TID quandary

[machineman]

So I'm confused, the general consensus is dig everything that beeps. If you don't then you miss treasure. If you dig everything that beeps then whats the point of a TID number? Do any of you skip over any numbers, and why? Some people only seem to dig steady targets, but others report finds that are jumpy but still good. Wondering why I bought a Xterra 705 instead of a Tesoro or other non TID machine?

 

[DirtAngler]

Search "nail board test", make one and try it. It will show you why you must dig the "TID's" that aren't standard readings.

 

[machineman]

Thats just my point. If we have to dig non standard TID's then why do we bother to have them?

 

[Digger]

If you had bought one of those other detectors without TID, how many tones would you have? Regardless, the point is, many of us don't hunt by the TID numbers. But we do hunt "by ear". In multiple tone mode, each of the TID numbers (notch segments) have a unique pitch (tone) assigned to them. Listen to them. Dig the targets that provide a consistent response, with the pitch that represents targets that you want to dig. Pass those that provide broken or inconsistent responses, or tones that represent iron or highly ferrous trash (if they're not rejected). The audio response is more aligned with the target properties as it has less filtration than the visual TID. I'd recommend you read the eBook, Understanding Your X-TERRA" to have a better idea how to use tones and numbers to assist in your hunts. JMHO HH Randy

 

[michaelosully]

If you have not done so, you may want to try the TID Stability feature on the 705. See page 20 of the 705 Owners Manual. This may help a little.

I have found that in some areas I hunt, TID can very widely and be extremely erratic. For those of us with poor hearing, we tend to rely more on the TID display than individuals who can discriminate using tones, so the wildly erratic TID of a single target can be extremely frustrating. However, the TID visual display is just another feature of the 705 (obviously, one not offered on non-TID machines) along with the audio tone responses.

When I'm getting wildly erratic TID's for a target, I do try to focus more on consistent tone response rather than TID. If I'm in an area with few targets, I generally dig anything and everything that gives a consistent tone. When in areas with many targets, I try to find a consistent tone, then try to identify what the target might be by using TID to determine if I want to dig. For those of us with both bad hearing and a bad back, we only have so many digs available in our given hunt time and I've learned to make the most of 'em by being somewhat selective.

In the end, I know I'm still missing some good targets and digging some junk but I'm MDing...life is good!

 

[DirtAngler]

The TID readings are a means of verification to what you're hearing. Like I stated earlier, the nail board test will make you change your thoughts about digging if you don't want to miss potentially good targets but where the TID's are useful, are on helping to identify shallower good signals.

 

[mapper65]

For a quick few seconds after reading the start of this post I thought to myself "why did I buy a detector with TID info". But then I realized for the most part, I'm very sure of what I'm digging when I compare the pitch of the tone, intensity of the tone, size of the object I'm swiping over along with the target id.

You really have to get used to comparing all of the information that you see and hear while detecting to get proficient with the 705 or for that matter, any detector. If you are not taking the time to remember what you dig when you have taken all of that data into consideration then you'll never get good with the 705. I admit that from time to time I'm surprised when I've dug something that didn't jive based on the data that I've heard and seen while I'm swiping over an object but for the most part the 705 becomes like a magnifying glass once you get a few years behind you.

I think the biggest problem that people have is that they don't take the time to remember what they've heard and seen on previous targets. I really think that is the hidden secret to effective detecting. It's fun to be able to say "zinc penny", "copper penny", "silver dime" and that's what you pull up. It would be nice if the target Id was the only thing you needed to know to determine that but you have to take the sounds into consideration with the id. If any of you haven't already, take off the training wheels and get into 99 tone mode. It'a s little confusing and overwhelming at first but you'll get used to it. And yes, I know that there are not really 99 tones.

Have fun!!

 

[Old Longhair]

For a quick few seconds after reading the start of this post I thought to myself "why did I buy a detector with TID info". But then I realized for the most part, I'm very sure of what I'm digging when I compare the pitch of the tone, intensity of the tone, size of the object I'm swiping over along with the target id.

