What is your favorite program to detect targets in? (and why?)

[Aurium]

I've been toying around with the Coin, and Coin/Jewelry program, I like them both. But when there were a lot of bottle tops, and pulltabs like I experienced recently in a Texas park I had to modify them both to reject the bottle caps, and to a lesser degree pulltabs. I didn't try the hi trash program, but I'll definitely give it a spin, in the future for similarly trashy spots. (I found a little bit of clad, and a 1920 wheatie 4 inches below a bottle cap..amazing )

I also tried the Hi-Pro program today in a slightly trashy park and I liked what it appeared to be doing. However I'm not completely sure what the advantages are to the HI-Pro, so I've posed the question above because I would like to start a discussion on what you like, and why. What are the advantages to what you use and why? I suppose if you're all willing share your modifications as well. I wasn't able to dig to many targets due to frozen ground, but I did manage to pull out a big lead sinker... to bad lead isn't worth something

I'm primarily a coin hunter, not much opportunity for relics although I've recently researched a series of Civil war camps so who knows I might be hitting some spots for relics as well.

Some things I'd like to get better at:

1) Determining what's a pulltab versus a Nickel (anyone have a picture of the signal graph nickel vs pulltab?)

2) Discriminating bottle caps. (turning bottle cap discrimination to about 2-3 seemed to work wonders for me in the coin and coin/jewelry programs)

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

I lower the discrimination to accept all targets above -40 VDI. I use tone ID, mixed & mode. I lower the filters and raise the recovery delay for my area in Search mode, while in Analyze mode, I use the factory defaults.

There is much more but these are the basic settings that allow me to search slower in moderate to light mineralization. Mixed Mode allows me to hear targets that are too deep for the discrimination channel.

 

[Rob (IL)]

Neil how have you got your All metal balanced in relation to your Disc. In mixed mode? How'd you have the two set up? Rob

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

Neil how have you got your All metal balanced in relation to your Disc. In mixed mode? How'd you have the two set up? Rob

Casio, I am not sure what you mean by balanced, but I do run in GB Offset = +1. I find it makes the V3 more sensitive to small gold.

Aurium, if you want to discriminate between nickels and pull tabs, try running in 22.5 Khz, NON normalized. If you look at my VDI chart you will see a much larger spread between pull tabs and nickels this way.

Using this mode, nickel will no longer come in at 19, they will read 59.
Pull tabs will no longer read 19 like nickels, they will come in at 46, way below the nickel.

 

[Aurium]

Neil, excellent, that sounds like something I will definitely try. I did download your spreadsheet, and was starting to look at the differences in the numbers, just wasn't sure how to apply them.

Any thoughts on how to thaw frozen ground? Yesterday was such a tease for me, beautiful sunny day snow melting away, the surface soil a little muddy, and right as I thought wow it's diggable
clunk.. I'd hit that frost layer. It was like digging frozen chocolate, so I went around finding targets mentally noting that I had to come back and dig them later

My wife and I have a new joke.... I ask her to go "parking" with me, and it has completely different connotations now. (her sitting in the car keeping warm, and that crazy older guy walking in the snow swinging a stick with a hoop on it)

 

[TheMarshall]

I lower the discrimination to accept all targets above -40 VDI. I use tone ID, mixed & mode. I lower the filters and raise the recovery delay for my area in Search mode, while in Analyze mode, I use the factory defaults.

There is much more but these are the basic settings that allow me to search slower in moderate to light mineralization. [size=large]Mixed Mode allows me to hear targets that are too deep for the discrimination channel.[/size]

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Hi Neil.I agree with program settings 100%, but I think the wording of the highlighted section deserves a wider definition.

The word 'deep' does not fully cover all possibilities.

"Mixed Mode allows me to hear targets that are .............."

(1) REJECTED by my discrimination settings.

(2) Too WEAK in amplitude to discriminate.

(3) Frequency dependent sensitivity wise.

The significance of (2) being, that you don't know the reason for a detected target's 'weakness' unless you dig it.( Depth is only one possibility.)

The category (3) is a subtle but very important point to consider if using Best Data, triple frequency mode.

Items can be shallow but very small, as well as deep, and so on the extremities of detectability

Also badly orientated targets, relative to your sweep direction may invoke false identities.

><>><<><>>>><>

Those are some of my thoughts invoked by your welcome post Neil. Just hope that the current heavy snows we see falling in the USA aren't confining you to the old cabin.

If so, then maybe it will allow us a little more time to chew-the-fat about our thoughts on the Spectra.

Its possible programming variations have some potentially target revealing capabilities.

Try this one guys to add a 'killer-punch' to your detecting in heavily mineralised situations.

Set your RECOVERY speed to an apparently ridiculous level of say...150...!!!!!!!!!!

Try it and tell me what you think..................All the best TheMarshall

[attachment 152286 Night-Patrol2.jpg]

Out with my mate 'night-walking' the river bank at Rock Ferry

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

Set your RECOVERY speed to an apparently ridiculous level of say...150...!!!!!!!!!!

Try it and tell me what you think..................All the best TheMarshall[/b]


Out with my mate 'night-walking' the river bank at Rock Ferry

All great points, Marshall! Signals are too deep too weak, or aligned at an angle that makes it difficult, or impossible to trigger the discrimination channel of the V3.

