Target ID Guide for Teknetics...

INSIDE GUIDE TO THE TARGET ID OF THE TEKNETICS OMEGA 8ooo

BY: KANSAS DIGGER

If you have purchased a detector in the past, you know the agony of finding information on finding the good stuff. It is almost impossible to get anyone to come off their numbers, they hold them close, and act as if insulted by your asking. You spend weeks working your way through digging trash heaps and drooling over the more experienced detector’s finds. Well I am not that kind of guy, granted my info is for my area and may vary slightly in your soil, but at least you will have a guide to start you on your way, and be excited with the first swing, knowing you have a leg up on the others who may of purchased the Omega 8000 elsewhere, this is an exclusive, just for my blog followers and  for High Plains Prospectors and their customers. If you find it helpful, give me a comment, and let the Boys know, who knows, maybe I will get an at a boy bonus, (hint hint, lol).

These numbers are derived from over 150 hours of detecting with the Omega, in all conditions including: High to no EMI, high mineral to low mineral ground, muddy to dust bowl ground conditions, and everything in between. They are derived from these settings and setup, as I use these most often:

·         True all metal

·         Sensitivity at 64

·         Freq 1 to 2

·         DD 11 inch coil

·         Headphones

·         Ground Balance set according to location

ID #’s PENNIES

COIN	TARGET NUMBER ID	NOTES
INDIAN HEAD	78-80
WHEAT CENTS	82-84
MEMORIALS	80-82
ZINC	74-78

COIN	TARGET NUMBER ID	NOTES
V NICKEL	56 TO 58	NUMBER WILL JUMP BACK AND FOURTH, THEY ARE USUALLY 4 TO 6 INCHES DEEP. TONE WILL BE A TIGHT PATTERN; PULL TABS WILL BE A LONG DRIFTING TONE.
BUFFALO NICKELS	54-56	ALTERNATING- SAME RULES AS ABOVE, BUT WILL BE A MORE TRASHY TONE. NOTE DEPTH, BUFFS ARE RARELY ABOVE FOUR INCHES AND DEEPER THAN 8 IS RARE, (AGAIN IN MY AREA)
JEFFERSON NICKELS	55-56	THIS NUMBER WILL STAY SOLID AFTER PINPOINTING, IF IT VENTURES ABOVE 56 AFTER YOU PINPOINT, IT MOST LIKELY ISN’T A NICKEL, EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF WAR NICKELS.

ID #’S NICKELS

ID #’S DIMES

COIN	TARGET NUMBER ID	NOTES
BARBER DIMES	84-86	ALTERNATING NUMBERS, VERY SCRATCHY/IFFY SIGNAL SOUND BUT THE NUMBERS STAY SOLID AFTER PINPOINTING, USE A SMALL PATERN SWING AFTER PP TO SHOW TRUE ID NUMBER
MERCURY DIMES	82-84	SCRATCHY/IFFY TONE, BUT NUMBERS STAY SOLID, DEPENDING ON DEPTH MAY BE AS LOW AS 78 AND AS HIGH AS 86, IT IS A NOTICABLY SMALL TARGET AND IS USUALLY SHALLOW FROM TARGET DEPTH ID.
ROSIE SILVER	86 SOLID	SCRATCHY SIGNAL TONES, USUALLY FOUND AT 2 TO 6 INCHES, DEEPER THAN THAT THE ID CHANGES TO AS LOW AS 78 BUT STAYS SOLID, AND DEFINED.
CLAD	84 SOLID	STRONG SIGNAL 2 TO 4 INCHES DEEP

ID #’S QUARTERS

SILVER- N/A HAVE NOT SCORED ONE YET, NOTE THE YET, LOL

CLAD- 86 TO 92 ACCORDING TO DEPTTH

NOTABLE ID #’S

·         SMALL 10 K GOLD: 74-78 BOUNCING AS LOW AS 60 AND AS HIGH AS 90 WITH DIFFICULTY PINPOINTING. LONG DRAWN OUT TONES AND DEPTH ID IS VARRIED WHEN TURNING 90 DEGREES. REAL TRICKY TARGET, BUT IF THE MACHINE IS MORE ERATIC THAN NORMAL TARGETS, EVEN TRASH, GET EXCITED.

