What metal detector/ coil combinations can get 15 inches on a nickle in the wet salt?

[Jolly Mon]

Beach mineralization will play a key role in detection depth with VLF machines, obviously.
With PI detectors beach mineralization will matter very little, if at all.

What machines/ coil combinations can reach down to 15 inches on a nickel in wet salt sand (not wading)?
I think very few. But maybe I am wrong?

 

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[OBN]

Be honest I think several would in normal conditions on A coin, but like you said the conditions would determine the outcome. Where I hunt alot, Mid Atlantic I do know the xcal in PP would, along with the cz 20 I have, then the PI's I have would also. DF and the Garrett LS. But it has alot to do with knowing one's machine and being able to set it up for the conditions....Now you throw a 7gram ring in at 15 inch's that really narrows the field down.

 

[bigscoop]

A VLF machine & a nickel at 15" in saltwater/sand matrix? Sov, Excal, CZ 20/21 "are capable" but it's pretty situational, the greater the mix the more difficult it becomes. 15" is pushing the practical limit, especially in stock set ups. Excal & Sov users frequently upgrade their headphones to aid in the detection of deeper responses, and this is probably more important then the actual coil used. The send signals, while weaker then those of a PI machine usually aren't the issue, they are still penetrating deep enough, but rather it's the returns that are too weak due to the weaker send. This is also the whole concept behind amplifiers, providing the ability to increase the strength of these weaker return signals, thus increasing the ability to hear these deeper/weaker responses. But this is just part of the problem because as the saltwater/sand mixture increases it becomes harder for the machine to separate conductive metals from the increasingly conductive mix. Most quality VLF saltwater machines can reach the nickel at 15" but the problem is that many of them lack the ability to tell you they've found it. So, even if a larger coil gets you deeper that shouldn't be taken to mean that it's always going to be able to tell what's down there. I recently had OBN install a set of his Skullies on my Excal, same machine, same coil, but an increase in depth simply because those weaker responses can now be heard, add an amplifier to this and the ability to detect deeper responses will be increased even more. The send signals are already getting there, which is why larger targets can be heard at greater depths, because these larger, denser targets produce stronger return signals. If your signal wasn't already getting there then these larger targets couldn't be heard either. I'm not a techie guy so maybe someone else can explain this better then I have.

 

[Terry Soloman]

This is just my opinion, and I know multi-freq guys with a big Coiltek 15" W.O.T coil say they can - or have, but I would have to see it to believe it, and I never have. The pulse induction Sand Shark with a 10.5" coil can do it, as well as the Dual Field and Infinium. It is a tough target no matter what.

 

[dewcon4414]

Actually the Xcals like Joe said hits a nickel pretty deep.... it seems to like nickels. Next question ..... why you hunting nickels? If its to find gold rings in that range.... that will very as well based on K and other metals.

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

This is just my opinion, and I know multi-freq guys with a big Coiltek 15" W.O.T coil say they can - or have, but I would have to see it to believe it, and I never have. The pulse induction Sand Shark with a 10.5" coil can do it, as well as the Dual Field and Infinium. It is a tough target no matter what.

I used an Excal/WOT for quite a while and it's biggest advantage in saltwater/sand is obviously coverage, but after a lot of testing "with nickels" I also noticed it wasn't near as deep as I thought it was in the really wet sand. In the dryer stuff (and even the damp sand) the setup could I.D. a nickel at 15" if the conditions were right but as you continue to near the waterline and increase the water/sand mixture it really didn't perform any better then the 10". There's just a practical limit to VLF machines and once it's reached it's tough to improve upon with just the machine and a coil. From the machines I've tested I'd say somewhere around 10 - 12" is the practical limit with about 14 - 15" presenting the extreme limit on a nickel in the saltwater/sand environment even with the headphone mod. Maybe an inch or two deeper with an amplified setup.

 

[bigscoop]

Actually the Xcals like Joe said hits a nickel pretty deep.... it seems to like nickels. Next question ..... why you hunting nickels? If its to find gold rings in that range.... that will very as well based on K and other metals.

Dew

I assume he's referencing a nickel as simply being a good "medium" in the gold range. But like you and Joe have already mentioned it's not really an accurate measuring stick since gold comes in so many different alloy mixes, copper, silver, nickel, etc. Not to mention that gold seldom comes in the shape of a flat disk. At best the nickel provides a very rough set of limits when relating to items like gold rings. Just a lot of other variables come into play once you exchange that nickel for the real deal.

 

[Jolly Mon]

I referenced a US nickel because a deep US nickel is a tough target. It is not alloyed with high conductive silver, like many jewelry items are.

I should have phrased the question differently, I guess. I know BBS machines, properly set up in pinpoint, will eek out that kind of depth. A Fisher CZ 20/21 probably will, too. I know a BHID will, but god, what a finicky/ noisy devil that bad boy is.

As far as pulse machines go, a White's Dual Field will get to 15 inches on a nickel, but not strongly. I don't believe a Garrett Infinium will, but I could be wrong.

A Tesoro Sand Shark? No way. A Garrett Seahunter? No way. A JW Fishers Pulse 8x? No way. An Aquapulse 1a? No way. These are all diving detectors and none of them were designed as shallow water/ wet sand beachcombing detectors. All good units, just made for a different application.

I was hoping someone with experience with a White's TDI ( based on the Goldscan I believe ) would chime in. I am also interested in how some of the big Minelab gold prospectors might work on the beach. There is a Goldscan 5c on the big auction site and I am really curious about that one as well. I am beginning to think 15 to 16 inches is about the practical limit for detection depth on a nickel in the wet salt environment.

 

[Terry Soloman]

My buddy brought his GPX 5000 out to Jones Beach once (I would NEVER take mine near saltwater!), and we were digging quarters in the wet sand over 20" deep. In the dry sand we found a Hot Wheels car at just about 27". The TDI is no better than the Sand Shark or Infinium.

 

[DewGuru]

A Tesoro Sand Shark? No way. A Garrett Seahunter? No way. These are all diving detectors and none of them were designed as shallow water/ wet sand beachcombing detectors.

My Shark, Yes way. I use it almost exclusively in Shallows and Wet sand.

 

[dewcon4414]

Its all about RESPONSE to a given target. Some of these machines may hit a nickel that deep..... but their response to other metals may very based on design. The DF and Finny both are PIs with 15uS..... but respond differently to gold and in salt water.

Dew