Vallon VMH3CS Mine Detector

[Riss]

I live in a mountain valley , northern slope. Granaries predominate , but they start at about 500 meters above sea level . There are also layered rocks that are weak-magnetic . The most treacherous (insidious ) stones , which I have tested during my life I found in the pad on narrow road over my city. I recognized them with a magnet . It was difficult - they were mostly under the asphalt and on the periphery of this old road . I had to break with a pickax ( mattock ) part of the asphalt in the name of science , to get mine hands on them These stones are anisotropic -have areas with less magnetic permeability , which is easy to understand with the top of the magnet. Unlike my favorite piece iron ore, these devilish stones move the falling slope of PI detectors sometimes with more than 7 microseconds ! But completely decay about 27 microseconds after breaking the current in the coil . With these stones in my bottomless pocket , I easily tied up acquaintances with nothing suspicious members of the teams on Minelab , who had imprudence to come to BulgariaThese stones have an unpredictable reactive component and are recognized as non-magnetic targets in a certain orientation towards search head.Defeat all technologies in a detectors

[Ferric Toes]

Riss, the only software that is available for the VMH3CS is from Vallon. No other alternative software is available as far as I know. I did receive your message but some of it was screwed up, such that it was not fully understandable; maybe my computer did not recognise certain characters. Technologies other than pulse induction, can react strongly to conductive soils, particularly salty ones. PI detectors such as the Aquapulse are very effective in the sea itself, even in the Mediterranean which has a higher salinity than the Atlantic. An Aquapulse recently found 43 gold coins on the site of a 1715 Spanish plate fleet wreck off the coast of Florida.

You in the United Kingdom you have extremely light soils- with very low reactive components. This makes you mislead about the capabilities of Vallon in Mineral mode. Very wrong! I do not make misleading statements about the VMH3CS. What you state about soils in the UK, I regard as misleading. The complex geology of the UK has all types of soil represented from weak to strong, magnetically speaking. We have volcanic basalts and lava flows from past ages and soils developed on these have a strong magnetic signature where a detector cannot be used without GB. Even soils that have origins on sedimentary rocks can develop strong magnetic viscosity over time, due to human occupation, burning, and microbial action etc.. However, I have not as yet measured any soil that has higher viscous magnetism than that from parts of Australian goldfield areas. There is an Australian forum where the VMH3CS has quite a long thread dealing with beach and nugget hunting. One post states -

"In the Mineral mode the detector was able to quieten some significant slabs of maghemite and ironstone to a level where I could hear easily, some 0.63g to 1.2g nuggs through 1.75 inches of solid maghemite". A later post by the same person - The Vallon ground balances my slabs of ironstone better than my Infinium and the SDC2300 and will still ping some gold nuggs down to 0.15g and lower through these slabs. I said it once before that if you have one of these tectas and you have mastered the ground balance procedure then give it a run in the gold fields. - there is plenty of discussion going on re Vallon Mine detectors around the worlds coin, relic and gold detecting forums and it is all good".

I really don't know what is giving problems in Bulgaria. However, if you are testing objects under iron ore, or in ground containing iron ore, then this is not realistic and will give serious loss in range due to distortion of the pulsed field from the coil. Iron ore is basically Magnetite or Hematite which is different to ironstone (maghemite) as found in Australia. Maghemite is an oxidised version of magnetite which gives the ground signal in ironstone and various types of soil.

Eric.

[Riss]

I will make a solution of sea salt in water, with concentration the same as that of the Atlantic Ocean and I will test Vallon , using river sand and salt solution

This test is useless unless you have a huge volume of salt solution. What container volume will you be using? Even a small swimming pool with enough salt to bring it to the concentration in seawater gives little noticeable signal. Been there, done that.

Eric.

