Here is a little bit about how it went and how the detector acted outside, inside

The area I was detecting should be littered with coins. “ I have dropped a ashtray full of coins here more than once while cleaning out the car It’s also an area that has been used for 30 some years as a walk way.

Detector Settings – From power on set to “factory default” and then changed to detect coins, coins fe everything else is set to “X” after this I do a noise cancel .

Soon after I start to sweep the coil from left to right I get a high pitched sound that falls into a good area on the screen. I then dig a hole about 10" deep which turns out to be a old budwiser can I laughed that off , filled in the hole and moved on to another spot in the yard where I get another high tone in a good area of the screen I dig this spot and it's about the same depth as the other it turns out to be a old aluminum pie pan.

I have dug two holes and both have turned out to be bad ,I get a little frustrated and reach in pocket and get out a coin I sweep it across the coil to see what kind of response I would get "nothing no response" I held the detector up in the air and sweep the coin past it and the detector sounded off as it normally should I then toss the coin on the ground and sweep over it from about 12” inches high the detector faintly picks it up but as I lower the coil to the ground the threshold sound starts to fade in and out repeatedly. I then picked up the coin and head to the house as I am walking I notice the threshold tone just fades in and the detector is sounding off high pitched tones, screen cursor is jumping around like crazy.

Inside the house Test

Back inside the house I grab a bunch of coins along with a nail and a few bad items I space them out on the carpet about 12” apart

As I sweep over each item the detector sound off as it should but the screen cursor locks on the first target and dose’t change positons as I pass over the next item.

When I raised the detector high in the air the threshold tone will start to sound and the screen cursor will changes to another positions but as I lower it back down it goes back to doing the same thing again “no change in screen position but the sound is there”
.
If I set the coil on an area on the carpet where there are no coins and sweep from left to right I get nothing but complete silence . I then raise the coil in the air and the threshold sound comes back to life when I set it down it completely disappears.

Back outside after doing a inside test

I then take it back outside and set it on the ground the threshold sound does not go away like it did inside the house but instead the threshold sound jumped in and out constantly I raise it off the ground about 1" inch and it gets quite no threshold sound like it done on the carpet I slowly start to sweep from left to right as I complete my swings from left to right and I get a good coin sound .

Any help as to why the detector it is acting this way would appreciated

Thanks

 

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[NC_Horn]

Have patience!! Get to know your machine. Haven't use that detector but can tell you that with my White's Silver Eagle, a buried can will indicate dime all day. Only the depth indicator will give you a clue to it being a can. As for the threshold going away inside the house, you must remember that there is plenty of metal - nails and such in your floor. Your threshold should go away as the iron is discriminated out. If you are getting signals all over the place, maybe you should try another spot to learn your detector. Constant signals can send all of us into overload and if this is an area where you and others have cleaned out your car, I am sure it is littered with foil, tops and all kinds of trash. Find another area, slow down, have patience, dig everything for a while and good luck.

 

[pony]

Man, can I relate! I also bought an XS this year, and as much as I was warned of the learning curve, I thought, "Aw, give me a week and I'll be finding stuff I've walked past with my XLT." I wish. I'm still struggling after 2 months, and have contacted Minelab with similar concerns as yours. Their response is that the Explorers don't "airtest" well, but if you toss a dime on the ground (not in the house for reasons already mentioned) and hover 4 inches above with factory settings and coil, and you get a response it works fine, and you need to just get used to it. One of the more knowledgable metal detector store owners in this area told me that if I kept picking up my XLT instead of taking out the Explorer (which he had nothing but praise for and wasn't purchased from him, by the way), I would never learn this great detector and I should sell it. Well, tonight I hunted with my XLT, cause the XS is just so damn frustrating! So unfortunately, I can't offer any suggestions, but plenty of sympathy! I'll watch this thread for others comments, and good luck to all.

 

[jeff of pa]

You'r definately Expecting too much from it.

any "Indoor" test is a waste. unless you live in a Metal free Building.

Large Aluminum, is Imposable to avoid.

and do you realy want to ? what if that almost uncirculated seated Half lost in the 1850's is just 3"
under that Pie pan ?
I suppose what you don't know, Shouldn't hurt you, But, Personally, whenever I TRY
to pass over that Large signal in the ground, Curiosity gets the better of me. and I end up
Diggin' it

I use the Sovereign, But, your Explorer is an Awsome Detector.
Take your Time Learn it, and you'll be finding all kinds of great things.

