A little survey here..... what mode do you detect in when doing the salt beaches? :shrug:

[tony (Orlando FL)]

Out of habit and experience I always use the all metal mode and when I get a target hit I check to see if its iron or not. I dig anything but iron.

I find I can scan fast and have no falsing at all with max sens when using all metal.

That being said, the DISC mode really sounds off much louder on items when I switch to disc mode for checking the item to see if its iron or not.

What mode do you folks use and why?

I often try disc mode, but only for a minute it seems. I cant bring myself to trust the Disc mode unless of course someone here has had first hand experience indicating Disc mode is much better.

Thanks

Tony

 

[ejudasf]

I use Disc mode all the time. Rarely switch into pinpoint unless I can't find the target using Disc mode.

I also have the threshold set a little higher than just barely audible. I think this is how to get the deep ones as well.

I am using the 10 inch Tornado coil BTW.

 

[tony (Orlando FL)]

ejudasf,

Thanks for sharing your preference.

I get wayyyy plenty depth in all metal mode and can go as fast as I want BUT I do notice how much louder/stronger the same item bangs in when checking the item in Disc mode.

I have tried tecting in Disc mode but never more than a minute or so because I was concerned about having to go slow and reducing the sens so the unit wont null out.

I will give it a serious try next time out.

Thanks

Tony

 

[bbsailor]

I am a beach hunter. I find that the all-metal mode gives me a little more depth. I use the 15" WOT coil with a modified Sovereign where I wired a remote mode change switch, in parallel with the existing switch, to quickly change modes to ID a target. A simple push button is placed on the shaft with a shielded wire taped to the coil wire going to an 1/8" mini audio connector mounted in the bottom of the Sovereign in a clear spot.

Those deep targets I would have passed over if I were hunting in the disc mode. On real deep targets I need to whip the coil past the target several times and listen for the rising tone (in disc mode), then I
dig.


bbsailor

 

[tony (Orlando FL)]

n/t

 

[Tony]

I run only in DISC but with no discrimination dialed in.

My detector is no deeper in PINPOINT (ALL METAL) as I've done exhaustive tests.

I guess I also wasn't keen to keep flicking between both modes as I don't think that style of pot is designed for it ??

One thing I do know is I definitely don't need any more depth from a water machine !! I have walked away from 3 targets in 3 years (and these weren't beer can signals)...just the slightest sign of the threshold breaking when SENS is at 10 o'clock can mean deeeeeeep , this is often accompanied by an iron tone one way and a good tone the other way. As you get closer to the target the iron tone may disappear which means keep digging. I don't walk away from these type of signals.

Regards,
Tony

 

[Gulf Hunter]

I surf hunt and hunt bays and lakes some. I have found that bays and lakes are simply too iron infested for pinpoint to be practical. In iron infested areas, I use Disc, Threshold to barely audible, Volume at around 12, Sensitivity at around 11 and Discrimination is always on 1 and I scan slowly and drag the coil over the bottom.
In reasonably clean surf areas, I use Pinpoint and you can sweep much faster and not worry about the unit giving you a bad read. When I signal a target, I simply turn to disc and check for a tone and a null. If I get anything other than total silence, I dig it. Ferrous is pretty easy to tell, in my opinion, even in pinpoint, but I like to hear what the tone sounds like. Gold rings sure do sound wonderful. All other settings are the same. I feel like when you are running in pinpoint that the unit goes deeper, because you are not taxing the circuitry so much, as in Disc. It works and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[pb-to-au]

I always use disc for search, generally nearly as deep as all metal and you can swing MUCH FASTER in disc because in all metal you really have to crawl because you will miss the real deepies due to the extremely low volume of your "hits" I run my disc at zero anyway!

 

[funkyoldude]

.... otherwise I would waste too much time digging trash (aluminum bottle caps, beer caps, pull tabs, foil from gum wrappers and cigarette packs) etc. I also don't bother digging deep targets unless I'm really sure it has potential. I learned that I can find 5 or 6 targets in the same time it takes to dig a 10" hole. And I have a lot of beach to cover. I keep all the controls at the factory recommended settings. I know the sounds and meter readings of almost all the trash on my beach because I have been hunting it almost every day for over two years. I have an 8" CoinSearch, 10" Tornado, and 15" WOT and I use the 10" for most of my hunting on this beach.
Some beach hunters recommend digging everything, but this is a bad idea on my beach. Better to learn the tones and avoid digging trash. Just my humble opinion.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

fod

 

[Marty]

I always use all metal at the beach, i get better depth in all metal & it
provides good audio info from targets, i then examine any sounds in disc, same as bbsailor, i too have a remote mode switch fitted, IMO, it's essential. I'm surprised minelab haven't made it standard on all Sovereigns. I'm sure it will happen sooner than later..

 

[tony (Orlando FL)]

Hey FOD,

I detect in ALL METAL and then confirm each target in the Disc mode.

If I were to dig everything I would have worn my body out a long time ago.

All metal mode is free of any falsing and its FAST. Granted a deep signal will surely sound deep but its definately loud enough to stop me in my tracks to investigate in the disc mode.

I have heard some deep targets in All Metal that required I take some sand out of the hole and recheck because the disc mode couldnt hear it otherwise.

Seems we have a pretty balanced group here that prefers using their sov or Excalibur both ways.

