Sorry for the delay on this between hunting the ctx and life it has been crazy. I know a lot of people are curious about the Bliss and can it do what the videos show. I will say up front that I have really only used the machine on the beach here, I can not say much in regard to inland hunting. Also I am a minelab hunter so I will be referencing their machines throughout this.
When people have written that the machine is specialized and has a huge learning curve they are correct, especially on the beach. Trying to get the machine to calm down on the various areas of the beach initially was nothing short of frustrating. It was only after talking to Bliss USA and their help that I was able to do so. I must say they did go out of their way to be very helpful. They are several hours away and even met with me on the beach. The reason it was so difficult to understand this machine is you must forget everything you know about using detectors, literally. If you use the same mindset of thinking that you are used to, turn up gain (gain is like sensitivity on other detectors) for depth turn down gain and lose depth but gain stability then you will go crazy. Also threshold, a setting called silencer and discrimination depth are major players in getting the machine to be stable, especially in moist or wet sand. Oh and do not mistaken discrimination depth for discrimination, they are two complete different settings. On a side note discrimination when turned all the way up will only take out lower conductive metals. In minelab terms low CO numbers, I did not figure out exactly how low but I would guestimate around 7-10 Co and below if even that high when turned all the way up. That equates to very small foil and targets like that. Another unique thing about the detector is that you can hunt with gain set to zero, yes in essence you have your sensitivity set to zero, being the lowest setting. The reason is, and don't quote me on this one, but being at zero gain (sensitivity) is like setting the machine to be at the level of gain that other vlf machines max out at. So when you are set all the way down you should in theory be getting the depth of other detectors and going up on the gain will allow you to run hotter. Now with this said all the rumors you have heard about being able to make this machine run very hot and be super sensitive are not exaggerated. I dont think you would ever find and area that you can crank everything up and run stable, you must throttle back the machine or it will be un-hunt-able. The first couple of times out with the machine it seemed impossible to get it to the point where you would even be able to hunt it, it was so erratic. Once I obtained some starting point settings from Bliss I was able to get the machine to settle down fairly quickly, even in wet sand. I also watched the machine get some pretty impressive depth. To get extreme depth you must really understand the machine and it takes a lot of time and a lot effort to even begin to get there. Also to get to the limits of what it can do depth wise and still be stable enough to hunt comes at a price. You must take the time and fine tune several settings. Settings that you normally would not think would make that much of a difference. The best way to explain this is to give you an example. Everyone who hunts and uses a threshold you are used to hearing that hum, you set it to be as low as you can and still be able to hear it and hunt. You go over iron and it nulls and you can hear it vary as you go by other targets. Well I watched the machine getting half descent depth on a target, there was really no audible threshold that I could hear coming out, we lowered it by 2 and the machine actually went a bit deeper and seemed a bit more stable. It was weird to say the least. Then there is a setting called silencer that you crank up to become more stable especially in wet sand, I am still trying to get a grasp what it is actually doing. Ok now another odd thing I saw. With the machine running fairly stable and getting very respectful depth you can actually at times get a repeatable false signal. Yes you read that correctly, a repeatable false signal. One that will stop you in your tracks and make you start digging a very deep hole only to never get a target. One frustrating part of this is that on many occasions once you open the hole you will get a false from the hole itself. This is one of the very best examples of the steep learning curve this machine has. First you must learn to identify a repeatable false from a target, then make sure you are centered on the target before you dig because there is no pinpoint button and the hole will cause a false. To back track a bit when you are running hot and you get a repeatable target there is a very subtle, and I mean very subtle difference to the sound of a repeatable false. You must take the time to walk around the target, make some fine adjustments, and false targets you can make disappear, a real target will stay. This in my opinion is one of the things that makes this machines learning curve so extensive. If I did not have someone from Bliss taking the time to explain this to me I do not know how long it would have taken to learn it on my own, many holes i am sure. Please remember these repeatable falses that I had to learn were on the beach, I can not tell you if they are something that will occur inland. Also please do not get the impression that these type of signals are everywhere to the point you can not hunt. They are randomly around, and you can decrease them by turning the machine down, but as you turn the machine down you will lose slight depth. You must as user either learn to hunt like this or throttle the machine back a bit to not deal with them. That is what makes this machine so different. It is not like most where you can turn up sensitivity until the machine is hot, then just pull it back a bit and run. You must really fine tune 3-5 settings for the area that you are in to run stable but hot. It is also what makes this machine not for everyone. In my opinion this machine is not for someone who wants to go out, turn on the machine and just hunt. This machine is for the person who does not mind taking the time to tinker to try to squeeze out a bit more depth. It is for someone who would not mind investing significant time into something to try to get that little bit more. With that said the machine is capable of getting impressive depth. That depth does come at a cost. The machine runs very hot and it is more of an art to pull out its full potential than a science. It may sound strange but you must almost learn to become in tune with what the machine is doing to maximize its capabilities and that takes time to learn.
Overall the machine is a deep seeker, I watched it keep up with what I consider to be some of the deepest general type hunting detectors on the market. To attain it's full potential you will need to invest time. I would not consider this to be an everyday detector for me, others may feel differently. I would say for me this would be more of a special use detector for special occasions where you know you are in an area with good deep targets and you need just a little more. With that said if you want to utilize its full potential you need to invest the time into it and remember that time will be time you will take away from daily detecting. That is why people say this machine is not for everyone, and it is not. You must make that decision for yourself. I will say the machine is very capable depth wise and for the very patient and determined hunter may make the difference under the right conditions.
