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High Performance Underwater Headphones for the Minelab Manticore
These phones are professional grade. They are super loud with clean sound to identify targets and hear deeper signals. They feature pressure chamber 50mm drivers that are a combination of peizo and speaker. They also feature industrial noise blocking earcups and Sony braided spiral cable. They are loud enough to be heard through a dive hood.
These headphones are impedance matched for the Manticore and sound incredible!
$150 PP F&F shippped Fed Ex Expedited.
PM me for more info or e-mail to:
cliveclynick@rogers.com

My Best Minelab Manticore Salt Water Settings: M11, M9 and M8 Coils

I’ve done  a lot of testing lately mostly with the M9 and M8.  These are both great coils and both make a big difference in the Manti’s signal to noise ratio.  This means that you can run hotter in salt and hear smaller targets.  My initial tests have been on a fresh water beach and with small targets.  Fact: There are a lot of ways you can run this machine and not all of  them are that great on small  gold.  With the NOX I found that simple 2 Tone and Prospecting audio (g2) were the best so I set about trying to replicate these settings.  Two tone is a great freshwater beach Manticore setting. I ran Surf and Seawater to overcome my tough, black sand mixed in beach.  This way of operating gives great detail on responses especially when you combine it with skilled use of the cross sweep and high quality headphones.  Really hammers those small foils–you can see the potential right away.  With the M9 I was able to run the Sensitivity up to 28—quite a powerful setting.  Higher though causes the audio to “bunch up” –overrunning targets slightly and sounding jumpy overall.  (Its very important to be able to hear when the Manti is doing this).

Im anxious to try simple Two Tone in  fast salt to see if  it can be balanced  out to run  as  well there as it does on my black sand freshwater beach.        I take the stock middle “line” down to zero in that I feel that this big low tone block blends with the ground noises in salt. Even moving the Tone Break up a bit would not be out of the question to accomplish this as it worked well to stabilize the NOX.  In that chains are the best finds where I hunt this is  something to be done with caution.

At the same time my tests over time have shown that its Prospecting audio that’s  got the most low conductor punch.  Dankowski’s 11 coil settings are very good and let you walk right down the slope into the swish.  You may  have to run Horseshoe “on” to do this and having this choice lets you also run right in salt water.  This requires lower Sensitivity settings though depending which coil you are using.  I’ve gone in behind my own hunt running “segmented “ style audio and found quite a few more targets running Prospecting audio.  This made a believer out of me. Its more like a pulse or all metal signal and seems to ride over interference sources  like slopes and seabed contours  better than a  segmented  mode.

Finally we have Dankowski’s Low Conductor mode.  This is  a very powerful way to run the Manticore but it’s noisy.  It too  can be run with horseshoe “on” to smooth it out a bit but the low conductor sensitivity does  react to fast water and seabed.  This setting requires very low Sensitivity settings—20 or lower.  At the same time it’s very powerful this way –especially if you are hunting for small gold.  If you are searching ground where a lot of chains are found—these two settings are definitely the way to go.

While I’ve gotten some great results running “segmented” type audio—particularly Five Region All Tones  using the “Freestyle” ferrous Limits grid and “Excal” type audio (One Region All tones) my tests  are now showing me that the super responsive, fluid response of  Prospecting audio performs better—especially on small  gold.

Speaking of “Freestyle” Neil’s audio set up  is very fluid but is based upon five tones–so it  gives a lot of information on signals but still “pops” well on targets in dense trash  or iron.  this audio set up can be pirated for other applications besides use with the “Freestyle” Ferrous Limits grid.  The Ferrous Limits bordering also acts to smooth out the machine in salt water.Neil Jones’s “firewall” type approach in  his “Freestyle” settings also  work wel l to tone down the noise in salt water.  Dankowski talks a lot about “getting used to” the noise and hearing through it. You can  also run lower Ferrous Volume too.

Minelab Manticore Settings for the 8″, 9″ and 15″ Coils.

M8: very strong for a coil that size—and very  punchy on the micro gold.  Maybe not deep  enough to use full time although  I do see top pros doing  this with the NOX 6”

M8 Coil (Dankowski)

With Manticore and 11″ or M8 coil……. I recommend
Beach Mode – Low Conductors
Recovery Speed = 4
Ferrous Limits = Upper: 4….and Lower: 0
Audio Theme: Prospecting audio
Volume: 25
Iron Volume: 25
Nothing ‘Notched’ (bring in the horseshoe)
Ground Balance
Do NOT Disc out ANYTHING!!
Make absolutely sure to dig ALL targets in the ‘single digits’ ID range. It’ll be a little painful (at first); yet, you will incur a epiphany-moment…..that will ‘justify’.
You should swing the small coil (M8) just a little slower than the M11 coil. About 1/3 slower. And…… if you can……. keep it about 2mm (to no more than) 5mm above the ground……IF you can start to handle the ear-bashing (assuming Sens 30). Hearing the aberations and salt-delta’s of the ground …is JUST as important as hearing real targets. In short order……. this will become intuitive.

M9: this coil  seems to have  “the best of both worlds” in that it’s quite deep and has  good  low conductor sensitivity (given the right settings).

M11: Great, deep all arounder—it will  get small  gold but is  limited  on real  micro targets like fine chains.

M11( Dankowski)

Beach = General
Recovery Speed = 4
Audio = Prospecting
Ground Balance the unit over some water.,.,.,.,., about 2-feet deep of water. , . , . , . , . with the coil bobbing method ABOVE the water (not “IN” the water).
Volume = 25
Iron Volume = 25
Ferrous Limits – Upper = 5
Ferrous Limits – Lower = 3
Notch nothing! Bring in the iron. (Don’t allow for ‘ghost’ signals).

Sensitivity is going to be your ‘variable’. Run the Sens as high as you can IN the water.,.,.,.,., at a level that you can understand/handle. This may be around Sens 22.

M15: Nice large coil  to swing.  I see guys cutting off struts but I don’t feel this is necessary.  Compared  to a Coiltek 15” there is not much drag at all.  I exercise my shoulder with a dumbbell to be  able to search longer with this coil.  The NOX could not really handle its big coil in salt and Dankowski says the same thing  about the M15.  It does require some balancing and higher /sensitivity settings are not necessarily  what will  get the performance.  Its okay  on small gold but does  require that these targets have  some solidity to them.  If you want to  run this coil  at a sloped saltwater edge run N/S not E/W the interference from  dragging the coil downhill needs a faster Rec Speed.  With the 15″ for the NOX the recommendation was REC SPD 4 I try and stay around this level unless Im going parrellel on a hill.  In fresh I see guys running Goldfield–great, smooth micro gold getter–Sens down at 20.

These are my  observations after a couple of years with the Manti.

(Some micro 22k gold  with the 11″ coil, 4.9 gr.)

For more information on getting the most from this great detector check out my book:

The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks and Settings (V.620.0+73)

Finally got hold  of this coil for the Minelab Manticore and had it out for a few spins .  You  could say that my experiences with the 15″ NOX coil gave me the knowledge base  to begin  my comparisons with.  The NOX 15–was a good good, deep coil but chattered  in salt and needed  to be slowed  down (4) to get good depth.  I ran the Manti  15″ in Neil Jone’s “Freesestyle” settings, transposed on Beach Deep, Beach General, and the All Terrain General modes.  In that it uses  3 levels of filtering (Ferrous  Limits, segmented  audio and all  tones) Freestyle is a great system  for stabilizing the Manticore at higher senitivity settings,  and bringing up  good, clean  responses.  This system was pretty  good for the big coil–it ran very smoothly even  up at 26 / 28 on fresh water sand.  This coil really showed  how well  it interracts with the Manti’s great processing–giving clean, sharp  tones  on several  deep  coin sized targets–15 inches and deeper.

I also  tried this coil on some of the stock modes.  It sounded really good in Beach General in that you  could  hear the interraction with the ground–evidence  of  signal  penetration owing to the lower frequency  weighting.  One high tone proved  to be a toy car down 18″ -plus.

All Terrain General seemed to  have a lighter touch owing to its higher  weighting responding to the heavily mineralized fresh water sand–probably not the best big coil tough sand mode.

“…in the house…!”

I also  tried the coil with another great system–Tom Dankowski’s Beach Low Conductor settings.  This is also a very deep way to  run the Manticore although it’s a bit more noisy.  In that  this system uses Prospecting audio, it was a good test for how the coil filtered down signals  to a clean, single  tone.  The 15″ coil was pretty good at this–although there was more  flutter  due to  to the “open screen” nature of Tom’s settings.

It’s obvious that the Manticore has stronger  processing than the Equinox and how the machine operates with a larger coil  is a good test of this.  This coil was, smooth, hit several deep targets, and sounded off well on some very small, deep signals too.

The overall depth was still short of a pulse machine such as the Whites  Dual  Field, but was certainly approaching it.  At the same time, The Manticore gives you  great  audio, and on-screen accuracy.

A Couple  of Minelab Manticore 15″ coil ponters:

1/ to really get a feel for the kinds  of tuning changes that are needed to get  the depth from a  big  coil–try testing it indoors.  Before  getting  these coils to  go  deep–a way  has to be found to make your signals stand  out from the larger detection fieild.

2/ To get the hang of hearing when  you are  tuning too  high  or too  fast–test  test the extremes–the  maximum settings over  targets to  hear how  these affect  detection.

3/ If there’s any detector that can process well  enough to support a big coil–it’s theManticore, but at the same time your setting and sweep speed need to be  balanced.  Lower Sensitivity and a slower Recovery Speed give  the detector time to  process what’s under the coil effectively.

4/ Where you  are hearing  short clipped shallow signals, this mean  that deeper oneswill be harder to hear and acquire.  Lower sensitivity makes your signals sound fuller and gives you  more target information in the signal tone.

5/ When you want to use the red “iron indicator” remember that you  are dealing with a more skewed detection field ratio.  This means that more exact, narrow coil passes will be needed to get an accurate response on non-ferrous signals.

When I got my first 15″ “WOT” coil for the Soverign years  ago–it took for a couple of years and some instruction from an “old-timer” before I was able to really get the performance from it.  This involved learning to run a balanced signal and hear exactly how the machine was performing.  I get the sense that this is a coil  that will perform best  turned down, not up.  Be  sure  to base your settings upon testing, not guesswork.

This coil has a ton of potential and is a must for the kit of  any serious  Minelab Manticore hunter.

For more information on getting results with this great detector, check out my new book:

The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks and Settings (V.620.0+73)

3 Minelab Manticore Tips

1/ Where you are having trouble stabilizing the  unit—go to one of  the modes  that has a  lower frequency weighting.  (A/T High Conductors, A/T Trash Reject, Beach General).  These are more stable. They also work well at bringing up targets  in heavy soils or dense sand. Higher weighted modes are more volatile and noisy. The Manticore has the advantage of providing good detection of all types of targets on any of the available frequency weightings.  These low frequency weightings also act as a kind  of a low-level discriminate control in  that those targets which  are  mixed with  the ground’s signal (tin, steel, very  light foils, anything corroded) are pushed  down to not sound off as well.

2/ Beach Deep and Beach Low Conductors  are both very  deep  search  modes but lack stability around the water’s edge. To get used to how the Manticore responds to  salt  water moving over the coil—try  using one of  these modes and bring the  coil into  the water.  Notice how the signal tone mutes slightly.  This means that the machine is losing depth. So when you are setting the machine up around salt water listen for this muting effect—its a cue to lower your Sensitivity or try a faster Recovery Speed.  In that these two modes are very deep it’s worth experimenting to find ways to run them at the water’s edge or even in a light salt environment.

3/ Where you are having problems running higher Sensitivity settings around salt water you also have the option  of  adding a  small  amount of rejection (one or two increments).  This forces the signal  to “assign” on one side  of this  reject block  or the other—making for more stable audio. At the same time this  “1-2” zone is where  thin chains respond.  It’s a tradeoff—depending on how important it is to you to run higher  Sensitivity at that location.   A good “all purpose” Sensitivity setting for salt is “22” although by muting  the  signal  a bit with more Ferrous  Limits “bordering” it’s possible to settle the audio  down and run the Manticore higher.

For more information on getting results with the Minelab  Manticore check out my new book:

The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks and Settings (V.620.0+73)

2/ “Fast Digital and Then Some…”

The newest “crop” of detectors feature what’s termed “fast digital” processing. This processing was in effect–faster and more detailed than anything under the coil–ground, iron and targets.  It’s safe to say that these types of circuits are making determinations measurable in the thousandths of a part. This means that the machine can audio and meter report with great accuracy–and separate targets from what they were resting in with great precision.  Elements of this whole can then be subtracted–biased / filtered out.  This is what gives the Minelab Manticore its remarkable ability to hit coins that are surrounded by nails–extremely thorough and detailed processing.

These machines also read within targets–reporting on the alloys they contain, or with targets that contain some iron or corrosion–both the ferrous and non-ferrous parts.  All of this information is available to you. Whereas an analog signal is simply “the ground though a speaker,” (just like a simple pulse machine) a digital signal is more of a representation–kind of like the way a computer codes information into “ones and zeroes.” It’s removed from the actual ground by this codification.  This allows all the great features that we see on a modern detector–amplification, tone menu options, precise ground balance and tracking (the list goes on)–these are this code as managed in software. Everything is converted into a “value.” Differences in these values are recognized as ground, iron and targets of various relative strengths.  A good way to put it is that these detectors don’t detect metal–they detect anomalies.

What you have is gold-machine level processing applied to the task of normal detecting.  It’s almost an “over-matching” limited only by the basic physics of what ground conditions will allow.

So when you see the Minelab Manticore advertised as having “50%” more power to the coil–this does not necessarily equate to depth–it equates to thoroughness of process.  This power lets the Manticore process through / around all kinds of things: viscosity (black sand), fast salt water, complex audio and metering tasks, reject blocks, iron and diverse alloys–all at great speed.

“Multi IQ” enhances this processing / filtering by digitally locking the signal away from the volatile influences of iron–making for even better separation and reporting accuracy.

When you put a machine like the Equinox 800 or Manticore into its Prospecting mode this processing is well illustrated. The detector is more or less able to separate one part gold from 1000 parts black sand.  How these machines perform this reduction has a lot to teach us about the overall platform.

A good way to understand this is to imagine a pyramid.  At the base of this triangle we have the wide-responding, diverse signal of the ground, iron and any metal that’s under the coil. As we move upwards there are the various processes: bias, (promoting the more orderly parts of the response by way of audio filtering) and modulation (taking out more of the rough elements and screening for coin-sized targets), with Discrimination and Ferrous Limits acting to further refine the signal.  Finally at the top of this pyramid we have the single (ideally) clean tone of a nugget or silver dime.  With the Equinox 800 or Manticore’s Prospecting modes you can almost “hear” this process as the rough “sides” of the signal tone lag and boil down to the finished tone.   If you take the ground’s massive random signal as a starting point, what the detector is doing is sounding off on “peaks” in this signal.  The more distinct this “peak” is, the more distinct from the ground the target is.

