Anyone here use a P.I. detector for beach and surf?

[1869er]

Just curious if anyone has any experience with a P.I. detector? I've always wanted a submersible metal detector.... But I've never used a Pulse Induction type before. However I've had 3 land detectors... Including an old antique Compass, a Garrett, and White MXT, have no idea how a PI would compare. Are there any particular PI models that stick out as better than others?

 

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[Harold in Fla.]

I have a nice whites Pi pro for sale, they are a deep machine and you dig everything. Harold

 

[Bum Luck]

I got a Garrett Infinium; I like that - but like Harold says, you gotta dig everything.

Best in non-trashy beaches, but they're DEEP and salt does not affect them.

Get a good scoop; that'll save some time.

 

[DewGuru]

I use the Tesoro Sand Shark, drag it through the water and the wet/dry sand - Works like a champ.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I use the Tesoro Sand Shark, drag it through the water and the wet/dry sand - Works like a champ.

Ditto on the Tesoro Sand Shark. I use the 8" coil.

 

[Smoogle]

there are some advantages to digging it all with a PI:
say you are looking for the heavies along a beach - I like Surfdiggers W pattern in likely areas - you may find an iron bolt that gives you a clue that other heavies like chunky gold are nearby, if you were discriminating you may have missed the opportunity -
also some fun trinkets and old interesting rusty relics are found - they often tell a story about the place you are detecting -
you get fit digging - popeye arms without the spinach
you leave the beach alot cleaner - like I removed an acupuncture needle just yesterday
and best of all - if it is there - you know about it
I also find targets don't even have to be right under my coil - you kind of get clues that you have just swept close - and I'm often digging a hole that is just away from my sweep - hard to explain
I also use a Sand Shark - love it.

 

[captaindoug]

Seven months ago I bought a Sand Shark with a 10inch coil, loved it, three months later had a problem with it and returned it to the factory, Thought it might be a long wait so I went out and bought another Sand Shark, this time with an eight inch coil. The Factory was great, explained everything and had my Sand Shark back in about ten days. Absolutely no charge. What more could you ask for?

 

[davest]

three years in on a Seahunter Mark II. At first I hated the damn thing, now I've changed my mind because it does find those deep pieces of sparkler wire and those deep pieces of PM also.

 

[rons1947]

I have both the Tesoro Sand Shark and the Minelab Excalibur 2,but I use the Minelab the most,as it helps me skip a lot of the iron.

 

[rjsupersonic]

I use the Sand Shark with a 10" coil, works great turn on and go. I have used it down the west coast from Washington state to Alabama works great. Have not used it in Florida yet.

 

[1869er]

Cool, thanks for the replies... As far as digging everything... It's ok with me... My 1st detector... the Compass, had no descrimination, so to start off with, I dug everything, and I don't mind the extra exercise!

Does this forum have a classified section? I looked before, but didn't notice one... I realize some of you posted about a few PI detectors for sale... From what I've seen... Even for a decent used one is about $600.00 or more... I can't afford that quite yet... But hopefully in a relatively short time.

Thanks!

 

[Jason in Enid]

I have a White's PI pro I use at ocean beaches, and I love it.

A lot of people will say that PI waste your time digging iron targets. At least on the beaches I hunt, they aren't loaded with iron trash. I will spend the time to dig a few bobby pins, screws, etc in order to get the deep gold from the sand.

 

[The-Bone]

Cool, thanks for the replies... As far as digging everything... It's ok with me... My 1st detector... the Compass, had no descrimination, so to start off with, I dug everything, and I don't mind the extra exercise!

Does this forum have a classified section? I looked before, but didn't notice one... I realize some of you posted about a few PI detectors for sale... From what I've seen... Even for a decent used one is about $600.00 or more... I can't afford that quite yet... But hopefully in a relatively short time.

Thanks!

you can buy a NEW Garrett Sea Hunter for around $550 shipped

 

[worldtalker]

Cool, thanks for the replies... As far as digging everything... It's ok with me... My 1st detector... the Compass, had no descrimination, so to start off with, I dug everything, and I don't mind the extra exercise!

Does this forum have a classified section? I looked before, but didn't notice one... I realize some of you posted about a few PI detectors for sale... From what I've seen... Even for a decent used one is about $600.00 or more... I can't afford that quite yet... But hopefully in a relatively short time.

Thanks!

you can buy a NEW Garrett Sea Hunter for around $550 shipped

I really like my MK II,DEEP machine!!!!!!

 

[tailofdog]

Cool, thanks for the replies... As far as digging everything... It's ok with me... My 1st detector... the Compass, had no descrimination, so to start off with, I dug everything, and I don't mind the extra exercise!

Does this forum have a classified section? I looked before, but didn't notice one... I realize some of you posted about a few PI detectors for sale... From what I've seen... Even for a decent used one is about $600.00 or more... I can't afford that quite yet... But hopefully in a relatively short time.

Thanks!

you can buy a NEW Garrett Sea Hunter for around $550 shipped The Sea Hunter is a good well built machine with a seperate battery compartment. This is an important point. I use the 8 inch coil and can swing it all day.

I really like my MK II,DEEP machine!!!!!!

