plymouthian12
New member
talk to minelab today they told me i should run machine in auto,,others say custom what do u guys think? i run mostly in ocean hi salt content and in a few ponds lots of minerals thanks
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excal
- Thread starter plymouthian12
- Start date
Run in auto untill you get familiar with how every thing functions. Some adjustments have to be made according to what kind of environment you are in. Example: When I'm beach hunting I set my sensitivity any where from 11 to 1 o'clock discrimination 1 to 4 to start with and adjust from there. Usually hunt in PP and check good sounds in disc. Up here in TN. in these fresh water lakes I may start with sensitivity 8 o'clock discrimination on 2 hunting in disc. mode. The point is everywhere is different and that is what the knobs are for to adjust your machine to you and the environment you are hunting in. Get out there get a steady threshold a big scoop and you will find what works best for you. Good Luck and HH 
plymouthian12
New member
even though minelab recommends auto? it seems that i have found more in auto .i usually run disc 3 sen around 9
OldBeechnut
Well-known member
Don't run auto unless the conditions are so bad that the machine is total unstable. If you run auto, You will miss treasure...Gulf Hunter brought this up a long time ago, No Auto...So I did a test at OC maryland, he was right, i was missing things in auto, it's not as deep, and for some reason, the field of the coil is very confined...
This Guy Has More Experence then all of us put together.........
This Guy Has More Experence then all of us put together.........
Critterhunter
New member
I'd agree that say 2PM will hit deeper on targets that Auto won't hear or won't hit good, but there just seems something to be about auto that makes me feel it can reveal coins in really rough ground that even a low and stable manual sensitivity setting won't. I've dug a few good silvers with Auto at depth (close to 8", maybe some deeper), and some of those were standing on end. In really rough ground minerals or a ton of iron I think Auto will "track" the ground better and might reveal masked coins or ones being masked by the ground matrix better than a static manual setting. For sure it also helps when there is a lot of RF noise, though I'm finding the lowest manual setting even more stable when around RF noise in my garage testing targets. Come to think of it, I have yet to hear of anybody saying they've used Auto in All Metal With the All Metal Ground Tracking ON. That might be a real killer in the absolute worst of ground conditions that are changing VERY fast, such as in mixed dirt and iron at construction sites or old coal spill areas mixed with dirt, shale, and so on. Everybody knows of a site in their area that every guy who detects says "Can't be hunted. Ground conditions are just too bad." The few spots I've had like that in my area are fine for the GT using manual or Auto Discriminate, but I'm sure there are a few out there that still seem to hold out to any machine. I think I know of such a spot. Never hunted it but it sounds the worst yet with a good bit of potential in terms of old coins. For one it's got old pea stone gravel I know for sure, which in it's self isn't an obstacle but I've heard guys say it's a total no go for their machines. Hmmmm....I bet the GT in regular Disc/Auto mode will handle it, but maybe All Metal/Track/Auto will do even better.
The other thing about Auto is that I'd say it at least gets you near to optimum sensitivity settings. If you have manual set way too high (even if it sounds stable) or way too low for a certain spot then guess what...NULL CITY. Auto I bet will hit that coin in that case where as you wouldn't know it was there. Another problem is nearby RF noise that changes as you move closer/further away from it's source. Manual at one setting is good thirty feet away but thirty feet closer and it's starting to degrade target quality I think. I think that's why one of the coins (standing liberty quarter) I found at a spot I had pounded with my Explorers yet missed gave a perfect hit with the GT in Auto at like 7 1/4 to 7 3/4" (from memory). Besides the hot rocks, iron, stones, and minerals at this spot, there is also a nearby small FM transmitter. This spot gave me fits with any machine I've ever owned. The Explorer was the first to at least get coin signals that were say 70% there but never perfect and thus produced some old coins. However, the GT gave me PERFECT hits on coins at this spot and ran smooth while the Explorer never did despite changing settings. This was both with the 10" and 15x12 coils on the GT, where as the Explorer was using the stock 10" coil.
The other thing about Auto is that I'd say it at least gets you near to optimum sensitivity settings. If you have manual set way too high (even if it sounds stable) or way too low for a certain spot then guess what...NULL CITY. Auto I bet will hit that coin in that case where as you wouldn't know it was there. Another problem is nearby RF noise that changes as you move closer/further away from it's source. Manual at one setting is good thirty feet away but thirty feet closer and it's starting to degrade target quality I think. I think that's why one of the coins (standing liberty quarter) I found at a spot I had pounded with my Explorers yet missed gave a perfect hit with the GT in Auto at like 7 1/4 to 7 3/4" (from memory). Besides the hot rocks, iron, stones, and minerals at this spot, there is also a nearby small FM transmitter. This spot gave me fits with any machine I've ever owned. The Explorer was the first to at least get coin signals that were say 70% there but never perfect and thus produced some old coins. However, the GT gave me PERFECT hits on coins at this spot and ran smooth while the Explorer never did despite changing settings. This was both with the 10" and 15x12 coils on the GT, where as the Explorer was using the stock 10" coil.
rajae2006r
New member
Hello.
with automatique you loose sur half deep 50 % Deeper.