Keep in mind that the adjustment for recovery speed on the V3 is actually a RECOVERY DELAY. The higher the number, the longer the delay. You would probably want to set this at 1 for the shortest delay in extreme trash!

 

[Larry (IL)]

You could try 1 for recovery, but the fastest I have heard of anyone using is 25 and I would think that would be way too fast for any kind of depth. You have to remember the longer the delay, the longer the V has to analyze the target and the deeper the V can go.

 

[Rob (IL)]

Hi Neil,
Casio, I am not sure what you mean by balanced, but I do run in GB Offset = +1. I find it makes the V3 more sensitive to small gold.

What I meant was in mixed mode you can set your all metal and disc anywhere you want. So how did you decide where to set the 2 or at least what do you have to 2 values set to. ROB

 

[Neil in West Jersey]

Hi Neil,
Casio, I am not sure what you mean by balanced, but I do run in GB Offset = +1. I find it makes the V3 more sensitive to small gold.

What I meant was in mixed mode you can set your all metal and disc anywhere you want. So how did you decide where to set the 2 or at least what do you have to 2 values set to. ROB

If we are talking Sensitivity levels, I keep my Disc. up around 90 (give or take a few depending on stability and my RX gain), and my All metal is around 80 or so.

 

[TheMarshall]

Set your RECOVERY speed to an apparently ridiculous level of say...150...!!!!!!!!!!

Try it and tell me what you think..................All the best TheMarshall[/b]


Out with my mate 'night-walking' the river bank at Rock Ferry

All great points, Marshall! Signals are too deep too weak, or aligned at an angle that makes it difficult, or impossible to trigger the discrimination channel of the V3.

[size=x-large]Keep in mind that the adjustment for recovery speed on the V3 is actually a RECOVERY DELAY. The higher the number, the longer the delay. You would probably want to set this at 1 for the shortest delay in extreme trash[/size]

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Yes Neil, I understand that the RECOVERY is a delaying of the TERMINATION of the audio note generated, but that's why I ask you to experiment and lengthen it....for a live test in your circumstances of detecting in trash.


Please let me explain the reason to ask others to experiment and try the test.

I was hunting a patch of wet clay FILLED with iron bits and / or 'erratic' stones, (magnetic/mineralised).

At times you could virtually see the coins outline, on the surface, in the mud.....but by normal settings they were no more apparent than an audio blip, with recovery at 50 !!!!!

I extended that to 150 and they boomed out........That stopped me in my tracks, and I was then able to focus in on that target.

'

I did eventually shorten it to 135 Recovery speed

It is possibly a useful technique discovered by accident rather than through the usual logical adjustment.

Come to think of it Neil, it isn't really illogical.....Remember the Minelab E-Trac audio facility whereby you can lengthen the duration of your signal tone?

Anyway gentlemen......give it a try.....and "Good luck".......TheMarshall.

p.s. I was using a single frequency of 22.5 kHz at the time.

P.P.S. Check your Ground Filters....I was using 5 Hz High.....and sweeping slowly to match that..



Use AUDIO DISCRIM.....ONE TONE.....

No Threshold....No mixed mode.....no fancy audio....JUST a long "TOOT" of your favourite sound frequency.

 

[;hgarr]

Hi niwj........with the DFX in 15Khz and non normalized modes, the readings for nickels,59, average tabs ,46, the average gold rings came in at about 41, and if you trained your hearing, you could quite easily hear the differences, which I doubled my gold ring and cut pulltab counts. Very handy when trying to lower the bad digs and trash counts, this should translate fairly closely to the V3...........Hope this was of interest to you,,,,,,,,,How.

 

[jbow]

So recovery is quicker with the lower number? I have been unsure about this. A lower number will work better at target seperation in trash and a higher number with a lower filter and a slower swing will reach deeper for that silver or that breastplate... right?

I also use a modified relic pattern, and mixed mode, I set to accept -30

I use alomst the same wettings as you except that I have not understood recovery delay. I usually end up on a fliter setting of 7.5 band or high.

Thanks for the help with the recovery thing.

Julien

 

[Larry (IL)]

Sounds like you are doing everything right Julien. Recovery speed adjustment is Recovery DELAY, the higher the #, the more the delay. A fast recovery speed would be around 25 and a slower recovery speed....80-100.

 

[jtalley007]

From the 1st time out with my original Vision I loved the high pro since it has all metal and tone ID working together.

I am a relic hunter since 1973 and have used every detector worth using. First times out I Was digging stuff in pounded sites up to 14" minnie balls. The only thing I change is boost on, gain up to 15 and sensitivity to 90+ until it is erratic then back off to where I can use it.

I wish I was a smart as you guys to understand all the adjustments you can make but for now I am digging as deep as any detector including explorer, and Nautilus which were the best detectors for our area.
I love how sensitive this detector is to small stuff as well so I know if there is anything under my coil I will not miss it. Can't wait to hit my first gold coin on land, if it will ever happen I predict it will be with the V3.

I am very suprised more people don't talk about how deep this detector will go even with the stock DD which in theory should not be as deep as the 950. We have been getting rain and snow all winter so I have only been out two times so far, need much more time on this detector to get even better with it.

I would love to know what progam and setting work well for old homsites to pick out the good stuff,

Jerry

 

[CELLARHOLERAT]

I use a modified Hi Pro and a modified Relic Program when i hunt