Delta Depth

[pull tab mel]

Went out with the Delta today and found a few goodies....After reading some feedback from some posters I turned up the sensitivity to eleven and turned the volume up. Dug a very small nail(about a half inch long and not much bigger than a pin) at an honest eight inches. Also dug what looks to be a tiny snap button at nine inches. Even had trouble finding it with the pinpointer.....The ground was top soil........Is this normal for the Delta? Finding things this tiny this deep? I have been wanting to upgrade to a more expensive detector......but I'm beginning to think, Why should I?

 

[Dave J.]

Discussed at some length in another thread...

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?58,1294110

The biggest problem with the Delta is that under most conditions (and with a bit of skill) you're gonna be finding a lot of stuff that you'd never have found with another detector in its same price range. Guys and gals who swing machines costing up to several times as much have this same problem, and gladly pay for the privilege.

Oops, sorry if that sounded a bit biased?

--Dave J.
Chief Designer, FTP-Fisher

PS: The most recent Deltas have two all-metals modes, first derivative (something like the discrimination mode at zero discrimination) and second derivative. The second derivative all metals mode is easy to use. The first derivative all metals mode is very sensitive esp. to deep targets low mineral soil but isn't much use elsewhere, and its profitable use depends on a bit of attentive experience. Learning how and when to use those all metals modes (sorry, don't remember what we call them in the user's manual) will jack up your finds in non-trashy areas where discrimination isn't necessary.

 

[dioramix]

hello why the delta and omega has trouble with large objects aluminum pot, canteen, etc

 

[Monte]

Went out with the Delta today and found a few goodies....After reading some feedback from some posters I turned up the sensitivity to eleven and turned the volume up.

I usually top out the volume and while I often use the Delta with the default '8' Sensitivity setting, I can turn it down when hunting close to metal structures, but I'll bump it up if conditions allow for a little better depth and stability.

Dug a very small nail(about a half inch long and not much bigger than a pin) at an honest eight inches. Also dug what looks to be a tiny snap button at nine inches. Even had trouble finding it with the pinpointer.....The ground was top soil........Is this normal for the Delta? Finding things this tiny this deep? I have been wanting to upgrade to a more expensive detector......but I'm beginning to think, Why should I?

Not knowing the challenge of you ground mineralization, all I can say is that, in favorable conditions, I can also get decent (surprising) depth with a Delta. The audio is almost fully saturated and those deeper targets just sound off so good.

For all-around performance I still prefer my Omega due to the versatility of ground balance, added adjustment functions and display information. I also hunt some challenging sites and swaps coils to get the best I can out of any detector, but for most people just out to enjoy some detecting, the Delta is probably the best value on the market today in that price range (or even a little higher!).

Just enjoy your Delta and report back with your finds.

Monte

 

[Shenandoah Digger]

I believe my Delta is one of the earlier models because it has only one headphone jack and the push on coil connector. But it does have the two all metal modes. I don't know about the depth of the first, but the second quiets the machine down and still gets plenty of depth. This machine is just so far ahead of the competition in it's price range.

 

[Dave J.]

hello why the delta and omega has trouble with large objects aluminum pot, canteen, etc

In a "motion machine", the trajectory of the signal of large highly conductive objects is very close to that of iron minerals, and vice versa. Small or deep iron signal, superimposed on the signal from the ground it's buried in, can mimic a deep highly conductive object.

When in autotune all metals and ground balanced to the soil matrix, you hear all metals (including aluminum pots and canteens as well as little bits of iron) and also hear variations in soil iron mineral composition esp. "hot rocks".

The purpose of a discriminator is primarily to cut down on the noise from things which are not likely valuables you're looking for, those valuables typically being coins and jewelry and military artifacts such as bullets and buttons. The discriminator in the Delta and Omega is designed to do an exceptionally good job on those kinds of targets, and to suppress signals which are probably not desirable targets, such as hot rocks, small bits of iron, and large pieces of aluminum.

--Dave J.