Nexus Swing Speed

This blog will be very similar to the last one I wrote on coil height, more and more Nexus units are being sold to people worldwide which is fantastic. It's good to see that some out there have a mind of their own and are thinking out of the mainstream box. I want to write this blog for the people that are making the jump from using digital machines to using Nexus, There could be some confusion and "overlap" regarding a few points of operation, coil height has been covered here DETEXPERTS, COIL HEIGHT & GENERAL OPERATION OF NEXUS

Firstly I Understand You Can Swing Fast With The Modern Machines

I think swing speed has been somewhat confused in the last few years, obviously we all have our own approach when it comes to how we swing our machines. For me, a few factors dictate how fast I'll be swinging, the two main points being, the coil that I'm using and how dense the targets are. If I'm on land where there's lots of targets close together I'll speed up a touch, this helps with separation and isolation, but I never really swing "fast". If I'm using a high frequency coil that's been specifically designed for fast unmasking and separation, once again, I'll up my swing speed slightly, but for the most part I still go relatively slow compared to most people out there. 

Recently a few videos have been posted by one leading manufacturer promoting a super fast swing speed the majority of the time. Looking at how fast the coil is being swung it was clear to me that targets were going to be missed. Because we live in such an instant society I can't help but think fast swing speeds are being pushed for those people that don't have the patience to search thoroughly and just want instant results as fast as possible. Despite how fast the latest processors might be I just don't think your finds rate will improve by swinging like a madman.

When using both my Equinox and my Legend, how fast I'd swing wasn't really dictated by how high I had the recovery speed. I understood very quickly that with a high recovery speed you really didn't have to swing any faster. Let's take hunting the Thames foreshore as an example here, I have my recovery set to 9 or 10, using these speeds didn't mean I was having to swing at a crazy speed. The machine was basically doing that for me, a high recovery simply shortens the target response, thus separating and isolating everything a little better. However, when running the highest recovery speeds there's a chance you could miss some targets due to how short the signal response is, but on the Thames it's just not possible to use anything lower.

In regards to a slow recovery speed setting, it genuinely makes no sense to use a fast swing speed because the target response is more laboured and elongated. There's a chance that signals can merge into each other  and the machine needs more time to communicate the signal to you. When rereading through the above paragraphs it becomes clear that a medium to slow swing speed probably allows your machine to perform at its best in most environments. A medium to fast swing speed is probably best for really trashy parks and areas where targets are close together. 

So putting all the "recovery settings" aside, the Nexus MP V3 has an adaptable recovery speed, this means you don't adjust a recovery speed setting, the machine will adapt to whichever swing speed you choose to use. It all really comes from the coil that you're using, low frequency, single and dual coils are designed for depth so common sense would dictate that you don't want to be swinging them super fast. You're wanting to give both yourself and the machine enough of a chance on hearing the deep targets, a moderate to slow swing speed will give you the best chance at achieving this. 

Adaptable Recovery Speed Demo In The Video Below

When you're hunting with Nexus in heavy iron and trash, using a coil designed for unmasking and separation is recommended. The silver scout is the perfect choice, because it's a fast recovery coil you can swing it faster than the lower frequency coils. When operating the SS coil, we are not really going for depth, we are wanting to sniper the good targets amongst the iron so a faster swing speed will allow the detector to operate at optimum levels for these kinds of environments. Going deep in both iron and trash really isn't an option unless you clear the area out of all targets. 

So to conclude, obviously swing speed is a personal preference but for me, using Nexus, a medium to slow or medium to fast is the bracket I like to stay in between. When operating Nexus I see no point whatsoever in swinging ridiculously fast because you're going to be leaving targets in the ground. Let us remember that metal detecting is a marathon not a sprint.