Deus II : 4 Tones To 3 Tones

[ColonelDan]

I used a similar configuration on my Equinox which proved somewhat popular so I thought I’d post my Deus version. Keep in mind that everything below is just my personal preference.

Rationale:

Over more than a few years, I tried numerous ways through a combination of Target Identification (TID) and tones to better identify what was under my coil. It didn’t take long to discover that trying to cut the tone and TID distinction too fine in an attempt to accurately identify all targets was unproductive. Thru tedious trial and error, the obvious became clear.

TID is not an exact science by any measure. TID can be affected by numerous variables such as depth, soil composition, the metallurgical make up and orientation of the targets in the soil. Expecting a consistently exact value for each possible target was unrealistic. I finally concluded that what I wanted was only an indication of what might be under my coil rather than expecting or trying for a precise ID. Can TID and tones do that for me? Yes

After realizing what I wanted or needed from of a TID/tone combination, I settled on a 3 tone option. Below is a summary of my rationale for adopting that 3 tone solution.

~ My attempt at using full or 50 tones proved impossible for me...information overload! I then tried 5 tones and although more understandable, I felt that 5 tones was unnecessary and might even be overkill...for me. Why?

~ ALL targets fall within 3 conductive categories/zones--Low, Medium or High. So it made more sense for me to focus on those 3 zones and align the tones accordingly. The tones provided information on what zone I was dealing with while the TID gave me some rough indication as to where the target fell within the range of that zone.

~ I also wanted a system that wasn't apt to cause me to ignore good targets because they were similar in make up to worthless targets. Example; gold and aluminum are both mid level conductors and generate similar TID within that range. Yes, I'll dig aluminum so as not to pass up potential gold and dig other high conductive targets such as copper pennies so as not to pass up silver. Then as I was just learning the Deus II, Calabash Digger cautioned me that a too high discrimination setting could cause a good target to be masked by junk...and ol’ Calabash was right! I didn’t want to risk that either.

~ The question: How to get around junk that ranged from 0 to 20 or 25 on the Deus scale without risk of masking the good ones because of a high discrimination setting. I simply converted the 4 tone option to 3 tones using a combination of selected tones and tone breaks.

Solution: 

I tested quite a number common targets of varying size and metallurgical composition and came up with some common TID ranges that I see on our beaches for each of the conductivity zones. This 3 tone configuration suited me just fine for the beach hunting I do.

For the lowest conductive junk targets ranging from 0 to 7, I set tone level 1 at 100 kHz using a discrimination level of 7. (Disc setting of 7 seemed to prevent the masking of a good target even with reactivity set at 1 or less.)

For other low conductive targets ranging from 8 to 20, I set tone level 2 at 100 kHz also.

(Using 100kHz for both tone levels 1 and 2, I get the iron grunt for those junk targets which range from 0-20)

Mid level conductors ranged from 21 to 85 so I set tone level 3 at 450 kHz..a nice mid tone.

High conductors ranged from 86 to 99 so I set tone level 4 at 993 kHz

I prefer the volume level of each zone to be at maximum--including ferrous items...personal preference.

~ In my work with a local museum however, I could use the 1 or 2 tone option. When digging museum quality artifacts, iron could be a valued artifact so I dig everything. I also dig it all when detecting along Florida's Treasure Coast as remnants of the ships fall within the iron or low conductive range and are periodically found along our beaches.

 

Just one solution that works for me…your solution could be even better!  😉

[midalake]

Does the Deus 2 offer 1 tone? 

[ColonelDan]

16 minutes ago, midalake said:

Does the Deus 2 offer 1 tone? 

If you set both tones of the 2 tone option at the same kHz you essentially have a 1 tone configuration.   

[Skate]

I’m going to set this up tomorrow when I hit the beach. Great idea Dan. 

[BeachHunter]

Brilliant! Will try it out. Thank you Dan.