Zippoz Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 howdyso i just bought a nice detector from rob, and im about to head out into the field around lovelock NV. its a sd2100V2 with an 11 inch coil..now, i have 2 questions.1) how do i ground balance the thing right..and 2) about my coil. when i pass over a target how do i pin point the location of it. does the coil sense from the edges or does it sense from the middle......?i suppose i should just go bury a piece of shot, or a can tab.... but i would like to hear what you all have to say.thank youGreg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippoz Posted May 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 well, im going out to the field, i think that i understand how it works now, ill let yall know how it goeswish me luck on this second hunt of mine im thinking that ill be able to tell even the smallest variations in tone, my car has had a broken spedomiter for years and i have to tell the speed by the RPM of the engine i can keep it at 75 all day.peace for nowZippoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted May 19, 2008 Report Share Posted May 19, 2008 Greg, first read the directions...here is a method I have given to a couple of people to get them started..a quick start, if you will:turn both balance knobs back to the left, as far as they go...flick the switch to the top and set the knob 5 and 1/2 turns to the right...flick the switch to the bottom and turn the knob 6 and 1/2 turns to the rightflick the switch to the middle and start detecting...this will get you started and most likely will work fine just about anywhere in the western US....Pinpointing is not so easy to explain but on shallow targets you can turn the coil and use the edge to pinpoint...as I recall this only works with a mono coil....Uncle Ron and others have answered many 2100 questions, if you do a search of the archives you will likely find some good info...Good luckFred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Zippoz. Turn the detector on and sett the threshold to a nice smooth hum. Flip the balance swith up and raise the coil up and down a few inches above the ground then down almost touching the ground in a smooth pumping motion listening for a change in the threshold. If there is a change turn the upper knob one way or the other as you pump it up and down again listening for change in the threshold as you move the coil up and down just above the ground. If you hear more change in the threshold as you do this, start turning the knob the other direction until there is no change in tone as you pump the coil. Flip the switch to the other GB position and repeat the process . Once both channels are balanced swicth to the search position. Pump the coil up and down over the ground again and there should be no change in tone as you raise and lower it. The 2100 will often be balanced just fine the way it is and not need any adjustment . It sounds complicated but it only takes seconds once you get the hang of it. ----Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippoz Posted May 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Fredm-i saw your instructions on tuning a Sd2100 for a mono coil with the 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 turn adjustment and set it that way before i headed out.it worked pretty well for me. I was working out in the dry washes below lower Rochester canyon, here is a sat map of my trip today (although i left the tracker in the car while i was hunting (dumb!) http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/v...SLINRGpbXplu4Tvanyways i located and dug up over 20 targets most of them were small pieces of wire, however i found one small piece that i think might be gold...most of the time i just found where the targed was, raked it around a bit to pin point it and then just put the coil sideways and passed handfuls of earth over the coil till one beeped. then i just kept dumping half into the other hand and seeing which one beeped untill i found the target....There was so much trash in that wash though... i pulled out a few shell casings a .45cal slug from a hillside, and tons of nails and pieces of wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Zip, glad to be of assistance...finding junk is part of the game...how about a macro-picture of the ? piece....BTW...Bob Dansie knows more about Pi gold detecting than I ever will and so when HE Speaks I listen...Good huntingFred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Here's a little ADVANCED TIP for you when you get comfortable with the machine. Many a seasoned 2100 veteran love the 2100 because of it's simplicity but also because of the fact that you can manually balance the detector as opposed to the new fandangled auto-balance mode.As you are pumping your coil up and down against the ground, if you go too far one way, you will hear that the coil makes a different sound going AWAY from the ground. If you get it too far balanced going the other way, you will hear that the coil makes a different noise when you go TOWARDS the ground.Of course the ideal situation is that you want it to sound the same when the coil goes away from the ground as well as towards the ground.When your coil is making a noise going away from the ground it means the machine is NEGATIVELY BALANCED. You never want to run your machine like this because you lose sensitivity.When your coil makes a noise going towards the ground that means it is POSITIVELY BALANCED and may be too overly sensitive and react to black sand and hot rocks much more frequently.TIP: When balancing your machine, ALWAYS work from the POSITIVELY BALANCED condition and then ever so slowly turn the knob back until