Fundamentals of Detecting Central Kansas Detector setup for soil conditions

Gain/ sensitivity Settings

                There are many areas in Kansas that the soil is drastically different than the usual dirt most treasure hunters are use to.  Here in Central Kansas,( Pawnee, Barton, Stafford, Pratt, Western Reno, Counties) the ground is filled with sand, the soil has a caramel color, and river rock is scattered throughout. This means the soil is a loose soil that gives the ability to detect deep objects, it also creates interference when trying to detect for smaller objects like coins and jewelry. Standard set ups are usually over kill for this area. When detecting parks, yards, and other in town sites, I drop the gain to as low as five and still dig objects four to six inches deep. Using a lower gain prevents the larger iron from masking shallow coins, I start at five at every location in this area and do a quick sweep, swing the coil at a normal rhythm. As I ad gain I slow the pace of my swing. Max gain in town is seven to eight; this is used only after I have made several passes through the area, turning the gain up one each time. With the gain set at eight, my swing is very slow, listening for small high tones in the almost constant iron tones. By this time, you are digging mostly bullets, larger tin and higher grade iron objects (i.e. tools, gun parts, large square nails).  The depth with the gain set at eight is 14 to 18 inches. If you go higher than eight, the detector begins giving false signals; also the iron signal overwhelms all other signals.  In the farm fields I start at seven or eight and will go as high as ten, most fields can take the higher gain and the objects are usually deep, I have dug an Indian head penny at 18 inches in the farm fields and bullets as deep as 22 inches. I use a slower pace swing in the farm fields and dig any signal deeper than six inches due to minerals masking everything to iron.

Discrimination settings

                I rarely use discrimination in Central Kansas, with the depth that can be reached in this area; it causes iron objects to give off false positive tones. In all metal mode you can determine the validity of the signal after pinpointing. This occurrence happens often especially when using higher gain. We also have hot rocks that read as quarters in discrimination mode, in all metal the signal is broken, and through a little experience, can be determined to be a hot rock. Though, this makes yard hunting more difficult due to the level of iron and other undesirable objects, it allows you to identify objects that are closely together, especially while using a DD coil.

Ground Balancing

                It is difficult to keep the ground balance neutral here in Central Kansas as the minerals change rapidly through out detecting areas. As a result many lower end machines have trouble keeping up with ground conditions even at moderate sensitivity settings. A good starting ground balance and the ability to adjust manually is a huge asset when hunting these areas. It is common to have to adjust the ground balance often due to different mineral saturation even in small locations, such as yards, ball fields, and park areas. Automatic ground balance will work if you are detecting slow and allow it to catch up, but this can only be done with machines that display their balance, or by pumping the coil every so often to listen for the pulling or pushing of sound. In the areas of eastern Stafford Co., and western Reno co., there is a high salt content. In these areas you have to have a detector that will adjust accordingly. Again the ground is not as compact as other parts of the state, so low Gain/ sensitivity is recommended, as depth isn’t an issue. Running a lower sensitivity helps with the ground balance and insures that the detector isn’t skipping over any small shallow objects.

Conclusion

                Central Kansas can be a frustrating place to detect. In dry conditions, most machines can’t discriminate between iron and precious metals, luckily these drought conditions occur only during extreme heat. In wet conditions the detecting is superb; the iron’s ring is diminished, and separating targets is less difficult. The sand allows for moisture to soak in quickly, so after a good rain, ideal detecting conditions occur. During this time you can raise your gain and find small deeper targets that previously were masked by the iron. Knowing your detector and the soil conditions is crucial to successful detecting in the Central Kansas area. Thanks for reading, and remember: Dig safe, Dig right, and Dig often. Happy hunting.