My impression from Explorer II after 6 hunts

[fikys]

I've got used Explorer II about a month ago and had a chance to try it maybe 6 times in the park where I was previously hunting with White's Prizm III. I'm still learning the unit, so I know that what I think now is probably not the final.

Well, with Prizm III I used to find 1 silver per 4 wheat cents with a total of over 80 silver coins. With the Explorer I found 13 wheats and 3 silver coins so far. So the ratio is approximately the same ~4.3. But with the Explorer I started digging more Lincoln cents. I normally dig signals that are at ~4-5 inches deep but with the Explorer this does not work as accurate as with Prizm. Maybe I did not get used to the scale yet.

Also, I started digging a lot of aluminum pieces that I could distinguish from coins using Prizm. I hope I just need more practice. But they still sound to me as silver and the id reading seems to be not very accurate.

Pinpoining with Explorer is much more difficult than with Prizm and now I know that this is because of the difference in techniques they use. I'll need to get a pinpointer but for now I just use 8" coil, which pinpoints better than 10.5". But still some times I just can not find the target, especially if it is deep. I do not find any deep coins. Maybe there are non in this park...

So, in general I like the machine and I think it has a great potential but so far I do not see that it is $400 better than my old and simple Prizm III.

Any advices?

 

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[Iron Patch]

For starters your using the 8" coil so of course you're not getting as deep as you could, and not taking advanatge of what the explorer has to offer. Where the explorer excels is hitting deep silver, masked silver, and silver on edge, and this only comes with experience. There is no way you are anywhere close to knowing the detector after 6 hunts so that is something to feel good about because it will get a whole lot better. As for being able to tell aluminum from silver, or one penny from another, I can't help you with that because I dig all non iron targets.

I bet by the end of this year you'll look back and laugh thinking you did not see any advantage. (but even then you will probably only think you know the detector well, and there will be more to learn)

 

[LI Tom]

Trust me an Explorer is WAY better than your Prism.I went from a Whites M6 to the Explorer and my finds went way up.Last year I dug 244 silver coins from hammered NYC and LI parks.The depth meter will be off a bit with a smaller than stock coil.Aluminum should not usually be giving you a high tone,are you sure there was not another target in the hole?Sometimes Iron can give a high tone when off coil center or deep,hence no target in hole.With experience you can tell by tone and location on pinpoint you got iron.Try to hunt with a Explorer user,that will help a lot.

 

[montgomeryjrm]

I know with mine I can tell the difference between an all copper penny and these new zinc ones. Likewise I can tell the difference between a dime, quarter and nickel all off of sound. I used to metal detect with this old guy who would only go by the sound. Hell he could almost tell the depth they were at just by hearing the sound. I am not that good yet. But yes it does take time. I don't know how you are hunting with but I don't use the target id with the numbers I use the other one with the square ( I have found that one is a little more accurate). Oh and BTW the sound of silver on that machine is unmistakable to me. But I have been hunting for over 25 years now.

 

[Iron Patch]

I know with mine I can tell the difference between an all copper penny and these new zinc ones. Likewise I can tell the difference between a dime, quarter and nickel all off of sound. I used to metal detect with this old guy who would only go by the sound. Hell he could almost tell the depth they were at just by hearing the sound. I am not that good yet. But yes it does take time. I don't know how you are hunting with but I don't use the target id with the numbers I use the other one with the square ( I have found that one is a little more accurate). Oh and BTW the sound of silver on that machine is unmistakable to me. But I have been hunting for over 25 years now.

I only go by sound and at the early sites I hunt there is no question I would have a better idea what is in the ground with my ears then anyone who needs a screen.... but that type of hunting is apples and oranges compared to digging in a park. In my opinion most people who have to look at the screen don't really know the detector, because if they did, it wouldn't be needed. After 9 years I can tell with without any doubt the screen will not tell me anything that the sound won't. Again that's for hunting early sites in a field which is all I do.

PS... For my first year I did look at the screen some so do have some reference for this topic. I wish I hadn't because it didn't help me in the least getting to the next level, just kinda being stuck in 1st gear.

