…And Pay Attention.
Dig Everything. What newbie has not heard this? The rationale behind such draconian advice is that by digging every signal, the new detectorist will learn the language of the metal detector better, or sooner.
It should be added however, that along with digging everything, the new hunter should also pay close attention to each and every signal. Really listen to each signal and compare it to the signal before. Learn to listen to the tone as it begins, as it peaks, and as it fades. Each target in the ground will begin to reveal minute details about itself in each of those three tonal stages.
If it is a compound signal (i.e. containing high and/or middle or lower tones), make note of the the dominant tone and how the signal changes as you move around it.
Do the same for the signals displayed in units with sophisticated visual systems. In the V3i for example, for pull tab signals, there are a myriad of subtle and consistent differences between one type of pull tab and another, and between a pull tab signal and a gold signal (or so I am told and am in the process of mastering).
I have a germ of a hypothesis regarding the various ways a detector provides information to you. It is said that people often have a dominant representational system (meaning, how you primarily process the world around you). Some people are primarily visual whereas some others are primarily auditory. Yet, other people out there are kinesthetic (physical/touch).
I believe that people who have a strong auditory representational system, benefit the most from a detector that presents information about the target under the ground with sound. Such is the case with the AT Pro and the CZ-3D. Although both units also have visual id systems, the sound that they present to you for each target is rich with information IF you have the auditory sophistication to discern the audio subtleties in each signal.
People who process the world around them in a visual way will love high end systems that present data with charts and graphs. Point in case are the White’s V3i and the Minelab Etrac. Of course, those two units also present the signal with sound although I am not sure that’s their strong point. In the V3i for example, the sound modulation feature is mediocre at best and I’ve yet to experience a difference in tone from a target to another the way I have with the AT Pro or the CZ-3D.
So, match the machine to the way you most strongly process data and pay attention as you dig your targets. There is gold in them thar signals!
Thank you for looking!
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