Impulse AQ - Is Ats Working Right?

[bklein]

I set a bunch of different targets out in a small area in my backyard to test with my AQ.  Things don’t seem right. I don’t notice any difference if I vary sample delay.  The ATS seems to determine the low/hi tone transition in Tone or Mute modes.

Perhaps you have a simple test for ATS, sample delay, and Reject control behaviors?

[Slimpickuns]

What's that target your testing on there?

[bklein]

A dime.

[tvr]

The ATS and Reject controls set where the tone changes for different targets. Some slight readjustment is needed as delay is changed, but delay is not really an adjustment for where the tone changes on a target. The manual actually covers that on the settings. Manual also has brief statements on trade-offs with respect to the settings.

I like to set where zinc cents kind of warble (not really high and not low) and a small iron screw goes low tone (as well as the dreaded tent stakes). A very slight change to the ATS or a change to the reject setting moves the tone response on the targets, it is a balancing act between the two adjustments to find the sweet spot.

[bklein]

Is it really worth messing with though if you will think some good targets are iron?  It doesn’t register fresh tent stakes as iron either. 

[tvr]

21 hours ago, bklein said:

Is it really worth messing with though if you will think some good targets are iron?  It doesn’t register fresh tent stakes as iron either. 

I think it is worth it in fresh drop season when I'm not hunting all metal all the time. When set up it registers just about all tent stakes as iron, even very fresh ones that I've picked up as eye finds and tested. Every now and then I hit a thin deep vertical one that kind of fools me. I say kind of because it will be a wide signal that I recognize as wide and probably a bottle cap but dig it anyway.

[bklein]

Here’s a video AQ Impulse Tone Mode. Starts out ATS 5 and adjust up until low tone on the tent stake. Big silver ring is low tone too so you wouldn’t dig it.

The steel plate is interesting. The default 8 setting or so kind of nulls it out. More or less setting results in a slow tone sweep if you hover over it.

[tvr]

Three things:

1) Looks like reject is on zero. That is probably why that steel plate doesn't go full low tone.

2) Using tone or mute modes are primarily for going after gold.

3) Note how much narrower the sound is as you sweep over the silver ring as compared to the tent spike or plate. The narrow target signature is a very important data point too.

If you choose to never use tone mode in hunts; at least listen to the edges and width of the target response. There is a lot of information to be had in that target response.

[bklein]

Ahhhhh. Brain fade on my part - I was thinking the Reject had no function in Tone mode. I’m getting stupider.  Due to age I suppose. Does yours do the slow rise or drop in tone when held over the steel plate or similar?