Hey Chuck,
The main goal of the explorer is to learn the sounds well. If you know the sounds, you can use the machine to it's full potential--by using little or no discrimination. Sound is the real potential--the screen is not.
As a beginner, if you try to use little or no discrimination, you will not know what sounds are the good ones. This will lead to massive confusion.
As a beginner, let the machine narrow down the signals for you. The XS will feed you a small range of possible coin hits. Wait until the machine tells you that there is a possible coin under your coil. Just before you dig the signal, switch to very little discrimination so that you can listen real good to the full-bodied signal. Try to memorize it. Then go ahead and dig it.
You can do this by hunting with a coin program. Learn in silver dimes, quarters, pennies (wheats and indian heads). Let the machine narrow down the signals for you by using this program.
When you get a hit that is repeatable, switch to iron mask -10 and listen to the signal again. Listen to it at 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock, etc. See what it does and memorize it. By doing this you are decreasing the amount of discrimination and listening to the full-bodied signal before you dig.
Eventually you will feel pretty good about your sounds and you will feel like operating in iron mask -10 most of the time.
After you are well-practiced with the XS, here's when to use heavy discrimination versus iron mask:
If you have a new area that you've never hunted before, you can test the productivity of the area by using a coin program (heavy discrimination) and cruise around quickly to see if you get some results. If you don't get any results after several hours, the area might be cleaned out of easy coin hits. Or the area might be no good. But if you have an area that is good, you can clean up and get all the easy coin hits with your coin program. When the easy hits are gone, open the machine up (less discrimination, less black area on the screen) by switching to iron mask mode. When you detect with less discrimination, the iffy signals sound better and you can identify them. You will also dig alot more trash because the trash signals improve too. Use this kind of setting to really clean out an area.
Here are some details on iron mask: Iron mask mode leaves a nice big white open area on the screen. It also places a simple, rectangularly-shaped, blackened out, discrimination pattern on the left side of the screen. When you switch from iron mask -10 to -11, you are lowering the discrimination even more. Notice that a small black strip of discrimination is shaved off the black area. You can lower it and lower it until you get to IM -15. This is minimum iron mask discrimination. If you go to IM -16, there is absolutely no discrimination and you are detecting all metals.
If you have your sensitivity up too high, you will miss coins.
Here's how to adjust your sensitivity in the coin program: You want to have a little threshold tone return inbetween targets. So if you are getting complete null and no threshold return, turn down the sensitivity until you do. If you still cannot get threshold return, just put it on 17 and call it good.
Here's how to adjust your sensitivity in iron mask mode: When signals sound really sticky and splatty, and you have no threshold return, turn your SEN down until the signals have good individual definition and you get a little threshold return in between signals.
Mike
