to notch or not to..........

---Been wondering for quite some time now,-is this function a smart tool,
or is it just a technological dinosaur?
Here in my homeland (Norway) I feel this function to be rather a handicap
than a wizards key with my type of detecting,and in my type of soil.
Years ago I tried to make use of the notch function on my Compass Coin Scanner,
repeated manual readings and testings brought out more question marks than
smileys,so fairly soon I stopped using the function.
No notch on our Cz6a,ML.XS,or MXT machines,-so how come F.T.incorporates this
tool in their "Powerplant" F series....
I feel that in "Real World Detecting" you have to use the whole potential of
both yourself and your tector,its only you that can pick the right coil,the
correct settings, and the optimal sweep speed for the the site you are detecting
on right now.
Coins come in on edge, askew with nails over,under or to one side. Thrash or hot
rocks complete the picture of the in dirt strata that is a rather complex mix
of signal destabilizers...
Taking all this into consideration I feel there is no place for a controll
that takes out signals, cuts out parts of signals and so forth.
Grateful for any input that can relighten this question.
Happy hunting and good luck to you all
trond



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2009 06:46AM by trond.

I see notch as another tool, but the user must decided when it's appropriate to utilize it.

Ultimately, and to your point, it's a good argument to dig everything as there's no doubt that we miss a lot of good targets by assuming their trash, or even iron.

For those exact stated reasons..... I never use 'notch'. Some folks like the feature.....and it's a fairly easy software program.......yet, most serious hunters prefer to not use it.

Hi Trond,

I think especially in Europe, where old targets and gold can fall into the bottlecap and pulltab range it would be unwise to use the notch function.

Even if you set out to dig only certain targets, my experience is that the VDI numbers are sometimes quite different before digging, compared to after digging and so a "good" target could fall into a notched range before digging and therefore be notched out and left in the ground.

I myself certainly won't use it and only discriminate small iron objects, which is dangerous too for the same reason, but that's a trade off :-)

I dig anything over 20 and take special notion of the audio to give me clues as to what the target is.
I try to sort out what it is before digging and then compare it to the actual result.
I think this is a fun game and valuable training for any detectorist.

Digging up bottle caps and pulltabs as opposed to notching them out and possibly leaving good targets in the ground is a choice.

I live in Holland and search mainly on ploughed fields and wooden areas away from the main routes of today, so as to avoid cans/bottlecaps/pulltab contaminated areas.
This to me has proven a better way of "notching out" trash, than the electronic way ;-)

Last week I detected for 4 days and only dug up 1 bottlecap, 1 pulltab and 2 tin cans, but 41 old coins dating from 1756 on and lots of other artefacts.

Whilst relic hunting, most good targets will ID as 'pull-tab' & 'screw cap'. This also holds true for very old coins.

thank you Brian,Tom and Peter for enligthening this topic.
For Surface,and In Grass detecting I see a point in engaging notch.
-especially when the the thickness of the pull-tab carpet tends to block for
pickable signals...
--when however,the going gets tough,and Thrash and Depth come in to play, I think
that,as Peter states,-you are better off not using it.
trond