analogue vs digital which wins out and why

[Keppy]

Tell that to my RTA

You hang around Diyma/DIYaudio?

SQ novice here. I just finished up one of Zaph's HiVi designs. Can't afford a Mac though. Dayton is where it's at Parts Express ftw!!!

Keep going gentlemen! The tech info is what I came here for

..... Well i now use a Apple iMac wish i would have got one years ago.... You can't beat them best PC i ever had......

 

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[lonewolfe]

The new digital detectors are far superior in the way of handling information . Just my experience. Frank...

View attachment 789138

Exactly Frankn

"digital" is a means of "handling information" and large quantities of it at very fast speeds

VS

analog having limited capability of handling anywhere near the same amount of information at anywhere near the speed of digital

on today's machines with the microchips, microprocessors, etc. etc. so compact yet so vast in the capability of handling large amounts of info - is the reason for machines like the E-Trac, CTX 3030, V3i, etc. and why they're so compact VS the HUGE boxy machines of the 70s/80s that had monster motherboards in them with large diodes, resistors, capacitors, transistors, etc. where today all of that stuff has been reduced in size to micro levels and much of it printed on tiny chips

that doesn't change the fact that the old/er machines still ran on digital circuitry the same as today's machines though

now - if you're talking the difference between BFO detectors VS todays VLF detectors - that's a whole different story as to how one performed/operated as far as disc. depth achievement and the waves it used, etc.

but - that has nothing to do with analog VS digital

that has everything to do with a "Beat Frequency Oscillation" VS a "Very Low Frequency" machine

BFO machines of the 60s/70s were a joke by todays standards - I don't think they ever made one that could detect a coin more than 3 inches deep!

Garrett changed the rules/game though in the early mid 70s with DSP and VLF technology of which all have copied/followed since in some form

again - give me an analog machine (no screen/VID) with Modulated audio (not filtered/compressed via digital compressor/converter) just raw sound via the gate and I'm a happy detectorist ;-)

I do like the toys of today too though - amazing the "info" they display and provide via VDI/TDI and the programming capabilities they have too!

Difference:

In analog modulation, the modulation is applied continuously in response to the analog information signal. To vary the frequency, amplitude, phase, or other characteristic of (electromagnetic waves). A well trained ear can hear the differences in variance.

In digital modulation, an analog carrier signal is modulated by a discrete signal. Digital modulation methods can be considered as digital-to-analog conversion, and the corresponding demodulation or detection as analog-to-digital conversion. The changes in the carrier signal are chosen from a finite number of M alternative symbols (the modulation alphabet). You will not hear the ever so subtle differences in variance when converted/filtered through digital processor/converter.

 

[MinnesotaStateUniversity]

..... Well i now use a Apple iMac wish i would have got one years ago.... You can't beat them best PC i ever had......

...I was talking about the amplifier Mac (McIntosh)

I rock the $30 Rasberry Pi lol

 

[Muddyhandz]

I know when talking about the 1266X, that even though the detector has achieved a legendary status, many today would not like this machine.
I'll tell you why. As technology advances, humans become more dependent on that technology to do it all for them.
The old '66 produces a ton of audio information that most would say is too chattery or unstable.
It has a lightning fast target response and sends all the rejected iron and accepted targets right at you and YOUR BRAIN BECOMES THE PRIMARY MICROPROCESSOR!
Yes, now while most are thumbing through their programs and looking at that VDI to decide whether they dig or not, (with the fear they may not be running the "hot program") guys like me are processing a ton of audio information in their brains. This how I'm able to pull massive amounts of non-ferrous metal out of heavy iron beds while most digital detectors are quiet and nulling.
I've seen the results of hunt after hunt with modern detectors, and notice a lack of other non-ferrous keepers.
Yes, they are able to pull out the odd old coin and a couple of buttons (roundness) and a few other keepers but the average ratio is about a third of what I find on a daily basis with my old beast.
I have a spot out in a plowed field where a few guys begged me to leave as they were using modern digital detectors and the iron was so thick, they were not doing very well.
One buddy gridded an area with his minelab and didn't even get one signal in an hour right in the hotbed of the site. It was a constant nulling effect he reported. He then grabbed a simple tesoro u-max and reworked that same area and couldn't stop digging good targets! A few other guys using a modern fisher and the dfx, pleaded with me to leave that spot!
Here's what I pulled out in one day where most modern detectors couldn't even get a signal.......