·         SMALL SILVER RING: 78-84 DEPENDING ON DEPTH AND SIZE, LOUD SOLID TONE, AND DISTINCT PING… THAT MIGHT JUST BE IN MY HEAD, LIKE A CASH REGISTER.

·         MED SILVER RING: 84-88 DEPENDING ON DEPTH, LOUD SOLID TONE FOR DEPTH.

·         LRG SILVER RING: OVERLOAD UP TO 2 INCHES, 92-96, VERY LOUD TONE FOR DEPTH.

·         BULLETS: SMALL – 50 TO 56 SCRATCHY AT DEPTH, LRG- 70-76 DEEP SIGNAL WITH LONG TONE.

TRASH ALERT!

·         MODERN PULL TABS COME UP AS 56 SHALLOW BUT HAVE A LONG DRAWN OUT TONE THAT DRIFTS OFF INSTEAD OF A SHARP END, SEE NICKELS.

·         OLDER PULL TABS WILL HIT AT 56 TO 70, AGAIN, LONG DRAWN OUT TONE.

·         BEAVER TAILS WILL HIT LIKE ZINC COINS  AND EVEN JUMP AS HIGH AS DIME, BUT LIFTING THE COIL WHILE SWINGING THE NUMBER WILL DROP DRASTICALLY.

·         BOTTLE TOPS HIT HARD AND LOUD AND WILL BE 88 TO 99, DEPENDING ON DEPTH, LIFTING THE COIL WHILE SWINGING WILL CAUSE THE NUMBER TO DROP DRASTICALLY.

A FEW MORE TIPS

·         LOWER SWING SPEED WHEN YOU RAISE THE SENSITIVITY.

·         LOWER YOUR GROUND BALANCE 1 TO 2 NUMBERS IN HIGH EMI FOR MORE ACCURATE TARGET ID.

·         RAISE YOUR GROUND BALANCE 1 TO 2 NUMBERS WHERE SURFACE TRASH IS PROMINENT.

·         DO A QUICK GROUND GRAB OVER YOUR REPLACED PLUG AFTER YOU HAVE EXTRACTED THE TARGET, THIS IS MAINLY FOR THE PIECE OF MIND BUT IT IS QUICK AND ENSURES YOU ARE SET CORRECTLY UNTIL THE NEXT HOLE.

·         SET THE SENSITIVITY LOW TO START, I GENERALLY START AROUND 64, IF I AM OVERWHELMED WITH IRON TARGETS; I LOWER THE SENSITIVITY TILL THEY DISAPATE A LITTLE. IF YOU FEEL THE SENSITIVITY IS TO LOW, SET IT BACK TO 64 AND CHANGE YOUR FREQUENCY SETTING UP ONE NUMBER, IF YOU ARE ALREADY ON 3, GO BACK TO ONE.

·         IF THE TONE IS LONG AND DRAWN OUT, OR VERY ABRUPT, CHANGE FREQUENCY SETTING.

I hope this is helpful to you, I truly believe the Teknetics line is highly underrated, and though it takes a little time to work through the variations from all other machines, the Teknetics line will prove to be a major advantage when detecting against other brands. With the adjustability, solid target ID, and superior depth, you can bank on finding the targets others have missed. The light weight design will keep you swinging long after the others are sucking wind and counting their clad.

For more information on the Teknetics Omega 8000 or other Teknetics machines, contact the boys here at HPP, if they can’t answer your questions, they will send you to me, and if I don’t have the answer, you may be asking the wrong questions, lol, just kidding, I will scour the earth and cyber space to find the answer for you. Thank you for your patronage, and taking the time to read this. You can read more about detecting on my blog, http://prairiedigger.blogspot.com, http://detecting365.com, and see the Teknetics Omega, and Delta in action on my YouTube channel, KansasDigger.  As always Dig safe, Dig right, and Dig often. Happy Hunting.