Rajae,
Bordeaux Ouest-Cost FRANCE
with automatique you loose sur half deep 50 % Deeper.
Rajae,
Bordeaux Ouest-Cost FRANCE
Thisoldgoldchaser
New member
Once you learn the machine you can run in manual. But if you are just learning it, you should run it in auto. I made the mistake of running mine in manual when just starting out with. I got so frustrated I wanted to throw the machine. You can change things too much...and it just leads to a beginner giving up on the machine. And its a great machine. So you lose some depth because of the sensitivity. But you dont get as frustrated..believe me. Once I went back to auto mode, all of a sudden I started making finds and I was at least able to learn the machine.
If you are a newbie to the machine..leave it in auto till you have learned it...and you arent going to learn it in a couple of hours.
If you are a newbie to the machine..leave it in auto till you have learned it...and you arent going to learn it in a couple of hours.
I gave up on the Sovereign the first time because I thought I had to run high sensitivity to get good depth which made the detector hard to use. It wasn't until I tried the Sovereign again years later that I learned that you need to set up the detector and sensitivity to match the ground or beach conditions that your hunting no matter where the sensitivity ends up on the dial. Running in auto makes the detector more enjoyable while learning the tones and I ran in auto for some time while learning the detector on the beach. Don't worry about the depth as Rick said because it will still go deeper than most machines especially if the beach or ground is high in mineralization. Here's a couple of pics. from my first two beach hunts where I was running in auto sensitivity and as you can see some of the targets were deep and had been there for a while.
Thisoldgoldchaser
New member
Thanks crazyman, yea, sometimes I get lucky and am right about something. 
But seriously, I did that..thought I needed to do the high sensitivity to get depth and all and was just defeating the purpose. I wasnt learning the machine and was just causing myself more problems. I did the same thing with my Etrac. I figured I knew what I was doing since I was a long time detectorist...I discovered very quickly I didnt know what I was doing. So I went through the same frustration on both...all caused by my own stupidity by trying to run in manual before learning them.
Went to the lake today, the state finally opened the beach. Walked down to it...and wondered where the dang beach was? The water was so high there was just a 15 foot swath of sand that was almost at a 45 degree angle. The rest of it was underwater...normally no problem but the slope was so steep and when I tried going down it wasnt sand but mud and I kept sinking to my ankles or deeper at each step. No problem if I was swimming, but big problems trying to swing that big coil on my excal..(I have the 15' WOT). After about 40 feet of slogging through the mud, losing one of my water shoes, I said the heck with it and gave up. They had been working on the lake since last year and working on the dam. Looked like they have stirred up so much mud and muck that it spread it all over. The beach area was a total loss. Very disappointed. I hadnt taken my snorkle and mask today...but should have. That way I could have just drifted in the water with my short shaft on rathar than trying to slog through the mud. Not that I figured to find much once I saw the "beach". I didnt for the short time I was detecting. Just the usual junk, bottle caps and tabs. Had one good signal but trying to get to it through the mud...it kept moving on me. Finally gave up.. Just want a good day today. And trying to detect the dry sand at a 45 degree angle <sheese> Was one of those days.
But seriously, I did that..thought I needed to do the high sensitivity to get depth and all and was just defeating the purpose. I wasnt learning the machine and was just causing myself more problems. I did the same thing with my Etrac. I figured I knew what I was doing since I was a long time detectorist...I discovered very quickly I didnt know what I was doing. So I went through the same frustration on both...all caused by my own stupidity by trying to run in manual before learning them. Went to the lake today, the state finally opened the beach. Walked down to it...and wondered where the dang beach was? The water was so high there was just a 15 foot swath of sand that was almost at a 45 degree angle. The rest of it was underwater...normally no problem but the slope was so steep and when I tried going down it wasnt sand but mud and I kept sinking to my ankles or deeper at each step. No problem if I was swimming, but big problems trying to swing that big coil on my excal..(I have the 15' WOT). After about 40 feet of slogging through the mud, losing one of my water shoes, I said the heck with it and gave up. They had been working on the lake since last year and working on the dam. Looked like they have stirred up so much mud and muck that it spread it all over. The beach area was a total loss. Very disappointed. I hadnt taken my snorkle and mask today...but should have. That way I could have just drifted in the water with my short shaft on rathar than trying to slog through the mud. Not that I figured to find much once I saw the "beach". I didnt for the short time I was detecting. Just the usual junk, bottle caps and tabs. Had one good signal but trying to get to it through the mud...it kept moving on me. Finally gave up.. Just want a good day today. And trying to detect the dry sand at a 45 degree angle <sheese> Was one of those days.