Yes, there's a few iron targets in there but I dug those because I choose to dig them, not because I got fooled from the signal.
This is nothing special. I find this amount on a regular basis but thought it was good to show what came out of a spot that modern detectors couldn't handle.
Believe it or not...... I couldn't care less.
I'm quite happy that everyone wants the "Latest and greatest" modern expensive detectors.
I'll stick with what works for me.
Why does it appear that I may have an attitude?
Because for years on forums like this, people are constantly putting down detectors like mine and preaching the new gospel of the breakthrough technology. Or rather, repeating the hype they bought into and justify their choice by bashing other people's choices.
While all this goes on, here's a guy like me who sits here and snickers because I know that I'm out-hunting these "elite" cult followers on a daily basis.
How do you like them apples?

 

[Frankn]

Hay, let's get this ironed out once and for all.
Wwen talking about displays- A moving needle display is a mechanical display, When the display is electronic in nature like a liquid crystal etc, It is electronic and driven by a digital signal.

Now inside the box there use to be some detectors with tubes that used an analog signal to drive the circuits. These were very elementry units that used a balance bridge type of detection. Then there were the beat frequency oscillator. These were the ' motorboats' or or put,puts as we called them. the rate of the signal increased as you got closer to the target. Since the transistor and now integrated circuits have taken over, the processing ,in the box is all digital, Granted the signal to the coil is an analog type of wave signal. Analog carrier waves are used but they could be modulated with a digital signal like the new TV transmissions. The two terms have different meanings with different usages. In general use if it's a continous signal it's analog. If it's a on off pulse, it's digital. Frank...

Elvis is continues, analog. The Blues are digital, on and off. Hay, I don't have any scope pictures.

 

[Jason in Enid]

View attachment 790358 .

Frankn, did you take that pic in an airport? I swear I saw that while catching a connecting flight last year. I remember it because there was a foreign traveler who asked about who they were, and someone had to explain the movie to him.

 

[Frankn]

Frankn, did you take that pic in an airport? I swear I saw that while catching a connecting flight last year. I remember it because there was a foreign traveler who asked about who they were, and someone had to explain the movie to him.

They are lifesize castings. They sit in front of a store that is catycorner from the Cornpalace. I photoshoped the background. Frank...

 

[Cycluran]

Hey! I want one of those meters for my GT. How can I get one too?
I miss the analog ferrous/non-ferrous meters. I hunted with an Arado 120-B for years in Mississippi till it finally fizzled out on me. I bought a Saxon X-1 from England, hoping to get the same results, but, after one hunt with that noisy, demanding beast I was done and sold it on E-bay. After that experience, I just don't trust the new Arado 320 to perform like my old machine did and I'm not risking any more money. I found a chinese machine online, the MD 88, that uses a meter, but it just looks cheap and I can't find any reliable reviews on it. Most of my "treasures" have been found with my Tesoro. The Minelab goes much deeper but, when I'm relic hunting, I don't want to use a machine that refuses to give any kind of a signal on Iron (artillery).

 

[nigel]

funny you should mention those md88's .i have looked at them and they are not that cheap given you can buy a t2 clone or goldbug clone half the price,that will do the job great once you switch coils. So i,m intrigued why these md88,89's etc are holding prices so high .is it because they can do the job ?.i really want to take a weeks vacation to all the factories and test thier ranges of machines for them in english . A few i have contacted so far have said they would be most welcoming of such a visit . Just so difficult to get a week off from my duties of dad/house husband.
As for analogue v/s digital .
i feel we should all use two or more machines . Go over your site with your etrac ,v3 or whatever you have ,then go over it again with something as cheap as a gc-1023 ,or the newer 15.5 khz black knight explosion (15khz gc-1023).i guarantee these sub $150 machines will still find good stuff that was missed by digital processing .My gc-1023 is better at picking out coins next to iron than my gold bug fitted with 5" coil. And of course there are quite a few analogues coming back onto the market now ,though the makers dont always make it clear .If it can pick up coins that are virtually touching iron then chances are its analogue machine.

