Discriminate mode usefulness

[Centar]

I am actually wondering what the use of the discriminate mode on any MD would actually be other than a way to miss a lot of things.

As we all know it is a crap shoot every time we dig, and as much as discriminate mode can SOMETIMES identify a coin it is still a guessing game and worse yet gold rings and coins can ring in as iron!

I read that a lot of people always search in all metal mode because of this and thinking the ONLY features needed on a good detector are:
1. ability to identify type of metal
2. pinpointing ability
3. ground balance adjustment
4. and a depth gage could be useful

Outside of this, coin identifying displays, discrimination adjustments, and notching seem counter productive to have on a MD.

I'd like to see a high quality MD that had the 4 features WITHOUT money wasted selective discrimination features (analog or digital)
And why don't they make em rain proof, not submersible as such but weather proof seeing as they are outside use devices...

Anyone else

 

[Tom_in_CA]

That is actually not a bad idea...when finding an area that has many targets, dig it and screen it...would definatly increase your chances of anything good and save a lot of time...hmmmm just needs a small portable fold up screen thingy now.......

Centar, I have no idea what kind of sites you think it would "save a lot of time", to sift the entire contents of the ground, versus metal detecting them. I think what you need to do, is go to the average set of ruins, or old foundations, ghost-townsy type site, junky park, etc... Get some practice, turn down your disc (even to the point of accepting iron for an hour JUST to educate yourself on how much iron is in the ground). Ok, then take an hour with a screen/sieve shoveling dirt and forcing it through the little holes, to see what you find . Then report back to the forum on "how much faster" it was to sift the entire contents of the ground.

 

[cudamark]

Rob, I had my beep and dig Silver Umax out at a park today and dug 28 coins in two hours, two of which were wheaties at about 5 inches. I only dug two trash targets. With the disc set just past pulltab you are cherry picking and eliminate most trash. The trash targets I started to dig and left were large metal targets. I should have known better and not even dug because they pin pointed over too large of an area. Your argument makes sense if you were to turn the disc. all the way down, but because of the reasons you stated above that is why I keep the disc. up. You will beat me on nickels, but otherwise I think I could give you a run for money with a $250 beep and dig.

You'll come up short on the gold and platinum rings also.......

 

[cudamark]

Centar, I have no idea what kind of sites you think it would "save a lot of time", to sift the entire contents of the ground, versus metal detecting them. I think what you need to do, is go to the average set of ruins, or old foundations, ghost-townsy type site, junky park, etc... Get some practice, turn down your disc (even to the point of accepting iron for an hour JUST to educate yourself on how much iron is in the ground). Ok, then take an hour with a screen/sieve shoveling dirt and forcing it through the little holes, to see what you find . Then report back to the forum on "how much faster" it was to sift the entire contents of the ground.

I agree with you Tom on your "average" site. One exception that I've found is around a fire rings at the beach. There is usually so many targets next to the ring that it's impossible to pick out just one. Sifting works pretty well there as it's easy digging and easy sifting in dry sand. You still need to bring some magnets with you as lots of the nails can fall through the screen.

 

[OCPickle]

I have not bought my MD yet and this forum is useful. I guess the biggest question I have been trying to figure out is discrimination. I live in So Cal and plan to hit the desert mostly. I am very much into photography so I visit old/abandoned structures. Typically I find a lot of trash at these places when I visit. In researching MD's best for this type of environment it seems to my uneducated brain that it really doesn't matter as much as I thought it would. Trial/error and experience is what's going to get me what I want. I've been looking at the AT Pro. Thoughts?

 

[luvsdux]

I wasn't going to jump into this, but what the heck. I find the discrimination knob to be very helpful in trying to determine whether a target is more or less likely to be junk or better. Not 100% but still worth having. When I continue to get a signal at the extreme end of the adjustment the odds are very good that the target will either be a copper coin or silver/clad coin. If the target crackles out at near the nickle setting it's worth digging in case it's an older nickel or small gold. I usually hunt with a low setting, then thumb the adjustment as the coil passes back and forth over the target and knowing where the signal craps out is very useful. Actually, I was surprised at how well this works with a bit of practice. Not quite as fast as a display, but nearly as accurate and sometimes better.
luvsdux

 

[lookindown]

Rob, I had my beep and dig Silver Umax out at a park today and dug 28 coins in two hours, two of which were wheaties at about 5 inches. I only dug two trash targets. With the disc set just past pulltab you are cherry picking and eliminate most trash. The trash targets I started to dig and left were large metal targets. I should have known better and not even dug because they pin pointed over too large of an area. Your argument makes sense if you were to turn the disc. all the way down, but because of the reasons you stated above that is why I keep the disc. up. You will beat me on nickels, but otherwise I think I could give you a run for money with a $250 beep and dig.

Those targets you say "pinpointed over too large of an area" could be several coins spread out close together. I had a target that was two foot long at the beach Saturday and I thought it couldn't be something good. It turned out to be a 20 inch, 35 gram silver chain. Be careful with those big targets.

 

[dirtscratcher]

The whole beep and dig theory falls apart when you talk about really trashy areas. So you either set your disc real high or thumb the disc knob to try to get an id. Why not use a detector with multiple tones and dig by tone and you can also glance at the screen. Believe it or not with more than one tone you can still tell the size and listen for the more solid hits.

 

[cudamark]

The whole beep and dig theory falls apart when you talk about really trashy areas. So you either set your disc real high or thumb the disc knob to try to get an id. Why not use a detector with multiple tones and dig by tone and you can also glance at the screen. Believe it or not with more than one tone you can still tell the size and listen for the more solid hits.

As long as you have a detector with a fast enough processor and a coil small enough to separate targets.

 

[Skexis]

So go get yourself a pulse machine, head to the nearest blighted park, and have a ball

No, dont. I took my Sand Shark to a park once as it was the only detector I had at that time. Horrible detecting - no fun at all. I found nothing of even remote value in the hour or so I was there yet was digging targets almost constantly. Not recommended. Loads of pull tabs, bottle tops and unidentifyable bits of iron.

 

[cudamark]

I think Tom's tongue was poking through his cheek on that one!