Identifying ground noise

[Leroy]

Hi, getting sick of digging deep holes only to find 'nothing home'.today I decided to use a pinpointer to check the hole before going too far, and I think I was successful. Couldn't hear/feel anything with the pointer,(new mine lab one), nothing in dirt that was removed from hole so I think from now on this is the way for me to go. What do you think, any advice would be very helpful because I've been wasting valuable time whilst detecting. I haven't been in the game for very long, 'help help help.

 

[LC76]

What machine are you using?
Also you might need to lower the sensitivity.

 

[BigWave]

A pinpointer will only work when you are very close to a largish target. It's only an aid, not a ground checker, although many hot rocks will set them off.
Rely on your detector and experience - not your pinpointer!

 

[old hand]

Leroy try ground balancing with the detector where the noise is, most times it will balance out and the noise will move to either side of the coil regards john

 

[Leroy]

Lc76' 5000 with 12 inch NF evo.

 

[grubstake]

Hi, getting sick of digging deep holes only to find 'nothing home'.today I decided to use a pinpointer to check the hole before going too far, and I think I was successful. Couldn't hear/feel anything with the pointer,(new mine lab one), nothing in dirt that was removed from hole so I think from now on this is the way for me to go. What do you think, any advice would be very helpful because I've been wasting valuable time whilst detecting. I haven't been in the game for very long, 'help help help.

As you don't mention whether you are coin/relic hunting or prospecting, I looked back at your prior posts and saw that you are using a 5000 and a 2300 and finding lots of shotgun pellets with the latter. Mate, prospecting is no place to be using a pinpointer at all, much less relying on it. Pinpointers are intended for shallow, coin-sized (and upwards) targets, in mild (low mineralisation) ground.

Unfortunately, just because your test nugget sounds different to pellets, doesn't mean that any gold you find will also sound distinctively different: target size, shape, depth and ground mineralisation, all effect the signal you receive. Digging every target may seem painful, but there are no shortcuts when chasing gold.

Shotgun pellets are however a very good indication that you are using the detector OK, so the big question is whether you are searching in likely ground. Are there signs of old time prospectors' workings around where you are detecting? Until you learn more or find an experienced person who's prepared to guide you, the old, relatively shallow workings are probably the most fruitful places for you to explore, especially with the 2300. Good luck!

 

[old hand]

Leroy the 12 evo with a 5000 great combo, how wet is the ground, can you post your settings and what state are you detecting in regards john

 

[Leroy]

Thankyou John. Maryborough area, quite wet/damp, some settings, gain 14, stab.8, I run in fixed, fine gold, audio normal, some times quiet, very slow and target volume around 14. These settings are all I can think of at the moment, normally runs very quiet with just the odd minor chirps.

 

[Leroy]

Just a quick add on here, it screamed in the deep hole I dug this afternoon, as I said in one of my previous posts the pinpointed didn't even murmur.

 

[Davent]

I got some ground noise today, funny faint chirp, thought it was a target, cleaned the surface with my boot, still there, dug a little, maybe 1 inch scrape, noise still there, but also noise in spoil, not getting louder, dug a little deeper, pushed that spoil to opposite side, sound still there, sound over both mounds of spoil, not getting louder. Checked one small mound incase there was shotty pellets, nothing, soo I called it for ground noise and walked away.

 

[old hand]

I would not worry about the pinpoint

 

[old hand]

The deep hole did you try to ground balance in it

 

[neddy]

Set up your machine using test nugget. This time of year moisture in ground will create a lot of noise. Moist clay pockets are bad for giving false signals. Try tuning your machine with a small nugget eg 0.4 grms buried a about 10 cm in ground. Don't turn your gain up too high. Setting gain too high will give you too much noise and false signals. You will miss signals. Also set your threshold so you can hear the test nugget the clearest. If too loud you wont hear the target. If too faint you wont hear it either. If you are using an evolution coil it is very sensitive. You should run the machine at a lower gain setting otherwise you will get a lot of false signals. You are obviously running your machine too high. Pin pointers are no good for gold unless they are large coinsized nuggets.

 

[neddy]

Fine gold is mainly for mild ground in high mineralisation or wet ground will give false signals also run in tracking. If you run on fixed ground balance the machine regularly.

 

[Leroy]

Thanks chaps for all your help, I followed your ideas and fiddled around a bit today, left the pointer at home, we had a full day and night (dry) so today wasn't to bad. I stayed out till 3pm today(rain came in then) so gave it away. Dug a couple of ground noises BUT I nailed a 1.775 and three little tiny bits, needless to say I'm very happy.

 

[BigWave]

See what happens when you leave your pinpointer at home when on the gold trail? You didn't have to fool with it

 

[Nightjar]

I got some ground noise today, funny faint chirp, thought it was a target, cleaned the surface with my boot, still there, dug a little, maybe 1 inch scrape, noise still there, but also noise in spoil, not getting louder, dug a little deeper, pushed that spoil to opposite side, sound still there, sound over both mounds of spoil, not getting louder. Checked one small mound incase there was shotty pellets, nothing, soo I called it for ground noise and walked away.

Davent is on the money, works every time with these what we call "clay bowls" in wet mineralised ground.

 

[Leroy]

further to my last post on this subject, this is what I got today, once again thanks for all your help

 

[LORD]

Congrats Leroy. That 1.7 looks great. And if you picking up those other 3 your doing it right, pinpointer wound have missed them

 

[Leroy]

Thanks again everybody but(grubstake), and others, have I waisted my money on buying the pinpointer I understood that it was to be used when searching in a deep hole when the coil would barely fit. You then can check the sides and bottom without wasting more time digging if the pointer tells you there is nothing there. Perhaps I've listened to the wrong advice.??