Well, I was able to get some hunt time in before Monte Jr. arrived with the trailer The 'good', in this case, was that there were quite a few more coins to be added to my recoveries from this yard, about 19 today at last count. The bad was that none of them are older-dated coins.

The weather started out okay, but not as pleasant as the last two or three days. There was a comfortable breeze with partly cloudy skies and it felt like it would be a good detecting day. The bad was that about 10 minutes after I started the skies cleared, the breezed stopped, it warmed up, and there was no air movement in the big two-bar carport. So not only did it warm up, but the mosquitoes came out in force.

Finally I moved out into some shady areas in my back yard where there was a slight breeze. That was good. But the folks who lived here drank a lot of beer and must have had some sloppy visitors because the bottle cap count around here is very frustrating, so that's the bad part.

Trying to look for anything positive in life, I also figured I would do some search coil comparisons, which also means detector comparisons because I was using two different coils on the same series, my Apex, and also comparing the coil size and performance of the 5" DD NEL on an Apex, 5" DD on my FORS Relic, and 6" Concentric on my Bandido II microMAX. Comparable coil sizes, but different detector circuitry designs and one model that lacks visual Target ID and audio Tone ID. It was good to do comparisons ij both the very Bottle Cap cluttered area and over in another cluttered place with a lot of Iron Nails and other small ferrous debris.

Doing these comparisons and site searches were both good as well as bad. For over five decades I have relied on listening to the audio responses and learning the performance behavior of many different detectors. I do use the visual Target ID, but not on a regular basis, and it is often coupled with the audio responses I get to help me make a Dig! or No-Dig! decision. In very littered areas the nearby masking or interfering metal targets will often 'blend' with good desired finds which results in a slightly errant Audio and/or Visual response.

Adapting to the individual detector's overload or back-reading response and adjusting for a best-performance coil height, all of the detectors worked quite well. Visual TID and VDI read-out wasn't considered for accuracy due to the close or adjacent trash which will blead and bother a 'proper' visual display. However, once I was fatigued and headed toward my patio to take a needed break, I cut across the open grassy back yard. Low-to-modest amounts of metal targets so I was able to do some checking and comparison of the different detectors and coils for Target ID accuracy for each model. They were with me or nearby on my picnic table, and those included my regular-use Apex with the 5X8 DD 'Ripper' coil and Simplex + w.5X9½ DD, just to compare my mid-size coil performance.

The Good News: ... All Detectors and All the coils provided very good audio response to targets from surface down to about 5" - 6" or so.

The Bad News: ... I really like to use smaller-size coils and the NEL 5" Sharp does fine, if I am only listening for an audio report from a located target. However, I have found, from prior use and from today, that the VDI responses are often 2 to 4 or 5 numbers 'off' from other coils and from where the desired targets (US Coins) should be responding. And because some of the visual read-outs are off a little, that also means some of them fall into a different audio Tone ID category.

Conclusion at the end of the day:

1.. All my detectors are working well.

2.. This yard is a half-acre of challenges in the many pockets where bottle caps and pull-tabs / pry-tabs are plentiful.

3.. At the present I have my 'smaller-coil' needs handled by the 5" DD on the Relic and 6" Concentric on the Bandido II microMAX.

4.. I'll probably sell or trade the 5" 'Sharp' NEL DD coil and keep my hopes and wishes up that Garrett will produce their own smaller-size coil. I'd like a 4½" Concentric, but if they make anything in the 4½" to 6" diameter that works well, I'll get one mounted on Apex #3 in a hurry!

I guess I better rest up and charge Apex #1 as it is down to just 2 bars. It's seen the most use but I am pleased with how long their run-time is. I'll just work the 'Ripper' coil on the Apex this weekend because it does quite well.

Monte

PS: Apex #2 w/'Raider' coil and Apex #3 w/5" NEL coil have been sitting at rest at Monte Jr.'s home while we have been awaiting me finding a place and now fixing things up. They were both fully charged in mid-March before my move and have been in storage or in Monte's camping gear closet. I gathered them up this morning and noted that both of them are still fully-charged after sitting dormant for 4+ months. Very comforting.

"Your EYES ... the only 100% accurate form of Discrimination!"
Stinkwater Wells Trading Post
Metal Detector Evaluations and Product ReviewsI'm now 'back home' in Farr West Utah monte@ahrps.org ... or ... monte@stinkwaterwells.com 503-481-8147Detector Outfit: A selection of my favorite makes and models, with the best coils mounted for the tasks I'll take on.Time Ranger Pro .. F75+ .. F19 .. Apex .. Racer 2 .. EQ-800 .. FORS Relic .. Bandido II µMAX .. Silver Sabre µMAX .. XLTPinpointers: Pulse-Dive Pointer and AT Pro-Pointer .. Headphones: 'Hornet' & 'Wasp' .. MS-3 Z-Lynk*** All working well today to make memories for tomorrow. ***