GTI-2500 and my newbie-ness

[Reznor_X]

I recently bought a Garrett GTI-2500 at a pawnshop, it also came with an additional coil called Eagle Eye (which I haven't used yet).

As the GTI didn't came with a manual or any instruction, I went to garrett's website and downloaded the manual and gave it a read. After I understood what was this about (at least I felt that way), I went to buy some tools. When I was all set up, I went to my grandparents and started detecting, I hit a place where I received a signal that was 2 inches deep, started digging and got a rusted nail! good for my first finding!! the excitement started to increase as I received more signals, but, after the 10th rusted nail and the 1 foot hole I started to feel weird, excitement turned to dissapointment, I wasn't able to understand what the detector was telling me... as an act of desperation, I took off my wedding ring (14k gold) and threw it to the hole and covered that hole with soil and stone... I passed the detector over and yes, it gave me a signal, but to my surprise, it was the same signal as the nails!!! so, my GTI indeed detects metals, but how to recognize them?

I know I was wrong to desperate, I believe I need experience and patience, and I am patient and sort of a thinker most of the time, but I was eager to find anything! not necesarily gold, but a relic, some old watch, an old coin... anything but a rusted nail!!!

So, I wanted to share this to see if someone can point me where I can read more about the GTI-2500 and get the most out of it!

Thanks in advance!

[ECACE]

Reznor,

Did you have the discriminator enabled on the detector? Almost all detectors can be fooled by rusty nails at some point or another, but is sounds as if you may not have had the discriminator turned on or up enough. Over time you will find that you can get a 'feel' for what is down there by the shape of the sound. I know it sounds weird, but over time you will learn the sound of different objects. For example, a nail will often give a signature of ' Bump - Bump'. The first Bump from the head of the nail, the second from the shaft of the nail. Whereas a coin will have a distinct single 'BUMP' sound to it.

I would suggest you go over the manual a couple more times. I have been detecting for quite a few years and when I bought a new detector this spring, I have gone through the manual about 10 times at least.

Second...practice, practice, practice. There is no other way to learn it. Even when you have a ton of practice, you will still dig up trash sometimes. We all do. It just goes with the territory. You will get it, it just takes a little while. Keep us posted of what you find.

[Turtlerunner]

Your detector is junk. You should sell it to me. (kidding). I have been eyeballing those 2500's on Ebay for a long time. Even the used ones usually sell near $800. You have one of the best there. I would say just practice alot......The last detector I found at the Pawn Shop was a little kids Pioneer Detector! BTW I now use a disposable Whites 6000 Di2. They are cheap for used on Ebay(around $125) but they get the job done well.

[Reznor_X]

In fear of missing something I turned off all discrimination, actually, I use it on the "All Metal" mode, or "Discriminate Zero".

However, watching the video that Greg posted, I saw that he unearthed a piece of metal, so, between that and the responses you gave me I'm feeling more comfortable... I actually can't wait 'til the weekend to go for some more nails!!! :D

BTW, what is that hand-tool that he uses to locate the coin?

Well, I'll take your advice guys! I'll post my findings next monday! ;)

[hollowpointred]

try it in coins mode to start out. turn the size feature off untill you have about 100 hours expieriance on the machine. otherwise it will just confuse you. i agree with the advise on reading the manual. read it and re read it! the gti 2500 is a cool machine, but it will take a lot of practice to learn how to speak its language. good luck with it!

[montyburns]

I've had my 2500 just a bit over a year now and I am just now beginning to recognize what my detector is telling me to some degree of certainty. The all metal mode is really best served by someone who has a great deal of experience with the detector. You have to be able to interpret the sounds you are hearing and this comes with experience. You will dig a great deal of trash but as time passes you will dig a greater amount of goodies to go with the trash. Even with the $3000.00 detectors you will dig some trash, so don't get discouraged. I have read through my manual at least a hundred times and I still pick up a thing or two I missed or find a tip that helps me be a better operator. So, keep that manual handy at all times. Old coins or even just silver coins are no longer a given. You really have to work for them. Oh sure you will stumble onto a few here and there but to be consistent your success rate will be directly proportionate to the amount of research you are willing to put into locating good hunting sites. Virgin sites are getting harder and harder to find, but they are still out there. You have to rely on your library, your local or state historical societies and other sources to locate virgin sites. Even sites that have been detected may still have some "treasure" to be found but you really have to work hard at it. A saying among the hobbiests is that a site is never completely hunted out and some have ways of replintishing themselves over time. That's why some good finds are still discovered in public parks, etc. I guess the overall information I am departing to you is that this hobby is not easy. There is an element of skill tempered with luck, and combined with research equals success. If it was that easy it probably wouldn't be worth doing. You can't let yourself get discouraged and just keep at it. Most of us will never find that treasure of a lifetime but as long as that glimmer of hope exists, we will always have to make that "just one last hunt" to find out. monty

[Reznor_X]

Well, it's not Monday yet, but with all the information you've given me I got new perspectives on this.

The other night I started to read the manual again, and (as Monty said) I picked up not a thing or two, but many things that with the little experience I gathered now I'm able to understand.

I've been doing some practice with 'planted' targets, I've used a can, a nail, a silver coin, a gold ring and some keys, and they indeed give diferent readings... I'm getting familiar with the lcd panel and its way of telling things. However, someone at Garrett's told me that the actual signal of a planted target is diferent from the signal of a real target, because of compression of soil and other factors. Anyway, there are 2 important things to this :

1) I feel impatient, eager to get out with my MD and wave it all over the ground. That can mean only one thing : I'm really getting into this!

2) I grabbed a hobbie which I'll be sharing with quality people like all of you, and that is just great. Thanks really, for all the help you've given to me.

[montyburns]

I have been using a 2500 almost exclusively for the past year. It is one of the top of the line detectors on the market today. Nearly everything I know came from the manual or in actual field use. I am just now getting pretty salty with it but it takes a lot of practice and digging with any detector. It sounds like you are hunting on the all metal mode which is very hard for a newby to use until you have some more experience. Just starting out, I would set the detector to one of the discrimination modes, probably the "coin" mode and use it first. Don't set your sensitivity above the "9" level or you may get false signals. Seven is a good level to set it to start out. I would be sure the salt eliminatin is off unless hunting near the sea. I like the belltone set to on and the multitone off. Be sure your treasure talk is set on image or it will talk all the darn time and run you nuts! A rusty nail or any rusted iron object can fool just about any detector due to the "halo effect". The halo effect is caused by the iron based object leaching out into the soil as it rusts, thereaby returning a much larger signal than normal. After you use your 2500 for a while, you will probably be able to tell when it is a rusted nail just by the sound, but it takes a practiced ear. That should get you going. If you need some more help, send me a private message and I will be glad to help if I can. Jim

[Reznor_X]

Well, thanks Jim, those tips helped me a lot! I actually set sensitivity at 5 and discriminate to coins and got a bunch of things... I'm posting 2 threads, because I had a hell of an experience.

BTW, in many cases I had signals of a large object at more than 12 inches deep, did the hole and the signal vanished! has this happened to you?

One of my concerns went with the sesitivity, if I set it to 5, why is detecting objects at more than 12 inches? ... anyway, this does not happen very often.

Thanks for the help!