Tony

 

[Rick(ND)]

Hi Tony,

I find this string of post very interesting as on land hunting I do know the disc mode if deeper for us up here. The ground is not that mineralized either so I wonder why this is. On the older Sovereigns before the GT there is no ground balance in all metal either where as in disc we have the BBS that is not active in all metal which will take care of the mineralization. Now with the GT we have the auto track which I could see it maybe doing better in all metal, but the older ones I wonder why some seem to get more depth in all metal. Maybe FOD can shed some light on this as he gets in to the technical part of this.
Some of the depth for me could be my hearing too as I can hear the tone change, but maybe not the slight increase in the threshold tones themselfs. Maybe when it get a certain mineralization all metal works better. Maybe at the beach is where all metal will work better, but I know on land the disc is deeper for me, but I do use the all metal to check out signals that are iffy to tell if they are iron or not and this is where a remote all metal would be nice to have.

Rick

 

[Art (NWOH)]

I keep saying this , but nobody listens........

Don't ever ask how to set up and use a detector, unless you are hunting the SAME location as the person giving the advice, and that person has experimented HIMSELF to find out what is going to work best with the SAME equipment and the SAME objectives you have.

You also have to temper your decision as to how you proceed based on personal taste and differences in equipment.

I have seen too many methods described that would be self defeating in the places that I have hunted. I don't take ANYBODY'S word for ANYTHING without experimenting FIRST to see if those methods are valid or somehow useful to me.

That concludes my rant for this week.

HH

 

[Rick(ND)]

I have seen patterns and settings for the Explorer posted that no way would work for me or 90% of the people by those that post them. On the Sovereign it is much more simple and not too much to adjust or misadjust is why it may work better for most if they have the patience to learn it as there is less to adjust to make it one of the best detectors on the market.
Once you get to know your detector and know what the adjustments can and will do you set it for the way it works the best for you.



Rick

 

[funkyoldude]

Hi all:

As most of you know, I hunt an island beach with white coral sand. Once you get below 4 to 6 inches of dry powder, the sand gets very wet. Go down 10 to 12 inches on some days and you hit the water table. This water is sometimes fresh and sometimes saline, depending on many factors including the tide and rainfall. This messes with the balance, but improves the signal strength on most targets.

As Rick and Art have both stated, I whole heartedly agree that it takes time to work out the best settings for the detector you are using, the area that you hunt, your hunting style, the coil that you are using, the environment, geology, and in my case, how the hydrology and salinity affect the way the detector behaves.

My wife Jane hunts with a Fisher Impulse, and that machine will find anything metal down to about 14". She swings her detector rapidly back and forth, as she darts quickly back and forth across the beach. She hunts intuitively, loves her machine and she is an expert with it.
I am a meticulous, slow hunter, carefully IDing my targets, and digging the ones that I find interesting. Our hunting styles are totally different, but at the end of the day we come out just about even. She finds gold and I find gold. She digs more trash than I do but she is faster.

We both really enjoy the hunt, which in my view, is what this hobby is all about.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

fod

 

[Farmercal]

Since I hunt the lane and in the water I use the DISC mode and keep the setting at the lowest point. I don't have as much junk targets where I hunt so I dig everything. Eventually I will start finding rings. Only been one good time so far but give me time and see what I can do!

 

[praynman]

What is a remote switch mode for the soverign,never heard of it before

 

[Rick(ND)]

What that is is a mod many do as they will run a wire into the control box and connect it to the toggle switch for pinpoint/disc switch. Now you connect the wire to a toggle switch you have on your hand grip or where it is easy to switch when you need to. Most will use a stereo 1/8 inch jack on the control box and a 1/8 plug on the wire so it can be disconnected if you need to be or if you hip mount. Now you can switch to Disc or pinpoint easy as it will be at easy reach instead of switching on the control box.

 

[jim/wpb]

My current excal with stock 10" coil is hot in disc! I had Minelab put on grey ghosts and..... the little diggable blips are frequent and I find it great fun to follow other excals up the beach...... I only occasionally use pinpoint to check if it was a faint signal or a false.

Long ago I realized that there is some limit to how deep I want to go. When I first started out I wanted deeper and deeper, but found after many modifications that I was missing most small items....and those were the items I really was looking for......Thanx ART.

The other factor that people haven't mentioned is the swing speed. Too many people swing their excals like a chip shot with a golf club.....fast and arching. Your BBS detector is a precision tool and it takes practice and lots of experimenting to master it.

I really think that Minelab needs to have a T Shirt made up with their logo that says "LOW & SLOW...IT'S THE SOUND - IT'S THE MOTION"

 

[Art (NWOH)]

Glad you are finding out how to use it for yourself. Too many take advice from others who really have no idea what they are doing.

Rather than saying "it's the speed..it's the motion" you could say "it's the sound.. it's the motion".
Sov/Xcal is a "sound and motion" machine. What you get for sound depends on the speed and motion. Watching and controlling coil movement for best response gives you sound "patterns" that help identify targets and keeps the detector working at it's best. It's how you get the most out of it.
Optimized sensitivity levels for conditions and motion will give you depth. The whole thing has a "feel" to it.
Notice that I said "optimized" and not "maximized". Use it where it works BEST...not just simply as high as you can crank it.

HH