How Important to you is Discrimination

[Hemisteve]

After tons of research I,ve decided between a MXT or X-Terra70. Both are very capable machines able to search a variety of soils and locations.
Besides a test drive of each the only other issue I have deciding is the ability to discriminate or filter out unwanted targets.

After reading both manuals it appears as though the XT70 is better (3 preset programs built-in) out of the box but I like the MXT for the knob adjustability. Usage will be primarily coin shooting in the western states.

Not trying to start a W/ML war but would like to hear from you seasoned veterans on the following:

1. Do you even use Disc. or hunt in all metals mode most of the time? Yes, I will be digging all targets to start so I can learn the MD.
2. Will the MXT Disc. more than one range? The XT70 will Disc. -8 through -2, +2 and +48 in user #3 mode. (MXT manual is not clear on this)
so can the MXT be set to ignore say -95 through -4, +15 and +30 or will it have to be a continuous range?
3. Am I over thinking this? or should I just get down to the big city and choose one and start swinging a coil before the new PI's come out and open up a new can of worms?



Thanks in advance for your replies
Steve

 

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[EDDE]

on a scale from 1-10
10 being the highest disc
about a 3 1/2 - 4 depending on the area

 

[Digger]

On a scale of 1-10 I put the importance of discrimination as a 10. In fact I put the importance of good discrimination ability above depth ability. I chose the DFX over the Explorer based a lot on discrimination. Not that the DFX is better, because I've never seen anyone compare the two, but that I'm familiar with the Whites E-Series discrimination.

As someone that was metal detecting before discrimination was available, I can say thank god those old detectors weren't very sensitive.

When I see other posters say they "hunt in all-metal" mode All I can think is either they're relic hunting, prospecting, use a very non-sensitive detector setting, or they hunt the cleanest places on earth. Other than relic hunting the field of one of our old forts, I can't think of one single place I could hunt in all-metal mode.

I think what many mean when they say "dig everything" is everything that makes a noise AFTER it is filtered by your discrimination settings. Honestly, I can't imagine anyone hunting a location of any size without at least some filtering.

I'm not familiar with the MXT but being the same series as the one I use it probably has the same fully adjustable discrimination. If it's like the DFX, you can accept or reject any numbers from a -95 to +95 as a group(-95 to -21) or individually. Picking a factory program will set a default range of discrimination, but you can also set your own.

 

[rwsnc]

On a scale of 1-10 I put the importance of discrimination as a 10. In fact I put the importance of good discrimination ability above depth ability. I chose the DFX over the Explorer based a lot on discrimination. Not that the DFX is better, because I've never seen anyone compare the two, but that I'm familiar with the Whites E-Series discrimination.

As someone that was metal detecting before discrimination was available, I can say thank god those old detectors weren't very sensitive.

When I see other posters say they "hunt in all-metal" mode All I can think is either they're relic hunting, prospecting, use a very non-sensitive detector, or they hunt the cleaning places on earth. Other than relic hunting the field of one of our old forts, I can't think of one single place I could hunt in all-metal mode.

I think what many mean when they say "dig everything" is everything that makes a noise AFTER it is filtered by your discrimination settings. Honestly, I can't imagine anyone hunting a location of any size without at least some filtering.

I'm not familiar with the MXT but being the same series as the one I use it probably has the same fully adjustable discrimination. If it's like the DFX, you can accept or reject any numbers from a -95 to +95 as a group(-95 to -21) or individually. Picking a factory program will set a default range of discrimination, but you can also set your own.

Glad to hear you say that. I was beginning to think that I was the only one who didn't hunt in "All Metal" mode. For one thing, I figure that I can only get up and down just so many times during the day and frankly I may sacrifice a find or two for the ability to last an extra hour or two, detecting.

 

[MD Dog]

Fat white old heterosexual man, what's to discriminate against ?

 

[thompy]

i dont think the mxt has notch discrimination, like the xt-70 does, which would be an avantage for the coin shooter, ive taken the xt-70 for a spin and like it, never tried the mxt, i use the t-2 and love it. i run my disc. quite low in the iron range, with 2 tones so i hear the iron, less target masking

 

[Farmercal]

Not Very

I don't bother much with discrimination on any of my current machines. On all there I hunt more by sound than by screen and if in doubt I will look at the screen for further clarification.

No I don't dig everyting but with Explorer II and the Xterra 70 I can decide by the sound or numbers/smart screen whether to dig or not go dig. On the Excalibur is easy, dig every signal. Just the way I do it.

Do I dig a lot of junk? Heck yeah, you never know.
Are there items I decide not to dig? Heck yeah, some things are unmistakable.
Do I miss things? Heck yeah, who doesn't.

 

[Digger]

Fat white old heterosexual man, what's to discriminate against ?

LOL

I was beginning to think that I was the only one who didn't hunt in "All Metal" mode.

I went to Fort Atkinson yesterday afternoon which is nothing but a plowed field now. I used my custom gold program which has the discrimination very low. Reject -95 to -21 and +93, accept -20 to +95. I was getting targets virtually every few inches. Most were the broken sound of iron. Now I could spend the rest of my life digging every one of those signals, but I'd rather not.