Prospecting mode with either machine is more of a sharp, pointed triangle.  This detailed processing lends itself well to the use of bias–or in the case of the Minelab Manticore, Ferrous Limits to focus upon less alloyed metals.  With the Equinox I’ve used this clean, detailed high bias response to sort through shorelines littered with alloyed bottlecaps to find the gold.

From: “The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks and Settings”

by  clive james  clynick

The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks and Settings (V.620.0+73)

Minelab Manticore “Degraded” Responses

Learning a new machine is probably easier if you start with your “ideal” signal and work backwards from there.  This way when you have something that is a poor response but has some of the elements of a good one—you are more likely to notice.  Part of the skill of recognizing good targets mixed in with iron (or upended) involves just that—looking for parts of what a good signal presents.  The more of these that are present, the better the chance that you have a masked good target.  You could call this the method of “necessary but not sufficient.”  So for example seeing a “92” flickering up on the screen is a good  start but if it  does not repeat over one exact spot on the ground, that’s not so good.  It’s kind of like a ”point system” where everything you have in terms of  target testing will come into play: coil control  target testing, meter skills, all  metal testing (Pinpoint mode)–all can  give you that critical bit of information  to  help in your dig decision.  The term “degraded” responses comes from skilled CTX 3030 hunters who  learned  to look for signals that were lower than  ideal but still consistent in other ways.  A few Minelab Manticore dense iron tips:

-peaked response in both modes, ideally.   It’s always Pinpoint that’s the most telling no  matter how  much iron there is.

-climbing  meter enhanced by a tight, narrow, controlled  “IDing” pass.

–even a slight consistency to an angled cross sweep.  This does not need to  be a “full cross”-just off the original  direction tells you a lot about the consistency of a response.

-using a single frequency checker is not a bad idea too.  Many top hunters use “10 kHz or “15 kHz.”  These slower more thorough frequencies will give a more accurate reporting on the  relationship  between the ground and your signal.  An alternative would be one of the Beach modes that feature some low weighting but are faster responding.

-be sure to vary the speed and width of your coil passes.  Another “old timers” trick is to swoop the coil down at the ground to send the signal down at different angles.  This works well on upended coins or deep ones that  are masked by shallower junk.

–try lowering the Sensitivity.  This makes the surrounding iron smaller by relation in that it is wider responding.

-try both open screen and “Trash Reject” type FE Limits.  I also sometimes work with a small (1-3 increments) reject block.  This makes for cleaner target assignment on either side of the ferrous / nonferrous “line.”

With the Minelab Manticore its important to remember that when you want to use a frequency weighting that focuses upon high conductors for example, more falsing will come in from that end of  the spectrum.  Its up to you to enact a testing process to confirm your targets with accuracy.  Making a quick switch to  All Terrain General to check  deep signals also works well.

A key tip I hear coming up again and again from skilled Manticore relic and coin hunters is to base your digging decisions on “which tone dominates.” “(iron or “good).”  This, along with the “big two” tests (cross sweep and Pinpoint: wide / narrow) will seldom steer you wrong.

Even doing thorough signal examination–and with 40 years of practice–it’s when I neglect these simple basics that spikes wire and other high responding iron targets fool me.  The mistakes I make most often are:

-no Pinpoint test to listen for a narrow, peaked response.  (Thinking my Discriminate mode “ears” have “got this one).”

-no cross-sweep conformation (even a slight angle).  Where you have heavily worked conditions–this is a good place to begin to “lower the bar.”  I can’t say enough about the value of this quick part-angle check with a high Gain detector.  It tells you a ton and offsets a lot of the machine’s tendency to continually “sound-off” on targets with no mass or consistency.

-no attention to the consistency between the target’s size and the Depth Meter.  A classic big iron dig is one where you hear a small tone–but a shallow depth reading.  Then, of course there is nothing at that depth. (It’s worth noting here again that this is why your initial Pinpoint reading is so important in that all of these other correlations hinge on it). Learn to get the most information possible from the Manticore’s Ratchet pinpointing system—it’s very valuable to your accuracy.

From: “The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks & Settings” by Clive James Clynick

The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks and Settings (V.620.0+73)

The Minelab Manticore is a beach gold hunters dream.  It has great depth in both fresh and salt water and offers you a wide range of overall settings, audio options and frequency weightings to suit your beach hunting preferences.  It’s important to learn what this machines features do and how to match what your conditions demand. I favour low weighted settings.  These saturate and penetrate tough ground more thoroughly and let you run higher Sensitivity settings.  Its also important to understand how your Ferrous Limits and discriminate settings act to hinder the signal reducing depth and separation. The Minelab Manticore also has very strong signal processing.  This translates into very accurate audio.  Where you hear a “”peaked” sounding tone–this is something that is  distinct from the surrounding ground.  Gold does  not corrode and therefore is very distinct from the ground compared to say–a rusted bottle-cap.  So you could say that as a gold-hunter, you are looking for signals that conduct well.

By using the Manticore’s accuracy, I try to narrow down my digs to mostly  aluminum.  Many hunters think that they are looking for gold but don’t use their machines accurately and dig up targets that aren’t even like gold in how they conduct the signal.  Use the Manticore’s coil to examine your targets for consistency.  Vary your coil  passes  and check your signals  on the cross  sweep  to see how they “stay in.”  This is  they way to focuss in high quality signals even in very dense junk.  In fact where there are heavily hunted conditons, I head for the most dense trash areas to  use the accuracy advantages that the Manticore gives me.  I find those signals  that “dig everything” hunters have very little chance of  finding because of  the sheer target numbers. Here’s a picture of my best Manticore find so far–a .75 ct. diamond solatire ring.  I found it in an area worked daily by professional hunters.  This area  had a lot of  small iron targets which these hunters–even though they  were using the Equinox–had no way conclusive of recognizing.  The Minelab Manticore’s graph let me zero in on the best signals among this iron.

These  are some of the methods that have helped  me to make big finds  at the beach with the Minelab Manticore metal detector.

For more information  on understanding getting results  with the Minelab Manticore metal detector check out the reviews of my new book:

“The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks  and Settings”

The Minelab Manticore: Tips, Tricks and Settings (V.620.0+73)

Minelab Manticore Care and Feeding

Charge System

The Minelab Manticore has is a pretty solid charge system although the actual cables have a limited life.

Oxidization is your worst enemy. Second are iron filings. When you see that the charge won’t start or complete, suspect one of these. (Green light won’t begin or stop flashing). Where you have iron filings stuck to the magnetic points on the charge fitting, use a toothbrush to remove them. This takes a quick, sharp movement. You may have to finish by using your fingers to pinch and remove the filings. This will allow the detector to charge and complete properly.

Over time, both charge surfaces will oxidize. This can also be a cause of charge initiate / complete problems. Use a pencil eraser to remove this oxidization from the flat contact surfaces. Then spray with some contact spray. This will restore proper charging. Be sure to make a few power on “touches” of the contact to get the spray working.

In an emergency, take a sharp edge and lightly score the charge surfaces to restore current. This should be done only as a last resort as it will remove the conductive coating. At the same time, a coating of corrosion on these surfaces is what is preventing a proper charge.

Co-Axe Jacks

These corrode over time too—both the contact surfaces and the aluminum threads. This can be seen by the flat grey appearance of the threads and how they become harder to start and turn.

Treat the threads with dielectric plumbers grease periodically to keep them working smoothly.  I work the grease in thoroughly by going around the thread  with a toothbrush.  When these are severely corroded it’s not impossible to break off a contact pin trying to place the jack.  Its a good idea to be careful when installing a coil so as not to bend any of these pins.  Try to have good light, and eye the machine from above or straight on at the side.  This way it’s easier to see if you are cross-threading.  For beginners, the best way  to install a coil is to use two hands with the screen flat across your belly. This gives you a perfect view and a stationary target. Begin by seating the plug with a light, careful touch.   Turn the collar backwards to feel the thread.  Then wiggle the plug into full seating and begin to turn clockwise.  If you feel any resistance or grit start again.  If you don’t have much practice with this, eye the plastic part of the coil side jack for the gap that goes at the top. Rushing at this stage is the easiest way to break  or bend a pin. Never force the fitting.

The actual contacts can become oxidized too. This can cause the coil to give an error message when connected, or with the headphone jack—corrosion can cause weak, “tinney” sounding audio. I recently restored one of these by using contact spray, (with live “touches” to break up the oxidization) and a quick, light touch across the male side with a wire brush. A final coating on both sides of the jack / plug completes the restoration. Be careful not to point the spray right into the machine side jack—its just not necessary.

These are a few tips to keep your Minelab Manticore metal detetor in top shape.

Good Luck Detecting,

clive

Recognizing Bottle Caps with the Nokta Legend

No detector–even a sophisticated one like the Nokta / Makro Legend will take the place of basic skills and bottlecap responses are a good demonstration of why this is.  I see one prominent “YouTube” personality who hears a sound, checks the consistency on the cross sweep and digs. While this is a good target testing start–adding a quick pinpoint mode check would greatly increase his accuracy by letting him get a better idea of where is targets are, what shape they are and how well they stand out from the surrounding ground.

These target features form the basis of what I call “correlation”–that is when you look for sets of target characteristics. This kind of approach takes a bit of practice but can improve your accuracy and hunt time usage a lot. Basically it keeps you off the “too bigs,” the “flyspecks,” the elongated objects and those objects that are partly iron. This type of a broad-based approach can help you to recognise any problem target–including bottlecaps.

As multi frequency machines became more sophisticated a problem arose with bottlecaps. Whereas with a single frequency detector most caps read at a particular part of the “ID” scale—the multiple frequencies of these more modern detectors all read the ground differently. This meant that the steel (or rust) part of a bottlecap could come in at any number of places on the “ID” scale. This confounded a lot of hunters in that it made caps harder to recognize just by “hearing and digging.” What ‘s needed are some other cap “tells” that involve basic skills.

Several methods have emerged. The first involves moving the coil back off a target to listen for the iron tone to come in. This works because a cap signal is more blended with the surrounding ground and as the coil is moved off, the ground signal begins to dominate. This is not a bad method but does not work as well with those high responding caps that contain more aluminum. Quite a few beer brands (such as Heineken and Corona) fall into this category. Another problem is nearby iron could be what’s causing the low tone.

A second method involved turning up the Iron Volume. This makes the “surrounding” iron tone come in more loudly as the coil moves towards the target.  This works but it makes the audio a bit loud and confusing overall.  The way that these “blended-with-the-ground” signals respond is more obvious wtih the iron response turned up.

My suggestion is a bit of all of these methods but is simpler than any. It relies on the fact that a bottle cap is a “dogs breakfast” of metals. Using 60 Tones lets you hear these better. As well, any target that contains steel or rust is not a strong, solid tone. It’s not “peaked” in the middle. When you run (or switch to) 60 Tones cap signals are not centred. What you are hearing is the machine trying to “lock on” to a single conductive range and failing. As you move the coil off the signal and go to the cross sweep this process will begin again—and fail. The more rust a cap has the more quickly it will degrade as a centred response—that is–it will begin to break up.  When you do repeat coil passes, it won’t pick up uniformly. As you move the coil around trying to get a fix on the target –the centre will appear to move. With practice in 60 Tones—the properties of a cap or iron target will be easier to spot in any tone “ID” mode including the segmented ones (2, 4 and 6). You can also combine this information with watching the meter readings for scattered number in the cap ranges. I find these to be around “20-21,” “27-30” and sometimes up higher for the ones with more aluminum. At the same time the coil will always reveal the inconsistencies of these targets.  

So you are learning to recognize both the alloying and the steel content’s blending with the surrounding ground’s signal.  The less “peaked” a  signal’s tone is, the less distinct from  the ground it is.  Combine this with listening for transitioning, inconsistent tones in response to your coil movments. 

In soil I also use pinpoint mode to see if a signal is wide (containing iron or steel) or drawn out.  The “FerraCheck” is also a handy tool for recognizing caps.  It’s also dependant upon coil control in that the iron side meter may not show bars on every pass.  These may just flicker in and it’s necssary to remove the target completely from the detection field to get an accurate reading.  Use the cross sweep and check the graph when the signal is the loudest.

Its only when you learn to use the coil this way that the real benefits of a multi frequency machine come into focus. These simple tests tell you if something is consistent enough to be any metal object of value.

These are the kinds of simple, basic skills that will save you needless digging and help you to get the most from the Legend.

For more information on getting results at your hunt sites with the Nokta Legend metal detector, check out the reviews  on my book below:

“A Beginner’s Guide to the Nokta / Makro Legend Metal Detector, “

Good Luck Detecting,

cjc

Newly Updated! A Beginner’s Guide to the Nokta / Makro Legend v.1.17

Clive’s 20 kHz Nokta Legend Gold Settings.

Here is an example of how using basic skills and an understanding of the various target types can improve  your success with the Nokta Legend at bottlecap and foil–laden sites.

This is a setting that shows what the Nokta Legend can do on low conductive targets. At the same time—it’s’ not “hunt by numbers”–there is the need to use the coil and your ID skills to determine what responses are good quality ones. There’s also a notch to break up rusted bottlecaps. This also needs some skill building. The idea is to reduce the audio cleanness of any caps coming in around the “20” mark on the ID scale while still focusing on this important small gold range.

Park mode, 20 kHz (note that single fq use removes the v.1.09 Stability and adjustable Iron Bias from the menu options).

Sensitivity: 26 / 27

(If you really want to learn about how coil control target testing operates with the Legend, try some hunting in Gold mode. The high fq weightings make the detector sound off on a lot of “partial” signals that are not there on the return pass or cross sweep. This is what we are going to be doing in Park 20 kHz but it will be a lot easier).

Rec. Spd: 5/6 Where you have a lot of targets or black / grey sand 6 is better. You want to hear the “sides” of your targets.

Tones: 2. This is the best way to learn coil control target testing—two simple tones.

When you hear a repeatable tone with extension in the sound, go to the cross-sweep to check for consistency. As you do this (making sure you are now right over the object) look at the meter to see how “clean” the response is. Where you see clustered numbers—dig. Where you see the meter going “way off” the central numbers—this is a weak signal or alloy. Gold will stay much “tighter” on the meter. (Sweep irregularities notwithstanding). Also where you see the meter going up to “60” (or thereabouts) –this something that the machine is reading the ground right through—iron or a weak conductor in relation to the surrounding ground.

