Chapter 5: GAIN Settings (Advanced Strategies)
Having done comparison testing with Gain 7 and Gain 10 recently, these are my findings.
There is an advantage with Gain 10 in areas where targets are close to each other. When a site produces 2-3-4-5 targets on a single sweep. I have noticed that:
1) Your hearing and concentration will naturally numb to faint signals when hit by a barrage of loud ones. This can cause one to start missing targets within a trashy site using a lower GAIN setting. I have very good hearing, but put fatigue into the equation, and you'll probably find yourself ignoring iffy signals when they come three per swing of the coil. GAIN 10 keeps you on the ball.
A shallow target next to a deep dime is likely to be drowned out by the last target as your hearing adjusts from the loud bang it just received. This is similar to when your night vision goes out for a moment right after you light up that ciggy. Or like trying to hear the wife say something over the cacophony of the football stadium as you watch the game. It can be done, but it isn’t as easy as giving her a megaphone to talk over the background noise.
2) FAST ON and GAIN 10 in concept and practice is giving me better separation with co-located targets. Conceptually, FAST recovery makes the detector reset back to the threshold faster allowing the user to ID collocated targets better. Coupled with GAIN 10 in practice, the effect on a deep and severely co-located silver dime is a distinct loud silver tone with a static crackle. The silver tone was not heard on every sweep but was repeatable. I had never heard this tone before, nor have I dug a silver dime, with a pull tab, an aluminum screw cap and a wheat all in one hole just as I did that day.
3) Using the above setting turns Digital ID into a mess. A dime will turn into a penny and a penny can land in foil. Use digital as a loose guide when hunting with FAST and GAIN 10 and go with the tones (now I know what CC’s been saying all along). This is not much of a negative as you’ve got to dig a lot of trash anyway to finds the good stuff in parks.
Gain 7 and DEEP is just as good a hunting set-up for another situation. It is especially good at finding REALLY deep targets. When I say deep, I'm talking "big fish" type deep find stories. It is very effective in sites where targets are farther apart such as those where targets are only 1 or 2 per sweep.
1) It definitely allows the user to identify deep targets with the use of audio alone and helps one to avoid digging up drag queen dimes that try to pass themselves off as silver.
2) There is a distinct audio difference between clad and old finds using this set-up. Faint means old, loud is clad.
3) Digital ID using this set-up is very good and will be correct say 97% of the time.
It is much easier for a newbie to learn to ID targets with lower GAIN and FAST off. Otherwise, the newb may find himself digging every piece of metal he steps over (due to poor disc and ID performance), which will quickly lead him to throwing the machine into the river. Charles Rock Solid Set-Up is the way to go, in my opinion, in learning to use the explorer and most situations.
In conclusion, both set-ups are very effective independently but each is much more potent in specific situations. Use FAST with GAIN 10 for target rich environments where the good stuff is mixed in with the trash. DEEP with GAIN 6-7 is best for cleaner sites with old coins located good and deep. Don't forget to switch into AUDIO 1 every now and then to boost iffy targets.
There is an advantage with Gain 10 in areas where targets are close to each other. When a site produces 2-3-4-5 targets on a single sweep. I have noticed that:
1) Your hearing and concentration will naturally numb to faint signals when hit by a barrage of loud ones. This can cause one to start missing targets within a trashy site using a lower GAIN setting. I have very good hearing, but put fatigue into the equation, and you'll probably find yourself ignoring iffy signals when they come three per swing of the coil. GAIN 10 keeps you on the ball.
A shallow target next to a deep dime is likely to be drowned out by the last target as your hearing adjusts from the loud bang it just received. This is similar to when your night vision goes out for a moment right after you light up that ciggy. Or like trying to hear the wife say something over the cacophony of the football stadium as you watch the game. It can be done, but it isn’t as easy as giving her a megaphone to talk over the background noise.
2) FAST ON and GAIN 10 in concept and practice is giving me better separation with co-located targets. Conceptually, FAST recovery makes the detector reset back to the threshold faster allowing the user to ID collocated targets better. Coupled with GAIN 10 in practice, the effect on a deep and severely co-located silver dime is a distinct loud silver tone with a static crackle. The silver tone was not heard on every sweep but was repeatable. I had never heard this tone before, nor have I dug a silver dime, with a pull tab, an aluminum screw cap and a wheat all in one hole just as I did that day.
3) Using the above setting turns Digital ID into a mess. A dime will turn into a penny and a penny can land in foil. Use digital as a loose guide when hunting with FAST and GAIN 10 and go with the tones (now I know what CC’s been saying all along). This is not much of a negative as you’ve got to dig a lot of trash anyway to finds the good stuff in parks.
Gain 7 and DEEP is just as good a hunting set-up for another situation. It is especially good at finding REALLY deep targets. When I say deep, I'm talking "big fish" type deep find stories. It is very effective in sites where targets are farther apart such as those where targets are only 1 or 2 per sweep.
1) It definitely allows the user to identify deep targets with the use of audio alone and helps one to avoid digging up drag queen dimes that try to pass themselves off as silver.
2) There is a distinct audio difference between clad and old finds using this set-up. Faint means old, loud is clad.
3) Digital ID using this set-up is very good and will be correct say 97% of the time.
It is much easier for a newbie to learn to ID targets with lower GAIN and FAST off. Otherwise, the newb may find himself digging every piece of metal he steps over (due to poor disc and ID performance), which will quickly lead him to throwing the machine into the river. Charles Rock Solid Set-Up is the way to go, in my opinion, in learning to use the explorer and most situations.
In conclusion, both set-ups are very effective independently but each is much more potent in specific situations. Use FAST with GAIN 10 for target rich environments where the good stuff is mixed in with the trash. DEEP with GAIN 6-7 is best for cleaner sites with old coins located good and deep. Don't forget to switch into AUDIO 1 every now and then to boost iffy targets.
posted by Bing at 7:32 AM
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