A Question About Metal Detector Sounds

[Dig'n Bandera]

I always read posts talking about Metal Detectors giving a "Strong" or a "Scratchy" sound. There have been many other descriptors for the sounds one's MD makes. I'm hunting with a Bounty Hunter Prospector DX. I think it's Bass Pro's version of the SS II or the 505, and my machine only makes 3 sounds; low, medium, and high pitched beeps. My question is this: Am I not distinguishing between subtle changes or does my machine only have 3 sounds? Thanks for the input.

 

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[thompy]

some of the lower price detectors give a constant pitch weather a target is shallow or deep, or on size or shape

 

[diggerfororo]

I don't know about your machine, but some units use an "audio tone generator" This chip gives you a tone when it gets a signal from the reciever of your detector, so you don't really hear the signal from the coil.

Les

 

[Tom_in_CA]

There is simply no way to describe sounds, in print. About the only way to do it is to pull out the headphone jack, and let someone listen to a target as you pass over it. Or a better way yet, is to go to Radio-shack and get a headphone splitter, and listen up to what a seasoned pro. is hearing, when he says "here's a deep whisper that sounds like a deep silver dime" (or whatever). This is especially true for machines with tone ID. Like the Explorer, for instance, with all it's tooty-fluty sounds that can drive you mad. It wasn't till a skilled user, who was effortlessly pulling 7", 8" and deeper silver dimes from the turf, showed me what he was listening for, that the "lights went on" in my head.

No amount of text description can describe a repeatable vs non repeatable, or scratchy vs clear, or "good" mixed tone vs a "junk" mixed tone. That would be like saying: "Describe the musical note of C major, in print". It just can't be done. It has to be heard.

 

[diggerfororo]

There is simply no way to describe sounds, in print. About the only way to do it is to pull out the headphone jack, and let someone listen to a target as you pass over it. Or a better way yet, is to go to Radio-shack and get a headphone splitter, and listen up to what a seasoned pro. is hearing, when he says "here's a deep whisper that sounds like a deep silver dime" (or whatever). This is especially true for machines with tone ID. Like the Explorer, for instance, with all it's tooty-fluty sounds that can drive you mad. It wasn't till a skilled user, who was effortlessly pulling 7", 8" and deeper silver dimes from the turf, showed me what he was listening for, that the "lights went on" in my head.

No amount of text description can describe a repeatable vs non repeatable, or scratchy vs clear, or "good" mixed tone vs a "junk" mixed tone. That would be like saying: "Describe the musical note of C major, in print". It just can't be done. It has to be heard.

How true it is!!! I have been using the same machine for 15 years and I have tried to tell people about the difference between some High tones and low tones. It is almost impossible to relate to someone that there are many different tones within the same range. Some are flat and some are sharp, some are broad and some are narrow. Like you said they have to hear the signal and have someone point out the difference. When I hunt deep coins I listen for a certain low tone. Those low tones when rechecked at a very slow sweep will usually come in high and I can tell if it is silver or copper by the type of high tone. It has taken me 15 years of listening to learn this. I get fooled sometimes but not very often.

Les

 

[re-tek]

its hard to describe the sounds your machine will make. they all seem to behave differently from barand to brand and model to model.

best thing to do is find a spot in your yard that is clear of all metal and bury some stuff. bury a copper penny, a zinc penny, a pull tab, some gum wrapper foil, a dime, a quarter, a bottle cap, a squashed aluminum can, etc. things you may expect to find out in the "wild". make sure and leave some space between all the items so you can get good readings off one item at a time.

get the detector out and a notepad and writedown what you get as you swing on the items.

short from digging a few hundred coins, this is the best way really to figure out what all the beeps and squawks correlate to. short beeps, long beeps, double beeps, they all mean something.

dont forget to swing on the targets from two different angles. this is one of the easiest ways to determine if your looking at a coin for example or a chunk of metal like a squashed soda can.

 

[rayredditch]

The really nice ones are when you get iron next to something worth digging, and you end up with mixed signals, even better when they are at different depths, one screaming, and the other whispering in the background.

 

[Dig'n Bandera]

Thanks for the replies. I'm pretty new in the hobby and am trying to learn as I go. Again, thanks.