tid accuracy,who's the best?:ausflag:

[blowfly1967]

my hearing is not the best and although i use audio detectors like the tesoro's vaquero/compadre,there is no difference in the sound over a target to me . it just beeps,so i dig it.others claim that after awhile you can tell what the machine is saying to you.i must have come from a different planet.now i really don't like tid machines,having tried two,i found that they lie to you.so i'm wondering is there an accurate tid machine out there.that says what it is ,is.the two tid machines that i have used and got rid off.an ace 250 and a x terra 50 didn't ring any bells for me.i find a lot of stuff with the ones i've got but sometimes it would be nice to know what i'm about to dig up and how deep i gotta go to find the latest little treasure.i have my own thoughts on the subject,but i thought that i should ask the question from more knowledgeable and experianced people than me.hoping you all can share your wisdom with me, i thank you one all in advance.hh see ya! blowfly

 

[blowfly1967]

damn i forgot i hunt parks and beachs ,for coins and jewellery. blowfly

 

[Leslie(nova scotia)]

From the land of the Bluenose.....from the old school here and just use a machine that has different "Beeps"! Have 3 old Freedom 3 Pluses and like you have had the Ace 250 (traded it for a Freedom). Bottom line is that one has to be comfortable, trust and feel one with their machine.

 

[khouse]

I really don't think that the detectors lied. I believe they said what the target conductivity was. I know the 250 will tell you that it's foil or quarter etc. The Xterra 50 just gives you a number. Possibly saying it's a nickel on a 250 is more miss leading than your Xterra giving you a #12? Maybe not? They are saying the same thing but in a different way. The TID is just an educated guess of the possible target. It's up to you to interpret you machine as to dig or not. But really you end up digging more targets with a non TID unit. This can net you more jewelry that hits in the TID trash zones that you may not have dug with a TID machine. I use TID machines and only leave iron in the ground for most of my hunts. But it's nice to cherry pick when I don't have much time to hunt or I'm getting tired. For this I can't see me going back to a non TID machine.

 

[BarberBill]

All TID machines just give a machine's "best guess". I've found my MXT and Tesoro DeLeon to be surprisingly accurate at IDing coins when the target is actually a coin. However, tabs, bottle caps, metal pencil ends etc. often fool the machines into IDing them as possible coins. Why they work as well as they do, when the target is really a coin, I'm not sure, but they seldom miss in that scenario as long as the depth isn't extreme. With experience and learning the machne and it's sounds, one can develop a very good accuracy percentage on Iding targets, but the only 100% reliable ID is your eyes after retrieving the target.
My two bits.
BB

 

[slingshot]

Coin spills, items next to targets, ground conditions, angle of object in the ground, and condition of target ALL affect target ID. I don't know of one of the nearly 100 detectors that I have owned that I found the most accurate other than the beep-dig kind.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Like the others have said, NO machine "tells you what's in the ground". They can only measure conductivity. And yes, certain recurring items (coins of a particular size and metal, pulltabs of a given size/shape, etc...) will be estimatable. Unfortunately, a lot of junk items can read in those exact same ranges. For example, a pulltab and certain size gold rings, foil and small gold rings, certain size car keys and pennies, flattened soda can and silver dollar, etc.. etc... etc...

But as far as the best machine for getting those retaining those TIDs at depth, I say the Explorer is best

 

[R-n-R Magnolia SpringsAla]

out of alot of machines I thought it had the best ID bar none, now I have not used the newer stuff so I really can't compare.

 

[Elton]

Unless you have used it..you wouldn't believe how accurate.

 

[Carolina Phil]

Like the others have said, NO machine "tells you what's in the ground". They can only measure conductivity. And yes, certain recurring items (coins of a particular size and metal, pulltabs of a given size/shape, etc...) will be estimatable. Unfortunately, a lot of junk items can read in those exact same ranges. For example, a pulltab and certain size gold rings, foil and small gold rings, certain size car keys and pennies, flattened soda can and silver dollar, etc.. etc... etc...

But as far as the best machine for getting those retaining those TIDs at depth, I say the Explorer is best

The Explorer and E-Trac can measure conductivity and ferrous characteristics. This two dimensional approach probably ranks them as best at picking out coins, but could lead to confusion for some folks. They are multiple frequency machines, which probably adds an advantage. I own neither though, but enjoy the numeric display of my X-Terra 70.

I could be happy with a decent machine without a display at all, with two or possibly three tones.

 

[Steve(MS)]

I haven't tried all ID detectors out there but 2 of the ones I have used that are real good is the Whites 6000 Di Pro SL and the Explorer.
I wish I still had the 6000, for a single Frq, it does very well.
The Explorer is what I use most of time.

 

[nwdetectorist]

Hey blowfly1967

TID Multiple Tones Setting -w- White's XLT and...

