Radio Shack 63-3013 FINE-TUNING Detector, False Signals, Adjusting Sensitivity, Adjusting Ground

DISCRIMI-

SENSI-

SENSITIVI-

63-3013.fm Page 9 Wednesday, July 26, 2000 9:42 AM

FINE-TUNING THE

DETECTOR

After you become familiar with how your de- tector works, you can fine-tune it to make it less sensitive to interference and more se- lective in what it finds.

Adjusting Sensitivity

To adjust the search coil’s ability to detect objects at different depths in the soil, rotate SENSITIVITY between MIN and MAX. For maximum detection depth, leave

TY set as high as possible. If the detector makes a “chattering” noise, decrease TIVITY until the chatter stops.

Adjusting Ground

Setting GROUND takes a little time, but is crit- ical for accurate operation. GROUND tunes out false signals from mineralized soil. Fol- low these steps to set GROUND.

1.Set MODE to VLF and lower the search coil to 1/2 to 2 inches above the ground.

2.If the pointer swings to the right (Non- ferrous), turn GROUND to NORMAL. If the pointer swings to left (Ferrous), turn

GROUND to BASALT.

3.Raise the search coil about 1 foot from the ground and press the red button on the handle. The pointer returns to the center.

4.Repeat Steps 1–3 until the pointer stays close to the center each time you lower the search coil to the ground.

After you set GROUND, the detector is set for the soil type at that particular site. Do not re- set it until you use the detector at a different site.

Adjusting Discrimination

Discrimination is the detector’s ability to dif- ferentiate between types of metal. The de- tector’s DISCRIMINATION setting determines whether the detector will distinguish between different types of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

If MODE is set to TR2, start with DISCRIMINA- TION set to mid-range. While you use the de- tector, adjust DISCRIMINATION to the best position. As you set DISCRIMINATION higher, the detector becomes more sensitive to the differences between large aluminum and gold pieces, for example, but some small valuable pieces, such as coins and small rings, might be overlooked.

As you set DISCRIMINATION to higher levels, the detector first does not detect small piec- es of silver paper, then thick foil, and finally metal objects like pull tabs from aluminum cans.

Note: Each time you use the detector in a different area, you must readjust NATION. Each search location presents new challenges.

FALSE SIGNALS

Because your detector is extremely sensi- tive, trash-induced signals and other sources of interference might cause signals that seem confusing. The key to handling these types of signals is to dig for only those tar- gets that emit a strong, repeatable signal. As you sweep the search coil back and forth over the ground, learn to recognize the differ- ence between signals that occur at random and signals are stable and repeatable.

To reduce false signals when searching ar- eas containing large amounts of trash, scan only a small area at a time using slow, short overlapping sweeps.

Operation 9