Sens setting Question...

[Anonymous]

Would someone please explain why you would lower the sens setting (from 32) in semi auto mode. What does this accomplish (in semi auto). I read in Andy's book that the XS (when set in semi auto) will set the sens at the maximum level acceptable for the current ground conditions. ALso, the detector will readjust that level as necessary. All that the sens number does is "cap" the highest setting allowed. If I understood the text correctly, Andy also suggested that the sens ALWAYS be set at 32 when in semi auto mode. I completely understand changing the sens settings when operating in the manual mode. That makes sense to me, but lowering it in semi auto, I just don't get it.
Thank you in advance!
H.H. <IMG SRC="/forums/images/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">

 

[Anonymous]

I guess if you were in a site where conditions changed very fast, maybe the detector cant switch gears down to acceptable levels fast enough? Or it could be that it just wont adjust down to the lowest levels at all when set so high?... you know I have never tried semi auto at 32.. gotta do that sometime <IMG SRC="/forums/images/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">

 

[Anonymous]

[No message]

 

[Anonymous]

I have had that same question myself. I pretty much always use auto 32 and seem to have no problems with it. When I switch to manual it gets unstable.

 

[Anonymous]

I think Jim's put his finger on it. I believe that the semi-auto mode takes some time (however short) to respond ... not just to changes in ground minerals but to maintain the ground balancing on an on-going basis. This is an extremely short delay and most times is likely insignificant. It's probably the same effect often mentioned on the forums that makes the manual mode seem to get targets missed by the semi-auto mode even at the same settings.
Still think I get quicker, cleaner hits in manual most of the time (the semi-auto mode seems to "blend" or soften the received signals somewhat). Apparently there are times to use the semi-auto mode though, such as, the soil at the GNRS down south last year, etc.
HH ... Gord.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok how do you know when its unstable?

 

[Anonymous]

Here's what I did the other day, I found ground with no metal then adjusted the sensitivity untill
I could raise the coil straight up and down on the ground untill the threshold stays the same. Is this the right way to do it? My other brands of machines ground balance similar to this.

 

[Anonymous]

No that's not required with the Sov or Explorer. It ground balances totally automatically ... within the first sweep or two. That's one of the nice things about these detectors versus other detectors where it can be critical to ground balance correctly (and, in some types of ground, often) to get the best performance.
HH ... Gord.

 

[Anonymous]

When the threshold is stable you will hear one smooth tone when the coil is NOT moving (since iron will cause the threshold to "null" or go away. When it stutters or ?pulses? then it is unstable. I hope that I have described it well enough for you. <IMG SRC="/forums/images/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">
H.H.

 

[Anonymous]

so then how do you know when sensitivity is just right? the more I turn it up the more noises come out of the same ground, can you explain thse other noises when the sensitivity is up?

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, tanks tl.

 

[Anonymous]

Well ... to some degree it's a tolerance thing. When you crank your sensitivity up on any detector you're increasing it's ability to drive an audio tone at the slightest possible return signal. As you increase this further you begin to get tones on the background noise which are not legitimate targets. This is referred to as "falsing" in a metal detector.
If you're going after the deepest coins in normal ground, the objective is to turn up the sensitivity as high as you can without getting "exessive" falsing. Some people can stand more (or less) falsing than others. The trick is to analyze any signal you think is there to eliminate the good from the bad ... check it for repeatability, response in more than one direction, quality of the audio tone, etc.
Many people never get to this point of optimizing performance. Some prefer nice stable operation and thus may miss the deepest coins. Others may be able to tolerate a much higher level of falsing than others and thus "may" get deeper (and often older coins).
Other factors also enter into it. For example in very mineralized or trashy ground you may be able to find more targets by turning your sensitivty down (this is often described as the headlight in the fog effect when you get better penetration by low beams).
There are really no hard and fast rules that work everytime, for everyone and everywhere.
Best bet is to just continue experimenting under many conditions and don't get in a rut where you try to use the same settings for everything.
Sorry for running on 8^P.
Good luck & HH ... Gord.

 

[Anonymous]

i think alot of people get alittle confused over how much sens they should use . the first thing you should do is figure out your ground conditions. thats whats really important. then adjust your sens accordingly.i believe most people set their sens up too high thinking their going to get down 2 feet. well its not going to happen. ive gotten down an eazy 8 to 9 inches with my sens set at 18 on real clean and wet ground.i run manual most times and when conditions are good i slowly turn it up. but you always want to stay out of that erratic zone because that brings on the falseing.like i said always check your conditions first then go from there.
HH, stan