...while using the White's XLT for several years I learned some things about what worked for me in a TID machine and what does not.

My Thoughts:

1. They are not the "end all, be all" solution for every detectorist or situation.
2. Indian Head penny's on my machine sounded like bottle-caps 95% of the time.
3. Most medium and larger Gold Rings also sounded like either a pull-tab or a bottle cap.
4. I liked being able to program or "notch out" some items when searching a very trashy park.
5. I eventually learned to run the machine more or less wide open in the "relic" program, then add some things I like such as "lowering the overall tone" because of my bad hearing and turning off "modulation" so that all targets responded with the same volume regardless of depth (this helps if your hearing is as bad as mine).
6. These top end TID machines have lots of bells and whistles to use or abuse depending on how much you want to learn about your particular machines limitations and also its advantages.
7. Most of the TID machines are much heavier and rougher on a person if your back is messed up like mine is.

I really liked the White's XLT and if I had the money would buy into the newer generation TID's like the Minelab.
I have had some experience with the Minelab Excalibur and really fought to learn the tone ID's but again I did not have much time with the machine and suspect that I would have become deadly accurate with some more use. My main complaint about that model was "no volume control" and this is killer for someone who has in the past used the Black Widow headphones because of my hearing loss

So in short, my feelings are that any machine will do the trick, its just that some have more tricks up their sleeves.
It just takes time behind the screen, or the control panel in the case of knob adjusted machines.

I am now using a used Tesoro Bandido uMax and have to dig up a lot of unwanted targets but this is the nature of metal detecting.
It is not something that you can escape with any particular model of detector.
Each notch that you ratchet up the discrimination is one more notch of missed rings
http://www.doyle.thibert.com/nwdetectorist/antidiscriminationact.htm

I wished my hearing was better but I am doing OK with the Bandido uMax because I have averaged one silver ring per week since I purchased it several weeks ago, along with a 10K Gold ring and a nice sterling necklace. And this is by only get out one day per week on Saturdays for about 5 hours since I am a full time student these days. Carefully planning where you go and understanding where you might be dropped/lost if you were a ring really helps a lot. Where would you get lost if you were a ring?


nwdetectorist
TOO MUCH DIRT, NOT ENUFF TIME!

 

[tab-nabit]

I hunt by audio, and if I'm using a machine with a display, then that's just secondary information and not the decision factor for digging. The depth displayed can be somewhat useful if finding certain targets at certain depths i.e. one spot having silver generally at 4 inches and deeper. But overall I just don't rely on the display. Now I feel they do okay at indicating the coins and the different current circulation denominations. The manufacturers have had some time working on this one. But then the coins no longer in circulation, junk or jewelery that indicate as a coin, then the masking variations etc.
Another indication is the battery strength.
But when it does come to displays, I did have a somewhat liking to the old analog meters I had on my 6000 Di Pro and Compass. That to me was a big step back then, but the audio was and still is my final deciding factor.

 

[Steve(MS)]

I go by tone first then consult the meter but the meter is only a secondary deal for me.
Believe me, I hunt relic hunt in woods, old house places and fields so I only use ID as a general feature.
For this type detecting, it is better to dig than to over-rely on ID.
I use ID primarily to distinguish between ferrous and non-ferrous and the Explorer is very good IMO in the trashy areas I hunt.
HH.

 

[Bill in Texas]

I have had many TID machines and I have one now, but I consistently pick up my Tesoro when I go hunting, because of the light weight and I think my ear does about as good of a job IDing as most meters. Of course I have been using a Tesoro for years and have learned what is saying to me. Also I am a jewelry hunter and tend to dig just about everything. One nice Gold ring I would say is worth about 500 clad quarters or more! Plus its the thrill of digging that gold ring. By the way the gold wedding band on my hand checks out as a pull tab. Every time I check someones TID and ask what I got in my hand (wedding band hidden) they say its a pull tab. Then I show them I had nothing there and it was my ring. Bill in Texas

 

[Shambler]

Any Exporer users wish Minelab had never used the term "ferrousity" just because the iron targets tended to fall on one side of the scale? It's so misleading to what is really happening.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yes, but I can show you some inner-city-blighted-urban parks where you would dig 1000 pulltabs and 1000 foil wads, for each gold ring. Persons who insist they "dig all" ..... "lest they miss a gold ring" ..... don't last long in some environments.

 

[Steve(MS)]

Tom, in my area, there are places where one could dig pulltabs, shredded alum and foil for several lifetimes and might never find a gold ring
I guess it is ok to dig everything at carefully selected sites but there are places loaded with over 40 years of alum garbage where I would like to see someone try to "clean out" the pulltabs and other alum junk....not referring here to beach hunting.