KD

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS!

Lil Digger and her Teknetics Delta 4000

As many of you already know, my daughter, Lil Digger, loves to metal detect. In fact she has gotten very good in most of the aspects. She knows how to dig proper, how to extract the target, how to fill the hole back in, and how to be responsible with her digging tool. She is an expert with her pinpointer, and is always willing to dig and treasure. The only problem is, finding her a decent detector.

Lil digger is seven, and very good with the computer, as most seven year old are. So, why is it non of the manufacturers recognise this? Do they think our children are stupid? Look at the junior models and you will see nothing but useless garbage. There isn't even a target identifier on most of them, just a meter. How the heck do they expect a child how to know what the meter is saying, I am 37 and I can barely remember seeing a meter on anything. Wouldn't a digital readout be a little more appropriate? Or how about a target picture screen with pictures of the coins that light up. These could be done and probably cheaper than the meters.

Lil Digger loves the treasure!

The depth, they say, for the junior models is up to 6 inches. I have yet to see a demonstration of this claim. I also don't understand why they have no pinpoint, armrest, multi tones, and other features everyone looks for in a detector.

We have all been there, digging trash all day, and not getting any good objects. It isn't fun, and I am sure it isn't fun for them either. It is time the little ones are taken seriously. Their first impression of the hobby is important and will stay with them forever. If the companies don't start realising that our children are capable of understanding and operating electronics more than most of us can, I am afraid this hobby may fizzle out. Below are a few ideas for the companies, I doubt they will see this, but in hopes they might.

Teknetics:
Modify the 4000 with a lower arm rest, and shorten the upper arm. My Lil Digger loves my old 4000 but can't swing it very well, the armrest is in her armpit. It is light enough, and she can fully understand the display.

Fisher:
Adapt the F2 like above

Garrett:
Take the 250 since it has pinpoint, and modify the armrest length. The lower part is able to get where she needs, also shorten the bend where the handle is to lower the display. A small lighter coil, and wow, what a machine for a youngster to use.

Whites:
Wake up, its not 1970 anymore. Catch up and develop the first real kids detector.

Minelab:
With all your genius ideas, and mind blowing capabilities, you can't figure out how to make a reliable and fun Kids detector, try the Excalibur, but dumb it down a little. And shorten things up like above. Attach a smaller coil, and you have the top selling kids detector ever made.

I guess I am day dreaming, but wouldn't that be nice, to go out detecting with your child, knowing they have just as good of a chance at finding the older stuff as you are? Watching them leave happy and feeling successful. I can't see how we keep them interested, when the companies won't take them serious. That is my rant for the year, I hope you all can forgive me.

thanks,
KD

ONE OF MY BEST DAYS EVER!

It has been one heck of a day. It started with the finishing and publishing of my Teknetics Omega Review. It was my first real review and I spent many long nights trying to make it as professional as a Kansas High School drop out could. Here is the link to the review on detecting365

http://detecting365.com/teknetics-omega-8000-revie

Then, just as I finished, I was contacted via our local buy, sell, trade sight on facebook, where I run a continuous ad for free ring recoveries and detecting service, by a lady who had lost her ring 5 months ago in her yard. I went there and within 5 minutes was able to locate her ring, shown below.



After that, I went and picked the wife up from work, and the kids from school. The eldest had evening band practice, and the youngest had girl scouts. The house was empty and I was bored, so I grabbed my detector and headed for the door. My yard is an EMI hell, but I figured I would play around and try to get a signal. I went through several progressions until I finally ended up in all metal mode. I am not a fan nor accustom to this mode, but I figured I wasn't going to find much anyway so it would be good practice. Man did the machine come alive! I pulled a civil war era bullet, a cool pepper shaker top looking thing, an upholstery tack from the mid 1800's, and this beauty. You know I have been detecting a long time, and I have found older coins, and newer coins, but I had never found a Barber, till today!



