How low should you go when tot lotting?

Cherry Picker

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One of the most missed pieces of gold jewelry in tot lots are Earrings and chains. The problem is they can read almost like iron so if you have that tuned out you'll miss most. Here is a video I did showing how low a 14k gold earring can read on both a modern Equinox 800 and a 15 year old DFX. I have learned to run my discrimination down to -2 on the 800 and -21 on the DFX.

 
I would agree metaladdict. I miss my AT Pro. The best tot lot detector I've used. Well, the DFX is right there with it, but it's a tank.
 
One of the most missed pieces of gold jewelry in tot lots are Earrings and chains. The problem is they can read almost like iron so if you have that tuned out you'll miss most. Here is a video I did showing how low a 14k gold earring can read on both a modern Equinox 800 and a 15 year old DFX. I have learned to run my discrimination down to -2 on the 800 and -21 on the DFX.


Did you try prospecting mode???
And field 2 mode??
 
No, in a tot lot Prospecting or Field are a disaster. I use Coin 2, the factory gold program, with the accepted VDI lowered.

It works great for tot lots and the earring I used is a tough one. What I did find impressive was the EQ sounded the same even when the earring was open. My DFX don't even see it open.

A lot of people just underestimate the DFX's ability to do tot lot gold when adjusted properly. What you see is why I still own 2 DFX's. Still this 15 year old detector can run with the very best of today's detectors. Note the one line on the Signagraph. The indicator of possible gold and not foil or can slaw. 191 target segments helps the accuracy so you dig less trash.
 
No, in a tot lot Prospecting or Field are a disaster. I use Coin 2, the factory gold program, with the accepted VDI lowered.

It works great for tot lots and the earring I used is a tough one. What I did find impressive was the EQ sounded the same even when the earring was open. My DFX don't even see it open.

A lot of people just underestimate the DFX's ability to do tot lot gold when adjusted properly. What you see is why I still own 2 DFX's. Still this 15 year old detector can run with the very best of today's detectors. Note the one line on the Signagraph. The indicator of possible gold and not foil or can slaw. 191 target segments helps the accuracy so you dig less trash.

Thanks for replying.
 
Tot Lot----------if it beeps, I dig it. It clears the lot for next time too.
Marvin
 
At my local, regularly hit wood chipped playgrounds and basketball court areas I take a Tesoro and run all metal. It takes a few trips to get all the Bobby pins, nails and such but you definitely won't miss any of the little gold jewelry items this way.
 
Yeah..totters and on the beach, a guy has to be hearing and getting every signal!!...Down to the Blue jean rivet size! Ok then..its not feasible to do this on the dirt, but in totters or on the sand a guy simply MUST key in on and pull all pings! Iron, foil, whatever!

Its easy enough to pull pings kicking chips or scooping sand or pea gravel.....the structure and demographics are right to precipitate a good gold drop in totters...You simply gotta do it if you want to find gold...just freaking do it...the skill is in running the structure, getting in and close and identifying the Gold bearing totters...and not so much about voidering the signals...You are running wide open but SOFT enough to get in close to the Big Iron...

You just come up with a milk run of gold bearing totters, a set up program that can hit a small foil close to big iron, and then stay at it...
 

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Keep settings low and I personally like small coils 7inch down. Small white gold can get you in the negatives even at 3 grams according to what type of median you are detecting in. HH
 
I turn things way down in tot-lots as I don't want to dig targets below the canvas. I don't use discrimination anywhere (though I do turn the volume off on anything below -10). Targets with a VDI < -10 tend towards junk and will often ignore them. The lowest VDI I ever found something that wasn't junk was -4 (a small, thin 14k band).

Chains are a tough target, regardless of where you find them. Their VDI's are all over the place depending upon length, thickness, link design, and how they are layered and coiled in the ground. I have never dug one, but I have experimented on them and I have made peace with the idea that on dry ground I will likely never dig one due to how they shape. On wet/dry sand, I am less concerned with shape...
 
I run in all metal in tot lots...then I thumb my descrimination slowly up... little gold seems easier to find if the detector first gets a good lock on the target.....gold usually seems to make a cleaner break when you lose it raising the descrimination also...just my two center..and yes..hit the underlayment and it's as far as one should dig...
 
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