hodr said:
what advantage does mixed mode really provide, other than letting you know when you have a ton of iron trash in your area?
hodr,
I am a HUGE proponent of mixed mode. Mixed mode allows the V3 to run in two modes at once; the "Discriminate" mode, and the "All Metal" mode. When the coil is in motion, the Discriminate mode allows you to detect and ID all targets that are in range, with either a high tone or a beep, depending on your settings. When the coil is swung in a slow motion, or held still, the all metal mode will allow you to hear all targets with a change in threshold, or a hum (again, depending on your settings).
The main advantage of the Mixed Mode is that the all metal channel of the V3 will detect targets at much greater depths than the discriminate mode. A dime that is 12 inches deep may not let out a nice high pitched tone, but it should trigger a slight increase in the threshold as your coil passes over it (depending on soil conditions, All Metal Sensitivity settings, etc.). The change alerts the user that there is a possible good target worth investigating. It is a good idea to pinpoint the target, and move around and sweep from different directions, or angle your coil to see if you can generate a tone and/or VDI.
My best finds have come from these slight variations in the threshold. Sometimes it is as simple as clearing the leaves or pine needles out of the way and rescanning the hole. Two or three inches of ground cover can be the difference between a slight hum and a nice 79 VDI tone.
There is more to this, including using your ground probe in mixed mode to interpret what lies beneath, but that is a whole different topic.
In summary, if your V3 is in Mixed Mode and you get a change in the threshold, slow down, pinpoint, clear the ground cover, change your sweep angle/direction, and then make a decision on whether or not it is a target worthy of digging.
I hope this helps