To me, the easiest way to think of discrimination is that it only applies to the audio response. The detector will detect anything metal. If you set some targets up to be discriminated, it will still detect them. It just won't provide an audio response. Instead, you get a null of the Threshold. Therefore, regardless of how much discrimination you have set, all targets are displayed on the screen. But you'll only hear a tone on those whose properties have been set as accepted. If you have an "open screen", you will hear every target, if you go over them one at a time. But when you pass over multiple targets at the same time, which ones you will hear depends on the Separation mode you've selected. For example, if you are running an open screen with High Trash, you will hear the audio response of the target that produces the largest signal, regardless of whether it is a ferrous or non-ferrous target. If you were running with some discrimination and High Trash, and passed over two targets at the same time (one accepted and one rejected), both targets will be displayed, but the CTX 3030 will produce the tone of the accepted target. Even if the rejected target is larger. If you were using an open screen on Low Trash instead of High Trash, and passed over two targets at the same time, you will again hear the audio response of the target that produces the largest target signal. A major difference between High Trash and Low Trash is.... if you were running with some discrimination in Low Trash, both targets could be displayed on the screen (depending on the degree of masking) but the CTX 3030 will respond to the target with the larger target signal. Remember, in Low Trash, a strong rejected target can mask the signal of an accepted target that produces less of a target response.
The Separation mode that I find the most useful is Ferrous/Coin mode, with Target Trace. In an open screen, both targets will be displayed. If one of them happens to be a ferrous target and the other a coin, you will hear both responses. But the TID numbers will most closely represent that of the coin. If you implement some discrimination, and one of the targets is accepted and the other rejected, you will still see both targets on the display. But only the accepted target will produce an audio response. I typically hunt old homesteads and farm sites. As such, old rusty nails are my nemesis. At these sites, I implement enough discrimination to reject those nails. Even though the display will show the TID of the coin, I figure "why listen to the low tones"? I've not done this with many other detector's I've owned. But I find the processor of the CTX 3030 is quick enough that I don't worry about missing a coin while the nail is being rejected. And the ability of Ferrous Coin Separation to minimize the blending of target tones is phenomenal. Hunting with a moderate amount of discrimination in Ferrous / Coin is not a lot different than using an open screen.....except the rejected targets will null out the Threshold instead of providing an audio response.
A bit more on Target Trace....When you're out with the CTX 3030 and you hear those faint, "narrow" chirps that non-CTX 3030 users ignore....... implement Target Trace on Sizing Pinpoint and slowly go back over that area. Target Trace will allow the image of ALL targets to remain on the screen, long enough to analyze what is going on down there. And by using Sizing Pinpoint with a very slow sweep, you will be more than likely be able to hear an audio response from each target. When you implement Sizing Pinpoint with Target Trace, the "width" of the scanned area remains the same with each sweep. Unlike normal Pinpoint where it gets smaller with each pass. I find this much easier to separate and sort out targets. JMHO HH Randy
