Older Compadre test run. I think i found a keeper

[Ammoman]

Early this week I picked up a used Compadre with the 7 inch coil. Yesterday, I took it out to my trusty dusty clad park to get a feel for what it can do. Now, mind you, this park has been pounded by me over the past year. After one hour I found a hand full of trash and these items.

5 pennies Zink
1 dime
1 quarter
1 button




Discrimination was set just below nickel.
I know it don't look like a lot but, considering how much i have hit this park, it's very impressive.
That said, this machine is a keeper!

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Congrats on your new toy!

 

[CaptEsteban]

I also have an older one with 7" coil. It has become my primary detector for the last couple of years.

 

[digger27]

I have one, some of the 7" coil models are said to be a bit hotter than more modern versions, they did change that circuit board over time and changed to that smaller and now larger coils, but I don't know how true this is or not or if I even have one of these.
What I do know is I love how mine works, I have so much confidence in how it discriminates and performs and I have blended so well with it I will never let it go or even trade it if I was offered 2 of any other model.
Fun and performance....thy name is Compadre!

 

[Ammoman]

I went back to the park again on Sunday for another hour. Again, nothing to write home about. 3 dimes 2 nickels a few pennies and a small chain. All the signals were very repeatable. Any suggestions on repeatable signals going left to right but scratchy going up and down?

 

[digger27]

Do you mean left to right and then you stand in the same place and then go up and down or do you turn 90 degrees and then swing over it?

When you mean scratchy do you get the solid signal and leave the disc there on the second pass or do you thumb that knob in some way to figure them out from each direction?

If you do thumb that knob exactly how do you do it?
Up to the fade out point or past the fade out point then back down, or what?

 

[Ammoman]

Do you mean left to right and then you stand in the same place and then go up and down or do you turn 90 degrees and then swing over it?

When you mean scratchy do you get the solid signal and leave the disc there on the second pass or do you thumb that knob in some way to figure them out from each direction?

If you do thumb that knob exactly how do you do it?
Up to the fade out point or past the fade out point then back down, or what?

I leave the Disc knob alone and get a strong signal. I then turn 90 degrees only to loose the signal or get a signal that is not clear and broke up. I have been passing on these signals only because of a lack of time but what can i expect when i do start digging them?

 

[digger27]

There is always the possibility these could be good, chains can act like this from different directions sometimes for instance, a good target sitting right next to some sort of junk might too, but in my experience more often than not these or rarely good targets especially if they are shallow and not at the very limit of your scanning field.

The way you do it is fine, for me I thumb he knob up and then down and listen to how it comes in on every target.
I used to thumb up to the fade out point and look to see where the knob is pointing at first like the manual says, but not long after I went to the go past and back down method and never looked back.

I get way more and more accurate info that way so in my world I would see two signals, one from each direction, listen to the tones as I dial it in and notice where each direction ends up to be then add all of it together to make digging decisions.
It is a much faster process than it sounds, only a few seconds, but I have had years of practice swinging over many thousands of targets under my belt.

That leave the knob at one point and dig everything that beeps way is fine for some, for me it would drive me batty and frustrate me to no end.

As you are learning probably the best advice is to dig a few just see what they are or.... for now you can leave most of them and concentrate on gaining knowledge about the better good targets and the most common trash.
You have time to go back and learn about these signals in the future and they are relatively rare most of the time anyway.
Digging all signals is recommended by many at first but this kind of signal for me rarely gets dug nowadays.

If you are getting a large amount of one way hits that is unusual, if so this could be an effect of your swing speed or not getting the center of the coil over targets...which you should try to do every time.

It all comes with practice and lots of digging, you will figure it out soon enough.

For more info on my high percentage way of hunting by thumbing that knob I explain a lot of that here if you want to try it one day after you get a good idea in your head on how most targets behave.
A little advanced but logical and easy to learn with practice and it works for me.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...r-27-s-method-thumbing-disc-knob-up-down.html

 

[Ammoman]

Thank you for the great advice. No i have not got a lot of those signals but i did pass on a few and it had me wondering if i made a mistake.

 

[CaptEsteban]

I leave the Disc knob alone and get a strong signal. I then turn 90 degrees only to loose the signal or get a signal that is not clear and broke up. I have been passing on these signals only because of a lack of time but what can i expect when i do start digging them?

I dig a lot of targets just to make sure I am not missing something. Once, I had an iffy target like you are describing, but something just didn't sound right with it . I dug up a very shallow heavy, silver Figaro bracelet . I held it in my hand & ran it across 2 other detectors, & my friends said that it was junk . They were surprised to see what it was !
If I get a good signal 2 ways , then turn 90 degrees & get 2 good beeps, I swing the coil faster over it to see if one of the beeps becomes " scratchy " sounding. If it does, it is almost always junk, like a newer pull-tab. This is done with leaving the knob alone..

 

[asrussell96]

Congrats on the new toy

 

[digger27]

I dig a lot of targets just to make sure I am not missing something. Once, I had an iffy target like you are describing, but something just didn't sound right with it . I dug up a very shallow heavy, silver Figaro bracelet . I held it in my hand & ran it across 2 other detectors, & my friends said that it was junk . They were surprised to see what it was !
If I get a good signal 2 ways , then turn 90 degrees & get 2 good beeps, I swing the coil faster over it to see if one of the beeps becomes " scratchy " sounding. If it does, it is almost always junk, like a newer pull-tab. This is done with leaving the knob alone..