you are balanced.In other words, intentionally turn the balance knob on your detector while pumping the coil up and down until you are getting a noise from the coil GOING TOWARDS the ground. You are now POSITIVELY BALANCED, now gently back the knob down until you are BALANCED.This puts you in a balanced state on the positive side of balance and maintains optimum sensitivity. You may get a few more hot rocks, however, you will also get a better response to gold and a tad more depth. Some of the old pros used to actually run the machine in a little POSITIVE BALANCE even though it was a little noisy and overly sensitve and they dug a lot more hot rocks, they also dug a lot more gold.The Stud Muffin Twins used 2100's for years, and found POUNDS, not ounces, POUNDS of gold!Good luck out there. Just have the confidence to know that if there is gold there, a Minelab will find it.Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paseclipse Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Hey Doc thats an excellent tip, thanks!Hey Greg listen to these guys, they all know their stuff and the tips they give you will work great. You might want to read the manual until it makes you sick since this will answer a few of your questions. Also you might want to mine the internet for tips and tricks because I'm sure there's a lot of information about "effectively" using SD2100's out there that will help. Here's the link for the manual-http://www.minelab.com/consumer/files/manuals/man_3.pdfI'll tell Greg you the SD2100's are great detectors! They might not have all the bells and whistles the newest PI detectors have, but keep in mind there's a reason Minelab still manufactures and sells them.I normally swing a 4000 however recently I found a deal on one of the old army green units that I would have been a fool to pass on. It needed a little TLC and some new items (thanks Doc) but even though the unit is 10+ years old it fired right up with no problems at all. This weekend was the first time I fired it up in the field and I have to say I was very impressed with the simplicity of it. It's literally "turn on and go" once you have everything set up. I'm honestly thinking about hanging up the 4000 for a few trips to get used to the SD2100.. yeah thats how much I like it.You might want to think about getting a few accessories from Doc or Rob to improve the performance (Uncle Ron suggested this to me a few weeks back on this forum)- Pocket Rocket setup (this boosts the voltage and sensitivity), a signal enhancer, and Black Widow headphones.Good luck out there!Del Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted May 20, 2008 Report Share Posted May 20, 2008 Hey Doc; does this mean your house is finished and you have some playtime? I hope everything worked out with the house.That balancing tip is one of the clearest and best I have read...if Zip follows yours and Bob's directions the gold will give up in defeat, and jump out of the ground with fear and trembling in its cold, golden heart.Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted May 21, 2008 Admin Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Hello Zippoz, First, thanks for the business! Secondly, with all the help given, I really can only add a few things from my experience. The SD2100 is still one of the most popular metal detectors due to the manual balance. Not only can you manually balance this metal detector, but you can seperate the channels (Channel 1 or 2). In extremely mineralized ground conditions the Channel 1 can really knock most, if not all the ground noise out. You might loose a bit of sensitivity to small gold nuggets, but can still find the nice ones at depth. This is one major reason the SD is very popular. Also, there are so many things you can do to the SD2100. To increase performance I would recommend in the future a Monoloop Searchcoil and possibly the Coiltek Pocket Rocket Li-Ion System to increase operating voltage from 6v to 7.3v's. Wishing you the best out there with your SD. Keep us all updated if you would.Rob Allison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOC Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Don't I wish! I have so far installed 6 of 8 ceiling fans, 6 of 7 light fixtures. My wife is still having a fit about the rest of the property which is just dirt. We built our new home on a 1/2 acre. With the giant pool installed, we still have enough room for a tennis court, but I intend to put in a big toy and hobby building where I can finally have all of my tools set up. Radial arm saw, table saw, router. Damn hope I don't cut something off.Then we have still been fixing up our old house, it is for sale. Fortunately our old home is paid for, however, it's still an expensive proposition. Two electric bills, two water bills, two property tax payments. But the way the market is we may have to wait a while. The market is rebounding here in Las Vegas. Sales have been up for the last three months.I still don't feel like i have a minute to myself. Thank God Gus takes some of the pressure off of me.Doc Hey Doc; does this mean your house is finished and you have some playtime? I hope everything worked out with the house.That balancing tip is one of the clearest and best I have read...if Zip follows yours and Bob's directions the gold will give up in defeat, and jump out of the ground with fear and trembling in its cold, golden heart.Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted May 21, 2008 Report Share Posted May 21, 2008 Dang, you are not stirring any desire in me to build a house...sorry I stirred that up.all the Best Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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