You really have to get used to comparing all of the information that you see and hear while detecting to get proficient with the 705 or for that matter, any detector. If you are not taking the time to remember what you dig when you have taken all of that data into consideration then you'll never get good with the 705. I admit that from time to time I'm surprised when I've dug something that didn't jive based on the data that I've heard and seen while I'm swiping over an object but for the most part the 705 becomes like a magnifying glass once you get a few years behind you.

I think the biggest problem that people have is that they don't take the time to remember what they've heard and seen on previous targets. I really think that is the hidden secret to effective detecting. It's fun to be able to say "zinc penny", "copper penny", "silver dime" and that's what you pull up. It would be nice if the target Id was the only thing you needed to know to determine that but you have to take the sounds into consideration with the id. If any of you haven't already, take off the training wheels and get into 99 tone mode. It'a s little confusing and overwhelming at first but you'll get used to it. And yes, I know that there are not really 99 tones.

Have fun!!

IMHO, you've hit the nail on the head. Part of what I bought a 705 for was information. It WAS the multi-tones, and it WAS the TID.
The other part of what I paid for was the other features. The Auto/Manual GB, the GB Tracking, the GB Tracking Offset, the Target Stabilization, the Beach Tracking, the Prospector Mode, the Auto/Manual 5-channel Noise Cancel, the user adjustable Threshold, the Back Light, and the ability to change search frequencies by just changing coils.

Simply put...The Xterra 705 is the most versitile machine available in it's pricepoint and beyond, making it a winner for anyone willing to put a little in time on it.

 

[Mark in S.E. IA]

Mapper65 said.


" If any of you haven't already, take off the training wheels and get into 99 tone mode. It'a s little confusing and overwhelming at first but you'll get used to it. And yes, I know that there are not really 99 tones."

I guess I still haven't taken off my training wheels on the X505. I started with the X50 over 6 years ago and went to the X505 three years ago. I tried the 99 tones a few times in trash and clean areas and it just did not seem to work for me. most of the time I hunt in Patt 1 with 4 tones and in farm fields and heavy iron areas I use AM with 2 tones. Over the years I've learned that their is more then one way to use the Xterra's, you just need to figure out what works best for you. This past week I found my 800th silver coin and I am up to 131 silver coins so far this year. I just checked it and my silver to wheat ratio is 2.91 to 1 so I think I will keep my training wheels on.

 

[mapper65]

Over the years I've learned that their is more then one way to use the Xterra's, you just need to figure out what works best for you.

That's exactly right. Well said.

 

[oldmancrash]

I think the biggest problem that people have is that they don't take the time to remember what they've heard and seen on previous targets

Being honest. I get so excited with a solid number I usually forget to look and see how deep. Never mind trying to memorize the TID. I am getting better about it though.Still got my training wheels on LOL love it

 

[mapper65]

I probably should chime in and give a little better explanation of my thoughts on using the 99 tone setting. When I first tried using it I probably enabled it 10 times over a few week period for a total of 3 minutes each time. I felt more confused than being in the 4 tone mode and kept jumping back to 4 tone because my mind just couldn't wrap itself around what was happing because there was more change in sound that I was used to hearing. When I would switch to 99 tone, those nice solid tones now became more or less what I had interpreted as a smearing of tones. At one point I finally decided that I was going to hunt in 99 tone and leave it there no matter what. Eventually my ears got trained to it and I found that those smearing of tones were now able to paint a better picture of the object that I was scanning over. It was now easier to tell if I was swiping over a nickel or a pull tab because of the way the tone changed as I swiped over the target even though my TID was pretty much the same for each of those two items. It's a little hard to explain sound just as it's hard to describe a color but when you take those tones into consideration there is definitely more detail in the 99 tone mode.

