TDI BeachHunter vs Surfmaster Dual Field

Dechert360

Jr. Member
Feb 1, 2018
84
70
Florida
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sand Shark
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I currently hunt with a Tesoro Sand Shark and I'm looking for more depth and a larger coil to cover more ground. Having two little ones and going back to college again has taken a lot of time away from hunting so I'm looking to maximize my time out there.

I haven't been able to find much comparing the two and can't find the Dual Field on Whites site anymore. Is the TDI BeachHunter replacing the Dual field? Is the almost 400 difference between the two worth it?

I've used the dual field twice and found it would false as I would swing towards the water or when a wave would approach the coil, is that normal with the TDI BH as well?



Thank you in advance!
 

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Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,408
30,017
White Plains, New York
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Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
TDI is a POS. Dual Field is same-same as the Shark. Step away from the PI and get the Minelab Equinox. You do NOT need more depth!:skullflag:
 

stavr

Full Member
Nov 9, 2008
125
63
Odessa
Detector(s) used
Excalibur 1000 & Explorer XS & GQAS v.2 Eric Foster &Eureka Gold & PI Dolphin (HM 9μS)
[FONT=&quot]Dechert360[/FONT]
.
on well-cleaned beaches, depth is the main factor!
Do not listen to anyone and choose TDI BH if you have the health to dig deep holes with a scoop and your beaches are very "clean" ...
all these "gurus" of forums will dissuade you ... because with the equinox there is nothing to do where you went professionally with TDI (except for very small goals and small chains)
ps: Dual Field =Sand Shark
 

sonnar28

Jr. Member
Dec 2, 2011
89
86
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I currently hunt with a Tesoro Sand Shark and I'm looking for more depth and a larger coil to cover more ground. Having two little ones and going back to college again has taken a lot of time away from hunting so I'm looking to maximize my time out there.

I haven't been able to find much comparing the two and can't find the Dual Field on Whites site anymore. Is the TDI BeachHunter replacing the Dual field? Is the almost 400 difference between the two worth it?

I've used the dual field twice and found it would false as I would swing towards the water or when a wave would approach the coil, is that normal with the TDI BH as well?

Thank you in advance!

The sand shark has pulse delay of 19.5 as best I can tell, the dual field goes down to 15, and the TDI goes down to 10. The lower the pulse delay, the deeper the machine goes, but with much more susceptibility to interference from wave action or current. And the larger the coil, the more susceptible to wave action and current noise.

The TDI Beachcomber has a very smooth threshold, the dual field is noisier. Wave induced noise is probably similar in the dual field and the TDI at the same pulse delay, given any machine SAT differences.

On wet sand, the TDI is easily usable for extreme depth at a delay of near 10, but it is a challenge to use it in the surf at these settings, and the delay has to be turned up to near 15 in most situations.

What all this means is that if you detect mainly in the surf, the dual field should give you most of the performance of the TDI at lower cost. But if you do a lot of wet sand detecting, the extra depth and crude high/low discrimination of the TDI may be worth the extra money.

HH

Charles
 

OP
OP
Dechert360

Dechert360

Jr. Member
Feb 1, 2018
84
70
Florida
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sand Shark
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
TDI is a POS. Dual Field is same-same as the Shark. Step away from the PI and get the Minelab Equinox. You do NOT need more depth!:skullflag:

I had an Equinox for a short time but didn't like going out there without the extra depth. Sorry Terry but I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you. I want more depth, I'm young and in shape so digging all day and digging deep doesn't bother me. I love my pi's.
 

OP
OP
Dechert360

Dechert360

Jr. Member
Feb 1, 2018
84
70
Florida
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sand Shark
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
[FONT="]Dechert360[/FONT]
.
on well-cleaned beaches, depth is the main factor!
Do not listen to anyone and choose TDI BH if you have the health to dig deep holes with a scoop and your beaches are very "clean" ...
all these "gurus" of forums will dissuade you ... because with the equinox there is nothing to do where you went professionally with TDI (except for very small goals and small chains)
ps: Dual Field =Sand Shark


This is exactly it, I don’t have any problem going behind other detectorists. I go slow and drag my coil and listen for all the whispers. I went out with my father this weekend and we counted 18 other people out there Detecting.
 

