New to Forum

[DavidN]

Hello Everyone

I have been lurking for sometime and thought it was time I joined you folks. Great group here that is for sure.

I am in Virginia and have been hunting for a while. However, I ran across something today that is a first for me. So if it is ok, I would like to ask for some help along with my introduction.

I received permission to hunt an old vacant home that dates back to the late 1800's. I went today and when I pulled up I almost could not believe my eyes....based upon appearance it looked perfect! It was clean, cows had grazed around it so the grass was like a golf course. It is important to note that this house is located in the mountains of Virginia.

I fired up my Deleon and went about 2 feet and got a great signal and dug an old horse shoe. The hunt went down hill from there. With every swing my machine was chattering like crazy. I would adjust the threshold and sensitivity with little results. This was really my first hunt in the mountains so I really had not experienced highly mineralized soil in my area....until today? Is this what I was experiencing? I could dig what seemed like a pretty good signal only to find a hot rock. I understand the Deleon does not have manual ground balance. Is this the problem or am I doing something wrong?

I would appreciate any input. I had a great day, the weather and scenery were awesome. I am a little disappointed that I did not find more....but I also understand that is the way it goes.

Looking forward to your responses and once again I am glad to be a member.

David

[gordiesgirl]

hello dave and welcome to TQ, So glad you decided to join, Happy hunting

[Gregory]

Welcome to TQ David. I'm glad you joined us. I'm not familiar with your machine but I'm sure someone here will be able to answer your questions. That ground is definitely hot in minerals.

Greg

[FL_Treasure]

Welcome to the forum, just joined myself great place to be!

[EPC Guy]

Welcome to TQ, David - Someone here will probably have the answers you need!

[Buster]

Welcome David, I'm not sure of your machine also. But some one sure will know something about it. Glad to have you here...Buster.....

[N1TKO]

Hello from Massachusetts! Lots of good folks here at TQ.
Welcome

Jerry

[Steve in PR]

Hi, David and welcome to TQ! I was reading your post and did a little research into the detector. Here is what I found: There seems to be a concensus amoung DeLeon owners that the machine will "chatter" when the target is just below the surface. They suggest lifting the coil to clear up the signal. Another suggested that it may be caused by defective (weak) batteries. Did not see other people chime in on that one but it might be worth remembering.

People are finding good targets with it so it should do the trick. If you have not done a "bench test" with it, give that a try to see if you can recreate the chatter condition.

Good luck and let us know what you find out (and find)!

[CanUDigIt]

Welcome to TQ David! Good luck to you!

[John's Detectors]

Hi David and welcome. Your DeLeon has a fixed preset Ground Balance which is set more than likely a bit on the positive side. I understand the ground in your area can be very mineralized. So I would recommend having the capability to Ground Balance your machine either manually or automatically or both. About the only thing you can do is lower the sensitivity until the problem becomes more stable. Actually when you do this you still have decent depth with the machine. The co planar coils are not as effective as the DD coils at cancelling out the effects of mineralization. Although I consider the DeLeon a good machine it doesn't have great separation at the lower end of the discrimination scale for iron and foil. Overall I like the DeLeon but Tesoro has other models that can do a better job for you in the conditions you are dealing with. Ok David I wish you the best and I hope you are able to work the old place effectively. God Bless and take care.

John Tomlinson,CET,KA5QYR
Wirechief 2nd Class