Ghost signals

I often hear people new to metal detecting refer to “Ghost signals” when experiencing false metal detector signals.

An unexplainable beep that suddenly disappears when they try to detect the source of the signal again.

Some so called ghost signals can be put down to the ground being searched. 

For example, searching over seaweed on the beach with pods full of salt water or transitioning from the wet to dry sand. 

These type of false signals are easily recognizable, but most false signal issues are metal detector related and they are easy to eliminate. 

There are a couple of easy ways to deal with distracting false metal detector signals, secure loose flapping cable and lower your metal detector sensitivity. 

In my opinion a loose search coil cable is the number one reason for false signals. Every time a flapping loose search coil cable hits your metal detector shaft it is going to create a false signal. 

An easy remedy is to wrap your search coil cable around and down the shaft then secure your cable to the shaft using electrical tape or Velcro ties.

Avoid using plastic zip ties as they may cut into your search coil cable over time if you have them tied too tight. 

The number two cause of false signals is running too high a metal detector sensitivity setting, especially for beach and water hunters.

The best sensitivity setting for your metal detector is the point of smooth operation just below the setting that produces chatter.

The recommended sensitivity settings for a variety of different ground conditions is usually in your metal detector manual.

Many recommended settings in your metal detector manual are safe settings but they make good starting out points, try raising the setting first until you experience a little chatter then incrementally lower the sensitivity until your metal detector runs smoothly with little to no chirping or false signals.

The old dimmed car headlights seeing better through the fog analogy works well for metal detectors too.

Between a secured search coil cable and a smooth operating metal detector sensitivity setting, so called ghost signals will not be a factor. 

Where and what for ?

The question I am asked more than any other question is what metal detector should I use and my reply is always the same.

It depends where are you going to use it and what are you hoping to detect.

The where and what should always be the deciding factors when it comes to choosing a metal detector.

I predominantly search saltwater beaches so I use waterproof metal detectors that can handle salt at saltwater beaches.

It’s also about being in the comfort zone, being comfortable using the metal detector and knowing it can detect what I am searching for.

The two secrets to a happy union between user and metal detector are ease of use and ability to detect the targets you are searching for.

For example, I search for Spanish treasure and modern tourist bling so I need a metal detector that is capable of detecting small silver and gold targets. 

The climate I search in is often sweltering hot and humid with plenty of tropical downpours so I need to use a waterproof well balanced metal detector. 

Taking everything into account, choosing a metal detector comes down to figuring out where and what for. 

Metal detectors are very much like any other purchase ranging from affordable to pricey, you just have to decide what features you really need within your budget.

It’s not about what metal detector someone else is using searching for something you are unlikely to find, it’s about the right metal detector for you in the places you will likely use it.

Remember your metal detector is the tool you use to detect what your are searching for, always use the right tool for the job. 

As you get into metal detecting you will see what accessories you need to help make the job even easier, but your choice of metal detector will always be the main thing to consider.

Research metal detectors intended for use at the sites you are likely to search and narrow it down to what you plan to search for.

Remember where and what for !

No area is ever cleaned out

I recently searched a site I knew had been hit hard and often, but I still managed to winkle a few good finds out of the area.

Most of the good finds came out of holes with at least one piece of iron in the same hole.

No matter what non ferrous targets you are searching for, if there is iron resting close to good targets you will struggle to detect the good target because of the iron. 

On this occasion I heard the mixed signals from multiple targets and relied on my ears.

VDI screens on metal detectors are not much help if you haven’t had experience interpreting multiple targets under your search coil.

The most eye opening test you can do a VLF ( Very low frequency) metal detector is the iron nail test. 

For this simple test to see how iron masking works, place a gold ring or silver coin on the ground next to an iron nail.

Sweep your search coil over the top of the test targets and see how far away from the iron nail the gold ring or silver coin has to be placed before you can detect the good target.

Experiment with different size nails and you will see just how easy it is for a person to mistakenly believe an area is cleaned out. 

The sweeping direction across the test targets and the size of the nail come into play, also the size of the search coil and how fast it is swept.