 

[stevemc]

I have 2 White's surfmaster PIs one is stock and one has been reworked by Mr Bill to what is equal to what a PI pro is. There is a big difference in the one that has been reworked. It will find tiny gold. But they both will go deep, and will find anything. Very tiny interior parts of a lightbulb, microscopicily tiny. Little earring backs, little lead shot from weight belts about 1/8th". I have dug a lot of stuff. I finally bought an Excal and finally digging no more iron. It doesnt go as deep, but I also dont have to dig a bread bag wire at 18", or a sparkler wire or 20 of them, after 4th of July. They all have their own place.

 

[1869er]

Originally when I started this thread I was trying to decide which would be the best way to get a PI detector, and get my feet wet... literally... Since then, I posted this stuff below in a thread in the Tech Talk section... But it fits well here, especially after the last post by Stevemc, and the reworked PI detector... Here's my last post....

Well, I may eventually buy a new PI detector... However I just found these Surf PI kits available from SilverDog. http://www.silverdog.co.uk/shop/index.php (click on the kits link, under catagories) Found this looking through the Geotech forums, and from the thread about this kit... Sounds like a pretty darn good one. I've built a few guitar stomp boxes in the past so this kit shouldn't be too tough.

The price was so good, I bought two PI kits... Two whole boards and all the electronic parts for $92.00, that even includes shipping! From what I understand, it's basically a White's Surf PI clone. The schematic is freely available around the net... Best deal I've found for a PI kit. I'd still have to make the coil, housing, etc.

Anyway, for now... I don't really even care if the whole entire unit is submersible... However I'd like to be able to wade out into the water a bit. I'm sure there are better detectors out there... But compared to saltwater and using my Whites MXT... This kit should do well for me. The MXT goes crazy even just over wet sand.

Here's the forum thread, shows close ups of the PCBs, builds of this detector, etc. http://www.geotech1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17121

 

[davest]

how does one accurately make a coil at home or in a home based shop? I would think the necessary items to do the checking of frequencies would preclude such a product, along with making a waterproof case with sealed entries for headphones/coil.

I'm not busting nuts I'm just thinking it's a little more involved than buying a proven unit.

 

[1869er]

Davest~ Well one would think so... But apparently from that link and others on the Geotech site... Many others have done it... However a dive suitable setup could be a bit more difficult. I read on there that one guy encased the electronics in epoxy, making it water proof, even if water got all inside the housing... I thought of encasing it all in parafin wax... However if any electronics did burn out... you'd need to make a whole new one... However the price for the kit wouldn't set ya back too much. The sealed entries is another question, along with water proof potentiometers... A good question I'd like to know myself.

As far as the coil goes, PI detectors use a simple coil, unlike other detectors... Basically it's just one wire looped several times... There are links to coil calculators on the site that can give you the best amount of turns equivalent for the electronics, I've read that 24 turns of 22 gage enamel coated wire works well for an 11 inch coil. Also the coil should be caged, like a faraday cage.... Or wrapped in a metal, since PI detectors are prone to outside interference... You could use strips of tin foil as an example...

Many guys on that forum are getting metallic items, coins being picked up from the coil at 10 to 16 inches away in the air, since it's a Pulse Induction detector, it should do even better in salt water. I wouldn't say this project is easy necessarily, however, I've played with electronics in the past, and I've got a basic knowlege of building stuff from schematics. The Geotech site has most of the info you need... Or you could just post more questions... Lots of guys on there have way more experience than I do.

From what I understand... The White surf PI detector is a very, bare bones, vanillia P.I. detector... One of White's earliest PI detectors... I'd guess that's why white's electronics doesn't seem to care that it's out there for anyone to build. Plus, it's a good platform to start out with... with room for modifications. Maybe someone else could explain this more than I.

I think the tricky part is getting everything (tuned)... And from what I've read... To tune it... for maximum depth... would be best to have an oscilloscope, which I don't have... However a tuned, and not tuned detector, may only be a few inches of depth reaching ability.

Anyway... This is all an experiment... I'm far from an expert at this stuff. If it works... then great! I will be happy... However, If the outcome is less than satisfactory... Well then I'll have learned quite a bit about how metal detectors work, and for me... projects like this are fun, so, I'm anxious to see what happens here!

 

[stevemc]

Its not the depth, its the speed of cycles and the speed of delay. Cycles is pulses of electricity, and delay is the switching from TX to RX, transmit and receive. In fact a slower pulse will actually go deeper, given the same power, but mainly find large iron objects, but wont find tiny things, or gold jewelry, same as a J W Fishers PI does, they have a slow pulse and wont find gold jewelry. That is because a slow pulse will hit a deep large object, and then find it, eliminating or not picking up tiny objects that may be around it. They are no good on gold jewelry. The faster those both are, the better it is on gold jewelry-not very conductive. Gold jewelry is the first thing that is discriminated out, because it is not very conductive, especially lower carat gold. Pure gold is very conductive, about up there with pure silver, but alloys like gold jewelry, good stainless steel, are not very conductive. On a stock old type White's surfmaster PI, the rate of delay was too slow to find all but large gold jewelry at very close range, if at all. The lower conductive metals loose the pulse too fast and it is very weak. But with the newer PI Pro, the delay is faster/shorter to catch the transmitted pulse with the receiving cycle before the pulse is gone. Some newer PI units also have 2 coils - TX and RX , instead of one to do both, to allow a faster delay, and even more sensitivity. White's Dual Field, TDI, Minelab's GP and GPX series and several other UK made PIs have this.