99 tones.....

[Digger]

I didn't think I would ever be making a positive post about the "99 tone-mode" of the X-70. And, for wide-open hunting, I still prefer the 3 or 4 tone mode. But what I have been learning this week is just how much information can be determined by the audio tones, in conjunction with the visual ID. We all know that the pitch raises with increased target ID. But,it seems to me that most coins will provide one singular tone and (for the most part) one numeric display. I won't say all coins because coins on edge usually bounce a notch in visual ID and give dual tones.

Most pulltabs seem to jump around in both numeric display and produce multiple tones. It seems like the pulltabs with a square ring and a square tab always gave a dual tone and a dual numeric reading (with separation), as if there were two good targets. I would have been able to tell the difference IF I had a smaller coil to allow better target separation.

I haven't been using this mode long enough to tell what denomination of coin I am digging, simply by the pitch. And to be honest, I can't say I really believe those who claim they can tell a Merc from a Rosey, simply by sound. But, with that said, even these old ears can tell a single-tone, flatly buried coin from a multiple tone pulltab.

On the downside, some gold rings lock on with a single tone and consistent ID. Whereas others bounce around in both. If I were seriously looking for jewelry, I wouldn't rely on the 99-tone audio or the numeric display to make my digging decision.

If you are a coinshooter who likes to hunt by sound, try the "99 tone-mode" and let me know your results. Thanks. HH Randy

 

[Des Dunne]

Digger,

Your'e absolutely right!
During prototyping/testing of X-Terra 70 it was noted that with "99 Tones" square pull-tabs and older ring pulls (beaver tail/tear drop etc)produced multi-tones (upwards of three) compared to the solid single tone of a coin or ring flat on to the coil.
This because the detector reads not just one target, and in the case of tabs and ring pulls three parts of the target actually!
The entire surface = 1 tone
The square holed area = 1 tone
The round holded area = 1 tone = 3 tones due to eddy current flow in those areas which are seen as seperate entities.
Now you could use this technique if you were brave enough and confident in the knowledge that square tabs might produce ID numbers of 12, 15 and 18 - so other similar sounding signals not producing those numbers could very well be rings that were not flat on to the coil?
During my time with X-Terra tests many coins (far more than usual) were found {on-edge} and with single tone signals.

Still though, for me it is a great trick to know and use if you want to.......I have become "braver" with it!

Good Hunting!

Des Dunne
Minelab

 

[Monte]

It's not necessary, but I like to use it for the fun of it. Most serious hunting I do is in older sites or in iron-littered renovation work and using the 2-Tone audio (Low for iron and High for non-iron), for me, is more effective and less 'busy.'

When I am "coin hunting" open grassy sites, such as sports fields or neighborhood lawns and parking strips, I often opt for the Multi-Tone mode. When working sites with modern change and modern pull tabs and similar junk, as you and Des noted, there is often a 2 or 3 segment 'jump' compared with the usually 1 segment or sometimes 2 segment 'jump' with a coin.

I have used the "Multi-Tone" mode often enough that I can tell many/most of the probable coin targets audibly. My only wish is that Minelab would have used the LCD display set-up to indicate 'XX' or 'MT' or something other than '99' because I have had E-mails from people saying they can't hear 99 audio tones. There are 28 to correspond with the 28 notch segments, so maybe even a '28' would have been better than '99'?

It is a fun, and functional, feature.

Monte

 

[Gary in Daytona]

I've found almost all the square tabs I've found warbled around 14-16 ID without a solid lock on tone or ID, and that's how they're recognizable - the multi-tone warble and those ID numbers. I'm still digging some "iffy" ones for now, but as my confidence builds with the X70, I doubt I will dig them much longer.
From my experiences, bottlecaps are another case where your ear can determine the target before digging a high percentage of the time. At first, I was digging all targets and a fair share of them were bottlecaps - especially the newer ones with a higher nickel? composition. Now, after hunting for numerous hours with the X70, I wonder how I got fooled by so many, because the caps make a very distinctive sounds of rejection and acceptance (in patterns) and the ID numbers are all over the spectrum. Kinda hard to explain, but easy to hear. The only caps I'm being fooled by now are the very deep rusty ones and I hope to figure them out too.

 

[bfodnes]

Hi.

Well I am not brave but I feel that 99 tones and even 4 gives you a little bit more depth on the high tones.The high tone locks on better then the display VDI and give your tone even if it jumps around some.

just my impression and detecting VS testgarden shows that it is even more noticable on long buried targets.

Regards

bfodnes

 

[Larry--IndianaHVAC]

I will have to give the 99 tones a shot as I haven't tried it out on a serious hunt yet. Just got stuck in the 4 tone mode I'll let you know how it works for me.