All in all, I would say it was a pretty good day. You know the Natives have a saying. Some days its a good day to die, and some days it is a good day to metal detect. I hope you read my review, and the Lesson Learned story on detecting365. Thanks for reading, Gl and as always HH.




Yours,

KD

METAL DETECTING TIPS AND TRICKS: HUNTING IN TRASHY AREAS

Is there any place left that isn't filled with nails, bottle caps, pull tabs, and foil? If you're like me, it is impossible to find a permission or other detecting spot, that isn't riddled with trash targets. Here are a few things I have picked up along the way to help you see through the trash and dig up what others have left behind.

Ground Balance:

It is almost impossible to get a good ground balance in a trashy area. Even if your machine adjusts as often as the Whites MXT. It is a crucial part of having success, and to maintain proper target ID, depth, and pinpointing. I always bite the bullet and find a shallow target, trash or whatever, and dig a plug six inches wider then the coil. Then I make sure to clean all the debris out of the whole and plug before replacing it back. Then keeping the sensitivity at a lower level, I do my ground balance. I usually mark the area with a stick or something so I know where it is when I need to come back to it. It seems like a waste of time but in the end, it will save you a great deal of frustration.

Sensitivity setting:

Remember the higher your sensitivity is set, the larger your search area is. If you are set to high in a trashy area, you may be masking the better targets. I always start low, 60 on the Teknetics Omega 8000, with a DD coil. This gives me a tighter search area, and allows me to here, what I like to call, The Ghost Whispers. The Ghost Whisper is the noise you think you here, no wait you did here, that makes the hair on your neck stand on end. It isn't easily heard and takes time and practice to train your ear to it. It is a light scratchy sound, and if it is a repeatable sound, I am digging. The next two tips will help you identify The Ghost Whisper.

Swing Speed:

This is one of the hardest things to do in my opinion. A lot of detectorist are digging in whatever spare time they can get, and want to cover as much ground as possible in the precious little time they have to enjoy the hobby. In trashy areas though, working at even a normal pace will usually end your dig in disappointment and heartache. In order to hear the Whisper in these areas you have to take it slow and smooth. Finesse is the key, not to fast and not to slow. To fast will mask good targets and to slow will make your machine false. You have to find the best slow pace for your detector. It is hard to do and I know it is difficult to hang in those areas, but trust me, it will pay off.

Discrimination:

Discrimination in a trashy area can be a double edged digger. On one hand no one want to listen to the constant low tone of iron, it can drive a man mad. On the other, discrimination can and does cause false signals when working a slow paced swing. The edge of iron, or surface foil can cause the silver signal to repeat itself, and the excitement runs through your soul. I usually choose not to run discrimination, I think it is easier to hear the mid to high scratch of the whisper through the barge of low tones. I will say I can only do this for a short while before I am hypnotised by the dub step bass of the iron. If you do choose to use discrimination, set it just below the foil setting. Then once you hear that glorious Whisper, switch out of the discrimination to make sure what your hearing isn't one of the for mentioned pains.

Pattern your movement:

It is always best to work an area from all directions. This is especially true in trashy areas. If you get a good signal, be sure to take the time to check different angles. If you can hear it from a couple or all the angles, I say dig it. If it is lost to all the other angles but your original one, you might think of skipping it, this time.

These few reminders will, I hope benefit you in the future. Remember to swing slow, and listen close, you don't want to miss that beautiful Ghost Whisper. Thanks for reading, and as always HH.

KD

LESSON LEARNED?

