Adjusting Zones and Tones: My 3 Tone Setting

[MikeRo]

Thanks. Thats what i was thinking the issue was. I was planning on posting what i did once i was sure that was the solution.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[Dirtslinger]

Anyone wanting to give this a whirl and not commit to changing the default Park 1, go to the user profile and adjust it from there and you will keep the factory setup intact, then you can just click back and forth while test driving it.

 

[rjw4law]

Fast understandable and easy to get up and running.

 

[Minelab Matt]

You really think this program is going to find you more than stock...lol

#
Matt

 

[vferrari]

You really think this program is going to find you more than stock...lol

#
Matt

Everyone hears things a little differently and processes audio a little differently, so this is about providing choices on a commonly used tone option ML chose not include with Equinox. Has nothing to do with "finding more" but preventing audio information overload for Equinox users stuck with the 5 and 50 tone options or the too limiting beep and dig 2-tone option.

 

[ColonelDan]

Everyone hears things a little differently and processes audio a little differently, so this is about providing choices on a commonly used tone option ML chose not include with Equinox. Has nothing to do with "finding more" but preventing audio information overload for Equinox users stuck with the 5 and 50 tone options or the too limiting beep and dig 2-tone option.

Exactly!

 

[Truth]

I thought I'd tack on my reasoning for going with 3 tones to this sticky post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I previously posted a similar thread on this forum but thought I'd expand on and share my reasoning for using 3 tones since I've now used this exclusively/extensively and like it more every day.

Over the years, I've tried numerous ways through a combination of VDI and tones to better identify targets that were under my coil. It didn't take long for me to discover that trying to cut the tone and VDI distinction too fine in an attempt to accurately identify targets was unproductive. Through some trial and error, the obvious finally became clear.

VDI is not an exact science by any stretch. Target ID can be affected by numerous variables such as depth, soil composition, the metallurgical make up and orientation of the targets in the soil. Expecting a consistently exact value for each possible target was unrealistic. I finally concluded that what I wanted was only an indication of what might be under my coil rather than expecting or trying for a precise ID. Can VDI and Tones do that for me? Yes

After realizing what I wanted or needed from of a tone/VDI combination, I settled on a 3 tone option. Below are a few bullet points that summarize my case or reasoning for adopting that 3 tone solution.

~ My attempt at using 50 tones proved impossible for me...information overload! I then tried 5 tones and although much more understandable than 50, I felt that 5 tones was really unnecessary and might even be overkill. Why?

~ ALL targets fall within 3 categories/zones of conductivity of Low, Medium or High so it made more sense for me to focus on those 3 zones and then align the tones accordingly. The tones provided information on what zone I was dealing with while the VDI gave me some rough indication as to where that target fell within the range of that zone.

~ I also wanted a system that wasn't apt to cause me to ignore good targets because they were similar in make up to worthless targets. Example; gold and aluminum are both mid level conductors and generate similar VDI within that range, I therefore didn't want to exclude anything within the Mid or High level conductivity scale. Yes, I'll dig aluminum so as not to pass up potential gold and dig other high conductive targets so as not to pass up silver.

~ I tested quite a number common targets of varying size and metallurgical composition and came up with some common VDI ranges that I see on our beaches for each of the conductivity zones. I then modified the 5 tone option to 3 tones which suited me just fine for the beach hunting I do.

My results:

Low conductive targets ranged from -9 to 0 and I assigned it Tone level 1 (the old iron grunt)

Medium targets ranged from 1 to 19 so I chose Tone 12...a nice mid level tone

High conductors were 20+ so I gave them the highest Tone level of 25



~ In my work with a local museum however, the 2 tone option could also be used. When digging museum quality artifacts, iron is a valued metal so I dig everything. I also dig it all when I detect along Florida's Treasure Coast as remnants of the ships fall within the iron or low conductive range and are often times found along our beaches.



Just the view from my foxhole...your view may vary.

I’m doing 2 tone because I like my big iron ( cannonball, grapeshot, tomahawks etc) but I’m gonna try your 3 way tomorrow. You explained it well good job Sir

 

[ColonelDan]

I’m doing 2 tone because I like my big iron ( cannonball, grapeshot, tomahawks etc) but I’m gonna try your 3 way tomorrow. You explained it well good job Sir

I’ve come to the conclusion that 3 tone works just as well as 2 tone when hunting ferrous artifacts. 3 tone just adds one more small piece of information without over complicating my “tone world.”

 

[sphillips]

I understand this video is mainly for coin hunting, but gold is also likely to be in the ground in these areas. So if I set up this way for park or old home hunting, Where would gold jewelry fall in, since it can be anywhere from 8- 20 depending on size and quality.