Good Luck.
J E F F

 

[rvbvetter]

I've had my exp II for a month. So i would be of no help, being that i'm still learning mine.
I've hit the wrong buttons and cleared all my discrimination settings and didn't know it. And it detected everything. About drove me crazy. I wanted to throw it in a nearby dumpster. Another wrong one i hit, it went from auto trac or auto ground balance to manual ground balance. And acted like what you described. The erattic threshold and id meter was all over the place.
Another dumpster candidate day. Watch the little number on the leftof your screen. If there's not a bar flashing around all four sides, then hit the middle button directiy to the left of it and you should see the bar. If that doesn't work then i would suggest going to a bar.
Anyway, 3 times out with it is not nearly enough to even begin to under stand it.
In the beginning it frustrated me to no end. Now it's beginning to amaze me.
So grit your teeth and have patience grasshopper. It'll reward you in time.
If your deserving.
Sorry, i couldn't resist the last three words.
HH

 

[Rich]

OK- all have great suggestions as to using your machine!,especially to LEARN IT,and ALSO LEARN THE TONES!!!!!!!thats #1 reguardless if you dig a beer cap...

but what you are doin wrong is what i did when i started using a Explorer 2 yrs ago....heres afew suggestions:
#1 - ditch the stock coil ,weather its the 8" or the 10",go for a coil tek!!!!...I personally have found that the respones and also trash seperation is A++ with the 5" coil tek that i obtained afew weeks back,and worth everthing i paid!!!!...
#2 - forget the settings you have and forget the factory settings!!!!!......
all the X's on the junk is lowering your depth and nulling out possible good targets!!!,i learned this myself,and really there is no way around the CURVE-lol- unless you go out and dig!..

Also try this setting,...
IM -15 - Vari of 5,gain of 6,threshold "your choice",tone Ferrous!-alot easier to tell if its junk or silver/coin/treasure...
Varibility is just a way to change your tone "if set to 5 or 6 it will be alot easyer to distingush what your target is!"..
I use Deep on and fast on,i found no real differnce in using these options reguardless if on or off..but there is a deley when you do cross over a target,kinda like a compresser/limiter on a Guitar or bass guitar,.....if you know anything about those....

sense- try lowering to a modest 20 to 25 auto first until you grasp falsing "2 yrs for me to learn a hot rock,or a false/real junk target".....

but read the book!...always ask questions about the detecotr to fellow explorer owners,especialy if they use one for thier main detector!.....

but i suggest a after market coil #1,
#2 - grab a pinpointer probe!!!!!!!!!!!! - VERY USFUL WHEN USING YOUR MINELAB!!!!- i picked up a wizard prober for 20 bucks on ebay!.,....works better than the 100 dollar range probes.....-i have used a probe since i got the detector,but this year when ever i get to go it dosent get used "last 3 hunts i got every target and i didnt have to use the probe"...

SO listen to these guys tips!....check out other forum for minelab owners....,also theres a forum that has the "MINELAB CLASS ROOM" WHICH IS VERY HANDY BUT I DONT HAVE THE LINK AT HAND!....i think is findmall detecting forum or treasure depot.....do a search for those or do a search for minelab explorer settings in yahoo.....


but dont give up!!!!!!,first i know its a drag to dig a screw cap or a nail,but i learned through time that it removes the crap from the area and the more of a chance to dig a few coins....
But me im happy with digin a nail or shotgun shell.....thats the fun of detecting,to get out and exercise and learn abit of history and maybe get rich in the long run!!!...

but try a differnt coil!!!!!!!!- im sure alot on this forum who use the EX will agree,and i hope they help out!........

 

[Wild Boulder Bill]

When I first got mine I just turned it on and it worked great for everything. Don't check or do anything it will work great. Then go to the minelab users site. They'll tell you everything you need to know. You'll probably end up running it in iron mask more than anything else. When in doubt use the factory presets. I detected on a beach that several clubs had been to. The parks lady said I was wasting my time. She was amazed when I pulled out two silver dimes, four nickels (which i had never done before in discriminate) and four pennies. That was in the factory preset. I wouldn't trade it for anything. If you'll personal message me I will look up that site and send you a reply. These people running their yaps out there make that minelab sound a lot more difficult than it is. Remember don't check or x anything at first.

Wild Boulder

 

[rvbvetter]

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[kycoinhunter]

Hey guys keep the info coming I am still watching the post for resolutions ! I have tride what everone has suggested except for getting another coil !!

 

[rvbvetter]

Do you have any high voltage power lines near your house or where you were?
Possible you were over some pipes under ground also.
I assume you know the black bar in the bottom right hand side of your screen is the
all metal/discriminate indicator. Left is all metal and right is discriminate and is shifted to either mode by pressing the pin point button.
When you lowered the coil over the coin outside were you in disc. or the other, and were you sweeping the coil? In disc the coil has to be kept moving, if not the signal will fade out.
If you used a nickel to test with, by Xing all but coins it would have discriminated the nickel out, because it reads nearly the same as a pulltab.
When you get a signal over a target put the coil off to the side a good 6 to 8 in. just touching the ground. Push pinpoint to all metal and sweep slowly across target. From the point the signal starts to where it stops, if that area is bigger than your coil then it is a large target like a soda can or larger.
When you press the power button to turn it on, don't release pressure for 5 or 6 seconds until it beeps again. That will put it back to factory settings.
You probably knew all this, but it's about all i know to tell you. Good luck

 

[Wild Boulder Bill]

Coin

Call the factory. They are the nicest people I ever talked to. They are really interested in how that machine is working for you.

 

[kycoinhunter]

Hey thank for the suggestions !I have tried about all of them except for buying another coil.