there are different ways to describe detector designs and performance. With both of these brands, and with all the models I own and use, I have been and am very satisfied with their performance.
Terry in PA said:
I read in another forum that the racer in 3 tone lost depth over the 2 tone mode. Was this issue ever resolved ?
I would not say the Racer, or my FORS CoRe, loses depth in the 3-Tone Discriminate mode. By design, each of the four search modes [size=small](All Metal, 2-Tone, 3-Tone and Beach)[/size] have their full function abilities controlled with the Gain/Sensitivity control within their circuitry design. There is nothing in the Owner's Manual that suggests the All Metal or Beach or 3-Tone modes have a 'reduced' level of performance over the 2-Tone mode. Instead,
by design, the 2-Tone mode simply provides improved depth of detection. Note the following taken from the Racer's Owner Manual:
"Discrimination Modes
Two Tone Mode
It is the deepest mode among the discrimination modes.
It produces good results particularly on clean sites
which do not contain waste metal."
The 3-Tone Discriminate mode, which I use quite often in trashier sites, has the more "processed" three audio tones, while the 2-Tone Disc. mode doesn't have a configured tone which requires a certain amount of signal in order to process. Instead, the 2-Tone mode features more of a pure audio that can let us hear even a slight or weaker audio response, and it also has the added benefit of a VCO audio enhancement that comes to life when a target is larger and/or closer to the search coil with an increased pitch as well as increased volume.
As it stated,
"it produces good results particularly on clean sites which do not contain waste metal" where there would be less good-target masking and where improved depth is achievable. Trust me, you can enhance the performance and detection depth in the 3-Tone mode, but it is really best suited for hunting most typical sites we encounter where we have to deal with trash and other shallower-positioned metal targets. If you want a little better depth, then you have the 2-Tone Discriminate mode or Threshold-based All Metal mode to choose from ...
if conditions are clean and allow depth accomplishment.
Monte