| There are "NO" hunted-out metal detecting sites! | | | | eight inches deep. Use both all medal mode and |
| In 39 years of hunting coins, relics and jewelry | | | | discrimination to confirm the signal. Now take a |
| with metal detectors, I have continued to find | | | | very small staple or lead or steel buckshot and |
| valuable items on sites that I have hunted dozens | | | | bury it on top of the dime at about one inch |
| of times. But, I am totally convinced that no area | | | | deep. This item will mask the dime in discrimination |
| will be completed hunted and all good targets | | | | mode and even moving the item as much as four |
| removed with the present limited capabilities of | | | | inches from center of the dime, will produce |
| metal detectors. The major obstacle or dilemma | | | | masking or cause the dime to read as a pull tab. |
| in hunting-out a site is masking. | | | | Then, bury the staple or buck shot to three |
| Masking is not a new concept in the metal | | | | inches deep over the dime and something |
| detecting field, but probably one of the least | | | | amazing happens. There will be complete silence |
| known or least understood topics in the hobby. I | | | | and even changing to all metal mode will give only |
| discovered masking early in the 1970's when | | | | a chatter sound like ground minerals. What is |
| discriminate was added to detectors and I built | | | | taking place here is called inductive coupling. The |
| my first test garden to practice on the varying | | | | eletromagnetic energy from the coil hits the small |
| signal types introduced through the medium of | | | | junk item producing an electromagntic halo around |
| discrimination. Using high discrimination to get rid of | | | | it. The signal strength is greatly reduced and in all |
| those pesky pop tops and pull tabs, caused me to | | | | probability will not reach the dime. Even if it does |
| notice that some signals were mere blips but | | | | the signal will fail on the return path when it hits |
| turned out to be good finds. By placing good | | | | the halo again. |
| targets next to junk targets, I noticed that | | | | What does this really mean to the detectorist? |
| standard and larger coils produced unusual signals | | | | Probably only about 25% of all coin targets in |
| or none at all, and I was missing the good targets. | | | | schools, stadiums, and ball fields have been |
| I took out my Fisher 441 all metal unit and could | | | | recovered because of masking, silent masking and |
| get readings on most of the good targets that | | | | deep depths. No metal detector on the market |
| were being masked by the tabs, pencil erasers, | | | | today can see through iron. I further proved my |
| gum wrappers and buck shot that I had in my | | | | postulate that no site is completely hunted-out. I |
| test garden. I decided to test out masking by | | | | took my Fisher Impluse, a pulse induction |
| going to a favorite site that always produced a | | | | detector, and went back for a visit to my hunted |
| few old keepers. The Fisher 441 was a great all | | | | out spot. I dug up over 300 targets including five |
| metal detector with exceptional depth for the | | | | old coins that were masked by this high amount |
| time period. I marked-off an area and hunted it | | | | of hidden trash that none of my conventional |
| using three different patterns and found piles of | | | | locators could even get a signal. Please do not go |
| junk items and about 40 coins. I cleaned that area | | | | buy a PI detector to use as a coin shooter. Sixty |
| so well, that I called it my hunted out site. I did | | | | to one odds of trash to coins will be greatly |
| not go back there again for nearly 15 years, | | | | increased in most places to more than 100 to 1 |
| believing I got all the goodies that had been lost | | | | odds. Remember, I had cleaned or sanitized this |
| there. I so cleaned it out that none of my top line | | | | area with my conventional detectors more than |
| detectors received signals of any kind. I thought | | | | 15 years earlier. These great detectors are not |
| that I had licked the masking problem. I was | | | | affected by mineralization or the medium |
| recommending to all of our club members to use | | | | between the detector and the target. |
| little or no discrimination and/or utilize a smaller coil | | | | Performance does not change whether detecting |
| to get around the masking. | | | | through air, water, silt, sand, or solid coral. |
| During the mid 80's, I discovered the second type | | | | However, using a PI as a coin shooter might |
| of masking. This menace is known as "silent" | | | | shoot you down for a very long time as you will |
| masking. Silent masking works this way. Bury a | | | | dig very deep and every few inches. Here's to |
| good target such as a silver dime, at three to | | | | "diggin it"! |