Sweep speed and the X axis vs. the Y axis...single freq. VLF vs. BBS/PIs in wet sand

[Jolly Mon]

Sweep speed and the X axis vs. the Y axis...single freq. VLF vs. BBS/PI's in wet sand

Here is the scenario:

A very busy East Coast resort island with several areas of intense crowd density spread along a few miles of coast.
A large tidal range...8 to 10 feet depending on moon phase...resulting in LOTS of sand to cover at low tide...and a tendency for high specific gravity targets to sink out of detection range quickly.
Moderate to low mineralization.

I have been hitting this beach fairly hard for two weeks with a combination of a Headhunter Pulse (11 inch coil) and an Excal wired with a WOT. I have found two nice gold rings during this period, but I am always looking to increase my yields.

The other day a newbie with an inexpensive Bounty Hunter came up to chat. He had been reading the forums and had some knowledge and was concentrating on working the dry sand because he felt he could get no performance in the wet sand. Just for fun, we backed down the sensitivity on his machine until it ran stable and I buried my 4gm, 14kt. test ring down to about 3 inches in the wet sand to see if his machine would get it. It did so easily. I buried it at 6 inches...his machine got the ring...the signal response was somewhat marginal, but was definitely a target you would dig. I explained to him that most of my good finds came within that 6 inch range---especially on this particular beach.

Sorry to be long winded, but this experience gave me an almost blasphemous thought: that on this beach, with an impossible amount of sand to cover between tides, coupled with the fact that heavy targets almost always sink out of detection range after 1 complete tidal swing, that a fast-sweep speed single frequency VLF with a huge coil might out produce a pulse machine or a BBS machine with a WOT.

I have to take a few days off to take care of some business, but I hope to be back in the field later this week.
I am breaking out my White's Eagle Spectrum and my 18 inch Bigfoot coil and am going to see what this set-up can do.
Testing has shown that I can expect to get around 6 inches of depth with this rig on an average gold ring in the wet sand.
I realize this is a far cry from the depths achievable with my Headhunter or Excal, but I will be covering a vast amount of sand with each swing. Yes, the Bigfoot is only 3 inches longer than the WOT, but the Eagle Spectrum likes to be swung fast...I think it might be possible to nearly double the amount of sand I can cover between tidal swings.

Any thoughts or experiences using a similar set-up?
Could sand coverage be more important than raw depth on a beach like this?

 

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[OBN]

What mod do you use the Excal when you hunt, PP or Disc?

 

[Jolly Mon]

What mod do you use the Excal when you hunt, PP or Disc?

I use both modes. Pinpoint definitely gives greater depth and gives the machine less to "think" about, improving the response speed of the detector (my opinion, anyway), but I will sometimes hunt in Disc if I am pressed for time and am digging lots of clad and other high conductive trash that slows me down. This is summer detecting, obviously. In winter when I am going for the old stuff and relics and I decide to break out the Excal I use pinpoint almost exclusively.

 

[dewcon4414]

I move fairly fast on a beach with both the Xcal and Sov. Fast moving machines can pass deeper targets just because of filtering. Every machine has its trade offs and you might find yourself digging shallower target the faster you move. A lot is determined by the designer of the machine you use as well.... how was it set up? Recovery is a bit faster in PP..... no processing and you can adjust the sensitivity higher because of that. Personally i think you can get the same results with your current machine.... especially if you are recent drop hunting. Moving faster reduces the amount of targets you hit which may well increase your finds for the bigger tickets at the expense of the smaller ones. But some hunt that away.... ie if it drops thru the scoop twice keep moving. Also.... you will find if you know a target is there.... its sure easier to detect it. I dont have a problem moving faster with either of my machines and i seem to do ok especially on targets 6" deep or shallower. Mark off a square.... hit it fast with the Xcal then hit it slow..... see how many targets you really miss.

Dew

 

[OBN]

Any thoughts or experiences using a similar set-up?
For me the 10 inch smaller coil works better then the WOT on the fresh drop beach I hunt. OCMD .........I think there are mods and settings one can use with the Excalibur with a 10 inch coil that really turn it into a Cherry Picker, I have found for me the bigger coil is good for winter, when targets are less along with depositers. Just to much going on during the summer for a big coil, kids, boarders, waves..etc.
Could sand coverage be more important than raw depth on a beach like this? Coverage, being able to double discriminate with your ears, and recovery time. Going after the High Dollar tickets...Only, ..........July, Aug, Sept I hunt like this, and focus on the short term stay, intense density area, and were the boardwalk offers the sunbathers many options.

How well does the Eagle Spectrum deal with saltwater..

 

[bigscoop]

"One change of the tide and it's gone"......I think that about sums it up right now and I don't know that there's really anything you can do to improve your odds other then possibly focusing more on the specific areas/features you choose to hunt. Given the sanded in situation here, I've been opting for more coverage lately and while my finds are going way up, my gold count really hasn't seen any improvement over what it usually is this time of year. So, not sure you can really do much to counter the situation other then to try to keep yourself in the highest potential areas possible. Problem here is that these areas are usually already being hunted to death.