Explorer XS

[Anonymous]

Is it better to hunt in the discrimination or the iron mask mode. Can I have some opinions. Also, What does an indian head register, is it considered a ferrous coin. Thanks for all the responses

 

[Anonymous]

I prefer the iron mask mode.. I think most experienced detectorist like minimum discrimination and try to dig most positive signals unless we are cherrypickin due to time constraints.. Then we quickly learn where the good signals ID most of the time and go from there.
Newer Indian Heads register just below clad and just above pulltabs. The older ones read pretty close to pulltabs.. The older ones are a different copper alloy than the later ones. The older ones 1863 to 65 seem to hold up better in the soil..Indian Heads are generally not considered a ferrous coin.

 

[Anonymous]

Jim please bear with me on this. What exactly does the iron mask do as oppossed to discrimination. I have read 2 books and am still learning. Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

If your running in iron mask it only discs out iron, the iron mask is adjustable down to the point you accept even all iron if you go to minimum settingm, The thing is if the site has lots of iron sometimes the good targets will rread over towards the iron portion of the screen, so thats why its best to use low iron mask settings in those areas.. A disc pattern is when you are running with iron mask off and have selected certain other things to be rejected as well

 

[Anonymous]

If you want to do a little Experment to maybe help understand it, take a nail and lay it about a inch a way from a coin and go over it in your disc pattern and then try iron mask at a -12 or so and go over it again and see how much easier it is to get in iron mask. The more black (iron mask) you have the more it will cover up and the harder it will be to get a good target close to the iron.
I have been running a disc program that looks like iron mask at a -12 looks like, but have blackened out the bottom of the screen with just the top 1/2 inch open and then went to learn and learned the nickles in the medium cursior. Being I have a big problem with rusty nails I went to ferriuos sounds and it seem to work great. I run the iron mask at a -14 most of the time, but when i get a tough area I just hit the iron mask button and I am in my disc partern. after I check it out I hit the iron mask button 2 times and I am back to my iron mask again.
Rick

 

[Anonymous]

So if you are in the iron mask is on thin the screen should not have an y disc just a part of the screen blacked depending on the setting. So basically if you are in this mode you dig everything? Thanks guys i am starting to understand

 

[Anonymous]

Not neccessarily digging everything but listening to everything except most iron.. even a setting of -15 blanks out the majority of iron hits.. at least the nails.. I dig anything that sounds good no matter where it reads.. by sounding good I mean gives a solid steady tone without warble or changing tone from one direction to another.. most good stuff reads the same tone from all directions.. then there are certain areas of the screen I dig all hits.. and bottom right I dont dig at all unless I am getting no other signals at all and am bored.. dont think I ever dug a good target reading bottom right