I had the intention to make a shallow trench-about 10 cm deep , about 1 square meter, on the bottom to put a polyethylene foil- to keep the saline solution , to fill it with sand and pour 10 liters of salt solution . 6 years ago we just polished 10 liters of water with 1 kg of salt for cooking , dissolved in it. The saline spot was about 1.5 m in diameter. The effect was horrifying- only Spectra V3 , on salt elimination mode -all three frequencies are used , behaved perfectly ! There was no BBS ( FBS ) technologies of Minelab, Fisher CZ5 (6) , as well DFX ?Whites. Actually I've always been horrified from the operation of highly conductive soils-they make it terrifying false signals ! 20 years I pay my sins on such terrains . There only hybrid technology gives good results-nothing else ! About a small swimming pool- there are several articles on this topic ( vortex currents in conductive environment , time constants , diameter of current loops at a certain diameter of TX coil ,decay time of vortex currents -richly illustrated with mathematical formulas ). At least 2 places in the patents on Bruce H. Candy these are being considered these problems . I wrote to you almost two months ago-private message . I asked for some software for Vallon , I specified how I tested it , and what is my purpose ( intention ) . You did not answer me. I a week ago I did a test one modified by me PCB and 56 cm monocoil , wrapped with home-made Litz wire. I am happy with the results . I would make about 60 cm monocoil for Vallon , if someone help me with reasonably-made software . Spring came - I will work with this , which I tested . There is no time-the grass will soon begin to grow !!!

[Ferric Toes]

I will make a solution of sea salt in water, with concentration the same as that of the Atlantic Ocean and I will test Vallon , using river sand and salt solution

This test is useless unless you have a huge volume of salt solution. What container volume will you be using? Even a small swimming pool with enough salt to bring it to the concentration in seawater gives little noticeable signal. Been there, done that.

Eric.

[Ferric Toes]

I too have a 1 Lev coin that will arrive this week from ebay, Since I can detect a 0.24gm flat gold nugget through a 40mm thick piece of Australian iron mineralised rock in 'mineral mode', I am quite confident that the Vallon will detect the 1 Lev at considerable range in this mode with the standard coil. The Vallon has been tested for detection range in highly mineralised soils in Cambodia and Laos by professional bodies working with humanitarian demining organisations. It came out as one of the best detectors in these conditions. Australian soil and rock is much worse than anything yet tested; maybe Bulgarian ground is worse still. If I can get a 10gm sample, I can test for magnetic susceptibility and viscosity. True scientific methods that are repeatable.

Eric.

[Riss]

Hi Riss

There just happened to be one on Ebay in UK for 2 pounds with free postage, I couldn't resist it! I am happy with the D cells, yes thanks - shaft is from an old Fisher 1210.

I 'll see what I can do for you but no promises, I only use my Vallon on the beach and never use mineral mode.

I am no electronics design engineer, all I know is that my Vallon with a 12 inch coil works very well on UK beaches! Thanks Mr Foster!

Pete

Thanks for the quick response. I have always felt great sympathy to the United Kingdom , the reasons are many , one of them is your sense of humor. I remembered, a friend melted before my eyes such a coin of BGN 1 ( 1 lev ) with its lighter , which also works in the wind- makes a flame as a jet engine . The coin was made of lead , but in appearance was almost a perfect copy -but it made a different sound when you fall on the floor -fake, but so the counterfeiter ( faker ) demonstrates his Bulgarian sense of humor . From the picture clearly visible that with this search head has worked very little - under 20 hours . Plastic shells-they are from Whites TDI (top and bottom half ) -I really like , where to buy them ? With the old one Fisher 1210 it is not actually working-shaft is brand new , and the armrest (he is not from Fisher 1210 ) . You probably used a rubber insert , because the diameter of the stick of my two Vallon is 26.7 mm , and the sticks of Fisher is 22 mm , if I'm not mistaken . With this scattered design -the batteries in the pocket , with headphones on your head -you are quite slow, clumsy on the beach . Because there is no balance ( the weight of search head is small, and does not balance with the heavy one box of Vallon ) , your hand very quickly gets tired. And because I was curious , I will make a solution of sea salt in water, with concentration the same as that of the Atlantic Ocean and I will test Vallon , using river sand and salt solution -not far from my town there is a river with large deposits of sand . There is almost no soil effect (extremely light soil conditions )-there with my prehistorical VLF detectors i feel in the paradise of treasure hunters ! There I will test Vallon in the ,,NORMAL '' mode .

