Sand Shark or Whites Dual field?

[Irishgoldhound]

Can't decide which one to get. Anyone own both detectors?

 

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[Terry Soloman]

I've owned both. The Sand Shark is the one I kept. Good Luck!

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Thanks. What did you prefer of the sand shark over the whites?

 

[mumszie]

I don't like my White's dual because I just plain do not understand it! I only use it as a backup.

 

[Fletch88]

No brainer the Sand Shark has the lifetime warranty! From what I've heard it does not cover acts of neglect and abuse resulting in leakage.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Yeah the lifetime warranty is a big bonus. I've heard that the dual field will null out the threshold when over iron and give other indications of certain targets to better identify items to dig or not to dig. I haven't heard anything about the sand shark being able to null over iron. I want a PI machine to get those deeper good targets and every advantage I can get to lesson the amount of iron to dig would be a bonus. Is this true for the dual field?

 

[Terry Soloman]

I did not like the floating coil, the hard to use controls, or the weight. I found the 10.5" Sand Shark to be just as deep, easier to use, lighter, less expensive and a better warranty.

 

[sponge]

I have been running a sand shark for over a year now. This is my first one. Beaches are my primary spots. Yes you will get all the iron and dig your butt off. As you use the machine your ears somehow start picking up different traits in the tone of the beeps. When there is alot of targets I will skip over tryin to get that sweet sound that I enjoy. When I first started using the shark everything sounded the same. If I get a broken beep (usually a hair pin)I would take one scoop out then see if sound is still broken. Half time its not and im going deep. Those little skip beats can reveal a nice find. I am pretty rough with my machine and it treats me good. Just wish I would have done this long ago before md went mainstream. Oh well the what if and patience keeps me dreaming. Go Shark cause the dolphins suck. Damit Jim

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Thanks for the responses guys! Much appreciated. It's hard to decide with all the reviews of both detectors. As soon as I think I've made my mind up on one, then I start hearing more good about the other. Sounds like the sand shark is the way to go.

 

[Smudge]

Agreed. I owned both and kept the Sand Shark. The Dual Field field had two features that killed the deal for me. First was that oversized coil the was bear to pinpoint with, floated like a cork in the water, and soon felt like I was swinging a garbage can lid. The other was that the only way to adjust the volume was to open the control box which not something you want to do in the field if you can help it. So of the two, the SS with 8" coil would be my choice.

 

[lost items recovery]

Yeah the lifetime warranty is a big bonus. I've heard that the dual field will null out the threshold when over iron and give other indications of certain targets to better identify items to dig or not to dig. I haven't heard anything about the sand shark being able to null over iron. I want a PI machine to get those deeper good targets and every advantage I can get to lesson the amount of iron to dig would be a bonus. Is this true for the dual field?

I own a dual field and wanted to let you know that it does not null out on iron and it's true that it can be a little complex to learn the advanced settings. Once learned it has great benefits but floating coil can be a pain.
It's a deeper machine but if you want simplicity then you should go with the sand shark.
VCO mode can make you very happy as I did very well in that mode.
All targets signal roughly the same as it's also a pi!
From what it sounds like you're considering you may be happier with the shark!
I myself am a excal man and have a dualfield.
I'm sure you'd have no regrets with a sand shark in VCO though!
Dual fields chatter can also be frustrating.
Shark is pretty turn on and go.
Honest opinion, hope it helps

 

[DrJoePrime]

I use my dual field for the wet sand mostly and I like it much better than the Sand Shark I used for about 6 months. I thi nk I am better attuned to the White's PI sounds. Still hanging on to my Sand Shark as it's a good 2nd machine for me. I have the original l design with removable coils and the Clean Sweep coil is something really great for the dry sand.

Really can't go wrong with either PI.

 

[sandnut]

The Shark

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Thanks again guys for all your replies! Great info!!

 

[Jolly Mon]

If you are not going into saltwater beyond mid-calf depth, you may be making a mistake by going with a PI detector. The caveat to that is if you detect on very heavy black sand beaches(like some in So. Cal) the PI might give you a little edge.

There is a mistaken belief that PI detectors are inherently "deeper", coil for coil, than VLF detectors. This is not true. PI detectors are simply MUCH better at ignoring mineralization, including mineralization introduced by a column of salt water around the coil. There are single frequency VLF's that can give a PI a run for its money in low mineralization. Needless to say, the top multi-frequency VLF's will often outperform some PI's even in wet, salt sand---but in deeper salt water the PI will blow them away.

But assuming you ARE going into salt water to depths where a Pulse will give you an advantage, There really is no comparison between the performance of the two detectors. The Dual Field is MUCH deeper than the Sand Shark, especially in conditions where the pulse delay can be kept at a low setting. When I say much deeper, I mean MUCH deeper. The Sand Shark with a 10 inch coil will struggle mightily to find a US nickel beyond 10 to 11 inches in the wet salt (or anywhere else for that matter). The Dual Field, when you can run the pulse delay at its minimum setting, will find the same nickel at 14 to 15 inches, maybe a little better.

