What do you make of this from the UK?????

The Searcher Magazine in the U.K ran an F75 Fieldtest in their May08 issue .There it was stated that if any disc level higher than 4 is selected in any process other than JE you will turn one of the deepest detectors on the market into something very ordinary .They suggested that the loss in depth could be as much as 25%.I would like some opinions on this as I have had mine set at 6 and DE .
(Searcher Magazine is very well respected in this field .}
thanks in advance for your comments

I'm curious to see what Tom makes of this, as he is the one who's recommended to most of us that we run at 6 disc.

Hi Lawrenzo,

Yes, I recall seeing that same report....and I took it with a grain of salt. It seems to me that EMI levels and ground mineralization will decide on the maximum gain that can be used on any given site. There's no point in running in the "high gain" mode if sensitivity has to be turned down substantially. I don't see any benefit to that operating scenario. You may have noticed the "tester" elected to use "high gain mode" but with sensitivity set at 70 for that site. That tells me that "non-high gain mode" could have been set at considerably higher sensitivity.
Also, detecting is not all about depth, as many operators prefer a trade-off for reduced gain, to achieve more stable operation. More, the discrimination is put on the machine so it can be used effectively. The "6" setting is ideal for small iron identification via broken/non-repeatable signals, or elimination entirely, particularly if you prefer single tone operation. Therefore, using that particular "tester's" suggestion, well...you'd never be making use of a very important tool...discrimination. That's my reaction to that report. Jim.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2008 05:49PM by HumblePie.

Jim,

Your report is very exacting data. Absolutely correct. And YES, it is VERY true.... a Disc setting of '4' is a formidable gain in depth performance (read = Sensitivity). There are very few scenarios where I have been able to run a Disc setting BELOW '5' because of two primary reasons: One = EMI interference heavily induced, Two = Small iron can become a audible nightmare. Where iron is nearly non-existent.... AND AND ... EMI is not an issue; then a Disc setting of '4' is a tremendous boost on SMALL/TINY targets about the size of a pencil eraser.... and a few percent boost on coins/coin-sized objects. It is all-too easy to make the mistake; susequently----making the claim; that mega-depth is gained by dropping Sens to '4' (or lower) because tiny targets can (now) be detected at greater/formidable depths.... and INCORRECTLY transition this assumption into the ENTIRE spectrum of ALL types of targets of varying sizes/conductivities can ALSO be detected to these same 'major depth-gain' enhancements. NOT true. --- NOW....... with that in mind...... there is yet ANOTHER serious boost in Sensitivity performance when Disc is dropped down to '3' then '2' then '1' then '0' (on very small targets). The only thing...... once again.... is; how much iron are you contending with. If you are in monotone.... then your Disc setting is true-and-representative ... with the full effect of Depth/Perf/Sens gain ascertained in all its splended glory..... by placing Disc below '5'. IF IF IF you are in 2-or-more tones ....then...... remember; anything that ID's as '15' or less...is going to give the iron low-tone. Heavily masked non-ferrous targets will run the risk of ID'ing on the high end of the iron (low tone) scale............,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and .... subsequently,,,, you will miss (not dig) the masked non-ferrous target..... because it will audibly report as a low tone. Once again.... it is rare that you can drop Disc below a setting of '6'. Not impossible..... just simply not practical in MOST areas we like to hunt. BUT... keep the aforementioned in mind..... just in case!

Tom

Tom

Great info Folks...I enjoy reading the great Wealth of real life knowledge here..james