Caps: Without the “FerraCheck” graph the Legend would be a hard machine to learn. This is because it’s multiple frequencies respond to how a bottlecap is “joined” to the ground. So some that have a lot of aluminum corrode less and and read up high. Other’s are more corroded and come in mid way (27/30). Others still have a lot of rust and hit down around “20”. In that his is a specialized gold setting—these are the ones we are concerned with. I knock out “20” and “21.” Because a cap is a wide, spread out signal—this notch will knock the (tone)  “middle” out of most of these rusted caps. Now here is where the coil control comes in. When you see a signal in this range “(19” to say “23)”–draw the coil off and do your cross-sweep pass. Keep this pass even and controlled. If the target is a cap you will see some bars on the left “iron” side of the meter.  There will also be a significant meter change. This applies to most caps if done correctly although the high aluminum content ones are hardest. Where I want to break up these too I reject “27” to “31” as well. This also knocks out most small oval tabs too where there are a lot of junk targets.

Overall, understanding why caps respond the way they do is more effective than other coil methods such as backing the loop off and listening for the iron tone. You will be more effective in cap / junk laden conditions using the whole detector: audio, meter and coil.

Being able to sort though these gold-range responses accurately is an important skill with this detector.

Where you have a lot of weak foils try running more discriminate. (12/13/14…) The “M3” setting also weakens these foil responses but does so at the expense of gold sensitivity. This setting is smooth because it has a lot of 4 kHz weightingh–weakening the machine’s response to the part of the conductivity scale where both gold and iron come in.

This set-up has amazing low conductor sensitivity and is a great way to learn to recognize solid, quality targets of any kind with the Legend.

With the 20 kHz, expect a lighter, more delicate signal that requires a smooth, even sweep to be stable. It may not feel like it’s going deep—but will bring up some surprising low-conductor targets.

Where possible a slower Rec. Spd. such as “4” will give even more depth.

For more informaton on getting results with the Nokta Legend check out my book below:

Newly Updated! A Beginner’s Guide to the Nokta / Makro Legend v.1.17

A Few Notes on the Nokta / Makro Legend

by Clive James Clynick

The first thing I noticed about the Legend was it’s processing. Like the Anfibio—this processing makes for super clean audio in iron or dense trash. With the Legend however, this processing is fast and detailed enough to mediate multiple frequencies at once. This means that both the audio and meter information is more accurate as these frequencies cross confirm.  As with any multi frequenciy machine, these frequencies examine the ground in different ways—making detection very thorough and deep. The Legend’s processing does two things:

1/ I immediately noticed how well this machine “pulls” up responses in dense trash or iron. Particularly in the multi-tone modes (6 and 60) these signals are reported very cleanly.

2/ This accurate processing reports the quality of responses well. What I mean by this is that targets that are rusted, made of diverse alloys or odd shaped such as “can slaw” sound rough whereas something made of fewer metals or a round object will give a cleaner, more solid tone.  This is a great operationg characeristic–especially for beginners–helping you to focus on good qualtiy signals.

Also, weak conductors such as thin foils sound weak—that is, they don’t sound more solid than they are.  This is especially important when searching for small gold.

This strong multi-frequency processing also means that simple target testing is very effective. So when you want to know what size or shape a target is—or how consistent it is—tests like using varied sweep speeds and directions will give you a lot of audio and meter information. Also, where you see big meter jumps—these are highly meaningful—indicating a poor quality signal or something odd-shaped. Pinpoint mode also gives good information on whether something has the sharp, narrow tone of a non-ferrous target—or the wide, drawn-out tone of iron. This effectiveness comes from the Legend’s high “resolution”–that is—the accurate processing of the multiple frequencies gives a lot of detail on what is under the coil.

This is also a detector with a lot of fidelity. You have the option of running multi frequency—or any of the single ones to bring up specific target ranges and examine the ground from a number of standpoints. The machine can be run fast or slow with high or low Iron Bias. This adjustable iron filtering is by far the most important feature of the v. 1.09 upgrade. What this means is that in dense junk or iron you have the choice of trying to speed up and bring up the “cleanest” responses–or to slow down and use the Legend’s processing to saturate what’s under the coil more and bring up tones one what you are looking for. These types of settings examine the ground in very specific ways letting you return to heavily worked prime ground with never before tried search methods. There are some remarkable videos out of the Legend’s low bias settings “seeing through” multiple spikes to bring up a tone on silver—as if the iron was not even there.

I’ve also had to opportunity to run the Legend at a tough, high-saline ocean beach. It performed well and even had great audio in nail infested sections—giving longer tones on non-ferrous targets that were mixed in. This audio processing was so accurate that the Legend even distinguished stainless steel from iron.

The Legends clean, sharp audio and tone menu choices are a great tool to help at these tough sites.

The v. 1.09 upgrade offers new audio preference choices including VCO (Pitch Audio), and Boost.

These are some of the great performance characteristics that I’ve noticed about the Legend in my first season of hunting with it.

I highly recommend this great detector for hunters at any level of the hobby.

Good Luck Detecting,

clive

Newly Updated! A Beginner’s Guide to the Nokta / Makro Legend v.1.17

Minelab Equinox Tips: Week 13: Understanding the Tone Settings

Its safe to say that it’s worth getting some practice in with each of the Tone settings because they all do different things. Lets take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of each.

2 Tone

2 Tone is a great learner mode because it teaches you to use the coil and listen for solid, peaked sounds. A peaked sound means something that’s distinct from the surrounding ground. As well, many alloyed targets—such as coins that contain steel will give a flat, broken tone in other modes as the machine struggles to separate then from the ground.  Canadian coins are an example of this kind of signal. These can be heard better in 2 Tone by how they “catch” rather than giving a full sound. The machine is indicating on the part that is distinct from the ground—the change.

2 Tone also teaches you how to adjust for tough ground by bringing up the first Tone Break or using one or two increments of Discriminate to stop the machine from chattering. My personal feeling is that especially on the beach, 2 Tone gives you sharp, simple audio to perform any coil control tests with—helping you to recognize small, inconsistent junk sounding off.

5 Tone

I always found 5 Tone to be a bit quiet, but it can be very valuable where you want to quickly classify targets by how conductive they are. At the same time- bad ground or targets that are made of several metals will cause a lot of transitioning sounds that can be confusing. Bottle caps are an example of this kind of target. The machine is trying to “lock on” to something that straddles several tone “bins.” 5 Tone is more of a land hunter’s setting and one concern that I have with it is that it draws too much of your attention to how conductive something is—rather than the rest of the signal’s features. A problem is that alloyed targets are grouped within one tone “bin” to sound more solid and consistent than they are.

A plus is that 5 Tones smooths out the signal well when using the 15” coil in salt water by reducing the amount of work that the machine has to do in processing the amount of incoming information.

50 Tones

50 Tones is a very descriptive way to run the Minelab Equinox audio. It gives you a lot of detail as to how alloyed a target is by giving more tones on diverse alloys. The advantage of this is that it gives an added level of audio Discrimination by pointing you to targets that “lock on” to a single tone. At the same time 50 Tones can be noisy in salt water or bad sand as the changes in the ground sound off more. 50 Tones works well when used with “Horseshoe” mode in that good signals “climb” up out of the ferrous range and “lock on” well. The Equinox also features an adjustment (Tone Gap) that lets you widen the distance between the iron and non ferrous tones. This lets you create a larger tone difference between good non ferrous signals and targets that are on the border–such as hairpins or other steel / iron objects.

The fluid audio of 50 Tones also works well inland giving sharp indications on small, deep signals that are masked by iron.

All of these Tone applications have their uses and while many new hunters scour the internet looking for some “magical” settings—the best strategy for success with the Equinox is to learn the whole detector and focus upon simple, basic skills. This includes developing your skills with each kind of Tone setting. For more tips and information on the Minelab Equinox check out my book:

The Minelab Equinox: “From Beginner to Advanced”

19/ Developing Your Accuracy and Conclusiveness with the Anfibio Multi

Whenever I want to write some advanced material on any detector–I’m continually drawn back to basic skills and competencies. The material in this book on; audio signal types, target types, basic skills, coil control and basic detector theory are necessary precursors to the more important device-specific information. The idea is to learn to “walk first”–then think about running “99” Gain in dense iron. Let’s look at how some of these basic skills allow us to move away from the “hopeful digging” model that so many engage in–towards greater accuracy and conclusiveness.

20/ Meter, Tone and Gain

It follows from the above discussion of the ”Power Curve” that as we increase the Gain of a high Gain detector a number of things begin to happen. For one thing–meter responses become more varied. This has been well-termed “ID splatter” something that’s a concern with the Anfibio. At the same time–there’s a lot of information to be gotten from this “splatter.” This bears upon our basic target types. Where you have a clean, single metal or a good conductor such as gold–expect a narrower ID response. Where you have something that’s diversely alloyed–expect a wide array of ID numbers to show.

An important distinction in these meter responses is that where you have a less complex alloy–such as gold or silver–numbers that “climb” are more common. These “climbing” meter responses are signals that are consistent enough to give sequential or close numbers–ascending or dropping. Where you have something that the Anfibo is struggling to identify–you have what I call “cycling” digits–big jumps–that may include low digits–or even “wrap” range readings. It’s also important to recognize that along with your Gain setting, coil control is the mediator of these responses. A wide sweep brings in more data to be analyzed. A fast sweep acts to confuse the machine’s circuits–also making for more scattered readings. Understanding and using this ID characteristic will later become an important “weapon” for acquiring and getting conclusive identification of signals in dense iron–by reducing the ”ratio” of other influences around the signal. (While there will be those who would say that “there’s no such thing as a conclusive ID”–here the idea is to begin by just moving towards recognizing the “no brainers).”

An important tip from the Notka / Makro manuals is that to get the best target ID from the Anfibio–slow down the coil. This is especially true in dense iron in that you are giving the machine more time to process the complex set of information under the coil and give an accurate report. Where you still see “wild” indications–suspect something alloyed, corroded or misshapen.

It’s also worth noting that as we reduce the Gain setting, the above meter differences: “(climbing” versus “cycling” and the size of these meter changes), become more meaningful. So whereas a high Gain setting might produce “wild” meter readings on an odd-shaped gold earring–a lower setting might tame this down–drawing your attention to the signal. This is another casualty of a high Gain setting–accuracy. This is not to say that we need to stick to the low presets–but there’s a need for more careful attention to how the meter acts in concert with your Gain.

From: “Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta / MakroAnfibio Multi.”

For more information on my book and to read a few reviews go to:

clivesgoldpage.com

…or click on “Products” above.

Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta / Makro Anfibio Multi

Minelab Equinox Tips of the Week # 9:Getting More Depth and Target Information by Using “Horseshoe” mode.

The Minelab Equinox’s “Horseshoe” All Metal setting is a handy feature that lets you get more depth—although it’s necessary to moderate the added noise. Running in All Metal lets you pick targets out of iron better, but at the same time more “borderline” objects (such as steel) are brought up to sound better than they are. Try alternating between Disc and All Metal to get a better idea of how solid something is and how much of the signal is ferrous. Steel and other objects that straddle the non-ferrous / ferrous boundary will be more obvious using this test. Look for signals where the above zero numbers and non-ferrous tone dominate.

There is a lot of information in how a signal relates to the surrounding ground. When an object is corroded or rusted, the machine struggles to produce a distinct tone. With “Horseshoe” mode “on” more of this information is available.  As a gold hunter, I use this setting to hear how distinct from the ground something is–indicating a good, clean conductor.  A good way to put it is that with practice you can learn to make very .accurate (iron / non-iron) classifiactions.

Also, where you have something that’s the machine is responding to only part of–such as big iron or twisted wire you can use this setting to hear the “whole” signal–and  better idea of what the target is.

For more information on developing your accuracy with the Minelab Equinox check out my book:

The Minelab Equinox: “From Beginner to Advanced”

Minelab Equinox Tip of the Week # 8: “Resolution”

One thing that makes the Minelab Equinox challenging to get used to for hunters that are coming from a simpler platform is the amount of detail that you hear and see on the meter.  In the manual this is termed “resolution.” This amount of detail is a “two edged sword.” On one hand it lets you separate out masked targets well. The way to get the most from this strength is to use multiple sweep speeds and directions to “parse” out whats under the coil. The downside of “resolution” is that it actually splits targets–giving multiple responses to the various alloys in a target (bottle caps are a good example). These scattered tones and meter readings can be confusing.

The Equinox also reports how something relates to the surrounding ground. Where you see a target that is falling below zero this means something that is either corroding, similar to the ground (iron or steel) or a target that is in close to iron. Where you see a target that is climbing up into the high 30’s–this means something that is too big (or too “grounded)”. for the machine to classify.  Twisted steel wire is a good example of this type of target.

I see a lot of new hunters debating over “which numbers to dig.”  The fact is however that there’s a lot more to becoming accurate with a detetor than looking at numbers on a screen.

Distinguishing between signals that are “grounded” and those that are not is an important skill with the Equinox. As a rule–listen for “peaked” sounds–indicating something that is more distinct from the ground, and less alloyed. “Split” targets will be weaker and “flatter” as the machine struggles to identify them. It’s important to note though that brass and copper relics will often be among these corroded targets.

Higher Bias settings–especially using the “F2” Bias upgrade will make these differences more pronounced.
It takes time and practice to learn to use the Equinox’s detailed response to tell good signals from junk. It’s important to recognize the fact that if you use the coil–make varied passes, listen and watch the meter this detector will give you the information needed to save you time digging obvious junk. Resolution is one of the best performance features this machine offers. Why not use it?

For more Minelab Equibnox tips, settings and information on developing your accuracy with this exciting detector check out my book:

The Minelab Equinox: “From Beginner to Advanced”

5, 14 and 20 kHz Applications

To really understand what the Anfibio Multi offers it’s a good idea to perform a simple demo of each frequency setting. Get some targets of different conductivities–for example a silver coin, some small gold or aluminum. Switch the machine to Gen mode. Begin in 14 kHz and note how the detector responds pretty much the same to each kind of target. Then go over to Options and change to 5 kHz. Test each signal again. Notice how now, when you raise the coil away from each target, the gold does not respond as well, whereas the silver signal is stronger. Now press Options again and go to 20 kHz. Now the opposite will be true–with the silver sounding off more weakly and the gold coming in stronger. In each Frequency–targets in the corresponding conductive range will be a better, cleaner signal that’s available with the coil further away. It’s a good idea to become familiar with just how pronounced these differences are in that each frequency also has negative effects: 5 kHz is more stable in bad ground but is sluggish and does not separate as well in iron as do the others. Its meter responses are more defined though and therefore 5 kHz makes a good cap checker–“taming” these diversely alloyed targets for easier identification. 14 kHz is more of an “all purpose” frequency–responding well to all metals. 20 kHz is more nimble in iron–faster, with better separation. 20 kHz sorts non-ferrous objects from iron with precision. I’ve had good results with this setting–pulling steel clad Canadian coins out of black sand. These were deeply buried and had been missed by other machines for so long that they came out purple! At the same time this high frequency is less stable and tends to be noisy around salt sand. Because of this light, fast, nimble operation, 20 kHz makes a good “trainer.” If you can use the Anfibio’s other features to stabilize the machine and identify targets in (the more scattered ID’ing) 20 kHz–the slower frequencies should be easier to manage.