If you think you may be diving at any point, the Garrett Sea Hunter would be a good choice. It performs every bit as well as the Sand Shark, has interchangeable coils and removable headphones, the battery compartment is completely separate from the electronics and it is in the same price range as the Tesoro. The Sea Hunter gets the nod over the Dual Field as a diving detector, because it is configured better for diving, is slower to detune over the target, allows coil and headphone choice and because at greater depths the Dual Field's pulse delay will have to be increased, eliminating its advantage in that regard.

Let me touch on the vaunted "Life-time warranty" offered by Tesoro. It is NOT all it is cracked-up to be. First of all, it is Tesoro who ultimately will make the decision of whether or not they will repair your unit. Tesoro has stopped servicing many of their prior models, and they will eventually stop servicing the Sand Shark, which, after all, is not exactly "cutting edge" technology. The biggest matter, however, is that Tesoro WILL NOT repair a unit which loses depth due to age and hours in the field. This WILL happen. It will happen, not just with the Sand Shark, but with any detector. And when it does happen, Tesoro WILL NOT replace your unit. I have a Sand Shark and all three of the round coils that were manufactured for it. It is nowhere near as deep as it used to be, now struggling to find a nickel beyond 6 to 7 inches. Tesoro tells me the detector "tests to specs" and that is that. They will do nothing to get it back to its original performance level.

All that being said, the Sand Shark will perform very well up to around 10 inches or so (and unless you live in an unusual location the vast majority of your finds will be shallower than 10 inches) and the same high pulse delay that limits its absolute depth potential gives it a rock steady threshold in most environments. But the same things can be said of the Sea Hunter which is by far the more versatile detector.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Wow that puts things into better perspective. Thanks. I have the At pro and just wanting to get a PI machine to get those deeper targets in the water. Maybe a sea hunter might be a new choice for me. I mainly hunt fresh water but I'll be travelling a few times to Mexico.

 

[DewGuru]

Tesoro has stopped servicing many of their prior models, and they will eventually stop servicing the Sand Shark, which, after all, is not exactly "cutting edge" technology.

Which machines may that be?

 

[Jolly Mon]

Which machines may that be?

My negative experiences have been with a Stingray and an original Sand Shark, but here is a copy and paste from The TreasureBeachesReport blog, that illustrates that I am not the only one to experience this problem: The Treasure Beaches Report brought to you from Florida's Treasure Coast.

"What is a liftetime warranty? You might think that if a metal detector manufacturer offers a liftetime warranty that means that you'll be able to get your detector fixed under warranty for as long as you own the detector. Think again!

I don't know what lifetime Tesoro is talking about when they advertise a lifetime warranty, maybe the lifetime of a fruit fly, but it does not mean the lifetime of the detector.

One person was motivated by the advertised lifetime warranty to buy a Tesoro detector, which he used primarily as a backup. He liked the idea of having a detector that he could get fixed without cost or problems. He also owned a variety of metal detectors made by most of the other major manufacturers and used a couple of those other detectors the vast majority of the time.

But "lifetime" to Tesoro did not mean what the buyer thought it meant! When he sent in his detector for repairs after years of using it only rarely, mostly having it around as a backup, after tracking the detector and finding that the company had received it a week earlier but having heard nothing from them, he called to see if it was shipped back yet. What he then learned was that in the past week they did not diagnose the problem but instead told him he would have to send in a deposit to have it fixed and that they no longer had a circuit board for that model and so didn't think that they would be able to fix it anyhow.

Evidently what lifetime means to them is the period of time that they maintain a stock of parts for repairs. When they no longer have the parts for a particular model, the "lifetime" is over.

I know of another case in which the same thing happened. The older detector was purchased under the lifetime warranty and when sent in for repairs was deemed too old, and they said they no longer had the necessary parts to repair it. When pressed about the lifetime warranty, they said there was white dust from corrosion in the unit and that voided the warranty. That was said after they had already admitted that they no longer had the parts to repair the unit, but it gave them an out. If the corrosion had voided he warranty or not, they still did not have the parts to repair the detector. I suspect you can find some hint of corrosion on any electronics of some age even if you have to use a microscope to find it.

My main point is that when you hear a "liftetime" warranty advertised, it probably means something other than what you think when you hear the term. Don't be fooled by that.".

The Treasure Beaches Report brought to you from Florida's Treasure Coast.: Search results for tesoro warranty

As for the models in question, I am sure you can email the blogs author to find out.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Ok so if you had a choice for hunting in fresh water to get those deep targets, which detector would you choose?

 

[Irishgoldhound]

PI detector?