Put all those factors together and you can see why a search area considered “ Hunted out” is never really hunted out if you know how iron masking works. 

You just have to work harder and smarter to detect targets and rely on your ears to winkle out good finds waiting to be detected.

Check out any metal detecting forum and the number one question asked today is what numbers?

In reality a better question is what signal,tone or pitch as these are the things that are important when you have multiple ferrous and non ferrous targets under your search coil. 

Eyes on the ground ears at attention, just because a site is heavily hunted or referred to as “Cleaned out” it does not mean you cannot winkle out a good find or two.

Show and tell ?

As any avid beach hunter will tell you, it is a heck of a feeling pulling a really nice find out of your scoop basket.

The thrill of the find and holding something special you just recovered, but do you share news of the discovery?

I have not posted any recently recovered Spanish treasure coins, artifacts or modern mega bling for several years now.

The main reason being to protect the locations finds were recovered, giving me a chance to continue recovering other good stuff from the same areas.

Another reason for not posting finds was being followed by people assuming I was leaving the house to go metal detecting.

One local beach hunter followed me through a McDonalds drive thru another followed me to the ice rink dropping my youngest off for a 6 am coaching lesson.

It was also no coincidence that two out of town beach hunters showed up within thirty minutes of me searching sites for over a month.

I’m pretty sure either my cell phone or vehicle was being tracked, definitely no coincidence.

I consider these unfortunate events as payback for posting good finds on social media the day I recovered them and lazy beach hunters doing what they do best, chasing down other beach hunters.

Posting finds on social media is a double edged sword, it feels good to share your success and inspire others but it can come back to bite you in the treasure hunting butt if you are not careful.

There are simple ways to take the heat off yourself if you like posting and inspiring other beach hunters.

Avoid going into too many details of traveling to the beach and where you always like to park.

That makes it easy for people trying to track you down, once they know your parking habits it does not take long to deduce where you are finding stuff.

Detailing the search area next to the lifeguard tower etc is asking for metal detecting company at tourist beaches.

Of course naming the beach will put you on all the local beach hunters radar, I only name a beach when I want people to go there lol 

Posting photos of eroded (cut) beaches you are searching will always guarantee you have company the same day or the morning after you post the photos.

Time delay your posts, wait a month or two or better still an end of summer or year finds post.

You can still show the finds you are proud of detecting and recovering, but you are less likely to get followed immediately. 

After all these years of pounding beaches and plundering Davy Jones locker I still remain an elusive sight at the beach, giving Bigfoot a run for the hide and seek championship. 

Which reminds me I have to work on not breaking out the gold dance! 

I prefer my finds pouch pocket to glow and swell than to show and tell. 

Searching iron infested areas.

I search a lot of iron infested trashy sites, areas where digging every single piece of iron just in case I miss something good is just not possible.
In order to have success at iron infested areas you have to use a little discrimination, a small search coil, trust in your metal detector and most importantly trust in your ears.
You may be surprised just how much small iron can be rejected using a minimal amount of discrimination.
Searching small areas slowly from at least two different directions is the best plan of attack, using a slow methodical sweep speed.
No matter how good you think you have searched an area it is possible to miss good targets       only searching an area from one single direction.
If you have a VDI screen on your metal detector avoid digging shallow depth gauge targets, both ferrous and non ferrous targets as they have a high probability of being surface junk.
Assuming you are not interested in older iron objects, look for non ferrous targets at depth.
Screen or no screen, listen for feint audio responses from deeply buried non ferrous targets.
Slowly wiggling your search coil over an iffy barely audible target often helps to enhance a deep non ferrous target audio response.
Surface iron and the halo effect of deeper corroding iron help mask non ferrous targets in iron infested areas.
A metal detector will often respond to the corroded iron leaching into the matrix the iron was trapped in. 
Small search coils help with target recovery speed if you are using a metal detector not known for a fast target recovery speed.
Target recovery speed is metal detecting lingo for the time it takes your metal detector to detect another target after detecting the last target detected.
The reason for searching across a target rich area from two different directions is to hopefully detect a good target previously over powered by a trash target when your search coil crossed over both targets from the other direction.
You can winkle good targets from areas that at first seem impossible to detect, especially from areas that have previously been searched by hunters using large search coils.
A small size search coil rocks an iron infested area providing openings for methodical hunters, an elliptical shape search coil also helps in areas with known elongated iron obstacles such as pipes.
Sometimes a garden rake or a magnet can be used to clear small surface iron away from a site, or you can just let the beach cleaning tractor do the easy work? 
Coins and jewelry in the sand are moved around free of charge at popular beach sites every day, a diamond ring moved a few inches from a corroding bottle cap can make all the difference to a beach hunter. 
Of course the main things that will open up iron infested sites are time spent reading your metal detector manual and time spent testing targets so you know how to use your metal detector and know what to listen for.
Take my word for it, the best targets are often hidden in plain sight making them the easiest things to detect if you have a plan to detect them.