The idea is to know when the benefits of running a particular frequency setting outweigh the drawbacks–or to take measures to offset these. So as a general guide:

5 kHz: stable, deep on high conductors but sluggish in iron or multiple targets

Remedies: -using 3 Tone (Gain less than 90) to get a faster response.

14 kHz: good all-around performer but can lack stability or small object sensitivity around black sand or in bad ground.

Remedies: -high Gain to bring up small targets or conversely, lowered Gain (or higher bottom Discriminate / Tone Break for more stable operation.

20 kHz: good low conductor sensitivity, good separation / in-iron performance but noisy / less stable / scattered meter.

Remedies: -3 Tone operation or lowered Gain for stability. Other choices include higher bottom Discriminate / Tone Break for more stable operation and to reduce the responses from foils, steel and iron. Smooth, even coil passes and use the cross sweep to get stable ID on targets. Lowering the ID Depth feature is also a good way to offset the sensitivity of 20 kHz mode–to allow more defined reporting.

Another simple cross-checking strategy is to have the frequency selector as your “last feature changed” on the “Options” menu. Then with one press–you are ready to check targets in another frequency.

These represent good examples of the kind of mindset that will help you to get top performance from a high fidelity detector like the Anfibio. There are very few conditions-related problems that it’s not possible to find a solution to if you have a solid understanding of what the various features and settings do and how these relate to basic detector theory. At the same time, when you want to make a change to accomplish a particular task–there may be other aspects of the performance that are affected. These may need to be addressed as well.

From: Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta / Makro Anfibio Multi

by Clive James Clynick (2020)

Ordering and Reviews:

Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta / Makro Anfibio Multi

Minelab Equinox “Tip of the Week” #5: “Micro” Targets and Ratchet Pinpointing.”

Use Pinpoint and the depth meter to establish the size and location of your targets. This will stop you from going after “micro” conductors that sound off loudly. To get a more accurate location on a signal take the coil off to the side and press the pinpoint button again. Every time you do this take the coil over the same distance. This will offset the Equinox’s ratchet pinpointing’s tendency to throw off your sizing and pinpointing. What you want is a single “benchmark” to base your other readings (size, location).  For more Minelab Equinox Tips, Settings and Information check out my page and blog at: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

Selecting and Using Differently Weighted Modes

4/ Try alternating between both high and low weighted search modes. Each has a different way of responding to targets and the ground. High frequency weighted modes such as “Park 2” and “Beach 1” will have a “bitty” and broken tone over ground that is too mineralized for them. (Fast salt water will have the same effect). With these modes there will be a lighter and more delicate “feel” to the signal tone.  In these conditions a low frequency weighted mode will be smoother and penetrate the ground better. Where you want to search for low conductive targets such as gold, you may need to run lower gain to smooth these high frequency modes out. For more Minelab Equinox Tips, Settings and Information check out my page and blog at:  http://clivesgoldpage.com/

Anfibio Dense Iron Methods (Excerpt)

… an important tool is to just slow the coil down as you make your ID’ing pass. What this does is it changes the ratio of the detector’s processing power versus the amount of data from the ground, iron and targets it needs to sort through in a given period of time.

So you have:

• -the slowness of your coil pass. (Gives the machine more time to do its processing job).

• -the width of your coil pass. (How much ground are you asking the machine to process in that time)?

• -your coil size. (The larger the coil the more “skewed” the ratio you are working against).

• -the processing speed of the machine. (3 Tone versus Deep mode for example).

…in relation to…

• -the depth of the target.

• -the amount (density) of iron and mineralization surrounding it.

The same “signal to noise ratio” principle can be used to acquire targets in dense iron–short, slow, even, controlled passes.

It’s not hard to see how high Gain settings can be a hindrance rather than a help for this kind of application–confounding this delicate process.

From: “Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta / Makro Anfibio Multi”

by Clive James Clynick (2020)

Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta / Makro Anfibio Multi

3/ Gain, Recovery Speed and Iron Bias all affect one another. Try and get a feel for how each changes the way target sounds come in. This takes time and practice. Running 2 Tone will help here too. Try running each one at full–then minimum–with the others at preset. This will give you a better idea of what effect these features have on the signal.  For more Minelab Equinox Tips, Settings and Information check out my page and blog at: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

clivesgoldpage.com

“Try running Two-Tone for starters. This will help you to get a feel for the Minelab Equinox’s signal tone and how quality responses sound. Remember–the more peaked a signal tone is—the more distinct from the ground your target is.”  For more Minelab Equinox Tips, Settings and Information check out my page and blog at: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

For more Equinox tips, settings find pictures and info on my 3 Equinox book titles check out: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

A high gain detector that includes high frequencies like the Equinox tends to sound off loudly on small targets. These may or may not be round and solid. A good way to check them is to use the cross sweep to test the consistency. Where you see a dramatic change in sound and meter reading—suspect junk.        For more Minelab Equinox Tips, Settings and Information check out my page and blog at: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

A Couple of Notes on Nokta Makro Anfibio Multi

At any given time I have around fifteen detectors on hand. They all do different things. Of them them all however, one stands out. This is the Anfibio. Im continually impressed by what a well made, well designed great performing machine this is. Its a deep, powerful machine with great small object sensitivity. It hits tiny gold testers that much more expensive detectors won’t. There’s also the option of running at 20 kHz to get even more gold sensitivity. Probably the Notka Makro Anfibio’s best strength is that it has the ability to reach down into the iron and bring up targets that no other machine can. I’ve proved this many times at the toughest most heavily hunted sites in my area. This is also a very versatile machine. The preset modes are very well thought out and let you do a wide variety of things. There’s 3 tone –a bit faster and good where there’s interference or very bad ground.  There’s 3 and 4 tone–both very deep. These let you get precise tone ID based upon your Tone Break settings and also to hear alloyed junk targets by the mixed sound. For this purpose there’s also a 50 tone mode that works well to alert you to “clean” metal mixed in with junk. There’s also a muted tough sand Beach” mode for shorelines. These are just a few of the applications that I’ve used this machine for. I’m also learning a method of running the Anfibio’s “EUD” (Extra Underground Depth) feature at low Gain levels to hear deep targets. I also like the slowed down “Deep” mode that’s gotten me some shockingly deep targets in fresh water sand. This is what I consider to be a great beginner / intermediate machine in that it requires that you learn a few basics and has the performance to grow with over time.  Every trick I’ve taken the time to learn with this machine has brought rewards in the field.

Just can’t say enough about the power and versatility of this machine—when I go to a new site and want to get an idea of what is there—the Anfibio is the machine I bring. I highly recommend this detector to anyone who is interested in working old sites.

I liked the performance of this machine so much that I chose to write a book on it. This book details some of the methods that have gotten results for me with this detector—particularly at tough junk and iron infested sites. The book is called “Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta Makro Multi.” For more information and some reviews in this book check out my site: clivesgoldpage.com

Successful Treasure Hunting with the Nokta / Makro Anfibio Multi

Book Excerpt: Equinox Operating Characteristics:

Extreme High Gain.

These detectors all have what borders on gold field capability–responding to very small targets.  Their modulated audio acts to make these small objects sound bigger.  As well, though some iron can be brought up to sound like its non-ferrous–especially if it has a ferrous component–as do bottlecaps.  Many hunters who are new to this type of machine are confused as to how some of these caps may respond in various places in the conductive range.

As well, these machines have so much “Sensitivity” that they can produce unstable target ID’s. This is why we see the Equinox with a narrow (-9 to +40) ID scale–to offset these “wild” readings.

In looking for a way to illustrate just what high gain does to the operating characteristics of a detector, one telling demonstration comes to mind.  With a less sensitive machine, when you hear a response and then go to the cross sweep—it’s usually more or less the same. With the extreme “Sensitivity” of a high gain detector like the Equinox, it’s possible to hear a response, go to the cross sweep and have it disappear completely–because the machine was responding to the difference between the ground and target or some configuration of the object’s shape.   This high gain “punch” needs special methods to be managed accurately.  You could say that with this “hopped up” circuitry, the ground’s signal plays a much bigger role in what you hear though  the headphones.  I’ve heard them termed “sparky”–an accurate description.

Precise Reporting

While lots of older detectors have precise reporting, what’s new with these machines is that they operate at such a high electronic standard and speed of processing that they actually report within targets.  In the Minelab literature on the Equinox this is termed “resolution”– that is, the machine bases its identification upon a very large number of “data points.” So an alloyed metal object will give readings that represent all of the metals that are present in it.  Another way to put this is that the detector is so accurate that it actually “splits” targets.  A ferrous / non-ferrous blend like a bottle cap may show only the non-ferrous portion, a scattered mix of both types of metal or a reading that represents how corroded it is–what’s left of the non-ferrous portion.   In effect the detector is reading an interaction between ground and metal.  Understanding this point is the key to developing your accuracy with the Equinox.

With the Equinox, some have called this an “unstable” meter.  However this highly accurate reporting can also be used to advantage–pointing you to the best, “cleanest” signals in just about any trash-strewn conditions. More on this later.

From: “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced”

by Clive James Clynick

Its gotten a lot harder to find gold at land detecting sites.  One thing that’s helped me is testing.  I test every detector to determine:

1/ How they respond to foil / gold range targets.

2/ How some of the various targets read on the meter.

While there will never be a detector or skill set that will let us make conclusive gold / aluminum calls, knowing the various ranges helps you to avoid some of the obvious junk. While it’s easy to “dig everything” at some sites–at others–(often those with the big numbers and activity)–the amount of aluminum would just be overwhelming.  I’ve had good success this year by going in to dense junk  and learning to spot anomaly responses. Most of these 22k rings were found by going into heavily worked sections and looking for unusual responses. This comes from being able to move past, caps, hairpins and a few of the most common tab varieties.

The two photos show:

1/ Some common tab “categories”.  While there is certainly gold to mimic any one of these, knowing the various tab ranges with any discriminating detector you use is an important skill.  I divide them into: (from left): small ovals, pear shaped, round ring pulls, square (old style) ring pulls, large ovals and “jumbos.”

2/ Some targets that show up around the gold / foil “line”.  I’ve included both “low” and “high” (cake tray type) foils to make the point that this is an important distinction.  While there are certainly gold targets that come in in the “low” foil range–these will more likely be chains, bracelets, earrings or very small rings.  Where you have an overwhelming amount of foil–recognizing “high” foil range targets is an important skill.

Tension bandage clasps are also excellent testers.  Clip one to your hat and test it folded in half.  If you are hearing this–you won’t be missing much gold.  Round “can inserts” also mimic small gold well.  I’ve also included a “zinc” penny in the picture in that these show up close to where a lot of 22k hits–what would otherwise be the “top” of the gold range. I test various 22k rings to see if they come in higher–or lower than the cent.

The two gold testers on paint  sticks are “sizers” that help me to have a consistent benchmark for testing any machine’s “range”–how far from the coil a given size target is. Using the same testers all the time will help you to develop these “coil-to-ear” type skills.  These skills let you know right away if something is deep or shallow and what size it is –by the tone strength.  From this you can also deduce how solid something is.  I recently found this nice 22k  ring that stood out from the surrounding caps and foils in that it was a small, deep, strong (for the size) signal.  These are the two testers I use to develop this type of accuracy on gold range signals.

The idea is to be able to focus on this “small gold” range—but still be able to recognize the obvious junk within this category.

Good Luck!

cjc

From top GQA2 and a CS6PI both in BHID cases boards shielded on all sides.  These are great cases rock solid and no condensation.

cjc

Setting is 7.3 gr. 22K.  Spot where a nice band came up last year–it has the numbers–lots of high end cars in the parking, chest deep–still has the numbers but lost items are not so likely to be found.

cjc

Please hold your hate mail and hear me out….

I like bottle caps because of what they teach. A normal signal–such as dime only teaches you the bare basics. You hear a tone, see a meter reading and dig. It would be great if that was all there was to success with a detector in any conditions—but it’s not. Bottle caps teach you the whole detector. To ID a cap you need to understand a lot more. Caps are composed of multiple metals—so you learn to recognize alloyed targets. These may have broken or with a tone ID machine—multiple tones. These metals may include brass, aluminum, and steel—each with different response characteristics.  Where you have gold or silver mixed in with other targets that are alloyed such as screwcaps, tin, or “can slaw”–being able to spot narrow meter responses can help you to zero in on the best, most consistent signals.

Steel in particular corrodes over time and caps will respond differently depending on how rusted they are.  This makes them much harder to identify by meter–so a range of  skills are needed.  Rust, is more like the ground than are “pure” non-ferrous metals and to be able to examine your signals for this similarity or difference is a critical skill. When you switch to All Metal or Pinpoint mode—these rusted caps will be a wide, drawn out signal. This simple iron / not iron confirming test is the most important skill you can have with any detector—especially if you want to run high Gain where there is a lot of iron falses sounding off.  When you want to learn the operating characteristics of a new machine—good targets can only teach you so much. If you want to learn how that detector responds to alloys and separates non-ferrous targets from iron—get your self some caps—they’re not hard to find!  A good cap test kit should include several–some rusted and some not.

cjc clivesgoldpage.com

I see way too many new hunters who hope to find some gold but think it’s the first thing they are going to find..sorry bad news–its not   In most conditions, random digging is not going to do much for you.  While its good to dig a lot of targets, the key is to continually work on your selectivity.  By all means the way to get used to the target sounds of your detector is to to dig but along with this learning over time it’s important to be able to recognize some various basic target types.  In the picture we have a nice array:  too big–(cigarette pack), elongated: (Allan keys, glasses arm and bobby pins). too small and weak: (some of the smaller foils at left),, alloys (caps).  Not shown here are some iron targets–(bolts, that type of thing).  With practice these are all recognizable targets–they have “problems” either on the meter or when checked on the cross sweep or in pinpoint. “There are also several “good” targets–a few coins, and some of the more solid foil pieces.  While it might not be as exciting as getting out and digging–just getting a few of each target type and testing them on an upside down cardboard box can increase your accuracy a lot.   While there are sites where “inclusive digging” is the way to go–remember–an exception does not make a rule.  Learning how good targets respond is a more productive way to learn than “going begging” with weak, elongated or out-sized signals.   The “iffy” ones can come later.  clivesgoldpage.com

My CTX had been in the shop for quite a while–it had the old config and leaked more than once.  One bulkhead, one set of clips and two lithium cells later she was still drinking brine.  Thanks to  Minelab I’ve just gotten a like new machine and am very excited and grateful.  (…the metal detecting equivalent of a virgin in the afterlife).  Anyhow,  I do a lot of testing in my  basement in that the interference from furnace, household panel and dryer simulate actual tough salt surf conditions.  If you can tune a detector inside–you are doing something right.   This is especially true of big coils.  I have the large coils for my CTX, Equinox 800 and a WOT hardwired for my Blue Tubes Excal.  There is a ton to be learned about signal balancing big coils under these high interference conditions.  This kind of testing has gotten me a lot of deep, heavy gold in conditions where there is a lot of pro-level competition.   First, its amazing how much of a difference in performance loss (even in air) there is between large and stock coils.  These big coils just suck the interference out of the air (or water).  What I notice is that target sounds have a much more “inverse” .sound–as if the threshold was “taking over.”  The higher you turn the Gain–the quieter targets get.   In some instances–the stock coil actually hits targets further out.  (Talk about a “teachable moment!)”