Today was amazing, I finally got dialed in with the Teknetics Omega 8000, I was finding all kinds of clad, and then popped out a beautiful little sterling ring.I was on cloud nine as I went and picked my wife up at work. I sat at home for a bit, then decided to head to the school down the road a bit. The kids are on spring break, so I thought this week would be perfect to detect our local school yards. I arrived, and as I hoped the park was empty.I started off, collecting clad right and left. Then the days luck started to turn. Two youngsters showed up on their bikes, and started following me so close I could hardly swing my machine.I have dealt with this situation before, and keep my delta 4000 in the car for just this type of occasion. I gave them some quick tips and sent them on their way to find their own treasure and be out of my hair, lol. We detected around for about an hour as the sun started to fade. The youngsters had found nothing but trash, and I, being the kind hearted soul that I am,decided to help them out. I located a target hitting 84 on my Teknetics Omega 8000, it registered about two inches deep. I called the two youngsters over and told them to swing the detector over the spot and dig it up. I walked away feeling proud that I had helped them find a copper penny, clad dime, maybe a little silver piece. I found a few more clad coins, and was digging a good signal, when here they came a running. I thought, man they sure are happy with finding a dime. Well, it turns out, that copper penny/clad dime signal was actually an 18k gold engagement ring, with a huge diamond sitting right on top. I sat there stunned, I have never found a gold ring, and I had just handed this beautiful find to two lousy kids. They hung around a bit patting themselves on the back, as I loaded the detectors in the car. Then one said, "we are going to give this to our mom, it will make her happy again, our grandpa died last week." I told them to hurry home and give it to her, what else could I do. Sitting at home stewing over what went wrong, I started to clean the silver ring I had found earlier. As I cleaned off the dirt, I noticed its inscription, WWJD. What Would Jesus Do, I smirked a bit, knowing I had just been taught a valuable lesson. The lesson? I don't know, but someday I will figure it out and I am good with that. Thanks for reading. KD

METAL DETECTING TIPS AND TRICKS #1

Hello everyone I hope you all are enjoying my blog so far. Recently I have been commenting on a few Youtube videos, answering questions on how to tell trash from coin. Here are a few tricks I have learned along the way, they are not 100% effective but has cut down on my bottle cap, pull tab, and nail digging a bunch. I can't guarantee these will work for you or your area, but they work here in the heartland most of the time.

Bottle Caps:

As anyone who swings a detector knows, one of the sweetest signals you can get is the quarter range. All your hopes and dreams could be just seconds away and your mind drifts away dreaming of large silver, .999 gold, and all the other wonderful things that pop in the quarter's beautiful realm. Then you dig the hole and find, like the creepy kid in school lurking behind every corner, a grotesque, vile, and unwelcome enemy to the detecting community, a bottle cap. It happens to us all, no matter how much experience we have or how advanced our detector is, the darn things will not leave us alone. But, I have found a few ways to determine the difference between sweet, glorious treasure, and this king of trash.

1. Make sure the object is centered in the middle of your detector. Swing your detector over the object, if the A. the numbers stay in quarter range but are jumping around, this could be a warning sign, rotate a quarter turn and repeat the process, if the numbers stay the same dig, if they change or continue bouncing around, go to number two. B. If your machine doesn't have a target number ID, do the same as A only pay attention to your indicator, if it gives a quick jump out of range, or the sound changes, it is a warning sign, and continue to the second test, if it stays the same your possibility rises, but I would still do the second test.

2. Make sure the target is centered in your coil, as you swing your coil, slowly raise it to a couple of inches, if the signal changes, it is most likely trash, if it stays constant, get to digging! This test and the one above works with all coins. Remember, most detectors are programmed to recognize the U.S. coin sizes, so anything in those sizes will usually come up as a coin, by using these two tricks, you may be able to weed out some of the unwanted garbage.

Nickel vs Pulltabs:

Unfortunately it is a fact of life we all have to deal with, and causes a great deal of soul searching and decision making on our part. Do we dig pulltabs all day hoping for a nickel or gold, or do we not waste our precious detecting time, and skip what possibly could be a find of a life time.

This is where having a detector with an  ID numbering systems gives the detectorist a great advantage over others who go by indicators or sound. Granted, if you listen close, the echo of aluminum compared to nickel can be heard, and gold usually has that distinct ping echo at the end, the chances of hearing them in a littered area are slim, and understanding what your hearing takes awhile to master. I call it listening for the ghost whispers, you know when your just standing there and all of a sudden you think you hear something that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, that is the ghost whisper, and when you learn to hear that in your headset, the whole world opens up to you, and the finest of treasure awaits your arrival. For those who have not reached Nirvana yet, and have the ID #'s on their detectors, this is what works for me.

