Question about manual sensitivity on Gt

[Treasurechic]

Ok, I just want to make sure I know how to set this machine up to get the maximum performance out of it. I always hunt in DISC. mode because Im not one to dig up alot of iron, my question is- can you only hunt in DISC. mode when you use Auto sens. or can you set up the machine to ground balance manually and still use DISC. mode? or is manual only for all metal. from what I understand by reading the instruction manual a few times you can only use AUTO SENS. for DISC. mode. The machine has performed great in Auto, but I know you can gain an edge by setting up a machine manually. Id appreciate any help I can get

 

[goodmore]

You can adjust the sensitivity in disc mode. Take it out of auto to gain more depth. Remember that the control is bass ackwards and turning it clockwise is lowering sensitivity. I hunt in Discrimination mode also because it is deeper for me than all metal. Remember that you can also have the sensitivity too high. The detector has to remain stable. And you need to keep a steady threshold. Too much sensitivity and the the threshold disappears and lags behind. Sweep speed contributes to a lagging threshold also.

 

[Treasurechic]

Ok gotcha glad to hear I have the option, now do I have to ground balance when I switch out of Auto? If so what order do you use to set it up this way.

 

[Rick(ND)]

From all my understanding you need to only ground balance in all metal if you are going to run all metal. In disc you don't need to ground balance at all as this is where the BBS works as it compares any signal with the ground. This is why it works so good in area other can not. I am a inland hunter and always run disc and manual sensitivity as it goes deeper for me and can pick out the targets I want to dig as the tone ID is great.
How high to set the sensitivity is where some have a question and feel it depends on how much you know your Sovereign, start with auto to learn the detector and once you know it well enough you can try different settings. Myself if in a new area i will just hold the coil in the air so it don't see any metal and start at max (just out of auto is max) and see how stable it is and turn it clockwise until it has a stable threshold, lower to ground and start swinging. Now the threshold will be coming and going with all the different tones and if it is nulling most of the sweep I will sweep slower or turn the sensitivity down by going clockwise. For the depth you have to go real slow and listen close to that threshold as it will be small and weak sounding. If you want to go faster you can turn the sensitivity down more and it may run smoother, but will lose the deep targets. I find I hunt the well worked out site of the very old parks so I go real slow in some areas and run close to max sensitivity and just creep along. Now on area where targets are not more than 5-6 inches deep I can run lower sensitivity and swing the coil faster.


Rick

 

[Treasurechic]

Thanks I finally understand it now. Its a very simple process.The owners manual should be a little more specific as to manually adjusting in DISC. instead of just saying settings for advanced users. They should have Quick start DISC. settings then a section on the same page Advanced DISC. settings.

 

[goodmore]

I never hunt in the all metal mode with any Sovereigns. The disc mode has always been deeper for me. When I get to an area I sweep the coil a few times and let the digital filtering take it from there.

 

[Lightstryder]

I have been hunting at the beach, doing reverse discrimination. I don't know that it is any more effective than just running in disc, but I do find it to be helps me to slow down, firstly and also makes me examine each signal more closely that disc may miss if too close to junk. I am learning to tell the different sounds that all metal makes with length of signal and clarity at the edges. But I am still learning, as the GT is still new to me, under 24 hours hunting time with it. Also I have been running at about the 2 o'clock position on the sens knob and finding targets as deep as 15 inches. Incredible! I love this machine!

 

[Neil]

I never hunt in the all metal mode with any Sovereigns. The disc mode has always been deeper for me. When I get to an area I sweep the coil a few times and let the digital filtering take it from there.

Its a good idea to try both modes. Sounds like you have and have found what works best for you

 

[Critterhunter]

2PM seems more often than not to provide best depth and ID for me even if say 10PM is stabile, but I'm usually in high minerals. To find out how the machine should act and the threshold should sound try hunting with a very low sens setting at say 3:30 or 4PM for a while or even in Auto. Then you'll know how a stabile GT should act and can turn up the sens from there until it gets funky and then back it off.

 

[jamesinwesttexas]

On Dec. 6, 2009 on this forum a guy named Crazyman posted a tip for setting the sensitivity on the GT using the bobbing method. Just use the search key on the forum to find it. I wonder where Crazyman went? I enjoyed reading his posts. Best of luck. James

 

[goodmore]

We talk about Crazyman quite a bit. Especially his mock drawing of the future GT. Where ever he is I hope he is well. He had a some knowledge about detecting that was worth listening to.