One thing that’s worked well with the CTX has been to run a P2 version of one of the programs that features one or a couple of reject lines.  (Andy’s Beach for example)  This seems to balance the signal and reduce all the reverberation-type noise.   This works well in the field too–especially of you don’t pile on more interference from current and any incline.  This involves a slow sweep speed and working only North / South.  I’ve gotten some rings down at the 20″ level this way.  The Excalibur–as hard to tune with the WOT coil as it can be–is a simpler platform with less going on–electronically.  While it can’t be run that high–maybe at 1 to 2 o’clock is a balanced signal–it does get great depth in discriminate–taking rings at an easy 18″-plus.  It’s also stable.

Now the Equinox is one of the hardest detectors to tune with a big coil that I’ve used.  My usual 2 Tone method works–but is unstable and gets only moderate depth.  My super-sharp responding gold magnet “Undertune” (GB -9 / tone “25”) method is out of the question.  Without Ground Balancing–the threshold is lilting, uneven and requires careful coil control.  I’ve seen videos of guys running down at “14” Gain–unacceptable.  Why bother with a big coil to run that weak of a signal?  The sense I have is that this detector has a hard time supporting a coil that size.  When I run near-preset B2 with 5 Tones–it seems more balanced and stable. This is about the only time I’ve ever been driven back to the pre-sets to balance a detector.  It’s a good coil–but hard to balance–just saying.  I see a detection signal as being kind of like an arithmetic sum.  When you keep subtracting with say, fast water, Gain too high, (in this case) Recovery Speed too fast, high saline conditions  bottom contours / inclines and the work a detector does with a highly processed signal like that of the CTX or EQ–what’s left is not always enough to get any more depth than the stock coil.  The larger the coil–the greater the affect these factors have.   I’m still learning with both of these detectors / coils but am really struggling to get any respectable depth–especially with the EQ.  I’ve a lot of great signal balancing “tricks” up my sleeve–including smoothing out the threshold with a “1” discriminate setting or even bringing up the Tone Break–but have yet to find anything that convinces me that a narrower–more manageable detection field drawing less interference would not perform better.    I’ve also been instructed on the forums to  keep the Recovery Speed low–down at “4” with the big EQ coil. This is just not that stable in salt conditions unless its absolutely still.  Of the two, the CTX wins in terms of stability–but for coils that size–even compared to the WOT–the depth just does not seem to be enough to justify the extra swinging effort–at least not in salt water.  I’m open to Equinox big coil salt water suggestions.  Otherwise–next trip–the coil at least–is staying home.

cjc

Anyone travelling to detect with the Equinox should bring the following:

1/ A very light emery cloth. (A pencil eraser has also been suggested to me although I’ve not tried this).

2/ A good quality contact spray.

When I went to charge my machine–there was no green charge light.  I’ve also had the problem of it not completing properly–ie. light continues to flash.  Look for the following:

1/ Iron filings on the magnetic contacts interfering with the charge.  These can be on either side–machine or cable.

2/ Green ferrigris on one or more of the charge points.  I sprayed this with an “okay” points cleaner and hit it with a wire brush–still no charge light. It was only when I actually sanded the points with the emery cloth and hit it with some “Deoxit Gold” that it began to charge.  The way to use any of these products is to apply, flick power through the connection for a second–then re-coat.  You may need to do this several times.

Especially when you have hunted in salt water–these points develop a film of oxidization on them–completely blocking any current flow.

My CTX coils do the same thing–looks dead until you get some spray on it.

cjc

clivesgoldpage.com

Proceeds of a brutal trip–sick half the time. Bracelet is 18k 34.9 gr–a lunker. Also a couple of small bands one 22k and some silver. Kept at it though and had some luck with the Minelab Equinox–running in my 2 Tone “Pulse” mode. Also–I run at “19” Sens–seems to keep the audio more orderly–more of a balanced signal. The big hunk of old silver jewelry was super deep in the same section–a cue to keep going. When the bracelet came up is was very orange–had to have been down a while.

I’m proud to announce my new 120 page book on developing your skills and accuracy with the Equinox.

You could say that this is an advanced book about simple skills.  These small, basic skills, tricks and competencies add up to “more than the sum of the parts” in what they allow you to do with the Equinox.   It’s my hope that the book will teach readers to:

-develop generalizable  skills that can be applied at any type of site–park, relic or shoreline.
-create effective custom settings for your sites by responding to the conditions.
-understand and manage some of this detector’s performance “trade-offs.”
-overcome conditions-related problems.
-get more depth and hunt with greater accuracy using this great detector platform.
-understand and apply the Minelab Equinox “2.0” upgrade.

Skill-Building with the Minelab Equinox Metal Detector

By Clive James Clynick

Clive James Clynick is the author of some 24 previous treasure hunting “how-to” books and numerous articles.  In this detailed and informative book, he explains how understanding the Equinox’s operating characteristics and features can help you to find more treasure. Topics include:

• Dense Iron Methods and Skill Building
• Walk First. How Small Skills Add Up to Accuracy
• Managing the Heavily Processed, Modulated Signal
• Understanding and Managing the Power Curve
• Beyond Meter and Tone
• Accuracy and Conclusiveness
• Salt Water Stabilization and Depth Tips from Top Hunters
• Signal Balancing the Equinox for More Depth
• ‘Micro’ Gold and Chain Hunting
• Understanding the Upgrades

…and much more…

(8.5 X 5.5, softbound 120 pages)

$16.95

Ordering and Reviews::

http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/shop/publications/skill-building-with-the-minelab-equinox-series-metal-detectors/

Some of the better ones “little nickels” (a few Edward and Victoria) and some favorites including a Standing Liberty and my one Seated coin a half dime.  Holed or not I will take it….

cjc

Its unbelievable what these new super fast machines like the Equinox and Anfibio Multi can do at the old sites.   Anywhere you have old, original ground that’s produced before is worth “having another crack at” with one of these machines.  I’ve had good results with both by doing a couple of things:

1/ If I’m searching in a tone ID mode I make sure there’s a big difference between the silver-range tone and the next one down.  This helps me to hear those “bleeding” signals that are something in close to iron.

2/ I don’t always run high Gain as a lower setting makes the iron smaller.

3/ I find that most of the time when I dig a spike or big iron its because I forgot to do something–usually involving using the depth meter to see how the signal size and depth correspond.  Getting a good initial pinpoint “fix” on a target is the “benchmark” for this.

4/ Some good advice I got a while back was to “listen for which tone dominates.” Watch the ground as you sweep to see if there is a spot where a high meter and tone correspond at.

5/ I also go from  a segmented ID mode to a multi tone one to check signals–this gives a little  more information on the consistency of something.

6/ I have a sense that these machines will tell you what’s what a lot of the time.  There are a lot fewer “one ways” and “degraded” responses with these fast. sophisticated filtering type detectors.

My first few gold finds (around 1981 with the Eagle 2–later XLT and CZ5), The signet “C” no less was my first gold– got with a buddy’s Garrett Deepseeker –state of the art at the time.  Then I bought the 6DB. The big sparkly white one  on the right also started it all.  Amazing with how good today’s tech has gotten–can still hunt that park.   Behind it is a hunk of brass that had me fooled at the time.  .. then a few years later–clearly getting the hang of it…(Cuda and CZ20) in the water.

cjc

Still learning with the Equinox but getting better and better results.   About 8 of these are Equinox finds.  The high frequencies in the mix bring up a lot of ground noises and small micro conductors.  It’s a good consistency checker though especially when you learn to use the cross sweep.  Kind of wish that there was no “ratchet” feature in the pinpoint circuit though as this interferes with getting a feel for a responses size and depth.

Seeing so many horror stories (and pictures) of damaged coils these day thought I would post this.   Even the trunk of a car can be a dangerous place for a coil with stuff being knocked around.  This is a good way to protect your coil once and for all.  Take a length of pool noodle and split one side of it to secure the pigtail and cable hardware.  This is the number one killer–having this squashed flat causing the cable to become intermittent.  Then take some bubble wrap, foam neoprene or even cardboard and cover the “ears”.  Secure with two tied elastics.   These coils can be expensive to replace–why take the chance?

Not a bad haul–1.9 gr. pendant 14k, 8.3 gr. band 18k 4.2 gr. band 14k, and a 14k men’s ring with a little rock 7 gr.   Using an “undertune” B2 system with 2 tone to search (very lively–almost like a pulse) and 50 tone to confirm some targets.  A tip: I have not tested any gold that shows up above “21” not even 22k or Russian.  I set my 50 tone “User” mode with a cut off (notch) from 24 to 28.  If a target shows 23–not gold.  About  $925 CDN.

cjc

It’s about 7 pounds and represents a lot of water up the nose…

cjc

Got a good question from a guy today:  “…wondering the best way to identify, conquer and quit digging  aluminum can slaw, its spread all over on some park sites near my home.”

This is a good question to illustrate the value of developing broad based target testing skills–even if you don’t use them all the time.  While there are some situations where a quick “hear and dig” strategy is best–where you have a single problem target taking up your time look for characteristics that will cue you in to these objects.  For example with suspect “can slaw” use the cross sweep to look for inconsistent meter and audio readings.  With the Equinox, using “50 Tones” can help to bring up these multiple sounds.  As well, look for a similar meter reading.  This can depend upon the size these pieces are being shredded to.  Single reoccurring numbers will often be present as the machine “cycles” though.  Lastly, watch the depth meter.  These will always be surface targets.  You can also just move to another area in that sometimes a single can will have been “mowed” over.   The important principle here is to combine knowing specific target characteristics with general principles to form a complete picture of what a questionable target is–rather than just hearing a solid tone, seeing a meter reading in the middle range and digging automatically.  Taking a few of these targets home to test can give you a more complete picture of how they respond: tone, meter and consistency.  Then combine this with your understanding of the site itself.  Not paying attention to what the machine is (or could be) telling me is a mistake I still make continually after 40 years of digging–never hurts to be reminded!

More information on improving your accuracy with the Minelab Equinox can be found in my two books: “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced” and The Minelab Equinox: An Advanced Guide.”

Ordering and Reviews at:

Good Luck Detecting,

cjc

This is an excellent mode (G2) for using the Equinox’s speed and bias to pick out clean metal amongst alloys and iron. I run it with some disc (to +6) to stabilize and use the cross sweep to determine how an object relates to the surrounding ground.  (This disc setting is more of a practice mode and can be taken down to “1” to give a smaller gold focus if there’s not too much foil). With some meter skills and ear practice–it’s probably the most accurate consistency checker method of any detector I’ve used. Certainly the best cap ID method for the Equinox.  With this system–I head for the worst trash infested area of the beach to make good use of this accuracy.   If you try this be sure to turn the vol. down a bit.  I’ve given more detailed instructions on how to operate this system in “The Minelab Equinox: An Advanced Guide.” 

Ordering and Reviews: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

…a few more Minelab Equinox Book Reviews…

I’m so excited about this new Minelab metal detector, I’m a newbie, and your “An Advanced Guide”, Equinox series is filled with readable and understandable information and instructions, you’ve made my day! 

KC

Great 2nd book for the Minelab Equinox its full of great tips and how to use the machine in different situations. The advanced guide is not just for advanced users. All users of the EQX will find this book very useful. Clive has a wealth of knowledge and testing has gone into the book. “An Advanced Guide” should be your go to book for helping you understanding the machine!

JF

Clive has been able to show some of the best features of an incredible machine, this is an excellent read to assist in getting the most out of the equinox!
-Minelab Detexpert/YouTube personality: Red Beard Relic Hunter -DJ Dowling

I have both books now and they are awesome. I keep them close so I can study them on these cold days. Anyone one that has a Equinox needs these books.
CM

“It is definitely worth every cent. It doesn’t just tell you what it does like the manual it explains things thoroughly like no face book post or you tube video ever could.”
DS AUS

Especially in his second book he goes into more detail how to quiet down this detector using proper ground balance, noise canceling, sensitivity adjustments and recovery speed, mode and frequency selection and iron balance. All of these properly used will result in a quiet machine with little or no adverse effect on depth. In some cases with proper frequency and mode selection along with proper ground balance, noise canceling and sensitivity settings you will actually increase your depth and ability to find weaker targets.
JR

A great read, even more detailed information than the first book. Highly recommended, yes I paid for my copy received about 4 weeks ago. It’s a book that will take several reads and a bit of practical to sink in.
Thank you for your hard work Clive.
DH

This is a great source of reference material that you can go back to again and again as you learn to master the Equinox 800 + 600 on the beach…..
A book well worth the read by Clive Clynick !

Brian Mayer, Jersey Shore Beach and Surf Hunters

I also have both books. I am in the midst of the second one now and it has lots of interesting approaches to consider. Clive is able to set out complicated technical concepts in ways that make them accessible to people (me), who are not technically adept. His writing makes learning fun. Highly recommended for folks who are looking to get the most out of their Equinox.
FM

Ive bought both of the books … absolute top reading,very easy to understand…. totally recommend them …. i keep the advanced book with my detector … awesome reference material and a handy size.

BM

Thanks guys!
cjc

More Information:

http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/shop/publications/the-minelab-equinox-an-advanced-guide/

IH is 1898 two Lincons 1919 and a 10 K GF with sterling band from down at the same level.  Quite a good hunt for a heavily worked site although some silver from that era would have been nice.

The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced” (Book Reviews)

Reader Feedback “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced” by Clive James Clynick (2018)

Received the book. Excellent information within! Great for beginning with the Nox, as well as advanced settings and techniques for experienced users.

CG

Great reference that I will refer to often. Very in-depth on the capabilities and functions of the Equinox line. Pleased with this purchase!! Recommended for all Minelab Equinox users, and potential buyers.
SE

Brilliant book well worth getting it gives you a better understanding of the machine than the manual alone.
PS

Clive, enjoying the hell out of your book. It is a must have for any Minelab Equinox hunter. $ well spent, thank you Sir.
RL

Very informative. I would highly recommend.
LG

Clive! Received the book. That was quick shipping thanks. Excellent read and informative. This will truly help.
Best of luck!