 

[Captn SE]

Also, I started digging a lot of aluminum pieces that I could distinguish from coins using Prizm. I hope I just need more practice. But they still sound to me as silver and the id reading seems to be not very accurate.

You need to check your settings, in particular, your "Sounds" setting. You may be hunting in Ferrous sounds, and probably should be hunting in Conduct instead. There's no way that small pieces of aluminum will ring in like higher conductor coins using Conductive sounds. However, it is very likely small pieces of aluminum will be less discernible from coins in Ferrous mode. In Conduct mode, aluminum will sound very low, in the nickel range and even lower. If you're hunting in trashy parks with lots of aluminum in the ground, Conductive sounds is the only way to go! There's no equal to time spent hunting out in the field and digging targets. It will be just a matter of time when you realize how much more powerful your Explorer is to your entry level Prizm.

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

 

[fikys]

Thank you all very much for your replies! Yes, I completely agree that I do not know the detector well yet. This is why I ask for your advice and also read a lot about this machine. What I did not realize was that the 8'' coil is not going as deep as 10.5". I thought that 8'' will be better in the trashy park area. I'll try to switch to 10.5 inch now and see if can do better. But I'm afraid I'll need a pinpointer to do that. I do hunt in conductivity sounds. In addition to aluminum I also dig some strange brass pieces which are 00-29 on the screen and sound as silver (at least to me). I understand that I need to learn sounds and not to look at the screen.

What I'm tying to do to learn the sounds better, if I get a sound that sounds silver to me before digging I put a silver coin next to that place on the ground to check if the sound from this coin is the same as from the target underground. I do not know this might be a stupid way, but I could not think about anything else...

 

[Captn SE]

What I'm tying to do to learn the sounds better, if I get a sound that sounds silver to me before digging I put a silver coin next to that place on the ground to check if the sound from this coin is the same as from the target underground. I do not know this might be a stupid way, but I could not think about anything else...

I would not recommend doing this. There's no way to be 100% certain your silver coin you place on the ground will sound like the one buried at 7" or whatever. The best way to train yourself is to actually dig those targets in question. Silver dimes can sound different, depending on their wear, their orientation in the ground(on edge, flat, etc.), and by other targets nearby. Silver dimes, quarters, halves sound similar but not always, and usually ID at slightly different locations on the smartscreen (but still in the upper right quadrant). You've got to recover those questionable targets. It's the only way to be certain.

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

 

[Iron Patch]

What I'm tying to do to learn the sounds better, if I get a sound that sounds silver to me before digging I put a silver coin next to that place on the ground to check if the sound from this coin is the same as from the target underground. I do not know this might be a stupid way, but I could not think about anything else...

I would not recommend doing this. There's no way to be 100% certain your silver coin you place on the ground will sound like the one buried at 7" or whatever. The best way to train yourself is to actually dig those targets in question. Silver dimes can sound different, depending on their wear, their orientation in the ground(on edge, flat, etc.), and by other targets nearby. Silver dimes, quarters, halves sound similar but not always, and usually ID at slightly different locations on the smartscreen (but still in the upper right quadrant). You've got to recover those questionable targets. It's the only way to be certain.

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

Yep, quit the games and go to it! There are no short cuts, and I know, because I think I tried em all!

 

[fikys]

What I'm tying to do to learn the sounds better, if I get a sound that sounds silver to me before digging I put a silver coin next to that place on the ground to check if the sound from this coin is the same as from the target underground. I do not know this might be a stupid way, but I could not think about anything else...

I would not recommend doing this. There's no way to be 100% certain your silver coin you place on the ground will sound like the one buried at 7" or whatever. The best way to train yourself is to actually dig those targets in question. Silver dimes can sound different, depending on their wear, their orientation in the ground(on edge, flat, etc.), and by other targets nearby. Silver dimes, quarters, halves sound similar but not always, and usually ID at slightly different locations on the smartscreen (but still in the upper right quadrant). You've got to recover those questionable targets. It's the only way to be certain.

HH,
CAPTN SE
Dan

Yep, quit the games and go to it! There are no short cuts, and I know, because I think I tried em all!

I agree. After the test I still dig these targets. I'm just trying to see if I can resolve them by sound or not.