Newbie Question about All Metal searching

[muconium]

When people refer to searching in "All Metal Mode," do they mean switching the disc into GB balance mode (which is called VCO, I think) or do they just mean searching with the disc turned down below Iron?

Also, if you hear your machine hit on something while searching in All Metal, does anyone use the size of the object as an indicator of whether it's a real target, like a coin? I've noticed that some objects are just too elongated or large to be a coin. No, I'm not a relic hunter, unless you consider old coins as "relics."

Last question: I've read on the forum about searching in VCO using the threshold as a sound indicator. Is this end all be all deepest way to search with a Vaquero?

 

[thump7]

I don't know about others, but when I talk about the AM mode, I am referring to vco AM.

If I am in an area that is not laden with bottle caps, I can go in strait vco AM and pick out almost only Canadian clad coins. I know how a coin responds in vco. While in vco, mostnon-ferrous targets won't make a sound until the target is under the coil, while iron or iron clad coins will sound off well before the coil is over them. It works great in the sand because I can run the disc on foil and listen for coins on edge in vco.

IMO, it is the be all and end all, deepest way to search with a tesoro.

 

[muconium]

I don't know about others, but when I talk about the AM mode, I am referring to vco AM.

If I am in an area that is not laden with bottle caps, I can go in strait vco AM and pick out almost only Canadian clad coins. I know how a coin responds in vco. While in vco, mostnon-ferrous targets won't make a sound until the target is under the coil, while iron or iron clad coins will sound off well before the coil is over them. It works great in the sand because I can run the disc on foil and listen for coins on edge in vco.

IMO, it is the be all and end all, deepest way to search with a tesoro.

Thanks, Thump, but I'm confused: Don't you want non-ferrous (non-iron targets) to make a sound and ignore iron?

Also: how can you have the discriminate knob on VCO and foil at the same time?

 

[thump7]

Thanks, Thump, but I'm confused: Don't you want non-ferrous (non-iron targets) to make a sound and ignore iron?

Also: how can you have the discriminate knob on VCO and foil at the same time?

Yes, I do want to ignore iron. But, our Canadian clad coins are iron, - nickle plated iron.
They will respond a lot the same way as a bottle cap will, wether in AM or disc mode.

I setup disc mode the way I want to run it, and then hunt in AM by pushing the red pinpoint button.

 

[muconium]

"I setup disc mode the way I want to run it, and then hunt in AM by pushing the red pinpoint button."

That's pure Genius, Thump!!!

 

[BarberBill]

Some detectors on 0 disc equals the all metal mode. However, if in doubt, shifting into all metal mode if offered on the machine, is the most sure way. One major advantage of all metal is the fact that any metal target should respond. That means nothing is discriminated out. Where a trash target and a desirable target are in very close proximity, in discrimination the good target may be missed due to the discrimination causing the detector to not signal at all. In all metal one would find the desirable target along with the trash as it's a "dig everything" mode. Down side of course is one is going to dig tons of trash. It's the most certain way to ensure that no small gold items etc. are missed if you can handle digging all the trash. It also offers the most depth and sensitivity available on most detectors.
BB

 

[muconium]

Some detectors on 0 disc equals the all metal mode. However, if in doubt, shifting into all metal mode if offered on the machine, is the most sure way. One major advantage of all metal is the fact that any metal target should respond. That means nothing is discriminated out. Where a trash target and a desirable target are in very close proximity, in discrimination the good target may be missed due to the discrimination causing the detector to not signal at all. In all metal one would find the desirable target along with the trash as it's a "dig everything" mode. Down side of course is one is going to dig tons of trash. It's the most certain way to ensure that no small gold items etc. are missed if you can handle digging all the trash. It also offers the most depth and sensitivity available on most detectors.
BB

I just want to use all-metal for places where I have already found moderately deep silver or where I can walk more than three paces without a hit on some trash object. In fact, I'm finding that my personal preferences for disc settings on the Vaquero are really situational. The density of garbage-sounding targets in my headphones automatically makes my thumb move the disc higher!

 

[POLEWAGGER]

When the number of targets per square foot is low enough to make sense, I like to run in AM whenever possible. I will never miss a good target if I know where everything is. I'm starting to hear more definition in the "chiuaua bark" that I hear on good targets. I'm starting to trust my disc knob more. My confidence level has gone way up since favoring AM and checking all targets with disc & X sweeping. Another huge advantage with hunting AM is YOU WON"T GO OVER A COIN SPILL AND THINK IT"S JUNK!. I hit 3 coin spills yesterday that I'm sure that at least one of them had been gone over by other detectors. They all sounded like junk until I shortened my sweeps up to about 4" in disc. The number of junk targets just keeps going down, and the nickels increase. I think AM is a much overlooked and valuable tool to help eliminate the masking that makes your disc lie.

 

[thump7]

I think AM is a much overlooked and valuable tool to help eliminate the masking that makes your disc lie.

It is nice to hear someone other than myself say this!

When I am coin shooting for surface - 3" clad, I will always, always run AM.
There's a couple reasons for it, In AM coins will give a recognisable "woot" even if the coil isn't necessarily over them.
Most importantly though, to keep myself sane I swing the coil about 8" off the ground. I don't have to listen to all the junk
in the ground, and only coin sized targets will give a nice round "woot". When I hear that, I let go of the pinpoint button
and investigate in disc.
Doing this allows me to cover huge ground with loose overlaps and listen only for the targets I want to hear. It makes me look
like a newbe to anyone that might be watching me, but little do they know I'm vacuming up the coins.

 

[Smudge]

This is interesting as I have never run in AM mode.

But then again all I ever seem to hunt are trashy sites which would make AM a nightmare.

When I finally hit a non-trashy site I am going to try it out!