OP
OP
Dechert360

Dechert360

Jr. Member
Feb 1, 2018
84
70
Florida
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sand Shark
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
The sand shark has pulse delay of 19.5 as best I can tell, the dual field goes down to 15, and the TDI goes down to 10. The lower the pulse delay, the deeper the machine goes, but with much more susceptibility to interference from wave action or current. And the larger the coil, the more susceptible to wave action and current noise.

The TDI Beachcomber has a very smooth threshold, the dual field is noisier. Wave induced noise is probably similar in the dual field and the TDI at the same pulse delay, given any machine SAT differences.

On wet sand, the TDI is easily usable for extreme depth at a delay of near 10, but it is a challenge to use it in the surf at these settings, and the delay has to be turned up to near 15 in most situations.

What all this means is that if you detect mainly in the surf, the dual field should give you most of the performance of the TDI at lower cost. But if you do a lot of wet sand detecting, the extra depth and crude high/low discrimination of the TDI may be worth the extra money.

HH

Charles


This is exactly what I was hoping to learn. I don’t know what else to say except thank you so much Charles. I do quite a bit of wet sand detecting so this is the determine factor. Looks like a TDI will be in my future!
 

OP
OP
Dechert360

Dechert360

Jr. Member
Feb 1, 2018
84
70
Florida
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sand Shark
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
The sand shark has pulse delay of 19.5 as best I can tell, the dual field goes down to 15, and the TDI goes down to 10. The lower the pulse delay, the deeper the machine goes, but with much more susceptibility to interference from wave action or current. And the larger the coil, the more susceptible to wave action and current noise.

The TDI Beachcomber has a very smooth threshold, the dual field is noisier. Wave induced noise is probably similar in the dual field and the TDI at the same pulse delay, given any machine SAT differences.

On wet sand, the TDI is easily usable for extreme depth at a delay of near 10, but it is a challenge to use it in the surf at these settings, and the delay has to be turned up to near 15 in most situations.

What all this means is that if you detect mainly in the surf, the dual field should give you most of the performance of the TDI at lower cost. But if you do a lot of wet sand detecting, the extra depth and crude high/low discrimination of the TDI may be worth the extra money.

HH

Charles


This is exactly what I was hoping to learn. I don’t know what else to say except thank you so much Charles. I do quite a bit of wet sand detecting so this is the determine factor. Looks like a TDI will be in my future!
 

OBN

Gold Member
Dec 30, 2008
6,527
7,004
Maryland Waters
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1
Detector(s) used
"Excalibur"..
"AQ" Impulse
Primary Interest:
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Waiting, or still waiting for the Fisher "AQ" here.

I have faith in this team!! Specially Carl..
w8vkuo.jpg
 

Last edited:

stavr

Full Member
Nov 9, 2008
125
63
Odessa
Detector(s) used
Excalibur 1000 & Explorer XS & GQAS v.2 Eric Foster &Eureka Gold & PI Dolphin (HM 9μS)
OBN, to be honest ... then I don’t believe the Fisher"AQ"project (more precisely, I don’t expect anything extraordinary from them, it’s another dull md ...)
dndbfo10.jpg
I already see some serious mistakes that won't make a hit! IMHO of course :)
if this team is interested in my opinion, I will answer their questions :) with a glass of beer or wine ...
Ruslan.
 

Last edited:

CarsonChris

Sr. Member
Feb 11, 2019
486
1,992
Carson City NV
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Equinox 800, AT Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
TDI is a POS. Dual Field is same-same as the Shark. Step away from the PI and get the Minelab Equinox. You do NOT need more depth!:skullflag:

The Nox can’t hunt black sand. I’ve got a lot of beach I can’t cover with the Nox due to overload. Even turning down sensitivity to the single digits.
 

stavr

Full Member
Nov 9, 2008
125
63
Odessa
Detector(s) used
Excalibur 1000 & Explorer XS & GQAS v.2 Eric Foster &Eureka Gold & PI Dolphin (HM 9μS)
[FONT=&quot]CarsonChris. [/FONT]
VLF devices do not work on black sand
 

Mudflap

Bronze Member
Mar 31, 2012
1,312
1,655
Wallingford, Connecticut 1667
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, Dual Field, CZ-21, Vaquero, Home Brewed (3).
Detecting since 1972.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If there's a lot of junk on a beach I use CZ21. When the going is less trashy I pull out the Dual field....and start digging.....
 

compass

Jr. Member
Jan 31, 2011
54
22
Southern Cal
Detector(s) used
White's TDI BeachHunter, Dual Field and Pi Pro. Minelab Excalibur and Equinox 800. Fisher Aquanaut.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I currently hunt with a Tesoro Sand Shark and I'm looking for more depth and a larger coil to cover more ground. Having two little ones and going back to college again has taken a lot of time away from hunting so I'm looking to maximize my time out there.

