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Question about Vanquish 540

MKW

Full Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2020
Messages
248
Location
Coastal South Carolina
Ok, so I got a ML Vanquish 540 in early February as my first detector. It seems like a good machine for stating out because it's pretty simple, even for a newbie. I am mostly hunting for relics in the woods and around old home foundations.
My question is...are there certain settings that will stop me from digging so many square nails and other nails? They ring up as 19-22 most of the time and I just can't pass on those numbers. Is it more of a tone thing that I should be listening for? I know I will have to dig lots of junk to find the good stuff, but these nails are killing me.
Thanks.
 
I do not have a Vanquish but have been reading alot and watching the videos on it. The 540 has iron bias. You may have it on low? If so try the high setting. Try switching from low to high while swinging over some of the nails you've dug. See if you hear the difference. Read n re-read the manual. It's pretty much a must with detecting. Hope this helps. HH
 
I don’t think I’ve ever owned a machine I haven’t dug nails with,and the vanquish I have now is no different.For some reason Minelab multi frequency machines have always been more prone to give nails a high tone and call them a good target.. but all that aside,digging nails is just part of the hobbie
 
If the 540 has iron bias you can adjust that to help. My nox 800 has 0 to 8 i think for iron bias and you can eliminate nails completely but when you do , you run the risk of missing a good target. Sometimes if i am in a spot where there are nails everywhere i go ahead and set it where i only dig a few nails.
 
The Vanquish 540 has a setting for High iron bias and Low iron bias. I hate to admit it, but I really don't know what it means as this is my first ever detector. Which one lets more iron in?
 
Here's some YouTube links that might help with the Vanquish:

Iffy Signals:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFjErVtJOJNzdx82tr7Pzw

England's History: https://www.youtube.com/user/englandshistory/videos

Pittsburgh Coin Hunting: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMU6F05oNBd0ZgmSozoaGgA/videos

South Coast Detecting: https://www.youtube.com/user/WSPICOTC/videos

Gregg's Treasures: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE8J7PF5JGuzUxoT2VilDxQ/videos

Those should keep you busy for a while. Hope these help...
 
Are you checking those 19-22 signals with the horseshoe button pressed so iron is not rejected and so you can hear a low iron tone along with the medium high tone?

If you are hunting in thick iron you will have to either hunt with nothing rejected, -9, -8 and -7 rejected or use one of the preset modes and just use the horseshoe button on every target that could be falsing iron.

Jeff
 
Are you checking those 19-22 signals with the horseshoe button pressed so iron is not rejected and so you can hear a low iron tone along with the medium high tone?

If you are hunting in thick iron you will have to either hunt with nothing rejected, -9, -8 and -7 rejected or use one of the preset modes and just use the horseshoe button on every target that could be falsing iron.

Jeff

I just turn it on, go to relic mode and swing away. I was out in the yard today with some on the old nails that I have found experimenting with the horseshoe button. It's confusing, but I'll figure it out eventually.
 
You can do some testing with zinc pennies (made after 1982), shell casings, copper jacketed bullets and the square nails you have found. They have similar numbers and tones but you should hear a big difference even in normal relic mode. I won't describe it since it is better if you figure it out.

Jeff
 
You can do some testing with zinc pennies (made after 1982), shell casings, copper jacketed bullets and the square nails you have found. They have similar numbers and tones but you should hear a big difference even in normal relic mode. I won't describe it since it is better if you figure it out.

Jeff

Thanks. I will try that tomorrow. I have all of those things in my junk finds bucket.
 
Go slow,scan the ground.literally.. Count to 3 for a side to side swing.That vanquish is a very good machine,and i haven’t used many better regardless of price.. I usually run sensitivity one click down from max.. I prefer jewlery mode but you might like another mode..I like high iron bias,seems to false less on iron..lots of good info here from knowledgeable guys already,,good luck
 
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