Whites surf pi dual field << Keeping the coil down ??

Sandman

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Aug 6, 2005
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There are plenty of detectors from other manufactures that not only work better but don't have floating coils. But since you already bought yours without reading our posts, a sand filled sock attached to the coil or shaft works for some. You can also remove the sock when ready to hunt the dry sand on the way back to the car. This detector is not used by divers for this reason of the floating coil. It gets tiring holding it down in the surf or even a lake.
 

Terry Soloman

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May 28, 2010
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FooserPaul said:
Hello all!

ok... this sucker wants to float up... how do you deal with this? Weight the ???

Thanks,
Paul

That's a darn shame! :dontknow: I sure do love my Sand Shark. :headbang: :laughing7:
 

herb n surf

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Jun 12, 2011
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Let me add one more tidbit to the conversation . Be real careful when closing the unit after changing batteries. Those White units tend to have a leaking problem. My Dual field has not leaked yet ,but my PI Pro Has gone down 3 times , cost me $$$$ each time. I don't understand why Whites doesn't separate the electronics in a separate compartment away from the batteries . I read were some people claim to have solved the floating coil problem by filling a small rubber hose with water . Use a connector to tie both ends together . You now have a round tube that is tied to the top of the coil using electrical ties .I saw that on you tube . You might try it to see if it works for you.
 

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FooserPaul

FooserPaul

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May 9, 2008
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Sandman said:
There are plenty of detectors from other manufactures that not only work better but don't have floating coils. But since you already bought yours without reading our posts, a sand filled sock attached to the coil or shaft works for some. You can also remove the sock when ready to hunt the dry sand on the way back to the car. This detector is not used by divers for this reason of the floating coil. It gets tiring holding it down in the surf or even a lake.

Sandman, thank you for the sand in a sock suggestion...

Terry Soloman said:
FooserPaul said:
Hello all!

ok... this sucker wants to float up... how do you deal with this? Weight the ???

Thanks,
Paul

That's a darn shame! :dontknow: I sure do love my Sand Shark. :headbang: :laughing7:

Thank you sir... I'll keep this in mind going forward...
 

search and recovery

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May 6, 2011
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Minelab Excal II, Whites Surfmaster Dual Field, Fisher CZ 6a,Teknetics G2,Deeptech Vista Gold, Tosoro Sand Shark, Minelab Sovereign GT, Sunspot sand scoop
I have the DF and just got it back from Whites for a bad coil. It really works great now. I added a coil weight from Anderson Shafts made for the DF to my machine last weekend as well as a coil support. I now love the way this machine works. As for the Tesoro Sand Shark. I just bought one and tried it out this weekend. It seems like a comparable machine, but without a weight and coil loop support it has the same problems as the DF. Every time I waded into the surf the coil would flip up. I could not keep it flat on the bottom. So I will do the same with it as the DF. I was in rough surf this past weekend so that was a contributing factor. The anderson coil weight is the way to go. I bought it at Windy City Detectors. It is flat and has no additional drag in the water. Hope this helps...Stuart
 

Craig-PI

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Feb 19, 2011
142
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Connecticut
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Whites Dual Field PI Minelab Sovereign GT Teknetics T2
FooserPaul said:
Hello all!

ok... this sucker wants to float up... how do you deal with this? Weight the ???

Thanks,
Paul

Paul... I use the DF and have no issues with the coil swinging in the water, just hold it down at the S in the curved shaft... don't listen to the naysayers because you will get the deepest gold most others can't even hear... no detector is perfect and the reasoning behind the DF coil is it would have been too heavy to swing through the water... if your coil starts to flop around replace the rubber grommets or do what Clive did make a coil stabilizer.
 

petersra

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Apr 26, 2006
577
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a few miles from the ocean
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Tesoro Tiger Shark + Cheap Radio Shack + Whites DF PI + Aquasound
It seems to be an approach - avoidance conflict. The heavier the coil, the more tiring to swing the detector on land, but then it floats in the water. The larger the surface area of the coil (With an Anderson coil weight system added) the more the coil is moved around by the waves. Hummmm.... There needs to be a weight system that you can easily put on and take off that adds minimum drag in the water and minimum resistance to wave action in the water to have the best of both worlds, if that is possible. I have noticed that with the spokes arrangement of the DF, I find that it has more drag than my Tiger Shark with its more solid and thinner coil, which seems to glide through the water. I don't think a rubber hose filled with water will work. Since water in the hose is neutral boyant with the water your coil is in and you are trying to get the coil less buoyant. You also don't want to add extra drag to the coil. I haven't done it yet, but I think the solution is to remove the coil from your detector and place it in water. Add non metallic weight like ceramic tiles to the top of the coil to see how much it takes to keep the coil down. Then figure out how many square inches of the tiles you added to get the coil to sink. Then decide which voids in the spider layout of the coil you can fill in to give you the weight in ceramic tile you need. Be careful about tying things to the coil since anything that touches the coil WILL rub against it and wear a hole in the coil. (I was fortunate I notices the erosion of the surface before I had worn all the way though and destroyed the coil.) I haven't quite figured out how to easily take the weight on and off so I haven't actually tried this yet, but it is the mental works....... Good luck with your project and let us know what you decide to do and how it works out. Blessings, Ralph
 