As I mentioned chains can be very weird and rarely act like other coin and ring targets all detectors are designed to find and that would be concerning any detector.
This has to do with something called Eddy Currents, the links in a chain or even other targets like broken and open ended rings not in a complete circle confuses most detectors because the return signal is skewed, diffused and spread out along those links.
In the case of open rings or earrings think of it like the signal is kind of "leaking out" of those open ends.
The usual result is a signal that is way lower than you might expect, a scratchy or not so solid signal from certain directions and a limited depth level where you can pick them up.
Once I learned these things I started to find many more chains of all kinds including silver and gold.

That all being said I have found more chains with my Compadre than all my others because it is very sensitive to clasps on all chains, complete chains links and all and even those broken and open ring/ round shaped targets.
If it can see these type of targets it usually hits hard on them, a great thing for a dedicated jewelry hunter like me.

 

[Ammoman]

Very good advice and thank you for the explanation on Eddy currents. I know lots of people would just say dig the target and find out for ones self and yes i would have eventually done just that. But time out in the field is hard to get at the moment. I work 6 days a week and sometimes 7 and when weather conditions, chores around the house and life in general gets in the way, all i have is this forum to learn from. Thank you for your time. I have no doubts the advice given here will be taken to heart not just by myself, but by others as well.

 

[ToddB64]

I went back to the park again on Sunday for another hour. Again, nothing to write home about. 3 dimes 2 nickels a few pennies and a small chain. All the signals were very repeatable. Any suggestions on repeatable signals going left to right but scratchy going up and down?

View attachment 1364292

Hi Ammoman !

That oval tag (next to the small chain) looks similar to a tag I found with my 5.75 coil Compadre about 3 inches deep at the end of a soccer field bench yesterday.

Attached are photos and the dimensions are listed below. Have you cleaned your tag yet to see the stamping ? I wonder if it's the same as mine ?

I guess you already know how to enlarge the photos to read the stamping easier, but if not, just hover your cursor on either image and then left-click.

Dimensions : Width > 25/32 inch, .781 inch, 19.8374 mm
Length > 45/32 inch, 1.406 inch, 35.7124 mm

ToddB64

 

[pinenut]

Hi Ammoman !

That oval tag (next to the small chain) looks similar to a tag I found with my 5.75 coil Compadre...

ToddB64

Todd, I believe those are pressed souvineer pennies found in many tourist areas. There are hundreds (probably thousands) of different pressing dies, and the machines that make 'em are scattered all over the country. I've found three or four of those pressed pennies so far this year.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_coin

Here are a couple I dug up a few months ago:

 

[digger27]

Yes Todd...these are called smashed pennies, pressed pennies or park pennies by some, elongated coins by serious collectors and there are there are a lot of them out there.
They even have collector books like the coin books for them but with much bigger holes.
Some tourist places have many of these machines, Disney parks have, or used to have them all over and there are sets that many try to complete just like coins.
Pressed Pennies The Elongated Coins of Disneyland!

These are fun to find and always way better than junk, could be zinc or copper so they come in at different areas.
Many are modern but supposedly these things can date back to the 1800's.
I have found several but not just local to me but from other far away states because these tend to travel with vacationers far and wide and these machines are not just a USA thing but worldwide.
Usually you supply the one cent coin, put two more quarters in the machine, some cost even more now, and it makes your specialty coin right there in front of you.
Add up the profit margin on machines in popular sites that are used a lot.
Once the machine is paid for there are no other costs except electricity for a few types and maintenance.
There are many kinds of machines that are manufactured to make these, a few out out of wood and many out of other modern materials.
Some are way old, many of the older wooden machines themselves are highly collectable.

Many of the modern ones that make these are mechanized but I like the ones you have to use some muscle and crank yourself better.

Info site here....a few that I have found below.
PennyCollector.com - The official website for elongated pennies, penny books and penny machines


PennyCollector.com - The official website for elongated pennies, penny books and penny machines

 

[Ammoman]

Hi Ammoman !

That oval tag (next to the small chain) looks similar to a tag I found with my 5.75 coil Compadre about 3 inches deep at the end of a soccer field bench yesterday.

Attached are photos and the dimensions are listed below. Have you cleaned your tag yet to see the stamping ? I wonder if it's the same as mine ?

I guess you already know how to enlarge the photos to read the stamping easier, but if not, just hover your cursor on either image and then left-click.

Dimensions : Width > 25/32 inch, .781 inch, 19.8374 mm
Length > 45/32 inch, 1.406 inch, 35.7124 mm

ToddB64

I had no idea that these pressed pennies had any value at all. I have kept all the ones i have found over the years but that's about as far as i have gone. No i did not clean it or look to see what was on it. Looks like i need to pull them all aside now and clean them up! Thanks Digger for the info!

 

[Ammoman]

. No i did not clean it or look to see what was on it.

Ok i just cleaned it up and here is a close up. Nothing special. It says North Carolina Museum of natural science. Has a picture of a Shark mouth

View attachment 1367441

 

[pinenut]

Nice when they're from copper, rather than a zinc.

What was our government thinking, when they went to zinc coins? Might as well make 'em from pressed fertilizer; at least the grass would be greener!

 

[Ammoman]

Nice when they're from copper, rather than a zinc.

What was our government thinking, when they went to zinc coins? Might as well make 'em from pressed fertilizer; at least the grass would be greener!

LOL true...im surprised zink pennies don't melt in your hands before you get a chance to spend them.