Understanding the sounds

Hi I'm a newbie to this exciting pastime of gold prospecting and have purchased a entry level xterra 705 dual pack. My question is not about the machine but about the sounds they make. I've heard the term "blanking out" and "threshold" and "discrimination" I am struggling to understand what they all mean. I bought it online so asking them for help is a no go. So can anyone help me to understand or point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance Jason.

Hi Jason,
Blanking out is when the detector goes over a large bit of metal and the signal overloads the machine and creates a very high pitched sound that will blow your head off if you use headphones. Threshold the the background noise that the detector will always pick up , the threshold button is like a fine tune button. You need just able to hear the background noise when detecting to be able to hear the faint signal. If the background noise is too loud you may miss the faint signals.
Discrimination is the ability for the detector to cancel out certain metal that it goes over. Generally not a good idea to use when detecting for gold as you should dig every signal you get. discriminationis good when using the 705 on a beach tocanel out ring pull , bottle caps etc but you may also miss out on good thing ring, watches and coins by discriminating , its not perfect.
Hope this helps

Bob

Hi,the xterra was my first choice but I settled on the Nokta Gold+.Then the Impact was announced and I decided to wait for that.Have had 8 hours usage of it and after 8 hours quickly came to a conclusion to mainly use the GEN mode or all metal mode and not the 8 discrimination modes. I was digging up too many targets and not finding anything.I think the discrimination modes take a hotspot and convert it into a signal.With GEN,the hot spots sound like a larger signal and real objects give a spike signal,so there is less chance of getting a false signal. Blanking out may mean overloading which happens with VLF machines when you encounter a particularly mineralised piece of ground.Threshold is just the background hum which you need when using the all metal mode.The level is adjustable in all machines and you have to turn it down when using earphones.Hope this helps and happy hunting.

If you youtube them you may find the answer to you question regards john :Y:

Hi jason i have teo exterras the 70 and the 705 they r great little machines. What state do you live in as i can show how they work and what to look out for with them .Im in SA

Thanks everyone for your advice ?. Im trying all different approaches to identify the sounds. Have stopped discrimination mode and started with all metal. Went out for 1.5hrs today still haven't found anything of value but am learning to focus my search instead of blind wandering. I've sofar found about 20 .22 rimfire projectiles which gave my heart a flutter each time.

Im enjoying the time learning a new skill and being outdoors is always a bonus. I now truly can appreciate the time everyone puts in on this forum to help people understand the vast complexities of gold detection in all forms. Thanks soo much for your wisdom i truly thankyou.

Roverrock im in central nsw in a town called grenfell. Also not far from many other old gold towns.

Bear in mind you get a spiked signal in freshly dug ground when you bury a coin say and want to test it.A coin or nugget which has been buried for a long time produces a " halo" effect and sounds more broader. I only have 8 hours experience with my new Nokta Impact and have not dug up any shells or buckshot.The area I go to comprises of worked gullies and is very remote and not much junk and I was surprised how clean it is.

Ive had $1 coins ring up as the same number beer twist tops full of dirt do. 30's.

http://www.victorianseekersclub.org.au/detector-sounds
This may help with sounds.

The Victorian Seekers club has some very interesting information.

thanks again for all the info.

have put a lot into practice and waiting to find my first piece. fingers crossed

Cheers Jason

old hand said:

If you youtube them you may find the answer to you question regards john :Y:

Click to expand...

John is spot on.
try searching for the username : sa_bogan
in youtube, forum member who did a few videos on the 705.
I'm sure there's plenty more to be found but its somewhere to start.
Cheers.