GT Threshold question

[Wi.kyle]

Hello all! I can not seem to get my GT to have a smooth threshold. I am running in Disc setting Sens about 11o. I have turned Sens way down and it does nothing different. The Threshold is either turned way up and chattering or when I turn it down with the coil up off the ground I get a tone but when I put it to the ground its like silent search. What am I doing wrong? I am not new to metal detecting by no means but this is a new machine for me (I do use an Excal in the water). We do have very heavy mineralized soil. Thats why I traded my MXT because of the erratic bleeps farts and blips constantly. Any help on settings would be great Does it need to go into Minelab maybe (anybody else have this problem) or is it user error? Thanks

 

[Art (NWOH)]

You can expect the GT and Xcal to work exactly the same way at the same location in disc mode.

Are they both working the same way??

HH

 

[John LA]

From reading other posts, I think maybe they all work the same way. The threshold swings from almost silent to fairly loud. This doesn't seem to prevent me from finding targets. It seems to be a matter of finding a threshold setting you are comfortable with. Maybe others will tell us what we are doing wrong.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Sounds like the area you are at is very trashy or very high mineralization. Try running the sensitivity in auto (all the way counter clockwise until it clicks) and the disc and notch all the way counter clockwise so you are using no disc so the only thing that will null the threshold is iron. being it is a GT keep the one toggle switch in pinpoint, the other one is disc with the iron mask on and the silent search off if you preferred a threshold tone so you can tell if you are going too fast for conditions. Now when you set the threshold i will do it with the coil in the air so so don't get a signal from anything and set for a slight hum. When lowering it to the ground it may null as it see iron or mineralization, but if you hold the coil still the threshold will come back.The threshold will null and change tones as it see any metal and by going slow and listening you can hear the good signals in with the trash. Now if you try your Excalibur in the same area you are using the GT it should do the same thing as it is just a waterproof Sovereign with out the notch or meter.
I am used to hunting land and only water hunted a couple of times, but on the beach in NJ I thought my detector wasn't working as it run so smooth compared to the land hunting I do.

 

[Wi.kyle]

Rick thank you these settings seem to help maintain a threshold! You were right my ground is highly minerilized. With my MXT I was getting ground readings in the 80's and I could not get that machine to stop chattering. What about in trashy areas? do you still go by tones and leave it in pinpoint mode? I do not have a meter I think that my help alot in the trash. What do you use for a meter? Thanks to all for your help. I did find some modern coins and a religious metal today. The ground is still frozen in alot of places in Wisconsin so only able to hit and miss spots.

 

[Art (NWOH)]

Hey John......

Can't say you are doing anything wrong, as I have no way of experiencing your conditions, watching you, looking at your settings, or hearing exactly what you hear.

A Sov likes a smooth threshold for best operation. This indicates (on clean dirt) that the sweep speed and sensitivity settings are good.
The Sov is having no problem establishing that the dirt is just dirt.

I can't say at just what point the performance will be significantly degraded when the threshold is unstable.

I try to keep the threshold stable at my favored sensitivity setting when possible. I consider it borderline when the threshold has minor variations that cause the threshold to almost wink out. This is where I draw the line. I will slow down, lower sensitivity, or both if necessary.

HH

 

[Rick(ND)]

I leave the one switch in pinpoint mode as it only works when you go to all metal and disabled when in the disc mode. This way when i want to pinpoint a target i just switch to the all metal mode and can pinpoint the target.
I use a Sun Ray DTI meter on my GT, but the new Minelab Digisearch meter will work good too being they don't make the Sun Ray anymore and I find a good meter helps the learning curve.
In trashy area you may want to get a smaller coil and still go by the tones and if you get a meter you can verify with the meter numbers what you are hearing.
Like I tell many the more you use the Sovereign the more you will understand the better the finds will get.

Good luck and hope your next hunt you get more then just the new stuff.

Rick