 

[ivan salis]

while not as deep as many "more modern detectors" ..the old tracker 4 ($100) --two knob analong model ... in disc mode --- can be set so that it can tell many pull tabs from gold ... crackly noise from sharp ping ... a feat that many of todays high dollar digital machines have trouble doing ...

 

[CincinnatiKid]

A mere two years later, I think most responses to this thread would now overwhelmingly say digital.
A great "transition" machine is the Mighty Tesoro Cortez.
But all in, I would not buy analog detectors.
Peace ✌

 

[Muddyhandz]

That's good news CincinnatiKid! The more digital machines out there in the field, the better it is for me.
The only thing that changed in the last 2 years (for me) is that my buddy now swings a new Nautilus.
It uses old technology but could destroy any new digital machine out there. Nautilus users are now screaming at the computer......
"Don't let our secret out of the bag!" Don't worry, most people wouldn't want a Naughty with all that audio information you would have to listen to with no VDI readout.
A detector that doesn't null out on iron would be too noisy for most to handle. They like listening to the peace and quiet while picking cherries......
*Edit*
Just deleted more than half my post because something HAS changed with me in the last 2 years.....
I no longer care about spending the energy defending old detectors when the elite cult followers boast about their $2,000 digital machines being the best out there.
I will just chuckle to myself and keep on raking in the heaps of goodies without any response. This will be my last post about such matters. I promise!
I'm only saying this here and now because I had posted on this thread two years ago and wish to finalize my thoughts.
I'll do what works for me and y'all do what works for you.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Accepted response.
Didn't mean to make waves. I apologize if I offended anyone.
Just sayin', I personally overlook analog machines. Not for me. I began detecting in 2009, (seems long ago), with digital. I search by tone, yet fully enjoy a digital read, when uncertainty prevails.
Analog machines are tried and true, but imho are outdated a will be unserviceable soon.
To each...
Peace ✌

 

[flatbutton]

This is a Nautilus DMC I. No meter, no speaker, a manual ground balance machine. It has 2 thresholds that you set and you listen to them both at the same time. Disc. side is a high tone and the ground bal. side is low. Iron comes in low and every thing else comes in various shades of high. A totally analog machine, and in my opinion, one the best machines I've ever used.

 

[cokat7]

Muddyhandz, you did me the greatest favour when you tipped me off on one of the best analog detectors ever made. I've never looked back, I still buy and try hoping maybe ill take a liking to something new. The Cortes is the only ID machine I've tried so far that I have taken a bit of a liking to.


My old analog machine pays for itself over and over every year. I expect to be buying another in the near future, just wouldn't ever want to be without one.
Hearing a target and knowing what it is, is a joy in itself. If I'm digging coins, I know that every time I bend over to dig a coin - it's gonna be a coin, I also know exactly what kind of coin. If I've had a long day I might decide to pass up the 1c and 10c and focus on just the 25c, 1$ and 2$ coins. (Canada)
For relics and homesteads, again, I can just hear a good target. It sounds good, size is right, and I know where it falls into on the conductivity scale.
I'm sure there are people out there that know their new digital machines well enough that buying an old analog machine might just be a step backwards. I think I'll stick with the old, they just plain work.

 

[CincinnatiKid]

Well said cokat7.
Love the mention of The Mighty Cortez!
Any machine when learned, analog/digital, will produce much.
Just seems that so much more information is readily available with newer digital machines. And some of the preprogrammed menus are spot on.
Analog vs. Digital is kinda like PI vs. VDI/TID. Each have their uses as folks have their preferences.
To each... Whatever works.
Peace ✌

 

[piegrande]

Digital vs. analog discussion has been going on for a long time. In 1966 when I started my 31 years in the ole' radio factory, commercial airliners used analog flight computers. They worked well as far as controlling the airplane. Turns and banks were smooth.

Years later when they changed to digital, there was a thing airplanes did, called 'digitaling.' Instead of a smooth turn or bank, the airplane would go in very obvious steps. I don't know if that is changed or not, but I am guessing they figured it out.