[Rocketdemon]

Thank you, you gave me hope ! And how quickly did you get with a coin of 1 lev ?- congratulations ! I would use 2 cells Li-ION connected in parallel , standard, from a laptop .Li-Po batteries from a crashed dron are an even better option - they have extremely low internal resistance . You have very well done the staff (stick ) on Vallon. And now, please , Find a well-baked brick or tile for the roof . Or a thick piece of ceramics. Ceramics changes its magnetic properties in the baking process . - in Mineral mode , after passing the procedure in point 3.3.1 ?Automatic Fine Adaptation to Mineralized Soil (http://www.vallon.de/download/Vertri..._soft_1_14.pdf ) . Adjust Vallon to ceramics . Then again perform an air test . You in the United Kingdom you have extremely light soils- with very low reactive components . This makes you mislead about the capabilities of Vallon in Mineral mode . Оn English territory, the detectors have almost no depth loss in the soil . Measurements of my soil showed : - in the air at 36 cm ,but in the soil at 28-29 cm - coin 1 lev , VLF detector with working frequency -12 khz . The coin from 1lev to 21 cm deep in the soil is indicated as an iron target in this soil , of all detectors on the market .. Now, with eliminated ceramics-say please , what is going on with sensitivity ?

Hi Riss

There just happened to be one on Ebay in UK for 2 pounds with free postage, I couldn't resist it! I am happy with the D cells, yes thanks - shaft is from an old Fisher 1210.

I 'll see what I can do for you but no promises, I only use my Vallon on the beach and never use mineral mode.

I am no electronics design engineer, all I know is that my Vallon with a 12 inch coil works very well on UK beaches! Thanks Mr Foster!

Pete

[Riss]

Well for all its worth I acquired a 2002 1 Lev coin and tested it in free air against my Vallon fitted with DIY 12inch coil inspired by Eric, it does work extremely well! See photographs below.

Anyway I could get 2 LED's at 42 cm with my set up just for the record.

Pete

Thank you, you gave me hope ! And how quickly did you get with a coin of 1 lev ?- congratulations ! I would use 2 cells Li-ION connected in parallel , standard, from a laptop .Li-Po batteries from a crashed dron are an even better option - they have extremely low internal resistance . You have very well done the staff (stick ) on Vallon. And now, please , Find a well-baked brick or tile for the roof . Or a thick piece of ceramics. Ceramics changes its magnetic properties in the baking process . - in Mineral mode , after passing the procedure in point 3.3.1 ?Automatic Fine Adaptation to Mineralized Soil (http://www.vallon.de/download/Vertri..._soft_1_14.pdf ) . Adjust Vallon to ceramics . Then again perform an air test . You in the United Kingdom you have extremely light soils- with very low reactive components . This makes you mislead about the capabilities of Vallon in Mineral mode . Оn English territory, the detectors have almost no depth loss in the soil . Measurements of my soil showed : - in the air at 36 cm ,but in the soil at 28-29 cm - coin 1 lev , VLF detector with working frequency -12 khz . The coin from 1lev to 21 cm deep in the soil is indicated as an iron target in this soil , of all detectors on the market .. Now, with eliminated ceramics-say please , what is going on with sensitivity ?

[Rocketdemon]

Well for all its worth I acquired a 2002 1 Lev coin and tested it in free air against my Vallon fitted with DIY 12inch coil inspired by Eric, it does work extremely well! See photographs below.

Anyway I could get 2 LED's at 42 cm with my set up just for the record.

Pete

[MTammet]