Numbering ID is different with each company, I wish it was standardized but, like teens, they all have to think they are different. The example I will use is for the Teknetics ID system, adjust to your own VDI by burying a nickel at 4 inches, make sure the object is centered and find the number. then rotate a quarter turn and repeat, the number should be the same or within one or two numbers. For Teknetics there is a golden rule, Nickels will very seldom, in fact I have never dug on over, the number 57, center your target and go over it, if it bounces over 57 ( or the number you have chosen as your designated nickel number) it is most likely not a nickel, rotate and repeat, if it stays under 57, dig it. Buffalo nickels tend to bounce around in the nickel range but never go over the 57 mark. This is only for nickels, gold is a whole other animal and we will treat it as such. Silver Nickels, I have noticed usually stay under 57 but have dug a few that bounced to the high dime range every few passes, pulltabs will stay in nickel/screw cap range but usually stay around 58 to 62, and they rarely stay on a solid number.

Nails:

Many times nails come up in high dime and quarter range, the same techniques under bottle caps is what I use for them, but, it is just a fact of life, you will dig some nails. The dryer the ground, the more likely you will be fooled.

Why Silver Drought is the Correct Term

You ever notice that you don't find many or any silver at times. We call it a silver drought, but, the drought part is a big key to this frustrating phenomenon that frustrates all who detect. You begin to question your coil, your detector, your headphones, your ability, your relationships, and life can become very difficult to handle when the dreaded silver drought occurs. Relax! It is not your machine, or your loved ones restricting your detecting time that is causing it. The fact is the silver is masked by irons halo. WHAT! KD HAS GONE CRAZY THINKIN IRON IS AN ANGEL OR SOMETHIN, is probably what your thinking, but, the fact is, the dryer the ground the larger irons "halo" or rust ring is. This ring of rust dust spreads and mixes with the soil causing your machine to react as if you hit something sweet, then after you pinpoint you discover it is just iron, and if you have iron discriminated out, the target disappears on you. When the soil get like this it is time to search out the neighborhood parks, ball fields, river banks, and beaches where water is delivered to the soil, i.e. sprinkler systems, and natural under ground saturation. This will increase your chances of staying on the silver and saving your loved ones from the silver junky's withdraws.

I hope these few tricks and tips will help you to find more treasures and dig less trash. Again, I can't promise you it will eliminate all the deviants that plaque our otherwise favorite activity, but, if they work for you it will save you a lot of time and energy. Thanks for reading and I wish you all good luck and HH. As always Keep the coil to the soil and I will do the same.

KD

Teknetics Omega 8000 w/ 5" coil Hunt

Hey guys,

Well the snow didn't melt as fast as I hoped. I was hoping to hunt a yard but it was and still is full of snow. I decided to put the 5" coil on the Teknetics Omega 8000 and hunt the areas around my sidewalks since they had melted back a ways. I pulled out a few trash items and a small broken costume broach. I was still having a blast, it has been to long since I could turn on my detector. I was getting a little stressed, and detecting cures all. I decided to go along the sidewalk on the street side, suddenly I got a strong signal, 57, and it did not budge from there. I grabbed my army shovel and pulled a plug around 5" deep. It wasn't in the plug, so I pulled my Pro-Pointer out and went to work, it gave me a slow beep in the back, bottom, of the hole. I started to dig, I was thinking crap an old can or mason jar lid. At 7" the beeping from my pointer was pretty much steady, It was close. I dug around a little and pulled out a round object. I figured, cool another Buffalo, I start to wipe it off, carefully. It threw me at first, it sure wasn't a Buffalo, it was this.....

1910 Liberty! I was so shocked that I just stood there looking at it. The oldest coin I have found since my move, oh she made me happy. Tomorrow the snow should be almost gone, yes the ground will be muddy, but so will I. Thanks for reading.

KD

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