My Search Programs for Minelab E-Trac and CTX 3030 Metal Detectors
Search Program #1 - Level 3 - "Minimum Discrimination", page 22
DISCRIMINATION and QUICKMASK PATTERNS for Level 3 Program Settings
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Discrimination Patterns
As you may have noticed the summaries of program settings of all three levels differ from one another a little - just by two or three items. This is because Discrimination patterns and personal skills of an operator actually play bigger roles. While the latter comes with practice, experience and time, the best Discrimination patterns are created through a lot of experimentation, thinking and optimization. And it is important to follow the main principle of using Discrimination: the amount of it to be implemented should be determined based on what one would like to find rather than what should be rejected. But what really counts is how effective this Discrimination pattern works in conjunction with other key-features and settings of a metal detector under current search conditions.
Although the following Discrimination pattern works best in areas where I metal detect, it may not be equally efficient in your area. This is why you should experiment with my Discrimination pattern as the basis for your own patterns to be used with different combinations of program settings. Another important thing to keep in mind is that you need to allow your detector to respond to some rusty nails in order to hear the good targets lying close to them or being partially masked by them. You should use as little iron discrimination as possible. It is easier to do with CTX 3030 than with E-Trac, and that is a big difference between the two.
To detect deep, small and partially masked coins and non-ferrous targets among iron nails at the "hunted out" sites, I recommend to use the following Discrimination pattern:
Minelab E-Trac and CTX 3030 Discrimination Pattern for Level-3 "Coins" Search Program
This pattern of minimum Discrimination provides elimination of the detector's responses to:
1) iron falsing caused by the "wrap around effect" (partially blackened lines FE-01,FE-02, FE-03, FE-35, CO-01 and CO-50). With an exception of the FE-01 line, all other lines can be entirely blackened if the iron falsing remains excessive. The white gap on the FE-01 line accepts large silver and copper coins.
2) some nails with the FE-CO properties that "occupy" the lower right corner of the FERROUS area (area below the FE-17 line) in the Smartfind window (Smartfind 2 window on the CTX 3030). This corner is never occupied by the FE-CO properties of coins that may be "disguised" by close iron trash or high mineral content.
On the E-Trac's Smartfind window, the boundary - the FE-17 line, between the Conductivity and Ferrous zones is permanent, and each zone is assigned a tone pitch of certain frequency in the "2-Tone FERROUS" mode. On the CTX 3030's Smartfind 2 window, the boundary between two tone bins can be moved up or down (bin resizing), and each bin can be assigned any tone pitch you like in the "2-Tone FE" mode. I set up the tone boundary between the low and high tones at the FE-22 line. A special attention is required to responses "landing" between the FE lines 17 and 22.
CTX-3030 1st Discrimination Pattern for Level 3 Search Program with "2-Tone FE" Tone ID Map
If the ground mineral content is low, you should consider using "50-Tone CO" for the Tone ID Profile with this Discrimination pattern in conjunction with the FERROUS-COIN Target Separation mode, the 'ENABLE GB-OFF' and TARGET TRACE feature. The results may surprise you!
CTX-3030 1st Discrimination Pattern for Level 3 Search Program with "50-Tone CO" Tone ID Map
E-Trac's QuickMask and CTX 3030's 2nd Discrimination Patterns
To check and confirm the FE-CO properties of questionable targets and rejected iron objects, I use the same Discrimination pattern for the E-Trac's QuickMask and the CTX 3030's Second Discrimination pattern as the pattern I use in the Level 1 and 2 search programs.
E-Trac's QuickMask Pattern for TTF "Coins" Level 3 Search Program
You can assign a different Tone ID Profile to the CTX 3030's 2nd Discrimination pattern if you create a new User Mode with the Level 3 program settings but with its own Tone ID Map (see details here) looking, for example, like this:
Minelab CTX-3030 Second Discrimination Pattern for Level-3 "Coins" Search Program
You can assign an audio tone of any frequency you like to each bin. Experiment with different frequencies to make sure you can hear difference between two "neighboring" audio tones, and you are comfortable with your selection. The tone frequencies (represented by white numbers on red buttons) shown in the Audio Setup above are NOT the exact actual frequencies. Each number only represents the frequency range assigned to a corresponding bin.
This Level 3 Search Program is just a starting point for developing your own program according to your preferences and metal detecting conditions. My program is only to help you in doing your home work. Use the program for experimenting with various targets in field conditions, and see what settings work the best for you.
After you fine-tune your Level 3 Search Program, you should use it again at your favorite sites after the winter frosts turn more coins in a detectable position!
Please let me know your opinion on my program after you use it. You are welcome to submit some pictures of your finds recovered with my program. I would appreciate any suggestions, tips, and constructive criticism. If you have a program for Coin Shooting at Iron Infested Site, that you believe is more productive than mine, and you would like to share it with the community, please e-mail me your program! I would be happy to post it here. Good Luck and Happy Hunting!
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