Does your compadre go deeper when set to all metal?

[NCtoad]

Just got a new 8" compadre and was wondering if the disc knob has any effect on depth. Only been out for three short hunts with it, but what a cool little detector!!

 

[REVIER]

From what I can tell on mine and from what I have gathered from reading tons of posts there is some sort of depth difference between the knob at all metal and maxed out...but how much difference is the question.
It might be that these are all calibrated slightly different out of the factory because some have said there is little to hardly any difference and others have stated more, up to an inch or maybe further.
No scientific testing done on a good sample of different machines so hard to determine.

On mine I think it is slight but it is there....it could be as little as 1/4-1/2" but could be more.
This is not because of air testing but by noticing the deeper signals I have gotten in the ground in real life and the reason I hunt in low disc to get the clearest, loudest signals before I thumb that knob up to figure out the target.

I have had signals that were solid and I would have dug down with the disc in iron or below foil area and were not there at all with the disc turned up higher.
I can think of a scenario where I might get a solid signal on a very deep target with the disc low and it could be something great like a silver dime somewhere really near the very edge if the scanning field.
By turning that knob up, and I am not saying really high but maybe only to nickel or tab or zinc, where the signal could go away or disc out.
Normally on shallower targets you have a lot of info available to make a pretty good educated guess about it because of where it dished out but in this case I could be fooled because the high conductive target just disced out in that lower area because of the depth loss by turning up the disc so it mimicked a shallower, lower conductive piece of metal.
Not that it happens a lot but it could.
If your range on yours is let's say 8" and in all metal you can get a decent signal on a merc at exactly 8" you could lose it by turning the knob up or it could really break up the signal at higher disc at the very least.

This is why it is important to learn to tell the difference between shallow and deep targets, to listen for that volume difference and there is one...normal coins and ring sized targets do sound "further away" when they are deep but this is something you learn to notice, it is not obvious at first or innate.
In those cases I just dig it for several reasons...

I notice the depth is pretty deep.
The signal I get with the disc low is usually going to be pretty solid if it is within the range of your coil.
I usually just dig solid targets that come in clean with hardly any or no noise using my thumb past the fade out point and then down but in this scenario even a good target can break up on the end.
A shallow target that breaks up a lot I would pass by but the deep ones that act like this I figure just better to dig to be sure.

After swinging over thousands of targets you just get to know how things sound and your instincts kick in so I have confidence in my abilities but even though on every signal I use all my knowledge of tones, coil manipulation, disc knob manipulation and more to make all my digging decisions I still don't have that X Ray vision working so I dig these deeper ones most every time.
The instinct to dig something and all the criteria I use plays out pretty quickly in my head, hard to explain exactly what triggers it despite sometimes the absence of obvious positive indicators present like a specific tone I hear or certain behavior or what but it does happen in rare circumstances so I go with my gut and a couple of times good targets have popped up.
This has happened with my F70 too...I decide to dig something I normally wouldn't for whatever odd reason and was rewarded.
It is actually pretty rare but it has happened.
This could happen because of masking behavior on shallow targets but it definitely can on deeper targets more so I always look for and pay a little more attention to the deep ones no matter what detector I am swinging.
In my head deep can mean weird and strange behavior using any detector.
All these instincts grow within most of us in time, it is all part of the learning process.

If you are in an area with known deeper targets you just have to take a minute or two out of your busy life to check more out no matter what happens sometimes....we are out there to dig and not just swing after all.

 

[Mega]

The Compadre is never going to be a depth monster and never will,i would think you are pushing it depth wise at 6'',they are good at what they do and that is say tots lots or what ever you folks call them,and very good on fine gold jewellery but for depth on pasture or farm land it just aint going too happen,i do own one and i have the ability to change over coils which is handy,but if i am honest i dont use it as a detector as such i mainly use a small 4'' coil on it and use it as a pinpointer probe when i use a Pulse machine with a large coil on,then the Compadre earns its keep but for general detecting i just dont use mine as such.

You will get slightly better ground coverage with the 8'' coil and possibly a little extra depth over say the 5.75'' coil but not alot really.

 

[REVIER]

The Compadre is never going to be a depth monster and never will,i would think you are pushing it depth wise at 6'',they are good at what they do and that is say tots lots or what ever you folks call them,and very good on fine gold jewellery but for depth on pasture or farm land it just aint going too happen,i do own one and i have the ability to change over coils which is handy,but if i am honest i dont use it as a detector as such i mainly use a small 4'' coil on it and use it as a pinpointer probe when i use a Pulse machine with a large coil on,then the Compadre earns its keep but for general detecting i just dont use mine as such.

You will get slightly better ground coverage with the 8'' coil and possibly a little extra depth over say the 5.75'' coil but not alot really.

He has an F70 too so he is learning about major depth but he is new to the Compadre also...he got that one to keep in the van just in case but cheaper and still capable and productive.
Both fun to hunt with but in different ways and he likes to learn about both of these different kinds of units...helping others move up the learning curve a bit faster is fun.

 

[Dancer]

Often wondered about that myself. I believe I have hit a quarter laying flat at six inches. Maybe a few dimes almost to that depth.
But mostly just use it around fences, bleachers, pavilions, etc.

 

[NCtoad]

I have had signals that were solid and I would have dug down with the disc in iron or below foil area and were not there at all with the disc turned up higher.
I can think of a scenario where I might get a solid signal on a very deep target with the disc low and it could be something great like a silver dime somewhere really near the very edge if the scanning field.
By turning that knob up, and I am not saying really high but maybe only to nickel or tab or zinc, where the signal could go away or disc out.

This is why I asked this question. I can't remember a specific instance, but it seems like I have been at the edge of the depth capability and when I turned the knob down to all metal, the signal came in stronger. Just wondering more than anything. I really need to get some more time on this thing and then I'll be able to answer stuff like this for myself

 

[Walknstik]

I can certainly relate to what ya'll are saying and my opinion is when you keep your discrimination lower it may at times help you get some deeper signals. There are so many variables involved here it is mind boggling and just another reason no good ground is really hunted out? Ha! Like a lot of other detectorists here I started out digging everything and "thumbing the disc" in order to learn where targets would fall out. Been there done that now I prefer to keep discrimination at minimum and investigate all repeatable signals according to the sound of the audio...discriminate mode and all-metal mode! One of the reasons modern trash areas drive me loco...for me it is easier to hunt older areas where you have mainly iron debris... not that it can't be a PAIN

 

[slingshot]

In a/m, I notice that the signals are softer. The depth comes in when encountering iron particled soil. I found 3 nickels at 2" under some swings I had searched for over 20 years with various detectors. I had the discrimination set to where it ran smoothly on the iron flakes but would still hit a nail. Needless to say, the nickels were an iron red color from being there undisturbed for so long.

 

[Sven]

Just remember the Compadre is a discriminator detector only, it does not have separate all metal and disc circuits.

All metal is just a lower disc setting that allows all metal to be detected.

As you drop the disc level, depth does increase on good targets, increase disc control settings and you start to lose depth on good targets.
Give and take on most detectors.