Check mark, "X" or leave blank? Does it make a difference?

[Knipper]

The manual doesn't really state what is happening when the categories are checked (accepted) or left blank...

Apparently others have had this question too.

I called the customer service people at Minelab and was told that to lessen the threshold "blanking" after a target is detected, I should be putting a check mark next to the categories.

An "X" of course, means a target is rejected...that makes sense.

But I was led to believe there could be a performance factor involved if items were not checked as opposed to leaving them blank.

For example...

The preset is supposed to be coins mode. But that doesn't reject pulltabs or screwcaps, does it?

Should we be putting a check mark next to coins, jewelry, foil, pulltabs and screw caps to enhance performance? ( I still put an "x" behind nails and crowncaps, as it doesn't make sense to me to have this wonderful discriminator at my disposal and not use it....

I want to be able to detect those in-between signals where jewelry lies, which is why I put check marks next to the categories I've previously stated. But what if I just left them blank? What is the machine doing then?

That's really the only major issue I have with the manual..

Does anyone out there know what the difference is? Has anyone else called Minelab about it?

It's really got my curiosity revved up!

Knipper

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

The bestest way to know for sure which settings work or not is for you to plant a coin garden in YOUR area with YOUR type of soil.

Then, make the settings on your machine that brings our the coins the best for you.

That way you don't need to rely on what others think but you will just KNOW what the optimal settings are. And once you know for sure your confidence will be in your settings no matter what.

Now there are areas in my state where just a couple tweaking of settings is a must based upon iron and trash present.

At least that is how I did it.

Do you have a coin garden?

Plant some quarters at 1 foot depth, 8" depth, 6" depth and do the same with some dimes, nickels, copper pennies, throw in a couple Kennedy halves and some junky ole silver dollars if you want. Plant them about two foot apart. Don't expect your detector to hit on the deepest ones right off the bat because the Explorer does not like freshly disturbed soil.

 

[Knipper]

Thanks Tony but my question really isn't about depth. Its about a setting on the machine that may or may not allow the machine to recover to the threshold faster on the SE, and....whether any others had experimented with that.

I probably didn't word it very clearly, but basically it's wondering if there is a difference in performance when a category is checked or just left blank...ANY difference.


Knipper

 

[Knipper]

I talked to Sandy at tech support, and it appears I misinterpreted what she initially said...

If one is say, in "coins" mode, either preset or checked, and no other items are checked or "X'd", then the SE will initially find and register a signal for a trash item (such as a pull tab) on the first sweep, but then go blank and not register a signal on the return sweep.

It could get very confusing in the field if you were constantly getting one-way signals, trash or not!

So, apparently, checking the box tells the machine to give a consistent signal from any direction consistently on that checked item. (if "x'd) then one would NOT hear a signal from any direction)

I initially thought this was due to "over-shoot" and the blanking was due to the signal not returning to threshold fast enough, but now it appears the machine is registering the first hit, then discriminating out subsequent hits (if left blank). That is a BIG difference between the drop in audio one normally gets after detecting an accepted target(see the chart in the manual for the differences bewteen normal, long, smooth and pitch-hold modes!).

To me, this means that I'll be putting x's or check marks in all of the specific boxes so I get consistent target signals to analyze.

Constant "one-way" signals are a real pain and don't allow you to build much confidence in the machine. In fact one may be tempted to start adjusting other settings to try to "stabilize" it, which wouldn't necessarily be a good thing.

Knipper

 

[Captain Kirk]

Knipper

I will offer my understanding about the various pattern techniques that can be achieved. My understanding might be flawed and I welcome the opinion of others.

I will start by stating that the manual is somewhat clear about all of the choices that the user can make. It only talks about the the CHECK mark and X mark do. It does not discuss how they interact with one another.

"pattern" refers to the discrimination settings

TWO BASIC PATTERNS
* IRON MASK MODE
In this mode the pattern is completely determined by the IRON MASK setting. The features setup by the EDIT or LEARN functions have no influence on the pattern. The same is true about the SETTINGS selected.
* NON-IRON MASK MODE
In this mode the pattern is determined by the EDIT, LEARN and SETTINGS functions.

Note that:
* If the detector is in the IRON MASK mode and one goes the EDIT, LEARN mode and makes any changes, then the IRON MASK mode is turned off and remains off until it is turned back on the the IRON MASK button.
* If the detector is in the IRON MASK mode and one goes the SELECT function and makes any changes, then the IRON MASK mode is turned off and remains off until it is turned back on the the IRON MASK button.

CHANGING THE PATTERN USING THE SELECT FUNCTION
Certain aspects of this function seem straight forward:
* The CHECK mark tells the detector to accept this target type.
* The X mark tells the detector to reject this target type.
* Neither of the above tells the detector to neither accept nor reject the target but rather to make a decision based upon factors outside the SELECT function.

A COMBINATION OF CHECK MARKS WITH NO X MARKS
You can built an acceptance pattern that accumulates the targets accepted.

A COMBINATION OF X MARKS WITH NO CHECK MARKS
You can built a rejection pattern that accumulates the targets rejected.

A COMBINATION OF CHECK AND X MARKS
Here is where things get "squirrelly". I have a hard time understanding what happens when you try to mix the Xs and CHECKs.
* Start by CLEARing the screen.
* X coins. The results are obvious
* CHECK crowncaps.
I think that the results are contrary to expectations. Instead of opening an area in the rejected coins region, the complete screen goes dark. It does not seem to make any difference which order you do the CHECKing or Xing in the second and third steps.

THE COMPLEXITY OF USING THE LEARN/EDIT FUNCTION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SELECT FUNCTION
* You can use the SELECT function to reject coins and then use the EDIT or LEARN mode to accept or reject certain portions of the screen independently of what was done in the SELECT mode. After doing this combination you may not be able to recognize the resulting pattern by examining the marks shown in the SELECT screen.


I hope this helps any who may have questions in this area. Comments welcomed

HH,
Glenn

 

[John LA]

Thanks for the info Kipper. Tony I think I going to rework my test garden because of your post.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

A friend who used to post on these boards by the name of Patrick helped me to see how to set up a coin garden and what deepies sound like and how to set up the detector in relation to that garden and soil conditions.

To say the least, it was a real eye opener.

I've had my garden for about 5 years now. It is also good to have a garden to test new coils on.

 

[Hotcz70]

this makes a lot of sense and can stop a lot of confusion in the field on one way hits.

 

[RandyNorthridgeca]

I would have bet money that if you would put an X next to coins and then checked crowncaps you would get an open area for crowncaps. I just checked my Explorer and it did just what you said. Thanks for the information Glenn. You might have saved me some money

HH Randy

 

[coinscreenz]

select options (tick or x)
It seems all is not quite as it seems with ticking and xing these select options. I am hearing people say targets will only repeat from one direction if a select option is left unchecked on a specific select option. This is bombshell bad news and means i have been missing many good targets.

 

[AgileMJOLNIR]

You and me both, however, like with all electronics this is a learning experience. We have just learned something very valuable thats going to make us better hunters. I feel like I know the Explorer a little bit better now.