Independently researched Settings Guide
Minelab Vanquish 440 Settings for Target ID
Vanquish 440 uses IDs from -19 to 40 with fixed High Iron Bias, 25 discrimination segments and five tones. It has no user ground-balance, frequency or recovery-speed control.
Bottom line
Learn the -19 to 40 scale in Jewellery or All Metal before notching
Use stable sensitivity, scan local coins and trash, and compare repeatability from two directions. Treat -19 to 0 as the ferrous region and 1–40 as non-ferrous conductivity—not as a promise that every positive number is valuable.
Field setup
Starting points—not universal presets
| Situation | Mode / baseline | First adjustment | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learning a new site | Jewellery or All Metal | Stable sensitivity | Dig a representative sample |
| Modern coin site | Coin | Factory pattern | Know that low conductors are rejected |
| Historic mixed site | Relic | More low/mid acceptance | Log local coin IDs |
| Jumpy deep response | All Metal check | Slower consistent sweep | Do not reject on one ferrous flash |
Adjustment method
Test the setting instead of copying it
Open the evidence
Use Jewellery or All Metal to hear more of the scale.
Calibrate locally
Scan the actual coins, tabs and foil found in your region.
Cross-sweep
Compare number, tone and repeatability at two angles.
Notch cautiously
Reject recurring trash only after measuring overlap.
Decision analysis
What actually changes the result
The official range is -19 to 40. Ferrous occupies -19 through 0 and non-ferrous 1 through 40. Real targets can straddle or jump because ground and adjacent metal distort the signal.
High Iron Bias is fixed on 440. Instructions to switch it to Low belong to Vanquish 540, not 440.
Discrimination segments group IDs. Editing one segment may reject more conductivity than a single number suggests, increasing unintended target loss.
FAQ
Seven questions specific to this detector
What is the Vanquish 440 Target ID range?
Minelab lists ferrous IDs from -19 to 0 and non-ferrous IDs from 1 to 40.
Does every positive ID mean a good target?
No. Aluminum and other conductive trash also report positive numbers.
Can Vanquish 440 use Low Iron Bias?
No. Its Iron Bias is fixed High; selectable Low Iron Bias is a Vanquish 540 feature.
Why does a coin ID jump into iron?
Depth, edge-on orientation, mineralization or nearby iron can pull and spread the response.
How many discrimination segments does it have?
Minelab’s current technical specification lists 25 segments.
Can I adjust recovery speed or ground balance?
No. Those controls are not exposed on Vanquish 440.
Should I use an online ID chart as exact truth?
No. Use it only as orientation and build a local chart from your own coins and soil.
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Use stable, repeatable settings
Record the mode, coil, firmware and ground conditions that work at your own sites.