Beach and elsewhere MD

[CC-Hunter]

I'll try and avoid the "what's the best MD" question that numerous folks have previously asked, a question to which there is no clear answer.

I would like to try MD'ing as a hobby. I expect to mostly MD on beaches, but could occasionally try out soil. Can I buy one detector that would work for both places?

I am mainly interested in finding coins and jewelry. Instead of asking "what should I buy?", can anyone suggest a place where I can read up on detectors and begin to understand them, so at least I can try to figure out for myself what to buy?

Thanks in advance.

 

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[ron lord]

The Treasurenet forum will have all you need,just read!!

 

[Jason in Enid]

The best answer I can give you on info is to look up all the models on each manufacturer website. Tesoro, Garrett, Whites, Fisher, and Minelab are the main companies.

Are you looking to hunt freshwater or ocean beaches? That makes a big difference. If you are looking to hunt Salt beaches, I don't know of any detector that performs WELL both there and inland. A Minelab Soveriegn would be the best bet, but it's not one I would prefer for hunting places like parks or yards.

 

[CC-Hunter]

Jason: I should have said these are salt beaches.

 

[bigscoop]

Suggestion.....contact a local club and go to a few meetings. Or, find a dealer or someone who owns several machines. When you're just getting started you want to try as many machines as you can while in the presence of experienced users. By doing this you'll not only get a much better feel for what a machine can and cannot do, but you'll also learn quite a bit in advance of the purchase and you'll be able to choose a machine that you have confidence in and that you enjoy using.

 

[Captain PopTop]

Metal detecting is like alot of other hobbies, you may start off cheap to see if you like it or what you can afford. Then if you like it you start spending a little more money or saving money for something better. If you really love it you buy the best or really save for the best machine. I found it best to have more than just one metal detector. If you have to send one to the shop you still have one to keep you going. Dont buy a cheap metal detector and if you buy a used one look on here from one of the dealers or a charter member in the classified sections . The dealers on here will also spend time answering your questions I find if I have a question about metal detecting I google my question and their are so many metal detecting sites the answer usually pops up. Their are a couple of guys on here that have written books, you may want to buy some of them. I just bought one and its on its way. HH capt.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I'll try and avoid the "what's the best MD" question that numerous folks have previously asked, a question to which there is no clear answer.

I would like to try MD'ing as a hobby. I expect to mostly MD on beaches, but could occasionally try out soil. Can I buy one detector that would work for both places?

I am mainly interested in finding coins and jewelry. Instead of asking "what should I buy?", can anyone suggest a place where I can read up on detectors and begin to understand them, so at least I can try to figure out for myself what to buy?

Thanks in advance.

A "VLF" or very low frequency type metal detector works extremely well on dry sand, dirt, and in fresh water. It does not work as well in saltwater, or on wet ocean-water beaches. In highly conductive saltwater conditions pulse induction or "PI," and multi-frequency VLF "BBS" metal detectors excel.

The VLF metal detector sends 4,000 - 80,000 radio waves per-second into the ground. When the radio waves hit something conductive - like an iron nail, gold ring, coin or aluminum pull-tab, a magnetic field sets up around the object and a particular signal frequency is transmitted back to the detector's receiving coil. VLF metal detectors have the ability to "discriminate," or tell what type of metal they are seeing by "reading" the return signal frequency.

An iron nail for example, has a different frequency than a silver coin. The processor in the metal detector knows the difference between the two, and can be set to remain silent when seeing the nail. However, the radio waves bounce off everything that is conductive in the sand or water. This is why VLF detectors must be "ground balanced" to work effectively in highly mineralized soil, or on highly conductive saltwater beaches. You must tune or adjust the machine to see through the "fog," or white-noise created by the salt and iron in the sand or water you are detecting. Unfortunately, this usually leads to a loss of depth and stability with most VLF detectors.

Minelab has a fully submersible VLF beach machine that can discriminate out iron in wet sand and saltwater. The “Excalibur” uses Broad Band Spectrum, or “BBS” technology, and retails for about $1,300.00. According to Minelab, their BBS operating system, “simultaneously transmits, receives and analyses a broad band of multiple frequencies to deliver substantial detection depth, high sensitivity and accurate discrimination for a wide range of target types.” The key takeaway here is “multiple frequencies.” Unfortunately, radio waves regardless of their frequency still have to be filtered and balanced in heavily conductive wet-ocean sand and highly mineralized saltwater. That limits the systems depth capabilities.

The magnetic iron sands (“Black Sands”), salt, and high concentrations of other minerals in the water and sand conspire to bounce the radio waves away from the target. Conductivity and mineralization act like a shield around the target and create white noise that must be filtered electronically. Think of it as turning on your bright headlights in a heavy fog at night. All that powerful light is diffused and causes a complete white out – you can’t see anything three-feet past the hood of your car! However when you turn on your yellow fog lights, you can see a little further – not as far as you could in clear daylight, but further. That is why all radio wave machines must be “ground balanced” or tuned, to maximize their depth potential, and why BBS filters and multi-frequencies are so effective – yet still limited.

Unlike BBS and VLF metal detectors which constantly send and receive thousands of low frequency radio waves per second, a Pulse Induction (PI) metal detector fires high-voltage pulses into the sand several hundred times per second. If no metal is present the electric pulse decays at a uniform rate with no anomalies. When metal is present a small “eddy” current flows through it causing the voltage decay time to increase, which creates a measurable anomaly. Unlike VLF radio waves, electronic pulses are impervious to the effects of conductivity and mineralization, and are unaffected by salt or black sands.

Using the same heavy fog at night metaphor that I referred to earlier, pulse induction is like headlights that cut completely through the fog as if it were not there at all. The trade-off for that added depth and clarity is the inability to discriminate, or block out iron targets that you generally don’t want to waste time and energy digging. While a pulse induction machine detects all metals without discrimination, the minute differences in the signal tone and quality can give a skilled and experienced operator a clue as to what the target may, or may not be.

If you plan on geetin IN the water, I strongly suggest a PI machine. If you are going to stay in the wet sand, I would go with a multi-frequency machine like a Minelab Sovereign.

 

[hamiddetecting]

So you need PI and VLF for detecting on the beaches.
Im hunter on the beach since 24 years ago, i used over 100 metal detectors, same china metal detectors i used it.
The now i use Sov GT and Excalibur II

 

[fenixdigger]

This is why I love this forum. You just got the best advice possible. It's about what you feel is best for you. The weight, the balance, the reaction, and a lot of variables only you can decide. I, like a lot of members, have used a wide variety of detectors and came to Minelab due to what I am looking for in performance.

If you are going to get the unit wet, and want discrimination for dry sand or land,, Excalibur. If you want to shallow wade and do land mostly, Sovereign with several coils. Great advice guys.

 

[Sandman]

You already have gotten the best advice. Find a dealer, even if you have to drive a ways to handle his line up of detectors to see which one suits you. You are taking a gamble when buying used as being a newbie you won't know if the new MD is working as it should. All dealers with stores or online sell detectors at the same prices with no sales. Some dealers will offer some extras and many dealers also have some used detectors that they took in as trades when the guy upgraded. The ones the dealer sells used are tested for you. If you buy from a dealer where you picked out the one of your choice, the dealer can assemble it and test it for you. This way you get to take it home with you and don't have UPS toss the box around or leave it at someone elses house. If you think this is no problem, try to file a claim against UPS. I've had to sue them twice for non delivery.