Question about Threshold use?

[unearth]

Looking for some opinions about the use of Threshold. I have been told that having the threshold on and volume up will enhance the signal of a target. One friend of mine swears that targets come in louder and clearer when the threshold is on instead of off. I tried this yesterday at the beach, threshold on and off, when over some targets. But I couldn't really tell any difference. It may just be my ears?
Let me know what you think. Thanks.

 

[Jason in Enid]

You have to think about what going on even when you arent hearing anything. There is always a base line tone (threshold). When you get a target that base line is increased. Depending on the circuitry, you can have a large increase, a tiny increase, or it can try to make all the increases large. If you turn the threshold up really high, then its going to take a much stronger signal increase to "break through" the background and be heard. If you turn the threshold down too much, you can have weak signal be completely missed because they didn't raise it enough to become audible. That can also change based on detector, settings, and especially your own hearing acuity). This is why traditionally, people are always instructed to set a threshold to "barely audible" but of course, in our current age of digital processing, its unclear just how much the old standard still applies.

Personally, I like to still keep a barely audible threshold. I can hear it drop out over iron rejects without having the constant loud tone of all-metal.

 

[Rick(ND)]

I feel some of this has to do with how deep the target is, now it it is not real deep you will not notice the different on or off and sound the same.
I used detectors that mostly are threshold on as I can tell when I go over something that is deep the threshold may only change a little, shut off the threshold and no signal, but if it is too high you wont hear it either. Just got to be a slight threshold you can hear to know what the coil sees.
Where I really notice the difference is with my Sovereigns as I have done well and with the GT I can shut off the threshold to silent search and notice right away the deeper target that just change the threshold I no longer hear. I am now learning the Nox 800 which I really to use more and understand it and I do run a slight threshold on it and digging a lot of small alum foil and other small deep targets, it is different than my Sovereign so I have to learn a new way to tell the difference.
With a threshold I feel you will be going slower though, so it may not be good for cherry picking, but if I am in a old park or ball field I will run a threshold and as we know most have been worked to death. With the threshold I can hear those that others have missed.
That's my 2 cents on threshold and it has done good for me.

Rick

 

[dewcon4414]

The threshold on the nox is nothing but NOISE..... yes you can over whelm a signal to the point you wont hear weak signals with it thou as was stated. The manual clearly says this isnt a TRUE threshold like in gold mode so it has little to no affect on the target.....its used primarily to indicate nulled targets like iron. You get the same affect of a threshold if you run in AM with the iron volume set on 2...... a nice background. Its just one less thing to clog your brain from processing signals IMO. The Nox can get chatty enough.

Dew

 

[5900_XL-1]

I could live without threshold, but use it. One of my machines, a White's M6, has no threshold, Whites calls it a silent search machine, and in the time I used it...it does grab coin and everything else like a giant. Maybe silent is better. I am a threshold user now though after al these years, so right or wrong, it's threshold with me.

 

[jmaclen]

Hi,
like several have said I use a threshold tone in every mode to let me know when I have passed over a target that has been notched. For me that is usually the iron range -9 to -2 or so. It especially lets me know that a target hitting hard in the mid to upper teens and nulling in the threshold is probably an iron target wrap around signal. I hit the horseshoe button to check for negative numbers. If they are there I probably will move on if the target is not too deep. If it is really deep I may dig anyway.

Jeff

 

[MassSaltH2O]

Hi Rick. I know what you mean about the threashold on the Soveriern. The only nice piece of jewelry that I ever found was on Oceanside beach in Cal. I was running a threshold, and all of a sudden, the threshold disappeared on me. I thought, now that's unusual, I'm going to dig up this target just to find out what caused this. Turned out to be a beautiful, large, antique silver ring with a semi precious stone. I would of never found it if I was not running a threshold.
So the moral of the story is, especially with these Minelabs, if you are running a threshold, and the threshold suddenly drops out on you, there is a target of some kind there. Maybe a very nice target. If you run with no threshold, you will never even know that there was a target there.

 

[UtahRich]

The threshold on the nox is nothing but NOISE..... yes you can over whelm a signal to the point you wont hear weak signals with it thou as was stated. The manual clearly says this isnt a TRUE threshold like in gold mode so it has little to no affect on the target.....its used primarily to indicate nulled targets like iron. You get the same affect of a threshold if you run in AM with the iron volume set on 2...... a nice background. Its just one less thing to clog your brain from processing signals IMO. The Nox can get chatty enough.

Dew

I agree with this. Not a real threshold that you carefully balance to hear those BARELY signals. However, I am used to hunting with a threshold NOISE in my ears and hearing discriminated ITEMS null the threshold if I've set the detector to do so. Lets me know that something metallic is beneath my coil.

I have been experimenting some with using the HORSESHOE (nothing discriminated setting) lately and listening to ALL targets but with adjusted volumes and tones so I don't get overloaded too quickly. It is an alternative to using a threshold. It is interesting and I'm trying to decide if there is a benefit.

Rich (Utah)

 

[Mark kus]

The threshold on the nox is nothing but NOISE..... yes you can over whelm a signal to the point you wont hear weak signals with it thou as was stated. The manual clearly says this isnt a TRUE threshold like in gold mode so it has little to no affect on the target.....its used primarily to indicate nulled targets like iron. You get the same affect of a threshold if you run in AM with the iron volume set on 2...... a nice background. Its just one less thing to clog your brain from processing signals IMO. The Nox can get chatty enough.

Dew

I agree with this. Not a real threshold that you carefully balance to hear those BARELY signals. However, I am used to hunting with a threshold NOISE in my ears and hearing discriminated ITEMS null the threshold if I've set the detector to do so. Lets me know that something metallic is beneath my coil.

I have been experimenting some with using the HORSESHOE (nothing discriminated setting) lately and listening to ALL targets but with adjusted volumes and tones so I don't get overloaded too quickly. It is an alternative to using a threshold. It is interesting and I'm trying to decide if there is a benefit.

Rich (Utah)

I run my 800 all the time using no discrimination horseshoe button on and it helps and I use 5 tones I’ve found some very nice stuff doing this..

 

[synthnut]

I can surely understand what you guys speak of concerning the Soveriegn.....It has its own language, and to me has to be one of the most telling detectors on the market!!.....Threshold ?.......By all means !!.......Jim