Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Odd Sample of Watch Finds. |
I don't know how many watches I've dug over the years. I'd say easily over a hundred. Many were broken or drowned and others were fine and still showing the correct time. That included everything from cheap Timexes to Rolexes, as well as stop watches, sliders and pendant watches. Shown above are just a few that I pulled out, which, of course, do not include the best, which I have safely stored away
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| Another Group of Watch Finds. |
It is surprising that so many watches are lost. I'd think something so big would be easy to find. Many that I found were in the water, but a good number were found in the dry sand as well.
On my recent trip to WV I found two watches, minus the bands, that looked on the metal detector meter just like coins. They were cheap to start with but missing the crystal and hopelessly broken. Without the bands, on the metal detector display they looked just like coins.
This is an important topic to me, because watches can be very valuable and they can easily be missed, especially if you are using some form of discrimination. The band can be a problem, making the signal more complex. And watches are very different. They have different metallic compositions. Some have a lot of iron, others gold, silver or other metals. And some of the metal parts won't sound good on the detector. To top it off, the shapes can be very irregular. As a result watches can present what I'll call a very mixed signal. As a result, a lot of watches are missed, and it is not surprising.
A few years ago, I made three short videos to show how a metal detector might respond to a watch. Again, it depends upon a lot of factors.
The first little video shows how the ACE250 responded to watches lying flat with the face facing up, which happens to be the most favorable position for a watch to be detected.
How the Ace 250 responds to watches lying flat. When lying flat, the signals were pretty solid but not totally consistent, especially on the second watch.
Take a look. (After viewing the video use your browser return arrow to return to the blog.)
How Metal Detector (Ace 250) Responds To Three Different Watches Laying Flat.
Would you dig all three of those?
Here is another short video, this time using the Ace 250 in coin mode, and this time the watches are lying in a different position. This time they are on edge The area of the face is not presented to the coil.
Notice how the sweep direction now has a big effect on the signal.
Take a look.
Metal Detecting Watches With An Ace 250 in Coin Mode.
When the sweep direction is perpendicular to the face of the watch, you get a strong signal but when the sweep direction is parallel to the face of the watch, you often get little signal or no signal. The third watch gave less of a signal than the first two. Watches are different in size, shape and composition, and there is the watch band to complicate the signal.
And now in all metals mode.
How Metal Detector (Ace 250) Responds To Watches in All Metals Mode
Again, the position of the watch and the sweep direction has an effect. Did you notice that in one direction you get an iron signal. That will vary some depending upon the watch.
When detecting watches, the watch itself, not the band, generally has the biggest effect on the signal.
I highly recommend trying these kinds of experiments with your own metal detector and the settings you are likely to use.
You should become very familiar with the signals produced by the targets you want to find. You should build a mental library rather than depending entirely upon a digital readout.
I rely a lot on the audio signal for target ID. Of course you can couple that information with the information you get from a meter or readout.
You can tell a great deal about a target from the signal, but it takes some training. There was once a product, I forget who made it, that provided ear training for the Excalibur. I forget now if it was on CD or what, but it was a great idea that I don't think ever caught on too much. However, you can do your own ear training.
In all metals mode you can determine the size, shape and depth of targets by sound alone.
The one disadvantage of using different detectors and different settings, is that it multiples the size of your mental library of signal types. I find it takes a short period to become reaccustomed to a metal detector after switching detectors.
One thing I always recommend when you have a highly desired target, whether it is a Spanish reale, diamond ring, gold chain, or whatever, practice with a sample so you have the signal in its varied forms firmly in your memory. Don't forget to vary the position of the object, which will have a definite effect on the signal.
My main topic was watches today because watches can be great finds and are easy to miss. You will have a better chance of finding valuable watches if you learn exactly how your metal detector responds to them. You don't want to pass over the Rolex watch when it is right under your coil.
If I had a specific target for a particular hunt, I would try to get something as similar as possible to test with before the hunt, so the sound or sounds were firmly in my memory. If my target was a Rolex, I'd try to test my detector with a Rolex before the hunt. Or if I didn't have a Rolex for the test, I'd try to get something as similar as possible. If my target was an eight-reale, I try to test with an eight-reale before the hunt. Of course, that wouldn't be necessary if you already were very familiar with the sounds of those targets. And it wouldn't be practical if you didn't have specific targets for the hunt.
I've seen people hunt reales with settings that would not detect a half-reale. Or hunt a small gold chain with way too much discrimination. You can avoid those kinds of mistakes.
I've written numerous times on the issue of discrimination and identifying targets in all-metals mode so I won't get into all that again now.
I will reiterate a couple of important points.
1. Some good targets, such as watches, are complex and can present a variety of signals, and can easily be missed or passed over.
2. No target or ID meter will tell you that a signal is coming from a watch or any of a variety of other good targets.
3. You can improve your results by taking the time to learn how your metal detector will respond to different targets. Practice and experimentation will help.
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On a related subject...
Many people talk about how deep their detector will detect a quarter. That is one measure of a detector's sensitivity, but is it the most important measure? It is useful to some extent but why test your metal detector on a quarter if what you really want to find is a gold coin, or a Rolex watch. One of my biggest recommendations is spend time working with your detector and various settings on the types of targets you'd really want to find. And your target might change on different hunts. I recently told of a hunt in the WV hills. That was much different than a beach hunt. My first pass, I was targeting coins. I went back, the second time, targeting relics. That is when I found the flat button. Adjust not only to the conditions but also to your expected and desired targets.
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| Surf Forecast for the Fort Pierce Inlet Area from SurfGuru.com. |
Nothing much new in the surf forecast.
There will be a slightly negative low tide around noon.
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net