RG

Clive, I have you’re manual & I read it over & over & learn more each time. Nicely done sir.

JJ

After reading your (Minelab Equinox) book I concentrated much more on the sound quality of targets. I very quickly started to understand which sounds to dig. Have found several ancient coins already.
GL

More information:

http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/shop/publications/minelab-equinox-beginner-advanced/

So this is not a find to shake the earth but where it’s from makes it a biggie for me. We have a truck grove here that even Victorian stuff comes out of.   It’s hunted to death but there’s a lot of iron.   Ran Tadpole 4 with Ghost as a checker and right were I had walked up and down with the EQ running “Winkler” last week– nice “18-46″ at 3” (must have been right on top of iron–slow sweep and FE / Coin separation just processed it up) high tone in Ghost and bang! A ’47 war quarter.   Kind of a “breakthrough” find –the one that tells you you have figured out how to get a lot more!   I dug a lot of signals that were not complete sounds–none were good.  Now for the Victorian stuff….

I recently got a note from an AUS buddy who asked:

” have been working a site for the last year, it’s a  site that’s had hundreds of people camping weekly from the 1850’s to 1960’s. I have managed to clean out hundreds of silver coins along with 40 silver rings. I know there are gold rings and coins but can’t get through the thousands of pull tabs and foil. Can you recommend anything?”

While there are a lot of sites where just showing up with a detector will get a few finds–there are also other tough locations where random digging is pretty much a waste of time.  When I say random I mean just relying on the tone and meter.   At these types of sites there is no avoiding the need for broad-based basic skills.   Similarly I saw a recent post by a guy complaining that his new 15″ coil was only getting 4″ of depth.  He had no understanding of “signal to noise” issues, interference or how to tune a detector for the conditions as they are–not what you would wish them to be, in mind.  With many hunters–it’s only when they go to a larger coil that the need for this kind of conditions based-awareness becomes apparent.

The Equinox has the features to operate effectively in dense aluminum but because it tends to stack these responses into a narrow ID band–it’s necessary to gather more information than just the tone and meter readings.  This includes: shape, size consistency, relationship to the surrounding ground (solidity / corrosion) and depth.  These are the signal features that will make your digs more accurate and give you the ability to spot anomalies.

Another way to operate is to work “systematically.” by this I mean to break down the site’s trash matrix into manageable segments. This may involve starting by digging all of the responses that are just below “penny”  from say “19” to “23”.  You might also want to try initially getting rid of the distraction of low foils (less than “6”) or clad coins–“24” to “30”).  Another method I’ve used is to begin by knocking out the most common one or two tab varieties using the “notch” feature so as to focus upon any unusual responses.   It’s also not a bad idea to take a few of the most common trash targets home and bench test them to learn all of their features.  For example in some conditions oval tabs will hit twice–because they have two circles.

My point is that trying to go in and sort though the entire range of sounds and ID responses is a difficult and unfocused way to operate-a sure fire recipe for frustration.  Another key is to let the site’s features themselves guide your digging.  When you recognize those high traffic high activity sections of a site–your digging efforts will be more productive.   I call this “wide net / narrow mesh”–best ground, best targets, and cover a lot of it.

These are some of the kinds of focused approaches that will allow you to make gold finds at sites with a lot of aluminum.  Over the years I’ve heard a lot of hunters go on about the value of “digging everything.”  I can only say that at some of  the sites I hunt–picnic sites especially–you would be in a seniors home long before you found any gold.   These kinds of skills–(that many chose to try and  ignore) are what distinguish a skilled tough site hunter from a “hacker”.    A favorite saying that applies well here is that “even a blind pig will find an acorn once in a while…”  It’s when you begin to let the conditions  (ground / site features / trash matrix and ratio…) dictate your settings and methods that these aluminum infested site conditions can be overcome.

cjc

Saw a new Equinox 800 user asking for some solid basics to get him started.  While these ideas are hardly specific to the Equinox–they apply much more to this type of a high-gain  low-conductor-sensitive machine like the EQ.

-Listen for the more solid, centered responses. Unless you are hunting in dense iron, clipped skewed or broken responses are the machine breaking up on trash. Use a few coil passes to check targets for consistency. When you can “turn” a signal by keeping the sound at a slightly different angle–this means something that’s solid and consistent. As well, use the Pinpoint control to check if a signal is wide (iron) or sharper and narrow (non-ferrous). These simple basics will help you to develop your accuracy better than just random digging based on the audio. Try and develop the habit of using a broad based approach to examining your targets–you will progress faster that way and be surer of what you are digging.

For more information on improving your accuracy with the Minelab Equinox check out my book: “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced.”

Ordering and Reviews: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

Good Luck! clive

Kind of old news but a good picture.  Cross is 14k 18.9 gr.  Whilte gold lunker is also 14k 18.5 gr.   Try my pre-hunt mantra–“big heavy gold–big heavy gold…” clivesgoldpage.com

In the Caribbean this week –really having to work for my gold here with a number of pros working the same sites.  I feel very lucky to have had some good teachers who showed me how important it is to be versatile.  Ive done some pulse hunting in the deep low sections–usually works but not this time.  Yesterday–because the locals are slow fanners I tried some coverage with my new Blue Tubes / WOT –got two bands.  Today, owing to how heavily worked the place is–had to go deep–got my safety float on and brought out the Minelab Equinox for some deep water precision.  Because I have my scoop–I can grid accurately in these deep sections by keeping my feet planted and jumping up to breathe.  In that there’s a lot of coral chunks under the sand–the local fanners have a very hard time digging targets out in 6 to 8 feet of water–but I can.  Running the Equinox let me select which signals to spend time on digging–staying off a lot of the 23+ coin responses.  Being versatile allowed me to do what they cant–making for a good day–two more bands.   My advice to new hunters is to take a broad based approach and develop as many new general skills as you can.  Having a choice of methods to operate with in keeping with the challenges present at a site can save the day.  Couple of things I like about the Equinox in sat water:

1/ changing the recovery speed is kind of like the SAT on a pulse–you can smooth it out on the hills or where there are a lot of seabed noises.

2/ you can adjust the Tone Break in Two Tone to stabilize the unit–even in all metal.

cjc

I’v e been looking around for some really solid advice to put into a post and what seems to come to mind is to recognize that a detector does not “punch down” through the ground to detect metal.  What it does is to separate ground and interference from metal.  When you do a lot of pulse hunting it becomes clear that no machine is invincible–all detectors lose depth under certain conditions.  Point being don’t expect too much from any VLF.  A good demo is to run a VLF near a known source of interference–like a furnace or TV.  Notice how when you increase the Sensitivity–target signals don’t disappear–they get “flatter” –that is–they go into the background and become harder to acquire.  This is what happens in the field.  What will get you more targets is to work with a moderate Sensitivity level and a slower sweep speed.  This is what will allow you to go into “prime ” ground behind other hunters and make finds.  With a VLF–try basing your settings on how the unit stabilizes in all metal mode–this is very telling–where you have “lilting” sounds or “nulls”–this performance loss will be even more pronounced in Discriminate–whether you can hear it or not.  With these multi frequency machines–there is such a bias towards stability that they are capable of loosing depth but still having a smooth threshold.  With a pulse you hear these threshold changes.  A pulse teaches the tuning and coil control needed to get performance from any detector.  Pulse hunting teaches you the reality of interference–and just how much of an effect it has.  The more sophisticated many of these detectors get–the less aware we are of just what we are missing.   Unfortunately–there’s no such thing as an “idiotproof” detector–conditions always dictate.   If any of you VLF hunters have the chance to borrow a pulse–try it–a real eye opener.  Another thing that’s worked well for me with VLF machines is not to be afraid to put in a reject block around “zero.”  This will reduce the interference from targets in the ground that fall on both sides of “zero”–making for cleaner assignment of responses.  The Sensitivity you run will be more usable–and you can set it higher with out so much of the kinds of problems described above.  It will reduce “cross-feeds” making for more stable performance.

cjc

clivesgoldpage.com

The Minelab Equinox: An Advanced Guide

Excerpts from JR’S full review…
Both books in his Equinox series are in 110-120 page range and small standard format of 8 ½ x 5 ½ inches. Don’t be fooled by the small number of pages. A lot of very specific Equinox information is packed in these two books that as of this review, is not found elsewhere.
Due to the tight TID range of the Equinox that tends to stack different targets in a small range, you really need to be up on what I call “filter” tests. These are tests with different settings, coil sweep methods, meter readings, and audio responses to further ID a target as junk or dig. Clive digs in and spends a fair amount of time showing you how to learn to recognize the many common forms of junk we encounter so we can ignore them and dig the targets that are likely to be the targets we are searching. Of course he does explain no “filtering” tests are 100% fool proof, but what he explains should cut down on some targets that the “filtering” test indicate are recognizable as junk targets.

One of my suspicions is that there may be a lot of people giving up on the Equinox. It is a very, very capable detector, one of the best ever made at its selling price. But the other price you pay is a very high learning curve that some will just not invest in. In the hands of an experienced detectorist who has taken the time to learn and understand how to use the Equinox’s powers, they will probably match up very well against a similar experienced detectorist using other brands of detectors in this price range and the next higher price range. Newbies tackling Clive’s two Equinox books are more likely to continue in the hobby than those who do not study his books.

Both books are priced fairly for the amount Equinox specific information they provide. In my experience a lot of metal detecting books have included a lot of filler fluff to increase the page count so as to inflate the book price. There is no fluff in either of these two books. Every Equinox owner will gain some useful information from either one. Me when I buy a reference book for something I am interested in, I read it and keep it for future reference and often end up re-reading them.

Here is an update to my review of Clive Clynick’s The Minelab Equinox: “An Advanced Guide”.

I think this book goes deeper into the 600 and certainly the 800 than his first Equinox book. This is because the 800 has some more useful options over the 600. The other reason Clive has more time on the Equinox than when he did on is first book on the Equinox.
Again, I will say I don’t go over his books topic by topic because you need to buy and read the book for this information. But I can tell you about a couple of areas that has been very helpful to me.
As you should know by now that this detector is a high gain detector that reports darn near everything that passes under the coil. Thus this is where its chatty reputation comes from. In fact the first 2 weeks before I read Clive’s first book I thought my detector was broken.
Especially in his second book he goes into more detail how to quiet down this detector using proper ground balance, noise canceling, sensitivity adjustments and recovery speed, mode and frequency selection and iron balance. All of these properly used will result in a quiet machine with little or no adverse effect on depth. In some cases with proper frequency and mode selection along with proper ground balance, noise canceling and sensitivity settings you will actually increase your depth and ability to find weaker targets.
The next great area of book two is his detailed instructions on how to correctly ID trash targets by using proper filtering coil sweep techniques. Following this topic is a list of Target ID Numbers and ranges and what junk you will typically find in certain ranges and also what he calls anomalies (good signals among the junk targets) and what to watch for depending on the nature of the site you are hunting.
He also explains the nature of some of the Equinox’s bias toward round coin sized objects. Finally someone gives us a lot of detail on Identifying junk targets and separating out the good stuff from the junk by various methods.
I have heard bits and pieces of the above information in metal detecting forums and videos, but it is very nice to have all of it in a small book form.
JR
Thanks Kindly, JR.
clive
…more reviews here:
http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/shop/publications/the-minelab-equinox-an-advanced-guide/

Announcing: “The Minelab Equinox: An Advanced Guide.”
By Clive James Clynick
Our postal workers here in Toronto have been ordered back to work—clearing the way for me to begin a full-on book launch of the new one: ”The Minelab Equinox: An Advanced Guide.” Thanks to those who have shown interest in the couple of dozen proofs so far. What I’ve tried to do in this book is to lay out the Equinox’s strengths. These are its operating characteristics: good noise reduction, effective built in bias, good target ID at depth, good low conductor sensitivity–to begin with. The general theme of the book is how to get the most from these strengths in the field—both depth performance and accuracy. This is a detector that gives quite a lot of information–audio and meter. Understanding some basic detector theory can help to make sense of this information–what it means. This theory is very simple and has to do with the fact that the ground forms part of the signal—and that there is a ton of information to be gotten from these “ground noises”–the amount of difficulty that the machine has in separating targets from it.
I believe that the way to become more accurate with the Equinox is to have a good grasp of these basic general skills that are applicable to all situations. With this in hand—accurate, effective applications become much easier to develop. Although there are several “beach” programs detailed in the book—these are more for teaching purposes—they illustrate skills and principles that are generalizable across situations.
Years ago when I got my first Sovereign–all you had was your manual. There were a few seasoned hunters who posted methods on the Findmall forum. I cut and pasted these and read this one sheet multiple times. This gave me a good general knowledge of how this detector operated. These methods—things such as coil control target testing (the various types of target test passes), all metal signal confirming, (tone and location on the ground) for example increased my accuracy dramatically. With the Equinox’s sophisticated processing and filtering—these kinds of super quick tests are much more effective and can give you a ton of target information. So this would be one general idea that’s covered in the book—skill building and developing your accuracy by understanding what the machine is telling you.
Good Luck Detecting,
Clive
November, 2018

(Picture Caption: “The Equinox’s Strengths)”

1. Artifacting and Surface Hunting

I thought I would include an appendix with some information on surface hunting in order to impart some general “treasure awareness” to my readers.  Surface hunting is not (for most of us) about finding arrowheads although that may be what comes to hand.  Surface hunting is a mindset—or rather an open mindedness to the possibility of finding treasure by eye.  As a beach hunter, about half of the gold I find comes from just being in the right place and remembering to look as I detect.  It’s worth noting that most of these finds are ones I just barely saw as I stepped forwards to begin another coil sweep.   Point being that the more open you are to eye finds the more of them you will make.  As well, part of being versatile is having other ways to recover treasure than with a detector.

What can you find by eye?

You can find: valuable bottles, old tools, caches of liquor, or redeemable empties, native artifacts, clay pipes, coins, paper money, jewellery, valuable artifacts, designer sunglasses, scrap copper, brass aluminum and lead, electronics that have scrap value—the list is endless.  Anyone who had watched an episode of one of those “Storage Wars” type shows knows that a big part of defining what treasure is involves recognizing the sale-ability of something—having the contacts to move it.   A pal of mine posters neighborhoods asking for any scrap lead batteries, then drives around the following week to collect them.  He then scraps out the lot for usually about $500.

Another pal of mine did a lot of eye searches of old areas.    One of his best finds was a large ball of soft drink labels bearing the name of a local company: “Wilson” (c. 1930). John (see below) found this ball of labels and quickly recognized that there were about 25 complete sets of all the half-dozen or so varieties of pop that the Wilson company made: Ginger Ale, Cream Soda, Root Beer and so on.  John soaked this ball for months to separate these labels and pasted each set into frames.  These very rare sets sold for $900 to $1200 each—quite a haul.