Probably a better explanation would be......when I first started into computers your monitor was either green or amber.....one color on a dark background. Then we went to RGB (Red, Green & Blue) with the ability to see 16 color combinations at the same time. When you looked at an image in 16 colors, much of the detail was missing but it was still a viewable picture that you could understand. After that we got into 256 color. Now the pictures that we were viewing looked much better but still nowhere near like a picture that was printed at a photo lab that we put in our photo albums or picture frames. Finally 64,000 color video cards came out and we were now looking at a picture on our screen that at the time was more comparable to the 35mm film we were getting developed onto photo paper. Move ahead even further and now our video cards are doing in the millions of colors.

That example is probably the best analogy of why I use 99 tone over 4 tone. The bending of the audio frequency when swiping over and item is like going from 16 color to 256 color. There is just more detail in the data that you are hearing which you can now correlate with the TID, intensity of the sound and the size of the sound of the object that you are swiping over.

 

[DirtAngler]

I think that's a very good analogy.

 

[mapper65]

That was the only way that I felt I could describe 99 tone mode. For people that haven't used it or haven't taken the time to understand why you would want to use it, that was the best analogy that I could think of as to why I feel it's better. Many people say they hunt by sound more than target ID. If you are hunting mainly by sound and you're in 4 tone mode then you are really missing out on the whole picture by not being in 99 tone mode. Again, it's really confusing at first but all of the sudden it comes together and at least for me, it was like getting a free upgrade to my detector.

 

[machineman]

I will keep trying. I have been detecting seriously for about 3 years and not seriously for about 18. I always used my dads detectors befor but two years ago I bought a Compadre. I have used it for long enough that I got used to the language. The real difference I can narrow it down to is when the Compadre beeped it was very definite, the Xt is a lot less definite.
On another note I have both 10.5 coils and I have been using the HF coil. Do you prefer the MF coil? I have been hoping to sell it to help pay for a WOT coil.

 

[machineman]

I guess my real problem is probably that I cant find anything of value in a few sites that should be really good. One is an old mining town that is completely gone except for one cellar hole dated about 1890 and the other is a school from around 1900. The problem is, aside from a few bits of large brass I cant find anything but iron. I have tried the 7.5 MF CC coil, the 10.5 HF DD, and the 6 HF DD. I guess I just need to keep trying. I did do some tests with the 6" dd coil and found that it will detect a dime with the iron disced out within about a 1", so I might try that next.

 

[T.A.L.LasVegas]

I like my 6" hf coil, I had it for a couple weeks and about two hours worth of hunting.
It found something today my other coils can't this morning I found a small thin silver Italy 925 necklace tid was 4,6,8 that's my first ever small jewelry chain necklace , not a good clear signal/sound 1" deep. I never ever expected it to be 925 in the hole at those tid n broken sound.

HH
Todd

 

[mapper65]

Do you prefer the MF coil? I have been hoping to sell it to help pay for a WOT coil.

I've always been a big fan of the HF coil but for the last few months I've been exclusively using the MF coil. I think it's been doing a little better turning up deep silver than the HF coil. I will say that it's not nearly as good at sounding off for nickels than the HF coil.

I'd try not to go coil crazy. Obviously that's what I did which is evident in my signature. I can do well with all of them and they each have their own purpose but mastering the detector and getting good locations to detect at are the biggest advantages.

Don't get discouraged by a site that should have old coins but has not produced. We have one site that my family and I have easily found well over 500 coins and a great deal of them around the silver era but unfortunately no silver. One day we went back and within 5 minutes I found the first and only silver to date at this location. We literally have a combined total of about 30 hours or more in that site. I've been working on a late 1800's home near my house and we've only found one silver and a decent handful of wheats. Sometimes you have to look at it like maybe these people didn't have a lot of money or were very careful not to lose any.

 

[machineman]

I bought my detector coil heavy, I have the stock 9", both 10.5", both 6" and the eliptical is in the shop. I plan on selling the 6" mf and the 10.5 mf to help offset the cost or to get some more stuff.

 

[mapper65]

I'd have a hard time selling my 10.5 MF coil. It's really proven itself to me over the last few months but I also realize that the soil composition in your area may be different than what I'm dealing with.