To Deep or Not to Deep That is the question

[Anubis]

Ive been messing about with the settings on the CTX while I'm stuck in the house and am confused when the deep setting should be used.

On Youtube I see a lot of people using Fast on deep off and wonder if deep actually does what it says then it would be stupid not to have it on and grab that extra depth.

Can anyone explain this dilemma?


Many Thanks

[fred]

I tend to use fast and deep because it gives a much narrower pinpoint, which is spot on except for some large iron signals which are displaced by a couple of inches. It probably costs me a smidgeon of depth but makes up for it in other ways. I really can't dig any deeper than I am anyway.

[Blackadder43]

It sounds as though this is the same setting as the Etrac
Now, loads of people like to run with Recovery deep switched on
Personally i always ran with recovery deep switched off
Heres why
http://www.minelab.com/treasure-talk/re ... p-in-depth" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Anubis]

Thats fantastic, I get it now, many thanks Blackadder

Posted below for speed



The Recovery Deep setting on the E-TRAC, Explorer and Explorer SE detectors is designed to enhance the detection and identification of deep targets. This article will explain the way in which deep recovery mode enhances the operation of the detector and points out those situations when you may not choose to use this setting.

When Recovery Deep is turned on, it only has an effect on weak signals, stronger signals remain completely unaffected. When Recovery Deep is turned on and a weak signal is detected, the identification signals undergo stronger filtering to smooth out the data. This leads to more stable and consistent Ferrous and Conductivity values. Given this, it may seem that as Recovery Deep could be turned on all of the time. Unfortunately, as in all things, there can be too much of a good thing. There are two situations when the Recovery Deep setting is undesirable.

In the case of weak, shallow targets, the stronger filtering of the Recovery Deep setting will cause the strength of these short, sharp signals to be decreased. The grid below shows the effect of Recovery Deep and these different classes of target.



Also as a result of the stronger filter, signals from weak targets become smoothed. In environments with multiple deep targets relatively close together this smoothing may make adjacent targets start to appear to be merged. In this case the ID that the detector displays may become mixed between the two targets.

In summary, the Recovery Deep setting should be used in situations where you are expecting to find sparse, large, deep targets and in these situations you will experience more stable and consistent IDs.

[GREGGOWREX]

well done BA another satisfied forumist (as opposed to detectorist ) lol

[fred]

As always what you should be using is what works best for you. Over the years I have come across quite a lot of combinations of detector settings which shouldn't work according to the manual but seem to perform rather well in some situations.

[Blackadder43]

Whilst i agree with you Fred, you have to give some credence when a Minelab Engineer of some 12 years experience takes the time to write something on a certain aspect of their machines.

We all know that a large % of our finds are not deeper than 6"...i would hate to lose one of those finds because the recovery deep on had weakened it even more...

I think the only time i would use recovery deep on would be in a field that i think i have exhausted of finds, and maybe the recovery deep on might enhance a signal that may have been missed

[fred]

Whilst i agree with you Fred, you have to give some credence when a Minelab Engineer of some 12 years experience takes the time to write something on a certain aspect of their machines.

We all know that a large % of our finds are not deeper than 6"...i would hate to lose one of those finds because the recovery deep on had weakened it even more...

I think the only time i would use recovery deep on would be in a field that i think i have exhausted of finds, and maybe the recovery deep on might enhance a signal that may have been missed

Apologies if it seemed like that. rl; My post wasn't even supposed to relate to any other specific post it was just a general observation that experimentation can sometimes produce positive results even when everything suggest that it shouldn't.

[Anubis]

Thanks to everyone who posted, I agree sometimes things that should not work often do. Deep has been a mystery to me for a while, every part of me screems put it on

The CTX is an amazing machine I love using it, hell I love sitting looking at it but my big gripe is the lack of guidance that comes with it.

There are so many settings and combinations for those settings that you could do something different every time you go out, a machine as advanced and costly as the CTX should come with a comprehensive guide and not just the assumption that we will figure it out.

[clint]

Hmmmmm...interesting...I've run deep ON since I've had the Etrac and picked plenty if shallow finds including hammered in areas I've been over or maybe missed on pasture and ploughed. Yet again I've also dug some stupid deep stuff..like up to your elbow. I think if you have the time try both!

regards

Clint

looking at the above info when would a shallow target give a weak signal?

[fred]

Thanks to everyone who posted, I agree sometimes things that should not work often do. Deep has been a mystery to me for a while, every part of me screems put it on

The CTX is an amazing machine I love using it, hell I love sitting looking at it but my big gripe is the lack of guidance that comes with it.

There are so many settings and combinations for those settings that you could do something different every time you go out, a machine as advanced and costly as the CTX should come with a comprehensive guide and not just the assumption that we will figure it out.

It seems to be the way of the world now for technology companies to rely on online forums and YouTube to work out and explain how to use their products. I don't think Minelab actually knew exactly what the CTX would do when they released it, they only knew it was a powerful machine with some interesting features and enormous potential. I suspect that Deus users may be in a similar position (although I've never seen it's manual).

I find the CTX an awesome machine and after 3 years I am still learning about the basic settings, let alone features like GPS that I've never even turned on! I can easily see how it could seem dauntingly complex to start with, especially to anybody not already familiar with some of the unique features of Minelabs. However, for me the CTX is an enjoyable machine to learn about and to use. My find rate is still escalating to the point where I am now finding al least as much, if not more, on worked out land and beaches than I have with any other detector over 40+ years of detecting when the fields were much, much fresher. Obviously other peoples experiences may well differ.

[Blackadder43]

looking at the above info when would a shallow target give a weak signal?

Maybe when its positioned at an odd angle and you approach it from its blind side?
Possibly when another ferrous target are close by and becomes the strongest target of the 2
Possibly really small targets, possibly cut halfs and quarters
Maybe a small necklace or chain type find would be weak as these are often only links that have a small surface area touching each other.

I suppose its how the machine has been programmed in the first place that dictates the weakness under certain conditions.
As with the game of Poker, metal detecting is a hobby of incomplete information

As you all say its what works best for you.
I on the other hand am a bit of a techno geek and have always tried to maximise my finds by reading about the affects of every setting and button.....

[Anubis]

As you all say its what works best for you.
I on the other hand am a bit of a techno geek and have always tried to maximise my finds by reading about the affects of every setting and button.....

I dont suppose you have the time to share any of your findings with me, I'm either running in just coins which i keep getting told is not for the UK or Tadpole 3 which forces me to factory reset every so often as the machine goes mad and sees signals everywhere.