Threshold? What good is it?

[Rebel73153]

I just got a nice Silver Sabre Umax. It has an on/off/sensitivity knob, a disc knob, a threshold knob and a pinpoint button. What good is the threshold if it doesn't even have a mode switch to go from all metal to disc? It is always in disc and the only time you hear the threshold is when you push the pinpoint button. If i have the ground balance mod done and the pinpoint button is replaced by the GB knob, and an all metal./disc toggle switch is added, will it operate with the threshold hum if in all metal? Why don't they make them so you can hunt in disc with the threshold?

 

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[dan_h]

By popular demand, many brands of detectors are "silent search" in the Discrimination Mode. I just bought a new-tone Golden uMax and it is silent search, except in the All Metal Mode. I prefer a threshold in both modes, but is not crucial; it's a matter of personal preference.

 

[Rebel73153]

Thanks, but what good does the threshold do on this model when there is no All metal mode?

 

[Minrelica]

I'm not a threshold expert but if it serves the same purpose that it does on the Minelab SE, the "hum" will null out when the coil goes over a target that you have discriminated out. Generally Iron. You can pinpoint and dig the nulled out targets if you choose to. It's just a quieter way of letting you know that something is there

 

[Rebel73153]

Ok, that would make sense IF you could hear the threshold while hunting. But it only works when the pinpoint button is pressed on this one. So i don't understand why it even has a threshold knob.

 

[Minrelica]

From the manual:

THRESHOLD
Threshold Level Control
This rotary switch control has one function:
Adjusts the Threshold Control
The THRESHOLD control is used to adjust the audio level of the detector's threshold up or down to its
desired level. Normal setting would be a barely audible hum. This is not a volume control for the detector
itself. Although this control is placed on the front panel for convenience, once it is set to the desired
threshold tone, it will not require frequent resetting.

-Sounds like you're supposed to turn the nob to adjust the threshold to the desired level. Here's the manual if you don't have one.

http://greatlakesmetaldetecting.com/pdfs/silversabreumax.pdf

 

[Rebel73153]

Thanks WIT.

 

[coon8448]

If you have the threshold set right then you can estimate how deep something is. for example if you hear a soft beep then you know it is deep and if its a hard beep then it is shallow.

 

[Allcav]

If you push the pinpoint button, this puts you in an all-metal mode. Thats when the threshold is used. the threshold is used so you can hear a pitch in the tone when pinpointing.

 

[Rebel73153]

As well as Tesoro's pinpoint it seems like kind of a waste of space to put the threshold on just for that.

 

[cokat7]

As well as Tesoro's pinpoint it seems like kind of a waste of space to put the threshold on just for that.

Learn your detector bud, I would sooner go without a silent search disc mode than the threshold based AM!

 

[cokat7]

My reply was maybe a bit blunt, I will explain what I mean. The disc mode and All-Metal/pinpoint mode compliment each other quite well, but if I had to go without one, it would be the disc.

Other than trashy park hunting, all I need to know about a target is ferrous/non ferrous. AM mode does this quite well, better than disc mode IMO, especially when dealing with large iron.

How? Just check to see how close you can get the coil to the target before the threshold gets loud. If it gets loud well before the coil is over it - it's iron every time.

Not only that, but if you spend the time to learn how different targets respond in AM, it becomes a more acurate form of disc - especially for coins on edge and the like. Used best at the beach where all those targets are overlooked by others and generally won't register in disc mode.

Or how about the sensitivity between the 2 modes! Take a small gold earing and compare the signals in disc and AM, the same goes for raw depth. I have had many deep targets that would either not make a sound or just give a tiny 'tick' when supertuned. In AM I can get a nice low 'woot' telling me this baby is deeep and it is without a doubt there.

Of course, there is so much more that I can't explain or put into words, so I will just say,
Learn the AM my friend, and don't look back.

 

[Rebel73153]

Thanks for the explanation. Problem is, i can't hunt in AM unless i want to hunt holding the pinpoint button in. I don't have a switch to go from AM to disc.

 

[cokat7]

Thanks for the explanation. Problem is, i can't hunt in AM unless i want to hunt holding the pinpoint button in. I don't have a switch to go from AM to disc.

I hunt holding the pinpoint button in 95% of the time.

To quiet things down, swing it 8" - 10" off the ground, Coin sized targets will give a strong, recognisable signal.
If you need raw depth, take the coil cover off and rub that coil on the ground. Few realize the depth this machine is capable of because they don't understand the red button or clicking disc down to AM.

I have tried to tell people about the AM mode and it's potential to give precious target info that the disc mode can NEVER give.
Only 1, maybe 2 people that I know of have come to understand the AM mode, generally the thread dies when I start talking AM, so I pretty much quit bringing it up
It seems to me that most people out there just don't spend enough time detecting with 1 detector to fully understand it's language.
I have owned the Vaq for not quite 2 years, but I would credit myself with at least 1000 hrs of use, and the machine shows it. Another year and I will be ready for a new one..... or maybe an OUTLAW.
Find yourself a clean area and hold that button in. Be one of the select few that have begun to understand the true potential of their machine....... Given of course, that you are well versed in the disc mode to begin with.

 

[rwd mo]

I just got a nice Silver Sabre Umax. It has an on/off/sensitivity knob, a disc knob, a threshold knob and a pinpoint button. What good is the threshold if it doesn't even have a mode switch to go from all metal to disc? It is always in disc and the only time you hear the threshold is when you push the pinpoint button. If i have the ground balance mod done and the pinpoint button is replaced by the GB knob, and an all metal./disc toggle switch is added, will it operate with the threshold hum if in all metal? Why don't they make them so you can hunt in disc with the threshold?

Rebel. I believe that you could turn up the threshold (in all metal) (button held in) to where its pretty loud,THEN let off the button and this makes it HIT harder in the Disc.mode which I see as being deeper.Kinda doing a super tune to it. try this jmho. rwd mo

 

[Rebel73153]

Thanks for the info guys. I will try using the pinpoint button more and also turning up the threshold to see if it helps.

 

[rossman85]

A very useful post as I am a beginner as well