Does sensitivity really effect depth? :shrug:

[2 Much Trash]

n/t

 

[Larry (IL)]

Sure it does, too little affects depth and too much affects depth too.

 

[Southwind]

I would compare it somewhat to volume. Does increasing the volume add depth? Yes it does! Not in the sense that your detector goes deeper, but in the sense that you can hear faint signals, you might have missed before, better making it so you can detect objects at a greater depth.

 

[airscapes]

Other than the obvious reason why something less sensitive would be less effective on something far away (deep)
I did notice that on the NEL coil when I got it was a sticker stating to Ground Balance at 1/2 sensitivity or your depth could suffer.. I have noticed better performance with my stock coil if I do the initial GB with sensitivity low, let the tracking stabilize then turn it up if needed. So it seems in more than one way sensitivity effects dept on some machines.

 

[vlad]

Today on many detectors you have an adjustable transmit gain that sends out a stronger signal. A good side effect of this is in areas where you have EMI
and your receive sensitivity is limited: a stronger transmit boost puts more signal into the ground, and at the same time overpowers the noise
and can allow you to again increase the receive sensitivity caused by the EMI.
Two detectors that are examples of this are the Nautilus DMC-2B, and the modular Discovery Treasure Baron Cointrax-2 [front module] with the
Deephunter [rear module] adding eight more AA batteries, that at full boost add 40% more transmit power.

 

[cosmic]

I look at it differently..The detectors I've used seems that when you reach a point, the depth doesn't increase any if at all , but the SENSITIVITY to smaller targets does...

 

[Digdoggy]

Highly mineralized soil can cause high set sens to bounce back. Randy refers to it in his excellent ebook "Understanding your Xterra" available on the ML site for free. Of coarse more interesting for X terra owners the article on Sensitivity is good. He compares it to turning you cars highbeams on in dense fog. The brighter light just reflects off the fog making conditions worse . You run lower beams and it can penetrate the fog better. Same with raising your sens up in mineralized ground. Too high and it reflects back. Lower settings actually work better in higher mineralized ground. I've lowered my 705 down to 18 to 20 when my highest setting is 30. I had no loss of depth and much better VID. Stable and accurate and good depth.
Dog

 

[mudpuppy]

Everything effects 'depth'.... time of year, soil moisture, mineralization, coil speed and overlap, moon phase, concentration, quality headphones, blood sugar, solar flares, bees, mosquitos, temperature, deerflies, groundskeepers, grass, lookieloos, jobs, kids, wives, dogs...etc..

Thats why we still find good things at 3" in a hammered park...my advice, if a noob was asking, generally speaking, is to not worry about 'depth' so much, but set up comfortable, swing hard, fast and often, enjoy and maximize your time afield, learn your rig, gain endurance, THEN, as what happens to all engaged in any pursuit oriented sport, the ones that are dedicated and out all the time, ....a few days out of the year, you will be at the right place at the right time with the right gear and the right mind... everything firing on all 8...you paid your dues..and thats what makes a year!..the more you ply the craft, learn your area's idiosyncryses and your rig, pay attention, the more of these super days/yr show up.....no secret 'sens' setting will allow you to outhunt some of the posters here, makes and models, dont matter..some run full on hot, and some run mid/light..all dependent on too many variables.....

At this point, in the semi mature world of metal detecting, those hunting hammered parks, sidewalk tearouts, and the like, best get good at unraveling multidenom spills, slants, stacks, masked, tight to the chain link...all that stuff, and thats low to mid sens work for the most part..tight and accurate.....for you fellows hunting Ol Joe's 1700's era beanfield battleground in mild soil, go ahead and crank 'er up!.

You know the Detector mfgs. built these rigs for 'max depth in the right conditions', to fit and suit the best possible dynamic...thats why the sens and all that is made adjustable! Because most of us are not hunting the 'right conditions' and theres too much horsepower at full power to effectively hunt most places outside the test lab! Real World!, unless a guy drops sens, and goes neg on the thresh, your ears and CPU will be worn out like a German morse code telegraph operator at dawn on D-Day.. in about a half hour! ..get fast, lean, hunt hard, stay bloodthirsty for metal my friends! All the other details work themselves out.
Mud

 

[2 Much Trash]

Thanks guys, didn't expect that much input on such a dumb question. Awesome forum.
Bill

 

[chuck ky]

one way to find out for sure would be to find a deep target and try different settings to see how it affects the reading. good luck

 

[vlad]

Regardless of ground balance or coil type you are still still fighting against the ground mineral content under your coil.
The ground is pulling your coil negative and you are trying to hear a small conductive object that is trying to pull against it positive.
Its funny, every time a new detector/version comes out the first question is, "how much power?" A detector is considered
obsolete in 18 months, but go to Find's Classified Forum and you have the latest detectors already up for sale-wonder why?