Flow breakers

Beach treasure hunters often have to rely on the movement of sand in order to be successful, being able to read a beach is often about knowing where the stuff you are searching for has probably moved to.

Some things on beaches obstruct the natural flow of sand, I call them " Flow breakers" objects like boulders, pilings, lifeguard stands, anything that sand is moved around during coastal storms or periods of high surf.

Standing on the beach next to a large rock or iron piling you can often see the lines where the sand has been pushed around the obstruction.

Any coins or jewelry lost at that section of beach you are standing on would have moved with the sand around the sand flow breaking obstacle on the beach.

The larger the sand flow breaker and the busier the beach, the more stuff you can detect around the obstacle that interrupted the natural flow of sand on the beach.

I have always had success searching above large boulders, rocks, pilings etc on the beach and for good reason. 

Jewelry, coins and other metal objects wash up and around obstacles but they often get trapped by the obstacle on the way back down the beach. 

This makes the upper beach side of sand flow breaking obstacles great places to find stuff after periods of high surf, assuming the high surf made it past the obstacle.

Jewelry and coins tend to be found in a straight-ish line below the obstacle towards the water, after being pulled back down around the obstacle.

The obstacle that diverted the natural flow of sand will dictate how you go about searching the area, I prefer using a small search coil and getting closer to metal obstructions.

Before walking away from any sand flow breaker on the beach I like to do a spiral search pattern around the obstacle to make sure I don't miss anything pushed or deposited away from the obstacle.

Hidden in plain sight

This year I have found some pretty cool things in the most unexpected areas and I have crossed two things off my metal detecting bucket list.
What this year has taught me is to never overlook anywhere just because I have more success in other areas I know to be more productive.
I go on about beginners luck and trying to think like a newbie to perhaps get some beginners luck.
People new to metal detecting with few beach reading skills are less inclined to head directly to a good looking spot before turning on their metal detector.
An experienced beach hunter may think a beach hunting newbie is wasting their time searching a certain area but I never do, you can detect and recover something of value anywhere on the beach.
On a recent shallow water hunt I was not detecting any targets, two newbies on the lower beach were detecting and digging their butts off in an area I would not have bothered to search.
After seeing the two newbies walking away from the area I quickly went to the spot they were busy digging targets at, its a pity they were not using deeper metal detectors because the good stuff was deeper down in the mushy sand.
Earlier in the year a similar thing happened way up in the dry sand at the top of the beach, you just never know unless you get outside your comfort zone by searching iffy looking sites.
It is surprised to know what good stuff is hidden in plain sight, if you just give areas a once over.
Hey even if you do not find anything in an area you would ignore 99% of the time, at least you can say you have ruled it out.
In fact beach hunting is often about covering ground and ruling areas out, when I consider the beaches to be sanded-in or not looking good, I spend my time wisely trying areas I know darn well are not going to be productive.
But.... every once in a while you are proven wrong and detect something awesome.
Something that makes you wish you had searched the area before or sooner, which has happened to me  a few times this year.
Are you overlooking areas like everyone else?