Metal Detecting

I've been lead to believe that u should not go by air tests, but I've never really thought wow that coin Woz deep. I've now had the dues for just over a yrs now and only got a few hammys. Are they just not there or have I not walked over them. Air test wise I seem to loose every thing at about 8 " has anyone done air tests with a dues so I can compare my coil / program to there's please. I did have coil prob when new and the coil Woz sent back I over heard the telephone call and it Woz hello ????? I've another 3.2 coil prob. Came back from redbone direct. Very quickly. Problem blamed on 3.2 not installed prop and a supp charge issue. ???????

Standard Goldmax power settings with 11 inch coil i can get a eddy penny at 13 inches with a good clear signal and not waved fast i can get partial signals out to 16 inches but they are really just clicks.

11" coil and Victorian penny should be well over 11" in air.

Sounds like a setting or ground balance.

If you are still on 3.2 any of the basic programs




Just been air testing a Tesoro Bandido II µMax and that gets 7" on a Victorian penny with a 5.75" coil


However distance varied quite a lot in the house due to interference messing with the retune
you really need to test away from your mobile phone router mains and so on.

Thanks for replays here are my settings. Here are my dues settings. I've copied them for 17.7khz/11.7/and 7.8. Disc 0. 3 tones 1 zero 2 nd 0-30 at 100hz 3rd tone 30 upwards 702. Hz. Sens 88. Tx 2. Iron vol 1 React. 2. Sil 2. Audio re 2. Overload 1. Notch 97-99. Will look into air test at weekend thanks

ive heard the deus is not the deepest on the market

Air tests are pointless.... I detect in nice conductive mud. There is no conductivity in air for the purposes of metal detecting.

Sensitivity is more important than depth, most of what we find is small and generally a maximum 6-8 inches deep.

jcmaloney wrote:Air tests are pointless.... I detect in nice conductive mud. There is no conductivity in air for the purposes of metal detecting.

Sensitivity is more important than depth, most of what we find is small and generally a maximum 6-8 inches deep.

Might be true for a PI but a VLF only loose depth in the ground.


Air tests might not be real world but great for a comparison.


If one person gets 10" in air and another 8" then something is different. An odd few percent will be just manufacturing tolerances


Still suspect interference if testing around the house or ground balance too far out. Don't think ground balance affect air tests read the T2 depth problem thread. See you are one auto try manual maybe your ground is too bad for auto to work properly. Auto will not work best for air test.

Been playing this morning using above settings in air. 8/12/17 kHz were similar depths tried dues fast and woz getting similar depths all with 9" coil. Compared with Tesoro Cibola gain at 9 which were slightly less depths and a blisstool v6 which woz slightly more generally 2" more on each with gain at 3.
Eliz 1 sixpence 11"
Cut ed 1 7"
Hen 8 sov penny. 10"
Ed 1 penny 9"
1929 half penny 12"
1934 sixpence 10"
1912 penny 13."
Maybe not as bad as I thought last time out I chucked all buttons etc on floor and wasn't getting much depth at all?? Who knows. It got to be there in the first place and you've got to walk over it.

Your test seems to prove everything is working correctly

Thanks for reply koala what I did forget to mention woz that all the depths were audio signals and not a numbered response on the controller with only a small portion of the r/h of the horseshoe illuminating What I did learn by playing about woz on the blisstool it gives a iron sound to hammered in the first 0-4 inches when dis toggle is in no1 position. I'm sure I read for beginner run it in this setting which I had done and now think buggier what have I dissed thinking iron. So with air test I haven't wasted my time as I had thought maybe. Cheers.

Notice when people do air tests its always with the coin at an angle that shows its biggest area to the coil. I wonder how many actually lay that way in the soil? Ok folks now do the air tests edge ways on?

Don't be too hung up on depth, you don't want to be digging a well every time you go metal detecting.

Air tests are a bit like an indicator light flashing on a car it does not mean anything apart from the thing is working. The only time I do an air test is on my spade if the field has been a bit quiet for too long.