Why I Don't Use Digital On The Thames 'AnyMore'

A little while ago I wrote a blog explaining why I use digital machines on the Thames foreshore, it was mainly for convenience because I didn't want to worry about ground balance, general wear and tear and the console getting flooded. Obviously digital machines are far more hardwearing than most analog detectors and the foreshore environment is pretty harsh. This is the main reason I'm dubious about taking any of my Nexus machines down there, I don't want them to get ruined, the more I think about it, these will be kept for my inland hunting.

Due to the performance of my Nexus detectors I don't really have any desire to use anything else in the fields, there's just no point. However, on the foreshore it's a different story, I wanted to get to the point where I wasn't using any digital detectors for any of my metal detecting. Why Is This? because I believe good analog will do just as well and actually excel in their performance, the only difference being, I need to be more mindful about how I handle them. For example, I can't be chucking them around like I do my Nokta Legend and there's not going to be as many options in the way you can set the machines up, but to be honest none of that really bothers me now.

One of the main aspects behind both my blog, my videos and the machines I choose to use, is to show metal detecting in it's purist form. What Do I Mean By This? demonstrating that through audio alone you can find stuff and you don't need the latest technology to be successful on really challenging sites. My metal detecting has two extremes in regards to the environments I choose to hunt, firstly I have the fields which are pretty straightforward, I hunt slow and try to listen for the deepest signals. Then I hunt the Thames foreshore which is probably one of the most challenging environments on the planet regarding iron and the sheer number of signals. 

Both environments require a completely different mindset and approach but the thread that binds them together is the audio and understanding your machines, it isn't as simple as just digging when your machine goes "BEEP". In the fields once I've started to clear the shallower targets out, I'm then listening for the deep stuff, these can come in a lot differently to what you'd expect. On the foreshore, target masking is rather unbelievable and the amount of signals on each swing could drive a sane man crazy, that's what I love about it. I love detecting both these environments because it keeps your ears and instincts tuned in. As I explained in one of my Fisher F19 blogs, the Thames is a "trial by fire" and if you want to learn a unit fast, that's where you want to go. Do you need a multifrequency detector for this, no you don't, I'm running my Golden Mask at 18KHZ and my Deeptech Vista X operates at 16KHZ.

I've chosen to use both the Golden Mask 4WD Pro and the Deeptech Vista X on the Thames foreshore and so far both machines have performed very well. BUT ! if you don't know what to listen for you might as well chuck them in the river and go home. Both have manual ground balance, I dial them in the best I can and then leave them, I'm running neither of these machines "HOT" targets aren't deep so both Sensitivity/Gain and threshold levels are run low. There's loads of deep large/flat iron and I have zero interest in being alerted to this, depth isn't important, separation and speed is the top priority here and both these machines are really fast. If you have the gain up too much it creates a 'white noise' that ends up masking the potentially good targets - "less is more".

Do I Think I'm Missing Targets That The Legend & Equinox Could Find? I don't care, when you're using different machines there's zero point in looking at another one out the corner of your eye. You have to apply your mind fully to what you're using at the time. I've pulled loads of non-ferrous targets out of the iron junk with the Golden Mask, it's early days with the Vista X but so far it's doing a good job. I'm not so sure it's really suited to the areas where you have hundreds of tiny non-ferrous targets because it literally hits on micro specs but I'm sure with time I'll be able to process what I'm hearing. Like I've mentioned before, there aren't as many options in regards to how you set the audio up compared to both my Equinox 800 and Legend but it's surprising how quickly your ears can adapt. 

In regards to the coils that I use, I'm going for the smallest I can get, on the Vista X I'm using the 5.9" DD coil and on the Golden Mask I'm currently using the 5.7" DD coil. I've just received a 5' DD coil for the Golden Mask which I managed to find 2nd hand so I'm looking forward to using that. Personally on the foreshore I'm using the smallest coils to keep the sheer amount of targets under the coil at one time to as few as possible. It has nothing to do with unmasking ability, I personally don't think coil size comes into play when unmasking is involved.