lots of choices

[William1221]

1 When beach hunting which will give the best depth all metal or discrim.? All things being equal.
2 In the manual it says it's not necessary to grunge balance the the machine in all metal on the beach pg.21 7.8.2.?
3. Moving the sensitivity knob clock wise reduces the depth of penetration the machine will go, to me it would be the last knob I would move.Has anyone ever calculated the reduction in depth in reference to decreasing the sensitivity (clock wise turn)?
Please remember I just a beginner and am trying to become more knowledgeable abt. this great hobby. I'm hoping I'm not offending anyone. regards william1 SovereignGT

 

[Art (NWOH)]

You will have to determine for yourself if you get the best depth in disc or all metal........this is location dependent.

You don't have to balance in all metal if you are in track mode........balances itself quickly. Watch out that it don't track out weak targets.

The sensitivity control does not always act as you would expect....sometimes reducing sensitivity will increase depth. Another thing you will have to find out for yourself.

How much depth you lose or gain by decreasing sensitivity is both coil and location dependent. Also where the setting starting point is.........another one you have to figure out.

I suggest you adjust sensitivity for the strongest response on a weak non-ferrous hit, and run it there if the machine is stable. If unstable then back it down until it is smooth. I would expect some difference between wet and dry sand.

I would not suggest you use anyone else's settings unless they are hunting the same location you are and have verified that their own settings work best at that location.

HH

 

[William1221]

Thank you for your reply Art. ON my first question I stated all things being equal which would be the deepest? On question 2 you said track mode would have the possibility to blank out weak signals? How do you know this is happening?Fix mode goes deeper pg.20 7.8. Do I have to ground balance if using fix? I will try your suggestion for the sensitivity control. Thank you

 

[Art (NWOH)]

You will need to switch between modes to see which goes deepest. Location dependent.

You can track out weak targets with many detectors that auto ground balance.A few passes and it's gone. Pull the coil to one side for a few moments and it will come back.

Fixed mode may not go deeper.....depends if it is balanced right for the spot. Balanced way wrong it will certainly NOT go deeper than track. Areas with harsh dirt (or beach) that are inconsistent in mineral might be best hunted by using track.....let the detector decide it's own balance rather than lock it in in fixed where it may be wrong as you move through the area.
You need to balance in track first before switching to fixed if you are going to use this mode. You can get faked out during ground balancing.....it can balance so fast that you never hear it happen.

These are things you need to determine for yourself by experimentation.

HH


HH

 

[William1221]

thank you

 

[Rick(ND)]

Depth is not important if you cannot run the Sovereign, so a person has to learn it first and why auto sensitivity may be the best to use and get a smoother threshold to understand the Sovereign. Once this has been learned than running a sensitivity out of auto will get you more depth if you go slow enough to hear the faint small signals of a deep target. Going too fast and you will not get these deep signals.
To me running in disc gives me more depth as you can hear the tone changes when the Sovereign sees a different target, in all metal the volume may change slightly and some may not even notice it, but the tone change is more noticeable. I have seen some targets in disc that when I go to pinpoint they are very hard for me to hear and I know I would have never heard them if I was running in all metal.

Best thing to do is get out to use the GT and get to know this detector and get some confidence in it.

Rick

 

[funkyoldude]

As a beginning beach hunter, I would suggest that you use the recommended control settings given in the manual. That's because, as Rick says, you have a lot to learn about how your Sov works, before you need to worry about depth. Once you dig a few thousand targets using the meter and tone id you will be way ahead of whatever detector is in second place.
Besides, depth on the beach is less of a concern than say, coverage. The more sand you cover, the more likely it is that you will find a treasure. I would say that most treasure (and trash) occurs in the top 6 or 8 inches of sand if you hunt the dry sand on beaches that are heavily populated by swimmers. On my beach, there is so much metal trash (bottle caps, pull tabs, etc.), that I would be wasting most of my time and finding nothing, if it were not for tone id and my 180 meter.
Wet sand, big scoop territory, is a different story, and hunting there is more like relic hunting. Tough work, lots of digging, but your chances of finding gold go way up.
And you gotta be patient and very lucky.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

fod