Point is that treasure is in the eye of the beholder.

What equipment do you need to surface hunt?

The most basic tools are a pack-sack to carry what you find and a stick—to literally “poke around” with.  Each year the large beach near my house hosts several fireworks displays the attract huge crowds.  Because people don’t really sit and formally “beach-go”–there isn’t much in the way of coins to be detected.  However, several of us walk around with packs and sticks just examining what’s on the ground.  Some great finds have been made this way including big gold bracelets, designer sunglasses, paper money—all kinds of things—just with a stick.

Other equipment can include: a shovel, light plastic buckets (to carry dirt), polarized sunglasses (to see under water), flashlight, rubber boots, bad weather gear, shoulder length gloves, a hand sifter, a full sized “rack” sifter, a heavy duty garbage bag for beer cans…

These are all handy tools to have and once you get the surface hunting “bug” they will be made good use of.

Where can I find surface treasure?

When I first started detecting I was sure that this was the best way to find valuable items.  As I began going to the appropriate places it became clear that detecting was only one of many ways to find treasure.  Years ago I met what I can only call a surface hunting “mentor”–an older fellow named “John,”  This guy was (as I recommend you become) an “all arounder.”  He dug bottles, eyeballed historic finds in the underbrush and sifted at a local shoreline incinerate dump by finding where  the heaviest objects were being channeled, (placing a sifting rack on stones in the water and shoveling material onto it).  He had found two gold coins and a ton of silver this way.  The point is that he was able to go to locations that others had been walking past for years and see the potential.  He was then able  to develop methods that worked.  Other surface hunting sites include:

old home-sites, shorelines, rivers, (especially where you have high, flat  ground nearby and access to water for  horses as colonial campsites required), rail spurs, (insulators, padlocks, artifacts), creek beds, dumps, incinerate waste, excavations, snow dumps, curbs, parking lots, cellar holes, swimming holes, cleared house flats, stone walls…

There is just no end to the number and variety of places where there is treasure to be found by eye.

It’s also important to recognize that at shoreline sites, there is constant change.  Wind, rain, tidal erosion—all these act to expose treasure.  Also, as touched upon earlier, often classification can sometimes do part of the work for you—bringing the heaviest, densest targets together into certain areas of shoreline.   My surface hunting “mentor” John, specialized in digging bottles at the outside corner of rivers.  These were bottles and ceramics that had been carried downstream and deposited on the outside corners.  Some of the ones he found this way were  contents intact and very valuable.

At many locations its possible to discover patterns as to where certain types of objects are carried by the current.  At one Caribbean site I hunt a local guy has found a “sunglasses mine” where hundreds of designer glasses are carried by the current.   He is there daily in a sea kayak popping in and out of the water retrieving  them.  I have a spot nearby where beer cans from a peninsula are carried to the mainland by the current. These wash up in a single spot and I fill a garbage bag with about $10 worth every visit.

As with detecting, all these ways of finding proceed from observation—and awareness.

Methods:

Walk, Grid, overturn, peer though brush, dig, eye melting snow…

On the beach–just as with detecting the key is to get into the high traffic areas—at first light if possible.

When you are at the right location at the right time, eye and detector searches are interchangeable.

Sifting and “Boarding”

These are mainly methods for finding small objects in sand or soil.  A well made sifter can  be used with floats to detect in the water with too.  While I won’t include plans for one, materials used can be wood, a “bread rack” or PVC pipe.  It’s best to avoid any metallic materials so that it can be used in conjunction with a detector or pinpointer to locate objects on the mesh.  The mesh itself can be square grain 1/4” plastic “chicken wire” available at Home Depot and other stores.  For in-water use, “pool noodles” can be attached around the outside with “zip ties” and these can be removed for inland use.  This sifter can be placed upon four rocks in shallow water, or suspended using a long pole anchored at one end, two upright struts, and four suspension ropes to keep the sifter up and clear of the ground so that material can drop though.  This is a great system for examining large amounts of dirt of sand for artifacts.

“Boarding” is something that’s widely done in England on the tidal flats of the Thames River.  A large board is placed on a dry area of the mud and material is shoveled up onto it.  This material is then examined by hand and / or detector.  This can be a bit messy but it’s a great way to search for treasure. An alternative is to place your board up on the beach at an old or busy section of beach then wade out into the water and fill buckets with sand.  Then walk these back and dump them onto the board.   When  the board is full, rest your shovel and go in and sort though the material by hand.  At my local shoreline, incinerate was dumped from the 1920’s through to the 1950’s and we have found a lot of gold jewelry, silver coins, brass, copper and lead scrap and artifacts this way, where as to operate a detector would be impossible.

How do I develop my surface hunting skills?

Part of developing your “eye” is to know what you are looking for.  When I met with John at a coffee shop—he found a gold earring right there where the lineup stands.  I recently found a gold ring in several feet of water at this incinerate site.  While it was a small ring—I’m still surprised by just how much the color stood out.  This ring had been there since the 40’s or so and had long since lost it’s gold shine—but just the pale yellow was unmistakable—when you know to look for it. Anther thing to look for is “ornateness.”  At this site, a lot of objects of interest are distinguishable by just how intricately patterned they are.  These will be the “designer” objects of the day and more likely to be jewelry, embellishment, or other objects that are interesting or have value today.  While many of these aren’t of any value, it’s fascinating to see the degree of care and craftsmanship that went into everyday household objects in those days.  I also look for paper money—in parking lots, snow piles, after events.  This is a real skill too in that not all of a shining $20 bill will always be there for you to see.  More typically you will spot a mud-covered—corner or shape.  The key is to learn to break what you are looking for into components—the edge pattern of a bill—the numbering, the color, the shape, the size (even folded in half).  When you can spot a bill by any one of these features—you have some solid eye skills.  I do this in the water too.  Where there are big crowds I often lie down and scan across the top of the weed mass.  Quite often there will be paper money rolling around with the weeds and other debris.

Also, on the beach, when you are walking into the sun quite often anything shiny will flash up—something to be aware of.  I’ve found a lof of gold this way—often at day’s end when the sun is low in front of me.

The key is to have certain “markers” in mind—green, gold, unusual, anything out of the ordinary should attract your attention and warrant further examination.

This kind of hunting carries with it certain ethical considerations though.  To begin with it’s illegal to trespass and even if you get permission to search private property the owner may still have claim to anything you find.  There are however, salvage agreements that can be entered into for any high potential sites you encounter.  At the same time, don’t let anyone else steal all of the benefit of your efforts and treasure hunting savvy.

Also, anything you find by eye on the beach is more likely to have been recently lost.  Be prepared to look for the owner and to return items when possible.  It’s really the thrill of the find that counts anyhow.

Finally, keep safety in mind—especially if you have any young hunters in training with you.  Old areas can be full of hazards—spikes sticking up, falls, sharp objects…be careful.  This is especially true of snow piles.  These can be very dangerous as well—especially in spring when they are melting.  These piles can have soft spots or deep mud around the edges.  Always walk with a sick or spade and carry a cell phone.  No find is worth courting disaster.

That said, surface hunting and Artifacting is a great hobby in and of itself.  I mention it here though because of what it has to teach.  When you bring heightened awareness and a focus upon key areas of a site to your detecting you are bound to have more success.  Surface hunting teaches you to find these locations and look for ways of searching that others had not considered—to consider the possibilities.

This is wholly in keeping with our central theme of “knowing that something might be there and finding a way to recover those targets.”

From: “Water Hunting:Secrets of the Pros Volume 2” (2017)  by Clive James Clynick

http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/shop/publications/water-hunting-secrets-pros-volume-ii/

While  my first Minelab Equinox book “…From Beginner to Advanced” suggests that you use a couple of tester to get the hang of looking for solid middle range signals, this same kind of testing is also valuable to teach “hand to eye to ear.”  By this I mean the ability to be able to hear a response and have a pretty good idea of its size, solidity and distance from the coil.  With the Equinox’s high frequencies in the “mix” this becomes even more important. This kind of testing should not be done on a bench but involve free swinging the coil–to make it as “hands on” as possible–replicating field conditions.  Tests should include:

1/ Very small target: (foil or weak other conductor) close medium range and edge of detection range.

2/ Medium sized target: (quarter) close, medium range and edge of detection field.

3/ Large target: (vertically crushed can sized), close, medium range, and edge of detection field.

This is some of the most important skill building you can do to improve your accuracy with this detector.

If there’s one bit of advice I would give to intermediate Equinox hunters–it would be that this detector has gold field quality target acquisition. You don’t have to become frustrated by opening the machine up to every “flyspeck” in the ground just because “Joe” in the Internet found a micro gold earring that hit at “1.”  Running lowered “Sensitivity” or some “Discriminate” lets you cover more ground and dig more solid, quality signals.   It’s also less frustrating. Walk first.  Don’t get bogged down by foils.  At the same time–there is small gold around to be found–and the key is to base your settings and digs upon where you are.  Running right down to zero–or alternating between “All Metal” is a good way to increase your chances of finding these small targets–if the “odds” are with you.

From: “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced.”

Ordering and Reviews: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

“The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced” (Readers Write…)

Reader Feedback “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced” by Clive James Clynick (2018)

Received the book. Excellent information within! Great for beginning with the Nox, as well as advanced settings and techniques for experienced users.

CG

Great reference that I will refer to often. Very in-depth on the capabilities and functions of the Equinox line. Pleased with this purchase!! Recommended for all Equinox users, and potential buyers.
SE

Brilliant book well worth getting it gives you a better understanding of the machine than the manual alone.
PS

Clive, enjoying the hell out of your book. It is a must have for any Equinox hunter. $ well spent, thank you Sir.
RL

Very informative. I would highly recommend.
LG

Clive! Received the book. That was quick shipping thanks. Excellent read and informative. This will truly help.
Best of luck!

RG

Clive, I have you’re manual & I read it over & over & learn more each time. Nicely done sir.

JJ

After reading your book I concentrated much more on the sound quality of targets. I very quickly started to understand which sounds to dig. Have found several ancient coins already.
GL

Highly recommend Clive’s book on the Nox. Very informative and helpful. Thanks!

WP

Class ring up front 11 gr. 10k next to it 6.7 gr. 18 k back row some 2 point somethings 14 and 18k and assorted silver and glasses. Mostly with the CTX and some with the Equinox 800the conditions required both accuracy and coverage–Im normally a pulse hunter.  Did a ton of testing on the Equinox — some 2 Tone settings–and found that “20” is a nice tone selection for gold–try it!
clivesgoldpage.com

2/ A Few Maxims–and the Wisdom Behind Them

I recently asked a top local hunter for any tips that might go into my next book.  He replied: “Get yourself a big box of Q-Tips and clean all the wax out of your ears so you can hear the deep ones…”  Thanks–I wish it were that easy.

I include some of these maxims because of their value in teaching course correction and good judgment.  They represent tried and true general principles that can make you a more effective treasure hunter–”old school wisdom” –if you will.

If I could point to one maxim or idea that’s helped me to find treasure it would be this:

“If you want to find some gold with a metal detector, first find some gold, then place the detector directly over it” 

Simple–but brilliant.  The point is to expend your energy at the locations with the best chance of producing what you are looking for.  When you have put some thought in to why the location you are searching should have what you are looking for–half the battle is done.  For example–look for the areas of a site where activities overlap or pedestrian traffic is funnelled into a particular section.  The part with the detector and scoop are only the last part of the operation.

Well-known “Western and Eastern Treasures Magazine “Tech Talk” columnist Ty Brook also touched on this idea when he stated another idea that’s central to treasure hunting success:

“…whenever I feel that some good targets have to be in a particular area–I don’t give up until I figure some way to detect those targets.”

(Inside Treasure Hunting, by |Ty Brook, 1999, Confederate Rose Publishing).

For the beach hunter, these two ideas mean one thing: “Know thy sites!” Where have gold and silver been found before here?  Or at a new location: “What site features remind you of places that you have found gold and silver before?” Which of the equipment and methods that you have to work with will give me a better shot at recovering what’s there?  What clues are evident at a site that indicate the place is worth some effort?  One of my early experiences illustrates this:  Behind my house there was a vacant lot that was a cut-through between two busy streets.  At one point I went out there with my first detector–a White’s Coinmaster 6DB.  After hunting for a while and finding nothing I noticed the bent over links at the top of the low chain link fence.  Clearly this was where people got into the lot by climbing in.  Hunting below this section of fence produced several dozen quarters.   The point is–play your hunches–thoroughly and to completion.

An understanding of human action is also important here—the patterns of how people interact with a site over time.  This comes from observation.

I would also add to Ty’s hugely valuable advice: “…to find a way to separate those targets from what they are mixed in with.”  (More on this later).

One saying of mine that’s been quoted a lot is that:

“Detectors don’t find gold—observation does.”

So the question is not just “Where is there some gold and silver to find” but– “How and why did it come to be there?”  Let’s look at an example of these principles in action:

At one busy Caribbean site I hunt, there’s one length of beach that’s always produced gold.  The resort is high-end, and this one section is the busiest water entry point.  The sidewall is steep so people clamber to leave the water.  A lot of gold is lost this way.  Also, it’s a section where the waves can be quite rough—it’s the “head of the bay”.

Over time, observation and past success have taught me that if I just work this small section hard enough–some gold almost always turns up.  While much of the surrounding beach looks similar–even the number of swimmers–it’s this one section that always produces.  When you can consistently identify these perpetual “hotspots” and direct your efforts accordingly you are light years ahead.

Where you have areas that are almost similar with one producing finds and one not–this represents a key learning opportunity in that whatever differences there are have great importance.   These represent vital clues that teach us exactly where to look for gold.

It’s this kind of full-field, detailed observational focus that I hope to encourage with this book.

“Where there’s one, there’s more.”

A top pro buddy of mine says this often.  While there are certainly such things as “anomaly” finds, where you have ground that produces gold and silver consistently, there is always more to be found.  These finds may be currently out of detector range.  This is another important area of observation–understanding  the overall strata of a site, and watching the grade of these busy areas for changes.  At inland sites, changing moisture levels can also bring up new signals where there had been none before.  More generally, the precise set of conditions that are needed for gold to be present at a location are not that common.  Your best clue to where gold can be found is where it has been found before.  This is where experience comes in.  Every gold target you find has valuable information to tell.  How many people had to enter the water or sunbathe at a spot for a gold item to be lost?  What sand levels were needed to expose it?  Was it lost at that spot or moved by the current?  All of this information comes from that first find–pointing you towards the next one.

