I know what you mean about a coin nulling or being a bad hit due to masking from all angles, but in one particular angle it just is such a "solid" coin hit you just know it can't be iron. These traits and qualities are very subjective and can't really be explained all the way, where only hearing, watching the ID traits, and sniffing all the way around a target will give you "subconscience" hints of what it may be.
Usually even an iron spike that gives a solid coin hit from just one angle will be somewhat "different" than a true coin masked by iron. One small extension of that, but in no way the only indication, is that sometimes iron that gives you that perfect coin hit from just one angle will take more work to wiggle up to coin in both tone and VDI #. When I need further input other than the audio traits, I'll watch the meter and see how random it is in it's climb to 180. If it jumps around more randomly on it's climb, then I suspect iron, where as if it climbs to 180 in less random fashion I'll lean towards a coin masked by iron.
That's just one tiny example of subtle hints, and by no means the final word of which or what can tip me off. You have to play it by ear, and much like a musician who "feels" the notes, there are just some things that can't be described to people and only can be experienced, or perhaps shown via a video with the VDI and audio traits, but even then those traits can be lost in translation unless you know what you are looking for, as I'm sure you know what I mean. Just can't say it or show it in some respects, and must be a intuition thing that needs sharpened between your brain and the coil to make those judgments in some respects.
There is a certain "tone" to coins on edge. Two of them I've heard, and they are very distinct from probably 99.9% of all trash that I've ever come across. Usually a coin on edge will give one of these unique "warble" or up/down tones or the other, and when I hear that I know it's time to dig. Stops me dead in my tracks, after I've circled it completely to confirm what I'm suspecting, and often these coins on edge will give perfect coin IDs from certain angles.
Even if they warble of the two types of audio responses, one or the other, and don't give me a perfect coin hit from certain angles, I just know what it is going to be. I've found silvers at even just 2 or 3" depths with the GT at "dead" parks by being aware of this unique aspect to them, missed by other guys and machines for eons, and even though the 10" Tornado has found me those, the 12x10 and even the Ultimate seem a bit more adept at finding those coins on edge for me.
Far as masking goes, I've got a few friends with another flagship silver killer, as I consider the Sovereign a flagship machine in it's own right, and they are running programs I helped them to set up on their machines, researching all the most agreed on settings and discrimination patterns agreed to by most of the heavy hitters with those units out there.
Well, they've called me over to check undug targets, and I've called them over to check ones I've found, and in roughly two years not once could either of us hit a super deep, badly masked, on edge, or combinations of all these things....Coin, and I could not hear it just as well from those same angles with the GT and 12x10. This is despite them using very minimal iron rejection, where as the GT has all that iron rejection built in.
Iron Mask ON on the GT to me is magic, and I know the 12x10 enhances that ability to sniff coins out of iron even better do to it's ability with that razor sharp DD line to "see" and "not see" such things as a coin right up against iron.
I'm talking coins so badly masked, that they nulled for both of us all the way around them but one very tight angle. One particular silver coin that comes to mind, had the 3 deadly sins of a coin to contend with- It was fairly deep *for our soil* at about 8", and it was on edge, and it was right up against iron. It nulled from some angles, warbled from others, and only gave a decent enough coin hit to dig from one particular very tight angle. It was dug, and it turned out it was on edge, deep, and right up against a rather large piece of iron, yet the GT and 12x10 worked their magic.
Do I love this GT? Do I love the 12x10? I don't even need to answer that, because if I saw any lacking in the field I'd move right on to the "next great thing", as I have done that many times over the years. I'm not brand loyal, and I'm not model loyal. I go by what I see, experience, and compare in the field. Unless a machine gets max depth and unmasking ability, along with stability to achieve those, in my soils....Then I move along.
In my quest over the years I could find a part of this or a part of that, I could find one or the other in a machine, but always something was lacking. Some of the other particulars for me are numerous tone alerts, detailed audio, and also super high conductivity resolution in the low and mid range where it counts when avoiding tabs, foil, and other junk while after rings, relics, or odd coins that read lower on the scale, along with a wide variety of coil options.
In one small example I've owned machines with resolution in the coin range to judge coins above copper penny, and I've owned ones without such ability, and I always seemed to do better with coins above copper being lumped into one VDI. Reason being I've dug coins on those machines with the fine resoluition in the coin range that read silvers as copper pennies, or even other coins, such as as low as zincs, due to masking, depth, on edge, minerals, dry conditions, being worn, and so on.
I don't care about what the machine thinks the coin is when after old coins. My rule is shallow but masked with trash then I'm digging it because it might be an old coin others have missed for years...Or, if it's deep, say about 7" or deeper, which is beyond the reach of most machines in my soil. Other than that, I could care what the machine thinks it is, other than being able to ID zincs when they are around by the billions and I'm only after clad above that or everything else. The 180 meters for the Sovereign will do that, so I'm good.
And, often, when being "particular" based on both the audio and how quick various coins jump to 180, I can tell sometimes silver from clads. Even wheats, though copper or bronze mixtures, often read only 173, 176, or 178 or 179 for me. Glads get to 180 and faster, while silvers are even more "instant", with a bit more "sweet" tone to them sometimes I can hear.
Mainly, I only care about high *conductivity* resolution when trying to split hairs on the mid and low conductors, where most of the trash roams, when I'm after those gold rings, relics, or certain old coins that read lower on the VDI scale. That's when it's important to me, because of the amount of trash (such as pulltabs or foil and etc) that roam in the low and mid ranges of VDI.
The conductivity resolution of the 180 meters on the Sovereign are so high, that besides distinctly separating nickels from tabs, and most foil below nickels, they also offer a "gap" between what is the highest tab # 99.9% of the time for me (169) versus the VDI # for a zinc penny (173). That 170, 171, and 172 #....I've dug some rather good finds in that "no man's land" dead zone where targets rarely range. I love it when I see those numbers.
Anyway, getting back to my long search in machines...I could find this and that, but never all the bases covered in my "sampling the wine" over all these years. Some even were "close" to what I wanted, but lacked coil selections in aftermarket or manfufacture avenues to close the deal for me based on various sites and conditions....But I can honestly say , despite all my roaming, that I've found all of these things and more in spades with this GT and it's stock 10" Tornado, yet despite that the 12x10 was like strapping a turbo charger to the whole deal.
Yes, I'm finally home...
