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Minelab 705 Prospect Vs All Metal Mode


pono1

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Since I am new to metal detecting and read a lot on the 705 dual pack, I decided to purchase one. I sent an email to Minelab and left  a voice message regarding a question over two weeks ago with no reply. 

If I am in all metal mode ,  how would this differ from prospecting mode with 0 iron mask? It would be nice if Minelab customer service would respond to questions. I sent a question to White regarding their TRX and received a replay with in two days. I am not sure if this is normal or not.

Dave

 

 

 

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Hi Dave,

Welcome to the forum! Sorry I missed this post for so long. The forum has been busy and so have I.

I really wish Minelab had not called the discrimination mode with all segments set to accept an all metal mode. In metal detecting land that has always referred to a true unfiltered threshold based all metal mode, which on the 705 is called Prospect mode. This has confused and continues to confuse many people. So much so I wrote an article about it at http://www.detectorprospector.com/gold-prospecting-guides/steves-guide-metal-detector-mixed-modes.htm

The 705 all metal mode still filters items through the discrimination circuits but then beeps on everything (all metals). Internally it is still trying to categorize targets and this leads to a depth loss.

The Prospect mode is a true threshold based all metal mode, which is much more powerful. Simply toggling between the two easily proves this. The part that I admit I am unclear on myself is how the iron mask differs from standard discrimination except the obvious - it applies to ferrous only and so uses a different methodology that appears to have minimal impact on performance. It may be a form of mixed mode processing, also discussed in my article.

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Thanks from me as well Steve for your explanation and for the link to your archived gold mine of advice.

I've found quite a bit of gold with the little 705, but Minelab, unlike other detector manufacturers, sometimes makes understanding things far more difficult than is necessary. In fact, it's almost like they're trying to reinvent how to say things, when they really shouldn't.

Dave, all the best to you as you chase the gold with your 705 as it sure will do the job while you respect its limits,

Lanny

 

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Thanks Lanny.

I do like the 705 and I am learning the number system. I just set the iron mask to 0 if I want to dig everything.

Saturday our club had an outing at a mining museum where we were allowed to detect the entire property. I had my iron mask set to 2. When I passed over an object I heard the pause through my headphones but no beep. Before I dug I changed the iron mask to 1 with the same results. Once I set it to 0, I heard the beep.

I dug up the item which was an old mule shoe which I might have missed with the factory iron mask setting.

On an old square head nail, it beeped at iron mask 1 and below. Still learning but it is a great detector.

 

Dave

 

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Dave, I agree with Steve on this one. Plus, remember that if you want to hunt in the X-Terra's true all metal mode, push the button with the pick on it to get into the 705's real all metal mode (the pick icon should appear on your screen when in all metal). As well, always ground balance, even if you're only looking for coins. In the prospector mode (705's true all metal), you'll have to dig everything to be sure, plus you'll get much better depth and often a louder target response when the X-Terra sniffs out any type of metal (at least, that's the way it is for me).

All the best,

Lanny

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On 10/16/2016 at 7:01 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

 I wrote an article about (true all metal vs. filtered all metal mode) at http://www.detectorprospector.com/gold-prospecting-guides/steves-guide-metal-detector-mixed-modes.htm

Wow, wow, wow.  I don't know how I missed this in the past but what an informative article!  I suppose I would have figured this out with enough experience (and expense, as in buying enough detectors).  The modern (and I guess this goes back 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 decades) detector depends so much on microprocessors and their associated software.  That's a good thing in one way because of its expanse of potential settings and capabilities, but sometimes a bad thing because the true strengths and (especially) weaknesses of these methods tend to be hidden from the user, unlike in the (admittedly ideal = unrealistic) analog days.  Apparently the 'best' detectors give us both, and leave it up to us to decide which and when to use.  But one thing is true about all detectors since before most of us were born:  the more you understand about your detector, whether by reading or talking to experts, or especially learning by your own experience, the more success you will have.  Thanks, Steve.  I learned some more by reading and now can't wait to experience it.

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