I like the way someone put it on another thread comparing it to playing blackjack.

when John, Cassey and I go hunting we kind of have a friendly competition thing we do thats adds some fun to the hunt. When we hunt a location like a yard, we each go to a different location to begin with, but we then go back and check where the others had searched. Looking for that ribbing right. If you find something good missed by another you have ribbing rights. You know, you say stuff like "Oh, did you leave this barber dime for me?" or "Are you sure you have that thing turned on?"

What experience has taught me from this practice is that we don't mis much. Cassey uses a Garrett GTA 750, John a Garrett Master Hunter CX Plus and me with a Whites DFX, and none has taken a ribbing in a long time for missing something. Lord knows it's not from not trying. Now my DFX does pull a few deeper coins from the park that they might be missing, but for for the most part we don't mis much.

For the record. running in all-metal mode and choosing which signal to dig is still using discrimination. You either dig every signal, no matter what your ears hear, or you are using discrimination. Years ago the old detectors used a raw signal that an experienced user could use to make a good call on good signals. That sweet sound. Todays digital detectors process a signal and then produce a sound, or not, so I don't trust the sound near as much as I used to. For this reason I put more weight in my detectors software ability to make a good call, then my own ears. Thats not to say I don't use the sound as a form of discrimination, but I take it with a grain of salt, and pay more attention to what my display is also saying.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I'll tell you, an accurate VDI has become more important to me than discrimination. I don't mind hearing a target as long as I can quickly determine if it is in a range I should consider digging. I've been running with mine eliminating iron and steel and little else, like 5 on the scale that goes to 99. I want to know if a target reads consistantly even if it is on a range that is mostly trash. There is jewelry and old/deep/small silver in those ranges that may be discriminated out.

In a trashy park the discrimination can be very nice if there are a lot of specific trash items.

 

[deepskyal]

I use minimum discrimination, but use it none-the-less. I'm more of an "ear" person too. I know the crackly sounds of foil and pulltabs, but I still dig pulltabs when they're bent into some odd shape that gives a solid signal like a nickle or ring.
I dig lots of bottle caps..sound just like quarters on my machine. Would I want to miss a nice quarter? Nope.

When I say I dig everything, I mean everything that "sounds" good. You'll get to know iron and foil easy enough.

I prefered the knobs of the whites 6000, not so much the digital. But...I haven't really gotten to know the capabilities of the DFX yet. Just got it in December and it's either been rain or snow here in Western Pa.

I agree, discrimination, either done manually with the machine, or audibly with practice, is very important.
If I remember correctly, it goes with, the more you ramp up discrimination on a machine, the more depth you'll lose. I try to compromise.
Al

 

[Monty]

For strictly coin shooting either machine is probably got you over gunned. Maybe not if you need depth more than discrimination. That's a lot of $$$ to pay for a coin shooter. Get an ACE 250 and then if coin shooting isn't all you want it to be and you expand your interest and then invest in the bigger machines. If you do any beach and shallow water hunting you probably will need something with adjustable ground balance that the ACE doesn't have however. Confused? Me too. Monty.

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Since I use my machines for both gold hunting and coin shooting, on a scale of 1-10, importance of discrimination is a definite 10.

When I'm detecting a beach, that is about the only time I always turn my discrimination off.

B

 

[Eu_citzen]

I only (usually) disc out Iron and steel depending on the site conditions. It depends mostly on the site and how lazy I am that day.

 

[Farmercal]

[For the record. running in all-metal mode and choosing which signal to dig is still using discrimination. You either dig every signal, no matter what your ears hear, or you are using discrimination. Years ago the old detectors used a raw signal that an experienced user could use to make a good call on good signals. That sweet sound. Todays digital detectors process a signal and then produce a sound, or not, so I don't trust the sound near as much as I used to. For this reason I put more weight in my detectors software ability to make a good call, then my own ears. Thats not to say I don't use the sound as a form of discrimination, but I take it with a grain of salt, and pay more attention to what my display is also saying.

Okay Digger, if you put it that way then I guess I do use discrimination with my ears. LOL Good Call.

 

[Digger]

Okay Digger, if you put it that way then I guess I do use discrimination with my ears. LOL Good Call.

Well I was being a bit of a smart donkey but for those new to metal detecting they might take some of our posts of "I don't use discrimination" and "I dig everything" quite literally. Fact is we all use discrimination of some type, and we don't dig everything, just the signals that have past our own discrimination systems. Be them software, hardware or humanware.

 

[muleskinner]

For my type of hunting you must have discrimination. Or else you'll spend your day digging rusty square nails. The trick is how much.

 

[Rob66]

lately not much...some deeper good targets may produce what appears to be trash.
I dig almost everthing anyway and glad i did on some occasion.

 

[SgtSki in MI]

Discrimination doesn't mean a whole lot to me as long as I have reliable Target ID. I run my Explorer XS almost wide-open in Iron Mask -14 and I run my CZ-5 with the disc knob at the iron reject setting. After that I just learned what stuff sounds like and dig it! I don't run in straight all-metal though...I don't have THAT much spare time on my hands!