Relic mode

[arizonaames]

I am using Relic Mode more and more since I first started trying it in Tot Lots. Now I am using it on field searches. I found that the tone of the signal is mandated by your disc knob. Thus, for hunting gold, one need to turn down the disc low.

 

[Nancy-IL]

Excellent hunting technique. I love to hunt in the relic mode when deep coin shooting. Don't forget to have the trigger forward when hunting. HH, Nancy

 

[arizonaames]

Why the trigger forward? That locks in the fround balance so that you do not have auto-balance.

 

[Nancy-IL]

No, the pinpointing toggle underneath is forward when in relic mode. HH, Nancy

 

[Groundshaker]

Excellent hunting technique. I love to hunt in the relic mode when deep coin shooting. Don't forget to have the trigger forward when hunting. HH, Nancy

Locking the trigger forward in relic just shuts off the "Iron Grunt" doesn't it?

 

[arizonaames]

Right, then you do not discriminate against anything and then you might just as well use Prospecting Mode.

 

[Nancy-IL]

It all depends on where you put your discrimination at. When wanting to find silver, I put it at 6. Then after cleaning those targets, I lower it to 3 or below. HH, Nancy

 

[arizonaames]

I played with it this am and found out that you do not have any grunt below where you put your discrimination. The disc works the same either way but you still get the grunt all the time with the disc in the middle.

 

[Nancy-IL]

Kind of nice, huh? HH, Nancy

 

[Monte]

Let me say that I generally hunt in the Coin & Jewelry mode where-in everything below the Discriminate setting is audibly rejected and above response with an audio 'beep.' (There are times I miss that 7-tone audio of the M6, however).

because I often like to know if there are other targets in the area, such as rejected nails and other small iron, I'll hunt in the Relic mode with the trigger-toggle centered, providing that low-audio grunt on rejected stuff, and the high-pitched audio on accepted targets ... all based on the Discriminate setting.

Sometimes, we can get tired of the "noise" when hearing everything and might opt for the "Alternate" Relic model function by toggling the trigger-toggle forward. This will eliminate the Mixed-Mode audio that produces the "grunty" audio from targets below the Discriminate setting ... usually. Thus you only hear the high-pitched audio response from accepted targets. The exception to this is when you want to hear everything that is most likely Iron-based as a low-tone, and everything non-ferrous with a higher pitch. Then you use the "Alt." mode with trigger forward and set the Discrimination at the minimum setting. The result is a 2-tone audio again, with a low-tone for ferrous and high-pitch for non-ferrous. So, even with the toggle forward in an "Alternate" function, the Discriminate level setting is very important. I hunt with this function a lot.

Monte

 

[Monte]

Right, then you do not discriminate against anything and then you might just as well use Prospecting Mode.

I guess we could get technical about the term "discrimination" With some models, such as the Prizm 6T for example, if you've discriminate/rejected a target range then you will not get an audible OR visual indication from the rejected target. Some models, however, will still register with a visual response (Iron, for example) even though you can't hear anything that's rejected. In the Relic mode's Alternate option with no discrimination/rejection used, you will still hear a low tone from iron targets and a high-pitched audio from non-ferrous. Therefore, you DO have at least some level of "discrimination" that is an audible tone difference (as well as visual).

Hunting in this manner can also be a lot smoother or quieter than hunting in the Prospecting mode for many applications. I hunt highly mineralized fresh-water river beaches this time of year when the level is low. Using this method let me hear ALL targets, that's true, but it also allows be to have superior ground handling performance. This is even more true for some models, like the Classic III SL or IDX Pro, when they are also operated in an all-metal accept discriminate set-up. They have a more characteristic 2-filter challenge with the bad ground, however, than MXT/M6 which demonstrate a much less critical need to control the sweep speed. They are more forgiving in that respect.

I have also successfully nugget hunting with the MXT in the Relic mode in the Alternate setting and had equal, if not better, performance in some ground handling challenges.

Monte

 

[arizonaames]

However, in heavily mineralized ground that one finds in NV, AZ, CA, and OR, it is best to hunt for nuggets in the Prospecting Mode with the SAT turned all the way up. You will hear a bumblebee sound (buzzz) and you will completely eliminate the problems associated with mineralized ground with false signals. The MXT is a gold magnet for finding even wee gold nuggets (1/2 grain at 3 inches). I am finding that I am fallin in love with the Relic mode and was very reluctant to use it since I had the detector (8 months).

 

[mcinmich]

Relic is the only way to go...

 

[Nancy-IL]

Monte, You said it with "Discriminate level setting is very important". That says it all. Thanks so much! Short and sweet. HH, Nancy

 

[Monte]

I'm off for some hunting in about 5 minutes but plan to shoot you an E-mail this evening, depending upon how cold it gets after the sun sets and it's just me and the back-light and chilly weather. Found an old cabin/home site in the woods last month that needs to get checked out a bit more. A little trashy, but I have time until the snow arrives to check things out.

Monte

 

[Monte]

n/t