Silver_Stallion said:
Monte nice post! I was wondering if you could give your opinion on the VLX2 mode vs Di3 for coin hunting as to what if any differences or advantages there may be.
There are two primary differences between the VLX-2 and Di-3 search modes:
1-- The Ferrous/Non-Ferrous break point is '40' in the VLX-2 mode, and '15' in the Di-3 mode. This would open the scale for ferrous-range targets with VLX-2 and compress the non-ferrous TID range. The contrary applies to using Di-3 mode as the ferrous range is compressed and the non-ferrous range is broadened, and that can spread out the numeric ID's of higher-conductive targets.
2-- VLX-2 is a 4-Tone search mode and Di-3 provides a 3-Tone search mode. That difference, combined with the different ferrous/non-ferrous break-point, can make them quite different when it comes to 'grouping' different target conductivities.
For those who do more urban Coin Hunting, the Di-3 mode might be more appealing because the higher-conductive targets will be spread out more for improved visual TID. If that's their preference, based on the '15' ferrous/non-ferrous break-point, then if a 4-Tone search mode is desired, the Di-4 would likely make the better choice. I know I use Di-4 on occasion for some Coin Hunting sites in various towns I visit, but most often I am searching inn Di-3, D-2 and DEEP, in that order, when going after coins and jewelry in common places. But not this, I also use the same three Discriminate modes when I am relic hunting, and that occupies about 90% of my detecting time afield.
In the Impact User Manual it describes the Di-2 as
"recommended especially for Relic Hunting" and produces good results on
"clean sites" that do not contain waste metal. I have found this to be just what I like to use in a more open fringe area when Relic hunting where trash is minimal or where the main offending just is just iron nails. I also prefer to work those open areas with the 5X9½ open-frame DD coil.
They continue by describing the Di-3 mode as being
"designed for Coin Hunting especially in trashy sites such as parks.". They did not suggest Relic Hunting in that mode description under 'SEARCH MODES' nor in the back of the manual describing recommended mode choices. Instead, they suggested VLX-1 as being
"designed for users who prefer a lower noise level while detecting." They describe it as
"ideal for Coin Hunting on changing grounds and different levels of mineralization."
The VLX-2 mode you asked about, they say
"resembles the VLX-1 mode in terms of characteristics." However, they suggest,
"it is a deeper mode utilizing 4-tones and is ideal for both Coin and Relic Hunting in changing ground conditions and all levels of mineralization."
You asked for "
My Opinion on DI-3 and VLX-2 for Coin Hunting" and all I can do is tell you what I have found, what I do and use, and why I use what modes and settings I prefer. Here you go:
• The Impact offers a lot of adjustment features so that any user can tailor the mode and settings for their wants and needs as desired.
• I have used both the VLX-1 and VLX-2 modes, as I have all of the other modes the Impact offers, and because Di-4 worked for me of the few occasions I like to use 4-Tone when Coin Hunting, I haven't found a need or application where I would use VLX-2 to favor it over the other. As for the VLX-1 mode, it works where I hunt, ... but I have preferred the performance of the Di-3 mode over it for 3-Tone search operation.
Part of my preferences go back to the years leading up-to January of 2015. I used several makes and models in my
Regular-Use Detector Battery to include a White's MXT All-Pro and MX-5, a Teknetics T2 and Omega 8000 V-4, a Fisher F-19, and three of my favorite non-display Tesoro models. Some were for more Coin Hunting urban locations, and others were more specific for Relic Hunting, and a couple were 'multi-purpose' units and could handle urban or rural assignments, naturally with a proper outfit of search coils. Most of the time I used a 1-Tone or 2-Tone operation as I didn't care for the way they designed the multi-tones, with the exception of using a 4-Tone audio on the Omega 8000.
Then on the 8th of January of 2015, almost 3 years ago, I got a Nokta FORS CoRe Pro pack in-hand to evaluate, and it was quite a surprise to me to enjoy such an excellent balance and comfortable handling, complemented by in-the-field performance that matched or bettered almost every detector I had at the time. They were soon thinned-out, although I do have an MX-5 around as a 'loaner-unit' as needed.
Because I mainly Relic Hunt in very iron littered sites, and I am also located where I am dealing with higher mineralized iron-mineral challenged sites, I need a detector to work well, especially with a smaller coil and a mid-sized search coil. The FORS CoRe operates at 15 kHz, and using the small
'OOR' DD coil and the 5½X10 DD
[size=small](which I have now upgraded to the newer 5X9½ DD open-frame design)[/size] it simply out-performs almost all other makes and models l have evaluated against it. I found that the Di-3 mode with the processed audio worked quite well in the iron infested sites I hunt using the smaller coil. In low-to-modest trash environments, the Di-2 mode using the mid-sized coil is hard to beat.
Then in January of 2016, along comes what became the FORS Relic, which provided me the same excellent configuration, balance and comfort afield, plus the benefit of operating at 19 kHz, and having the added DEEP mode plus Iron Audio Volume. I continued to prefer Di-3 in most trashy places, both for Relic Hunting and Coin & Jewelry Hunting, and it has served me very well now for two years. Again, using Di-3 then Di-2 and then DEEP modes, in that order. Also, I prefer the 5" DD followed by the newer 5X9½ open-frame DD and then the 5½X10 solid-body Concentric coils
When I got the Impact in January of this year I put it to work in a wide range of tasks to learn the different search modes and adjustment features, even though most of them I was very familiar with. I had become so accustomed to working with the Di-3, then Di-2 and 'DEEP' modes, that even though I used the others, I tended to prefer those favorites. Seldom do I use any other search modes, other than GEN mode for some open-area, sparse-target hunting. I really enjoy my Impact more now, thanks to the round 7" Concentric coil they offer. That stays on my Impact the bulk of the time for almost any site I search, be it Relic hunting or urban Coin Hunting. My next two coil favorites are the round 5"' DD for the ugliest of dense trash, especially iron, and the open-frame 5X9½ DD for more open places with little junk to annoy me.
Again, it's all an individual thing. I know four or five people who use different Nokta and Makro detectors who never, or very, very seldom, use any search mode other than Di-3, and that's for either Relic Hunting or Coin Hunting. I also know about the same number of serious detecting people who were familiar with a 2-Tone operation with different makes and models before
'converting over' to using an Impact, Relic, CoRe or Racer, and as much as I have tried to encourage them to spend a full day to perhaps a week of hunting to try and learn the 3-Tone mode it's almost useless because they prefer the clean and informative quick response they get from hunting in Di-2.
However, I also know one Impact user who uses four to eight or nine different programs during a full day of detecting. His preferences differ from mine, and I am sure mine might not be in harmony with what you might enjoy with the Impact. That's one of the better benefits it offers an Avid Detectorist, is the ability to select one or more operating search modes
they prefer, then adjust the various functions to get the performance they desire out of the Impact for the sites they search.
That kind of wraps up my
'opinions' you wanted. They are similar yet different search modes, and most of my hunting, with the CoRe, Relic or Impact, is making use of the Di-3 then Di-2 models for different hunt sites .... and my success afield confirms,
to me, how well these detectors perform in the challenging sites I hunt. I just haven't needed or made a lot of use of either VLX mode.
Monte
