The Silver µMax uses two channels or sets of circuits for all of its detecting modes. The two
channels are amplified, processed and compared before the detector can make the appropriate
response. In the ALL METAL Mode, the detector compares the signals and discriminates out
most of the noise from changes in the ground mineralization. This allows hunting all metal
without a lot of annoying ground chatter. The DISC Mode compares the two channels and will
filter “good” targets from unwanted targets depending on the setting of the DISCRIMINATE
LEVEL knob. The SENSITIVITY knob will change the sensitivity and gain settings for both the
All Metal and Discriminate Modes on your Silver µMax.
The SENSITIVITY knob is used to raise or lower the power to the operational amplifiers, which
changes the gain. Gain is a measurement of how much a signal is amplified. The higher the gain
the more depth and sensitivity to small objects a detector has. Unfortunately, any small
interference that is amplified can cause the detector to become erratic. The SENSITIVITY
control is used to find the best gain setting in any location without letting the detector become
unstable.
The SENSITIVITY knob is numbered from MIN to 10 and then has an orange area called the
Max Boost Zone. For normal hunting, anywhere in the numbered zone will work very well.
However, the Max Boost will allow you to increase the power to the operational amplifiers to the
point of overload.
This may cause your detector to become unstable and force you to turn the SENSITIVITY knob
to a lower setting. An overload situation will not hurt your detector, but it will maximize the gain
that is used by your detector. This can, in certain conditions such as low mineralization in the
soil, cause your detector to penetrate deeper into the ground and become more sensitive to small
targets.
Take some time to try waving targets in front of the coil with different sensitivity settings and in
either mode. Notice that the higher the sensitivity setting, the farther away from the coil that a
target can be and still respond with an audio signal.
Perform Air Test in DISC Mode
As discussed before, the Discriminate Mode is used to filter unwanted targets from good targets.
The principle behind this is pretty simple. The detector sends out a signal and then receives it
back creating a small electronic field. As metal passes through the field that the detector
generates, it causes a change in the received signal.
The amount of change that each type of metal causes is fairly constant; therefore, we can tune
our detectors to miss targets that we don’t want to find. The change is based on the type of
conductivity that each target has. The general list of conductive targets is as follows: iron, foil,
nickels, gold jewelry, pull tabs, screw tabs, pennies and silver coins starting with dimes and
working up to silver dollars. This list is meant to be a guide only. There is a point that some pull
tabs, nickels and gold jewelry overlap. Also the depth of the target and its orientation in the
ground can change the received signal. A coin that is flat to the coil will produce a better signal
than a coin that is on edge. Take some time to try different combinations of depths and
orientation of your targets and find out how your detector responds.