Hi Eric , -Yes, I went through all of them 69 pages on this topic . Yes, there is undoubtedly useful information in this topic . You are a famous authority and people believe you . But I only believe in measurements . And the undisputed facts . Here's what :- in Mineral mode , after passing the procedure in point 3.3.1 –Automatic Fine Adaptation to Mineralized Soil (http://www.vallon.de/download/Vertri..._soft_1_14.pdf ) there is a significant reduction in sensitivity . I and a few of my friends watched him repeatedly- in 4 different types of soils , for a piece of ceramics and when I tried with my piece of iron ore .Vallon can not reject the piece of iron ore -it should be more than 10 cm from the search head , so as not to be heard . We know the reason for that-too high inductance ( 1,5 mH ) on search head . So it has a criminally great time constant , but the reaction of the magnetic field of most mineralized stones is very, very fast- far faster than this too slow coil…by the way, many people in Bulgaria sell theirs VallonVMH3CS . Sites are full of ads …There is a reason to want to get rid of it .I know what detectors can and can not do . I take into account the size of search head ,whether it is DD or monocoil ,the principle of action and many other factors . I have not had higher expectations . I never make hasty conclusions . And I stand behind my allegations -I'm sure 100% of what I said . I have absolutely no financial benefit to write positive or negative feedback . About your final question -I'm afraid not only me , many owners of Vallon have come to this logical conclusion . Everything in this world is predictable , logically related . And the logic is iron – ironlogic . Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes…in the tests Vallon there was absolutely no reaction a coin of BGN 1 (https://profit.bg/moneti-v-obrashtenie-1-lev/ ) placed in a narrow hole on slope in the soil at a depth of about 21-22 cm !Absolutely no signal , no reaction! 4 people watched this test simultaneously , several times . These are the undisputable facts . Anyone who has it, VALLON VMH3CS can do a similar test . The result will be the same . Science is based on repeatability of measurements, is not it?

And that is why we make instead of 7.5 inch diameter factory coil 12 nd 14 inch coils for Vallon.

[Riss]

Hi Riss,
Have you read back through this forum? It is a long read, but there is much useful information which includes performance aspects of The VMH3CS. I regard it as a superb detector and good value for money, even if some are rather beat up from active army use. In my opinion the ground balancing in 'mineral' setting is very good and it even works well in Australia, which is renowned for it's hot ground. One exception is an area in Western Australia which has ironstone pebbles that have a slightly different decay from that of the surrounding ground. You can balance on one or the other but not both at the same time. Depth of detection is excellent both in 'normal' and 'mineral' modes and I have not noticed any appreciable difference in detection range between modes. Your last sentence seems to suggest that Sappers have been blown up as a result of using technically inferior product; or am I misunderstanding you?

Eric.

Hi Eric , -Yes, I went through all of them 69 pages on this topic . Yes, there is undoubtedly useful information in this topic . You are a famous authority and people believe you . But I only believe in measurements . And the undisputed facts . Here's what :- in Mineral mode , after passing the procedure in point 3.3.1 –Automatic Fine Adaptation to Mineralized Soil (http://www.vallon.de/download/Vertri..._soft_1_14.pdf ) there is a significant reduction in sensitivity . I and a few of my friends watched him repeatedly- in 4 different types of soils , for a piece of ceramics and when I tried with my piece of iron ore .Vallon can not reject the piece of iron ore -it should be more than 10 cm from the search head , so as not to be heard . We know the reason for that-too high inductance ( 1,5 mH ) on search head . So it has a criminally great time constant , but the reaction of the magnetic field of most mineralized stones is very, very fast- far faster than this too slow coil…by the way, many people in Bulgaria sell theirs VallonVMH3CS . Sites are full of ads …There is a reason to want to get rid of it .I know what detectors can and can not do . I take into account the size of search head ,whether it is DD or monocoil ,the principle of action and many other factors . I have not had higher expectations . I never make hasty conclusions . And I stand behind my allegations -I'm sure 100% of what I said . I have absolutely no financial benefit to write positive or negative feedback . About your final question -I'm afraid not only me , many owners of Vallon have come to this logical conclusion . Everything in this world is predictable , logically related . And the logic is iron – ironlogic . Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes…in the tests Vallon there was absolutely no reaction a coin of BGN 1 (https://profit.bg/moneti-v-obrashtenie-1-lev/ ) placed in a narrow hole on slope in the soil at a depth of about 21-22 cm !Absolutely no signal , no reaction! 4 people watched this test simultaneously , several times . These are the undisputable facts . Anyone who has it, VALLON VMH3CS can do a similar test . The result will be the same . Science is based on repeatability of measurements, is not it?

