Anyone know about PI detectors?
pcgs69
Posts: 4,316 ✭✭✭✭
After maxing out the depth of the CTX, trying to figure out the next plan of attack.
Seems there are a couple of options:
1) get a bulldozer (but that'll get me arrested and most likely all finds confiscated)
2) See if "relic" mode will help with depth on the CTX. Or remove all discrimination.
3) Try a Pulse Induction (PI) machine. After checking out some machines, the White's TDI Pro looks to be a really strong machine, and it's not a horrible price tag. The Minelab GPX machines are pretty expensive, and I'm not sure they will offer much more advantage.
So, has anyone ever used a PI machine? I hear discrimination is either not possible, or not quite as good as our standard VLF machines. With PI, you can also dig a foot down for a screw, which can lead to frustration.
But I'm thinking that it seems a lot of these coins/jewelry at the silver beach were lost before pull tabs, there won't be much deep junk. I know there are Barbers and Seateds there. Just have to get deeper. Even more because a large cent came out of this same beach.
Found some videos on youtube. Interesting machine, but I got tired watching him dig some of these!
Youtube video of TDI Pro in action
Seems there are a couple of options:
1) get a bulldozer (but that'll get me arrested and most likely all finds confiscated)
2) See if "relic" mode will help with depth on the CTX. Or remove all discrimination.
3) Try a Pulse Induction (PI) machine. After checking out some machines, the White's TDI Pro looks to be a really strong machine, and it's not a horrible price tag. The Minelab GPX machines are pretty expensive, and I'm not sure they will offer much more advantage.
So, has anyone ever used a PI machine? I hear discrimination is either not possible, or not quite as good as our standard VLF machines. With PI, you can also dig a foot down for a screw, which can lead to frustration.
But I'm thinking that it seems a lot of these coins/jewelry at the silver beach were lost before pull tabs, there won't be much deep junk. I know there are Barbers and Seateds there. Just have to get deeper. Even more because a large cent came out of this same beach.
Found some videos on youtube. Interesting machine, but I got tired watching him dig some of these!
Youtube video of TDI Pro in action
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This was almost 20 years ago, however, so any advice I'd have would be obsolete by now.
That machine did go nice and deep (relative to the capabilities of other detectors of the era I had used), but whether it went any deeper than a VLF detector or old school TR, I couldn't really say.
3) Try a Pulse Induction (PI) machine. After checking out some machines, the White's TDI Pro looks to be a really strong machine, and it's not a horrible price tag. The Minelab GPX machines are pretty expensive, and I'm not sure they will offer much more advantage.
I have a Minelab GPX 5000 and would argue that it does offer a lot of advantage.
While gold prospecting with it I came across the occasional coin, and a dime sized coin was absolutely screaming from 15 inches or so when using a sizeable coil. Would recommend trying one out if you have a chance. They are pricey though.
As for discrimination, you can discriminate with a double looped coils (so called double-D coils) but the drawback is that you lose depth as the coil effectively becomes smaller this way.
I've never used those. Just the monoloops, and then dig everything you can hear. And yes, frustration aplenty!
There are also anti-interference coils available, with which you can dig under power lines etc.
-Z
FWIW, the other guys in the field with me there- all CTX-3030 users- completely ran circles around me and my Garrett GTI-2500 and found 4-5x as much stuff.
I think that result had more to do with user profiency than equipment, but there must be SOME reason they all used that machine.
Maybe that's why those CTX machines cost $2.5K the last time I looked. Yowch.
Hey, Zot- nice to see my favorite Finnish squirrel again! How've you been , and what have you been up to? Last I remember of your exploits was you diggin' Down Under.
While a new GPX equipped with a bunch of coils is pushing $10k, an option could be to purchase a second-hand, older model from someone who’s traded up (or given up!). For example, a GPX 4500, 4000, or 3500 (and now even a 5000, as the new GPZ 7000 has come out) can be had or substantially less.
Various tweaks have been made to the new models to improve performance and broaden the range of settings especially for gold prospecting. Having said that, also the older models are beasts, and would do an outstanding job finding deep coins.
A GPX would be a good option especially if the amount of trash in your search areas isn’t too bad and it isn’t critical to fill your holes perfectly neatly. For example, I wouldn’t go detecting in a modern park with them. You’d be digging plenty of “difficult-to-fill-without-leaving-a-trace” deep holes, most of which would be trash. You’d go crazy. Somewhere out in the woods or in a field though… perfect!
LM: I’ve been back in Finland for a while now. I planned to go back down under earlier this year, but missed my chance for no good reason. Now it’s springtime down there, and the next couple of months are too warm for prospecting, at least for me (and the snakes and other venomous beasts are quick and active too!). I’ll probably head down there in 6 months or so.
I’ve done some gold prospecting in Finland this summer (should make a post about that), and recently some detecting as well (should make a post about that too).