When people have written that the machine is specialized and has a huge learning curve they are correct, especially on the beach. Trying to get the machine to calm down on the various areas of the beach initially was nothing short of frustrating. It was only after talking to Bliss USA and their help that I was able to do so. I must say they did go out of their way to be very helpful. They are several hours away and even met with me on the beach. The reason it was so difficult to understand this machine is you must forget everything you know about using detectors, literally. If you use the same mindset of thinking that you are used to, turn up gain (gain is like sensitivity on other detectors) for depth turn down gain and lose depth but gain stability then you will go crazy. Also threshold, a setting called silencer and discrimination depth are major players in getting the machine to be stable, especially in moist or wet sand. Oh and do not mistaken discrimination depth for discrimination, they are two complete different settings. On a side note discrimination when turned all the way up will only take out lower conductive metals. In minelab terms low CO numbers, I did not figure out exactly how low but I would guestimate around 7-10 Co and below if even that high when turned all the way up. That equates to very small foil and targets like that. Another unique thing about the detector is that you can hunt with gain set to zero, yes in essence you have your sensitivity set to zero, being the lowest setting. The reason is, and don't quote me on this one, but being at zero gain (sensitivity) is like setting the machine to be at the level of gain that other vlf machines max out at. So when you are set all the way down you should in theory be getting the depth of other detectors and going up on the gain will allow you to run hotter. Now with this said all the rumors you have heard about being able to make this machine run very hot and be super sensitive are not exaggerated. I dont think you would ever find and area that you can crank everything up and run stable, you must throttle back the machine or it will be un-hunt-able. The first couple of times out with the machine it seemed impossible to get it to the point where you would even be able to hunt it, it was so erratic. Once I obtained some starting point settings from Bliss I was able to get the machine to settle down fairly quickly, even in wet sand. I also watched the machine get some pretty impressive depth. To get extreme depth you must really understand the machine and it takes a lot of time and a lot effort to even begin to get there. Also to get to the limits of what it can do depth wise and still be stable enough to hunt comes at a price. You must take the time and fine tune several settings. Settings that you normally would not think would make that much of a difference. The best way to explain this is to give you an example. Everyone who hunts and uses a threshold you are used to hearing that hum, you set it to be as low as you can and still be able to hear it and hunt. You go over iron and it nulls and you can hear it vary as you go by other targets. Well I watched the machine getting half descent depth on a target, there was really no audible threshold that I could hear coming out, we lowered it by 2 and the machine actually went a bit deeper and seemed a bit more stable. It was weird to say the least. Then there is a setting called silencer that you crank up to become more stable especially in wet sand, I am still trying to get a grasp what it is actually doing. Ok now another odd thing I saw. With the machine running fairly stable and getting very respectful depth you can actually at times get a repeatable false signal. Yes you read that correctly, a repeatable false signal. One that will stop you in your tracks and make you start digging a very deep hole only to never get a target. One frustrating part of this is that on many occasions once you open the hole you will get a false from the hole itself. This is one of the very best examples of the steep learning curve this machine has. First you must learn to identify a repeatable false from a target, then make sure you are centered on the target before you dig because there is no pinpoint button and the hole will cause a false. To back track a bit when you are running hot and you get a repeatable target there is a very subtle, and I mean very subtle difference to the sound of a repeatable false. You must take the time to walk around the target, make some fine adjustments, and false targets you can make disappear, a real target will stay. This in my opinion is one of the things that makes this machines learning curve so extensive. If I did not have someone from Bliss taking the time to explain this to me I do not know how long it would have taken to learn it on my own, many holes i am sure. Please remember these repeatable falses that I had to learn were on the beach, I can not tell you if they are something that will occur inland. Also please do not get the impression that these type of signals are everywhere to the point you can not hunt. They are randomly around, and you can decrease them by turning the machine down, but as you turn the machine down you will lose slight depth. You must as user either learn to hunt like this or throttle the machine back a bit to not deal with them. That is what makes this machine so different. It is not like most where you can turn up sensitivity until the machine is hot, then just pull it back a bit and run. You must really fine tune 3-5 settings for the area that you are in to run stable but hot. It is also what makes this machine not for everyone. In my opinion this machine is not for someone who wants to go out, turn on the machine and just hunt. This machine is for the person who does not mind taking the time to tinker to try to squeeze out a bit more depth. It is for someone who would not mind investing significant time into something to try to get that little bit more. With that said the machine is capable of getting impressive depth. That depth does come at a cost. The machine runs very hot and it is more of an art to pull out its full potential than a science. It may sound strange but you must almost learn to become in tune with what the machine is doing to maximize its capabilities and that takes time to learn.
Overall the machine is a deep seeker, I watched it keep up with what I consider to be some of the deepest general type hunting detectors on the market. To attain it's full potential you will need to invest time. I would not consider this to be an everyday detector for me, others may feel differently. I would say for me this would be more of a special use detector for special occasions where you know you are in an area with good deep targets and you need just a little more. With that said if you want to utilize its full potential you need to invest the time into it and remember that time will be time you will take away from daily detecting. That is why people say this machine is not for everyone, and it is not. You must make that decision for yourself. I will say the machine is very capable depth wise and for the very patient and determined hunter may make the difference under the right conditions.