Thx for any advice, Steve

 

[ColonelDan]

I understand this video is mainly for coin hunting, but gold is also likely to be in the ground in these areas. So if I set up this way for park or old home hunting, Where would gold jewelry fall in, since it can be anywhere from 8- 20 depending on size and quality.

Thx for any advice, Steve

Gold, being largely a mid level conductor, falls within that mid level zone. Granted, the alloy make up, shape and size affects the metallurgical signature and can be found throughout that zone but it has never has given me the iron grunt of zone 1 so I dig it. Simply put, mid and high level tones on the beaches I hunt get dug.

The tonal differences coupled with VDI simply gives me an idea of what might be down there...it's not an exact science for any detector by any stretch but merely an indicator.

Just the view from my foxhole....

 

[sphillips]

Gold, being largely a mid level conductor, falls within that mid level zone. Granted, the alloy make up, shape and size affects the metallurgical signature and can be found throughout that zone but it has never has given me the iron grunt of zone 1 so I dig it. Simply put, mid and high level tones on the beaches I hunt get dug.

The tonal differences coupled with VDI simply gives me an idea of what might be down there...it's not an exact science for any detector by any stretch but merely an indicator.

Just the view from my foxhole....

Thx Da, I think I will set up the 3 tone in Park 1 for this weekends hunt and give it a whirl.

Steve

 

[Iron Buzz]

i think i got it figured out. thanks

 

[Truth]

Jdiggs asked how I adjusted the factory 5 tone setting to my 3 tone setting. Since I don't do videos, I'll use the excellent video done by our friend DirtFishing.



Although he sets this up for his particular situation and preferences, the overall process is the same.

Instead of using his tone brakes/zones and tones, I used the following:

Zone 1, I set VDI/Target ID -9 to 0 with tone 1;

Zone 2, I set as VDI/Target ID 1-19 with tone 12;

Zones 3, I set VDI/Target ID 20+ (all 3 remaining zones) to a common tone of 25.

To reduce five tones to three simply involves assigning the same tone for three zones of the five possible zones:
i.e.
Zone 1 = Tone 1;
Zone 2 = Tone 12;
Zones 3, 4 and 5 = Tone 25

Does this answer the question adequately? If not, I'll try to clarify it further.

Thanks Jdiggs for the good question...

I’m going to try it out tomorrow. I’m going to a real all site outside the French quarter stay tuned [emoji1360]

 

[Truth]

Yes, I'm using 3 tones...it serves me very well.

Thanks for the kind words and good luck....

Hey ColonialDan I programed my 3 towns and I absolutely love it. I just posted some questions just now and I would like your input on it mostly about the size of my Coil?s. If I did use my big coil I would have it on 6 recovery maybe even seven. I?d love to hear your input it would mean a lot to me. Again I love the 3 tone. Thank you for saying what anybody?s never thought about 3 tone [emoji631]

 

[ColonelDan]

Hey ColonialDan I programed my 3 towns and I absolutely love it. I just posted some questions just now and I would like your input on it mostly about the size of my Coil?s. If I did use my big coil I would have it on 6 recovery maybe even seven. I?d love to hear your input it would mean a lot to me. Again I love the 3 tone. Thank you for saying what anybody?s never thought about 3 tone [emoji631]

The size coil you are using is irrelevant to the tone selection. I use 3 tones on my stock coil as well as my 6 inch coil. The more important factor on other setting selection, such as recovery speed that you mention, depends on factors such as soil conditions, the amount of trash in the area etc.

Glad you like the 3 tone setting. I use it exclusively.

 

[vinnywop]

I just set my saved user setting to Beach 2 with the 3 tones (1,12,25). I'll be heading to the NC beaches in a week and a half and am looking forward to giving it a shot. The simplification makes sense and I don't need all the other distractions. Maybe it will work better for me and maybe it won't but these settings seem to be getting some good feedback from other users so why not give it a shot. Will update my results/findings after my trip. Thanks!

 

[ColonelDan]

vinnywop, How did the 3 tone setting work out for you?

 

[Truth]

I’m a 3 way believer 🇺🇸

 

[Truth]

vinnywop, How did the 3 tone setting work out for you?

It stepped my game up for sure. What do you use for iron discrimination 1 though 6?

 

[Truth]

I just set my saved user setting to Beach 2 with the 3 tones (1,12,25). I'll be heading to the NC beaches in a week and a half and am looking forward to giving it a shot. The simplification makes sense and I don't need all the other distractions. Maybe it will work better for me and maybe it won't but these settings seem to be getting some good feedback from other users so why not give it a shot. Will update my results/findings after my trip. Thanks!

Please do I would be very interested Good luck my friend