METAL DETECTORS – What is Target ID and how does it work?
A. If you have any kind of discriminating metal detector, you have a “do it yourself ID” available. By increasing the discriminate level control until the target just disappears, you can tell what the target is. A Target ID detector does all of this automatically and very rapidly as you swing the coil over each target. Basically, the electronics circuitry measures the phase angle of the target as the signal happens. It generally takes only one pass over the target to get accurate ID, although the earliest types took several swings, which is why they were known as “pump up” ID detectors. Target ID is a very accurate measure of the target’s phase response, but unfortunately many targets have identical, or nearly so, target responses. That is why you will lose a lot of good gold rings if you believe your ID is correct each time it tells you the target is a pull-tab. The ID is just another form of information that you, the operator, must interpret before deciding whether you will dig the t
