Full of questions today

[Coilcop]

Only way to learn is ask someone with more experience, so here goes. I'm sure some of you have experienced this. I pinpoint a target, and it's usually the deeper ones, and this is what sometimes happens to me. I get a pinpointed reading of 5.5". I begin to dig, and get down to that approx. depth. I scan the soil I removed to see if the target has been extracted, and get no reading. I rescan the hole, to find the target is now showing 7" or something deeper, and in some cases, something even more shallow. I did more, let's say down to 8-9", and scan the removed soil, and still get nothing. I scan the hole again, and it still rings, or, and even more frustrating, the pinpoint area, has now appeared to move, a couple inches right or left, so I expand the hole. Almost always I give up, because I can't seem to locate anything. It drives me crazy, because I think, maybe I'm leaving the good stuff behind. I think that way, because I found a Mercury dime exactly that way. I got an initial signal indicating the target was at 4.5", by the time I dug out that dime, I was down 7-8" and a bit to the left of the initial pinpoint. I instantly began to wonder how many good coins I may have left behind. Does this happen to anyone else? Does anyone have a suggestion for the future when I encounter this frustration? Thanks!

[Joe PA]

to that is it happens to me quite a bit, too. Here's what I've found so far:

1) It's something really big (like a can, or bigger) and very deep.
2) It's something really small (like a staple, or bit of foil), which fools the detector into IDing it as a coin (which is larger than the staple or foil) and so gives you a deeper reading. Then you inadvertantly get the small bit out of the hole and it's on the surface and can easily get moved as you are searching you fill dirt - hence the moving target.
3) It's a coin at an odd angle - which can throw off your pinpoint (I've had the coin in the side of the hole many times, and dug past it. You can sometimes figure this out if you've dug a big enough hole to fit the coil sideways into, to scan the sides of the hole.
4) Sometimes when you dig, it will change the return of the magnetic field around the object (the "halo") and your pinpoint location will change.
5) It's something odd shaped, like a nail or screw - I've had that happen a lot.

I'm looking at getting a handheld pinpointer, particularly for the troublesome cases, I think it will help a lot. - HH

[2scooterchic]

Same thing happens to me except mine does not have the depth readout on it. I will be looking forward to the replies on this. I have a bounty hunter lone star.

[pris]

I think Joe has summed it up very nicely. Most if not all cases of this happening to me has fallen into one of those categories. I also really want to buy a pinpointer so I can really find out where the target is. I have also found that while I scan on the surface it shows as a coin, then I dig a bit and it shows it's true colors and rings in as something else. I usually have to use the pinpoint feature because it won't register with a regular swing.

Good Luck!

[Coilcop]

thanks for the replies, guess I was looking for a magic pill. I think a pinpointer is in order, I always feel like I'm leaving something good in the ground

[John's Detectors]

Hi Coilcop, keep doing what you are doing by not giving up because that item is usually there somewhere. But I recommend a Vibraprobe 560 for getting down in the hole to pinpoint. There is also the Uniprobe but it is a bit more costly. Ok If you need any help just PM me and I hope you are making some great finds! God Bless ya Coilcop!

John Tomlinson,CET P=VI
John's Detectors
Blackwell,Tx.
Best Little Detector Shop in Texas!