I haven't been able to find much comparing the two and can't find the Dual Field on Whites site anymore. Is the TDI BeachHunter replacing the Dual field? Is the almost 400 difference between the two worth it?

I've used the dual field twice and found it would false as I would swing towards the water or when a wave would approach the coil, is that normal with the TDI BH as well?



Thank you in advance!

If "POS" means "pulse on steroids", I agree! I used the Dual Field for several years with great success in the wet sand, black sand and surf. I'm still learning the TDI but it seems to be more sensitive to smaller and deeper gold and performs better in the black sand (with proper settings). I have often referred to my TDI as the Dual Field on steroids.
 

bklein

Full Member
Feb 15, 2012
165
83
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Someday take a gold ring taped to a string, dig a deep hole in the wet sand, and just see how deep the DF does vs CTX or Equinox. (Keep pulling until detected) I was really underwhelmed. But my gp extreme (a PI) did the best. So Im really interested to see how the BH does. Black sand is not that common for me to worry about though.
The GP Extreme ignored the foil bits the Equinox saw. Is this a PI trait or did it miss them just because they were small?
 

smokeythecat

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2012
20,682
40,649
Maryland
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XP Deus II
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Now ya'll hold your horses. TERRY, want depth, we're letting the bulldozers do the work for us here:laughing7: They are building dunes on numerous beaches and the contest is on! Found a 5 ounce sinker, black as all get out 80' from the water yesterday. Thank you bulldozers! It didn't get there by itself.

CarsonChris are you SERIOUS about the Nox not doing black sand? Like for real? I had not heard that.

STAVR, we were detecting an ocean beach and zoomed in on the black sands with our VLF machines and the black is where I found my best two items. They certainly do hunt wet beach black sand. I normally deliberately go to the black sands first every time I go.

Our VLF machines are pulling tiny brass pieces of broken swivels at depth in the black sand. You setting your machines up correctly?

Guys - now I'm awake!
 

stavr

Full Member
Nov 9, 2008
125
63
Odessa
Detector(s) used
Excalibur 1000 & Explorer XS & GQAS v.2 Eric Foster &Eureka Gold & PI Dolphin (HM 9μS)
TDI / GQAS / AS /GQ - has a delay from 10 μS
DF -has a delay from 15 μS
all small targets (earrings, thin rings) deep medium targets will not be visible to PI ... because the response from the target has already broken up and is not available for processing
 

OBN

Gold Member
Dec 30, 2008
6,527
7,004
Maryland Waters
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
"Excalibur"..
"AQ" Impulse
Primary Interest:
Other
TDI / GQAS / AS /GQ - has a delay from 10 μS
DF -has a delay from 15 μS
all small targets (earrings, thin rings) deep medium targets will not be visible to PI ... because the response from the target has already broken up and is not available for processing

I believe the Fisher "AQ" is 7μS, now that will be interesting.

And I do see a few weaknesses also but I don't think they are so bad to where it would bother me. If worse comes to worse I will run it from inside of a drysuit, control unit inside of. I do think I will be able to pull a little more depth out of it then most since I believe the big weakness in any water detector or detector for that matter are the head phones. Something that is my specialty.
 

stavr

Full Member
Nov 9, 2008
125
63
Odessa
Detector(s) used
Excalibur 1000 & Explorer XS & GQAS v.2 Eric Foster &Eureka Gold & PI Dolphin (HM 9μS)
OBN. "I believe the Fisher "AQ" is 7μS, now that will be interesting." (c) :laughing7: 100% not less than 10μS, especially with this coil!for 9μS or 8μS, a special coil with a minimum capacity and low quality factor is already needed, this is not what I see in the photo and video.


headphones you are completely right! here I completely agree with you :occasion14::notworthy:
Ruslan.
 

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