[Ferric Toes]

Share, please, what is changing in detector behavior? Improving the depth of target registration ? Support your words with measurements. You can use squares pieces of aluminum sheet about 1 mm thick. e.g. 1x1 cm , 3x3 cm , 5x5 cm and 10x10cm . Instead of coins and flying saucers… These sheets have a sufficient range of time constants . Many enthusiasts will be very grateful to you ! Sappers working with Vallon VMH3CS it is no longer possible for them to express their gratitude…

Hi Riss,
Have you read back through this forum? It is a long read, but there is much useful information which includes performance aspects of The VMH3CS. I regard it as a superb detector and good value for money, even if some are rather beat up from active army use. In my opinion the ground balancing in 'mineral' setting is very good and it even works well in Australia, which is renowned for it's hot ground. One exception is an area in Western Australia which has ironstone pebbles that have a slightly different decay from that of the surrounding ground. You can balance on one or the other but not both at the same time. Depth of detection is excellent both in 'normal' and 'mineral' modes and I have not noticed any appreciable difference in detection range between modes. Your last sentence seems to suggest that Sappers have been blown up as a result of using technically inferior product; or am I misunderstanding you?

Eric.

[Riss]

The updated software manual I received is Software version 1.19. Vallon in Germany sent me a link to the software but I elected to pay shipping to and from the US agent and they upgraded it for me - no cost. For my second Vallon which was a bit more beat up, I had them do the $149 service check as well as the free software upgrade.

In order to use the software myself from the link Vallon sent me, I would have had to source the proper connector for the headphone/data port and then fabricate a data link cable to either USB or RSS 232 to interface with a computer. I didn’t want the bother - round trip shipping to Pennsylvania cost me only $40.

Share, please, what is changing in detector behavior? Improving the depth of target registration ? Support your words with measurements. You can use squares pieces of aluminum sheet about 1 mm thick. e.g. 1x1 cm , 3x3 cm , 5x5 cm and 10x10cm . Instead of coins and flying saucers… These sheets have a sufficient range of time constants . Many enthusiasts will be very grateful to you ! Sappers working with Vallon VMH3CS it is no longer possible for them to express their gratitude…

[lytle78]

The updated software manual I received is Software version 1.19. Vallon in Germany sent me a link to the software but I elected to pay shipping to and from the US agent and they upgraded it for me - no cost. For my second Vallon which was a bit more beat up, I had them do the $149 service check as well as the free software upgrade.

In order to use the software myself from the link Vallon sent me, I would have had to source the proper connector for the headphone/data port and then fabricate a data link cable to either USB or RSS 232 to interface with a computer. I didn’t want the bother - round trip shipping to Pennsylvania cost me only $40.

[Riss]

About the software updates - see this - post 1264

https://www.geotech1.com/forums/show...allon+software

It is post 1264 :
,,Yes you are correct. It should read VMXC1 my mistake. This is a UXO detector that has discrimination but for larger targets than I am interested in. VALLON would not allow the firmware upload as these detectors are marked with a large red label stating so. My firmware updates gave me what I most wanted as I dig all my targets where I use the VALLON. I have six additional filters I can use, to help control EMI and sweep speed, auto soil compensation, auto channel search ( it takes about two min.s to search all 40 frequencies but sure saves a lot of time, and is a joy to watch after the days of manual search ) a surf mode, and the confidence click is no longer present, which was annoying to me. “ There is no link to this miraculous software in this post ...
Where can this magical software be downloaded? I can not work anywhere in ,,normal ‘’mode-Vallon VMH3CS bellow,roar when approaching search head to the soil and the stones ! In normal mode has superior sensitivity , BUT ONLY IN AIR !!!It is absolutely impossible to work in the normal mode in the soil ! In Mineral mode , when passing in point 3.3.1 –Automatic Fine Adaptation to Mineralized Soil (http://www.vallon.de/download/Vertri..._soft_1_14.pdf ) does not react to the soil , but sensitivity to all types of targets is just tragic !!! I do not even need a shovel , when i work with Vallon VMH3CS -he responds only to the shallowest targets ! Have not you noticed this until now ? I have long not believed in miracles and miracle softwares , but please someone help me ?