From: “Water Hunting: Secrets of the Pros: Volume 2” by Clive James Clynick

clivesgoldpage.com

“The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced”

By Steve Herschbach (Detector Prospector Forum Administrator)

“The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced” by Clive Clynick is the first book available about the new Minelab Equinox metal detectors. The 8.5″ x 5.5″ format book is 111 pages of densely packed information that is intended to help new Minelab Equinox owners get the best out of their new detectors.

The early part of the book relies of screen shots to illustrate the various controls on the detector, and then switches to hand drawn pictures to illustrate various concepts described in the book. In this day and age of slick graphics the hand drawn images lend a “homemade” feeling to these books.

I can’t really fault Clive for using the hand drawn images however. A picture does often easily get across some idea that might be very difficult to describe in writing. I personally can sketch out a useful image quite easily, but turning that sketch onto a slick computer generated diagram can be time consuming. In the end the hand drawn sketches get the idea across, and that is what matters most.

The first roughly 40 pages of the book basically go over the controls, adding some details not found in the owner’s’ manual. The real meat is in the last 70 pages of the book. Clive goes into great detail emphasizing important details about the Minelab Equinox meter and audio characteristics. There is a lot of information here about how to use the Equinox features along with good handling skills to get the best performance possible out of the Equinox.

The book has an emphasis on coin and jewelry detecting both on dry land and beach. I therefore think the book will be of most use to people looking for information more specific to these subjects. Information specific to relic detecting or nugget hunting in particular is more in passing while discussing coin and jewelry detecting.

Much of the information presented does assume basic detecting knowledge along with basic knowledge from the Equinox owner’s manual. Clive tries to avoid repeating information already found in the owner’s manual, and so from this perspective I would rate this book as being applicable for detectorists with moderate to advanced detecting skills. People who are totally new to detecting may feel in a bit over their heads initially. That is fine because any detecting book worth having usually needs more than one reading. Things that do not sink in at first make more sense after getting some hours of experience before they “click”.

The book may be challenging for true beginners on the first go, but that is because there is meat here to satisfy more advanced operators. Anyone that perseveres with fully understanding the information in this book will no longer be a beginner, and the good thing is the skills learned will apply to many other high performance metal detectors. The bottom line is I recommend this book for people looking for information that goes far beyond what is offered in the Equinox Owner’s Manual, and which is of primary interest to coin and jewelry hunters.

Clive is an accomplished writer with several titles to his credit that qualify as “classics”, especially as regards jewelry detecting. Visit his website at http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/ to see all the titles he currently has available.

Ed. Note: Thanks kindly for your review, Steve.  Your “Detector / Prospector Equinox Fan Club” forum is a great source of information on the  MinelabEquinox.

https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/forum/53-minelab-equinox-fan-club

Had some luck with the Minelab Equinox and Cuda last week. The Equinox is a great edge cherry picker–gets right in amongst the caps and pins. Trick is to recognise the junk first–especially those “cap patterns.”  Cuda is a great workhorse deeper than any VLF.

A tip I would give is to always look for the deepest water closest to shore.  The same gully can have nothing if it’s ten feet further out but in close it can have good marl access. Track along to find this type of ground–this has worked for me many times. Biggest ring is (all 10K) 6.6 grams, and a no-date George the 4th quarter down so deep it sounded like a pin with the Cuda.
cjc
clivesgoldpage.com

Halfs all 1860’s English shillings 1830 and 40–unbeliveable.

…found in Canada no less…by Bruce Campell, BC using the Minelab  Equinox 800–he’s a hard worker.

clivesgoldpage.com

When you go to the lower uSc ranges–its necessary to do certain thingss to mediate the micro conductors. This may involve coil control (determining the solidiy) using the cross sweep and multiple passes, or doing some “foot digging” to make sure the target is not a small target on the surface. It’s also important to look for ground that itsn’t “silt” carrying this type of micro conductors around–oval tabs, foils, pennies and caps. This is the “tradeoff” for the additional depth you get running down at say 10 uSc. Where you have a lot of targets, there is more of an emphasis on checking the general features ofa response–size, shape and where it is sitting in the strata. To a certain extent, understanding the sand texture is one thing that helps you recognise what an object is–by how deep it’s sitting. People ask why I have a large number of pulse machines. This is because they all do different things and are suited to different condtions. My small coil Cuda is great in black sand of harsh, fast salt conditions. It also has great audio to keep off the caps and pins. The Dual Field also has great audio and gives a long “tune-out” sound on iron. The Aquasearch has great optimization and adjustable SAT–for sidewalls or fast water.–to compensate for interference. More generally the idea with a pulse is to incorporate site knowledge and a number of target features into your dig selection. While iron will sound off–it doesent “carry” to the surface as well. Looking for small, sharp, narrow responses that don’t give a double tone on the cross sweep can reduce the amound of iron you dig. As well, when you turn the Gain (or de-tune) a pulse, the response to iron is reduced more than is the response to gold. So in dense traash going to a lowered “discriminate” mode, combined with carefull listening to the strength of your signals is another way to increase your accuracy. I’ve made all my best finds with pulse machines and although its great to have the fidelity and accuracy of a CTX or EQ, where there is any serious competition or changing “sanded in” type conditions a pulse is the way to get down deeper, find “strip outs” and hit those big lunkers.  Pulse hunting teaches you to examine responses fully, and pay attention to the strata, grade, bottom contours and sand textures.  These skills in turn will help you with any machine you use.  cjc
clivesgoldpage.com

Solid Target Bias

As touched upon above, the Minelab Equinox has the built in feature of promoting round, solid, non-alloyed objects, while inhibiting responses from elongated, odd-shaped, corroded or alloyed metals–like tin for example.  These come in as rough or broken tones.  There are dozens of “U-Tube” videos out of guys hunting with the Equinox– hearing random sounds, digging them anyway and finding garbage targets one after the other.  Many then blame the detector.  This machine was designed with very sophisticated signal processing to help you to recognise this junk–why not listen to it?  If you hope to go into areas with dense aluminum and other trash targets and pick out those signals which have the best chance of being gold–this is one Minelab Equinox feature that can be a big help.  Using the cross-sweep can work well here too–bringing out the inconsistent elements of a signal if it’s junk or staying stable—a more likely gold target.  This built in feature of the Minelab Equinox is especially useful for determining foils.  Many of these just don’t sound solid–they are weak, thin or hollow-sounding responses.   One trick I use to get a quick idea of a target’s consistency is to do a slightly angled second pass.  I then watch the meter and listen for any tone changes.  A high gain detector will often hit loudly on an object because of its shape.  When you change your sweep angle this is altered.

Picture Caption:  “A quick, angled second pass tells you how solid a target is.  Listen for tone changes and watch the meter for erratic readings. This is an effective way to recognise foils and “can-slaw” and generally offset the tendency of a high gain detector like the Equinox to sound off on odd shapes. “

From: “The Minelab Equinox: From Beginner to Advanced”

by Clive James Clynick 

clivesgoldpage.com

Best gold-optimized pulses ever made IMHO, 9v, stable, black sand beast….

All working-I’ll be buried with them…

cjc

clivesgoldpage.com

The Minelab Equinox: “From Beginner to Advanced” (2018)

I’m proud to announce my new book on the Minelab Equinox.   This is a very versatile and exciting detector.  It’s of special interest to me because of its clean signal transmission, high gain “punch” and low conductor sensitivity–a great gold and silver machine.   It also has superb audio.  Because it processes so fast–you can actually hear more than one object under the coil at once.   This makes for great performance in dense trash or iron.    The stability is great too and as a sometimes fresh water hunter I especially like the black sand features.    I’ve put a few basics and some of the more advanced methods for having success with the Minelab Equinox into a “no-nonsense” 111 page guide.  The emphasis in this book is upon skills that are transferable–across applications–inland, beach and shallow water–learning to become more versatile and accurate with the machine.  

The Minelab Equinox: “From Beginner to Advanced”

Clive James Clynick is the author of some 20 previous detector “how-to” manuals, numerous articles and product reviews.  In this detailed and informative book he explains the Minelab Equinox’s ground breaking technology and how it can help you to find treasure.

• Customizing the Equinox for your Conditions and Targets Sought.
• “Multi IQ” and High Gain Detector Operating Characteristics.
• Understanding and Applying the Equinox’s Features.
• Audio, Meter and Coil Control “Skill Building.”
• Beach, Shallow Water and “In-Iron” Skill Building with the Equinox.
• The Equinox as a Gold Jewellery-Hunting Machine.
• “Reverse” Hunting with the Equinox.
• Bottlecaps and Other Problem Targets.

(111 Pages, Softbound, $16.95): 

Ordering: http://clivesgoldpage.com/

http://www.clivesgoldpage.com/shop/publications/minelab-equinox-beginner-advanced/

Readers Write…

Received the book. Excellent information within! Great for beginning with the Nox, as well as advanced settings and techniques for experienced users.
Great reference that I will refer to often. Very in-depth on the capabilities and functions of the Equinox line. Pleased with this purchase!! Recommended for all Equinox users, and potential buyers.
SE

Brilliant book well worth getting it gives you a better understanding of the machine than the manual alone.
PS

Clive, enjoying the hell out of your book. It is a must have for any Equinox hunter. $ well spent, thank you Sir.
RL

Very informative. I would highly recommend.
LG

Clive! Received the book. That was quick shipping thanks. Excellent read and informative. This will truly help.
Best of luck!

RG

After reading your book I concentrated much more on the sound quality of targets. I very quickly started to understand which sounds to dig. Have found several ancient coins already.
GL

Coverage

As touched upon above–some sites just need to be covered.  The trade-off here is that the large coils which cover ground best, are usually heavy, and exhausting to drag though the water or swing.  With proper preparation (stretching beforehand, using a back brace, frequent breaks…) it can be done though.

It’s worth noting here though that coverage need not just mean searching great tracts of land.  The most effective coverage can often just be running one pattern over a small section again and again.  This is something a top pro taught me.  He measures his hunts not by how much ground he’s covered but by how much time he has put in at a location.  This may involve searching one line ten times over.    I don’t mind admitting that this guy has out-hunted me many, many times by doing this.

This lesson was made crystal clear to me on one hunt where I did my usual “three passes across “ in the deep section and concluded that there was nothing there.  My buddy Roland put six or eight rows along the same lines and found this massive 195 gram silver chain.  (See picture below).

Putting in multiple rows along the same deep water-line got my buddy Roland this massive 195 gram chain that I missed. (Scale coin is a quarter).

When I tell him that I didn’t find anything at a site (having given it my most thorough grid-type coverage) he says: “…you need to pass more time there…!”    This is because (as I’ve begrudgingly learned), complete coverage is a myth.  Coil control lapses, target inclination, ground changes–all of these adverse factors will never let you get everything.

It’s important to be aware of the trade off that comes with your choice of coils.  Whereas a smaller coil may give better audio and penetration in the interference zones, the reduced coverage may cause you to miss targets, lateraly, or to have to do multiple passes on the same section to accomplish the same level of complete coverage.   I once hunted for a lost small ring with my Barracuda that has an 8” coil.   I was given very accurate directions as to where the ring has been lost– a 10′ x 30′ square.  Even still it took over an hour to find.

It’s also important to remember  that at some sites, the activity is very localized.  At this  type of place, coverage won’t help you that much.  There is a seasonality to this kind of decision-making too in that during the peak on-season, more area of a   beach will be used.  When you get to the off season, only the busiest main sections will be worth working.

 From: “Water Hunting: Secrets of the Pros Vol. 2”

by clive james clynick 

clivesgoldpage.com

II/ CTX 3030 “Trade-offs”

As with any detector, getting the best performance from the CTX requires that the operator understand and mediate a number of “trade-offs”.  These consist of a choice and one or more ways (adjustments or method changes) that allow you to affect that choice:

Noise / Stability

-can you hear and identify targets?

-is the machine getting as much depth as possible?

-choices:  Auto Sens / Manual (reduce), Open or Closed Screen. (see below).

Auto Sensitivity versus Manual

Characteristics of Auto:

Plus: stable, less falses / cross-feeds / “clean” responses, better target ID

Minus: less depth / harder to acquire targets / less awareness of ground conditions & changes / may drop Sensitivity level too low in extreme ground ie. “ black sand.” / constant changes represent more for the machine to deal with.

Characteristics of Manual:

Plus: deeper / sharper responses / better “notch” capability for closed programs / gives you the ability to run at the “limit”/ gives you a better idea as to what the ground conditions require. / alerts you to more marginal signals

Minus: less stable / more falses, cross-feeds / needs more attention to coil control /

more likely to be too high for the conditions / more “partial” responses need to be checked.

Open Screen versus Closed Screen Methods

Characteristics of Open Screen:

Plus: generally deeper / more small & odd shaped targets , chains, earrings / allows “full” audio on responses (complete and accurate).

Minus: less stable / less distinct target sounds / requires more attention to coil control / more checking of  cross-feeds, falses, “partial” target sounds.

Characteristics of Closed Screen:

Plus: more stable / allows higher Sensitivity levels / sharper audio / alerts you to good responses in trash.

Minus: less depth / “sluggish” responses / harder to acquire targets / some targets are only heard partially (bottlecaps for example).

From: “The CTX 3030 Gold Hunter’s Guide” by Clive James Clynick

clivesgoldpage.com

22/ CTX 3030 Big Coil Gold Hunting

The first time I took the CTX 17” coil out was both a “rude awakening” and the beginning of an important learning process.  I jumped into a deep section with it, swished around for a while and heard absolutely nothing.  Later when I returned with a pulse–the same section “came alive” with signals.  “Wasn’t this thing supposed to be deep as “all get go?”  It certainly “looked deep.” There were a few things I needed to understand in order to become an effective gold hunter with the CTX 3030’s 17” coil.

First, with any detector that processes a complex signal there is a “disconnect” between the machine and the ground.  This “no man’s land” is the actual process–the electronic “work” that allows all the fancy things it does.  In effect, you are not hearing the actual ground.  What you are hearing is a reproduction in digital language of the ground’s electromagnetic properties.    What this means is that these machines (BBS, FBS…) can lose depth but at the same time–not loose threshold.  That is, they can sound stable but still be being affected greatly by the ground’s properties.  A stable threshold is the default.  As will be explained in more detailed below, the larger the coil you are using–the greater this ground affect will be.

Secondly, when you run a larger coil, everything is magnified.  This coil is attempting to process a larger chunk of ground and this brings more work to the machine’s processor.   Now, keep in mind that the CTX already has “a lot going on.”  Add to this more ground noise, more targets, and more EMI from various sources.   The result is that targets are now smaller by relation and take more time to respond.

It was only when I learned to become more aware of the conditions, run appropriate Sensitivity settings and focus upon coil control that this loop began to show its strengths…

From: “The Minelab CTX 3030 Gold Hunter’s Guide” (2018)

by Clive James Clynick

clivesgoldpage.com