lookindown

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Mar 11, 2010
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petersra said:
It seems to be an approach - avoidance conflict. The heavier the coil, the more tiring to swing the detector on land, but then it floats in the water. The larger the surface area of the coil (With an Anderson coil weight system added) the more the coil is moved around by the waves. Hummmm.... There needs to be a weight system that you can easily put on and take off that adds minimum drag in the water and minimum resistance to wave action in the water to have the best of both worlds, if that is possible. I have noticed that with the spokes arrangement of the DF, I find that it has more drag than my Tiger Shark with its more solid and thinner coil, which seems to glide through the water. I don't think a rubber hose filled with water will work. Since water in the hose is neutral boyant with the water your coil is in and you are trying to get the coil less buoyant. You also don't want to add extra drag to the coil. I haven't done it yet, but I think the solution is to remove the coil from your detector and place it in water. Add non metallic weight like ceramic tiles to the top of the coil to see how much it takes to keep the coil down. Then figure out how many square inches of the tiles you added to get the coil to sink. Then decide which voids in the spider layout of the coil you can fill in to give you the weight in ceramic tile you need. Be careful about tying things to the coil since anything that touches the coil WILL rub against it and wear a hole in the coil. (I was fortunate I notices the erosion of the surface before I had worn all the way though and destroyed the coil.) I haven't quite figured out how to easily take the weight on and off so I haven't actually tried this yet, but it is the mental works....... Good luck with your project and let us know what you decide to do and how it works out. Blessings, Ralph
I think your on to something......keep that mind working. :icon_thumleft:
 

Treasure_Hunter

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You would think that something that is designed to be used underwater would be designed not to float, but for some reason Whites insists on making water detectors with coils that float, my BHID did the same thing, it was annoying, but I learned to just deal with it, like SM says a fix is to fill a sock with sand......
 

gold fever pete

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I had the same problem with my PI.Someone told me what to do with mine. I did use the sock method.Kept putting a little sand in at a time and finally it was easy to use in the water. Take it out of the water and you have yourself on heavy unit. Take the sock off and it doesn't even feel like you have anthing in your hand. Did really well on Monday. found three sliver rings and one gold baby ring (14 k) using this method.HH All, Pete
 

Escudoman

Jr. Member
Jul 16, 2011
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California
My father tested the prototype of the DF for Whites on the El Capitana wreck off of Ecuador 3 years ago. He has complained to Steve Howard for years that whites needed to improve and build a better box. They did not want to retool for such a small niche in their market he was told. His dream is to have them build a VLF UW unit that would be good to 100 feet. Except for that he loves his machines. He out performed the Aqua pulses when he was down there. He still nags them and maybe when he makes the big find they will listen to him. He goes by Grubby or ole Grubstake
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Escudoman said:
My father tested the prototype of the DF for Whites on the El Capitana wreck off of Ecuador 3 years ago. He has complained to Steve Howard for years that whites needed to improve and build a better box. They did not want to retool for such a small niche in their market he was told. His dream is to have them build a VLF UW unit that would be good to 100 feet. Except for that he loves his machines. He out performed the Aqua pulses when he was down there. He still nags them and maybe when he makes the big find they will listen to him. He goes by Grubby or ole Grubstake

Are you talking about Grubstake, from the Lake Taho/California area? If it is Grubstake I love his posts on gold hunting......If your Grubstake's son you have big shoes to fill.... :icon_thumright: If he is your dad how is your dad doing?

Look forward to more of your posts.....
 

pistolpete

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If you want an easy, quick on off method of attaching the coil weight, secure it with 2 sided velcro. I used this method for years securing my loose fitting coil cover on my Tiger Shark
 

bingbong

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Jun 23, 2011
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london UK
i got round this by drilling two holes in the bottom stem to take tiewraps and then attached the coil/bottom stem assemby to my left chest wadder boot .my leg weight keeps the coil on the bottom .
box is round my waist
 

Detectorinator

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Here is the Anderson weight I bought from New England Detectors when I got my DF. It works great keeping the coil down.
 

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Treasure_Hunter

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The Color matches, but I wonder why they didn't make it easy to remove, you will still have to cut the ties each time you hunt land with it or hunt with the extra unneeded weight on land..........
 

search and recovery

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I love the Anderson weight and found it no problem to swing on land, just a little heavier.
 

Treasure_Hunter

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search and recovery said:
I love the Anderson weight and found it no problem to swing on land, just a little heavier.

I am sure it isn't a problem to swing, I was just talking about the extra weight.....
 

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