Hope all is well with you and great to see you’ve been out detecting again. Let’s see some more, preferably including silver!
PS. Did you ever get those coins from your England trip sent to you?
That's a tricky one to answer definitely without knowing the details about how the CTX works and the conditions you detect in. In theory a bigger coil would provide more depth. In practice, with many non-PI machines, it's not practical to increase the size beyond a certain point as you also catch more mineralization that confuses things.
My best guess (and it really is a guess) is that a larger coil of up to 15 inches or so would help you. For even larger ones (if they're available), not so sure - unless you've got some really nice ground with low mineralization.
Etrac and GPX5000 used together
If the link to the youtube video doesn't work, the title of the video is "Secret to finding Coins & Gold at 18 inches DEEP!!" by the user Gerrys Detectors.
It's $1,189 delivered. I could have gotten it on ebay and gotten something like $23 in ebay bucks, but since I want to use it next weekend, I went on Amazon. Not my first choice of venue, but I know they'll have it to me by Thursday. Kellyco also had some freebies on their website that would have caused it to be a little cheaper, but they're closed on Saturdays and I figured AMZN would be moving still. Just checked and it said shipping today.
I hate going to a big corporate entity, but I guess time is a factor.
One of the other detectors others recommended, actually over the TDI was the Dual field. They said depth it just about the same as the TDI and it's fully waterproof. But, since I usually dig with a shovel, the permanently connected headphone with short cable would be a problem. It's a lot less expensive, and sounds like a great machine.
PLUS, White's is having a winter promotion. If you purchase a new detector more than $500, they will mail you a $100 cash card. This drops the TDI to $1089, and will have a 2 year warranty. Not too bad in my book.
Still will look into a bigger coil for the CTX for spring. Also, I will try clicking the "seawater" option on it, so see if that helps add anything. Since there really isn't much in terms of irion, might be worth checking out relic mode too at the "silver beach".
And BTW, welcome back Zot, we missed you!
Excellent performance...Cheers, RickO
The TDI is a great detector... I have one - bought it when it first hit the market.
How deep can you find a coin on dry land with one of these pulse machines?
I have a park where I've found several Mercury dimes at 10 inches deep with my Etrac and suspect I'm probably missing lots of deep coins. I wouldn't mind digging a lot of junk if I could also get some deeper coins.
hunt exclusively. But the TDI helps there also in cellars and thick walls.... also along fence rows.
Cheers, RickO
...
LM: I’ve been back in Finland for a while now. I planned to go back down under earlier this year, but missed my chance for no good reason. Now it’s springtime down there, and the next couple of months are too warm for prospecting, at least for me (and the snakes and other venomous beasts are quick and active too!). I’ll probably head down there in 6 months or so.
I’ve done some gold prospecting in Finland this summer (should make a post about that), and recently some detecting as well (should make a post about that too).
Hope all is well with you and great to see you’ve been out detecting again. Let’s see some more, preferably including silver!
PS. Did you ever get those coins from your England trip sent to you?
It's good to see that ol' Garrrett hound wearing my hat again!
(You forgot those "poking LM with a stick" or "flogging LM with a whip" smileys, though.)
I would certainly love to read some Finnish exploits again, see some cool old stuff and coins (and I'm sure some more of those 17th-18th century inscribed gold posey rings wouldn't break your heart either, eh? I dreamed of finding one of those while in England.) And the mandatory critter pictures, of course! (On our trip to North Carolina this weekend, my daughter spotted a wild black bear in the woods as we drove by on the Blue Ridge Parkway. In the decades I lived up there I never once saw a wild bear.)
And yes- I did get my England finds. Some of the long, long delay was due to an error on my part.
And I thought the CTX-3030 at ~$2.5K was a "yowch"! All I can say to that one is "wow". I guess there are people out there who can drop the price of a used car on a metal detector, but I'm not one of 'em, and never will be. I thought the ~$1K list price on my Garrett was big stuff back in the day, but now it's nothing. I got my GTI-2500 from John, aka "goldrush0013" here- remember him? I wonder what he's up to these days. I miss the good old days when he and The Mighty Phut (R.I.P., brother) posted here regularly, and I actually went out digging semi-regularly.
Pictures needed!
I've seen small pictures of the contents of your export pouch, but closeups of the hammered coins would be cool! (or perhaps you've already posted, but I've missed them?)
I haven't heard from Goldrush. I sent him a PM a loooong time ago asking what he was up to, but didn't hear anything back. Hope he's doing well and surprises us with finds one of these days!
The Mighty Phut is dearly missed. There's a bunch of other old timers I haven't seen anything from in a long time either... loditom, CROCKofCOINS, Riccar, etc....
There are individual front-and-back pictures of the two hammered coins posted in those threads, but they're from the club website and rather small.