Black Sand Beach & AT Pro

[Brit888]

Recently purchased an AT Pro and totally new to detecting.

Practised on farmers fields and found lots of old iron, buttons and old copper coins. So I got a little used to the machine and noted what can fool the detector and what will come in what range.

Then went to a beach where inches below the wet surface there is heavy black sand, running water and mineralised rocks and pebbles.

Wow that was an experience.

Is the AT Pro no good on a beach like this and would most detectors would struggle or are there settings for the AT Pro which would make it usable without endless digging of the mineralised pebbles?

 

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[RobRieman]

I've tried the same thing. Does not work well at all in black sand and is not made for it. Manually lower the GB to around 11 and lower the sensitivity until it's not going crazy and then dig everything because the VDI will be off. You will only get a couple inches of depth. Might want to stick to the dry sand. It works fine there.

 

[Fletch88]

Going to have to have a multiple freq VLF or a Pi detector

 

[Brit888]

I deliberately went to this beach as it has a lake draining through an embankment on to the beach bringing with it totally black sand more or less this part of the beach is black sand with a thin covering of light sand from the sea. But a lot of the rocks and pebbles were hot so wondered if the AT Pro or any detector would work there.

Maybe I should purchase a sluice?

 

[RobRieman]

Is there gold known to be found there? What are you looking for?

 

[Brit888]

Lots of gold in the area but it is claimed by ...............the government......surprise. So a bit pointless finding it for them.

 

[ivanll]

What usually work for me using a CSI Pro on Oz beaches with black sand, I would remove a notch from the top and a notch or two from the bottom, before adjusting sensitivity.

 

[Got_4by4]

Lots of gold in the area but it is claimed by ...............the government......surprise. So a bit pointless finding it for them.

Can you please tell us where these claims "owned by the gov." are?

 

[smokeythecat]

I have a similar beach. Levels of black sand, hot rocks, even the coal sets the detector off. I have a Tesoro Vaquera, I balance it on the dry white sand, when I move to the black, it doesn't care. When I go to the wet I have to raise the discrimination level and lower the sensitivity and it works fine. Will go about 10" deep in the salt water that way.

 

[enamel7]

Sounds like he might be in NY. They only own it if you tell them about it!

 

[RobRieman]

I'm thinking across the pond.

 

[Brit888]

Correct Rob.

 

[CladiatorMax]

I've tried the same thing. Does not work well at all in black sand and is not made for it. Manually lower the GB to around 11 and lower the sensitivity until it's not going crazy and then dig everything because the VDI will be off. You will only get a couple inches of depth. Might want to stick to the dry sand. It works fine there.

I agree with Rob, your AT Pro will do the job, you just have to pay close attention to the ground balance and the sensitivity. Adjusting both will quiet the chatter and will produce results albeit on more shallow targets. Its a good machine, don't give up, learn to tweak the settings and enjoy the benefits. If you find you enjoy the beach and wish to purchase a more suitable machine for that environment, consider a PI machine, you'll dig everything, but you won't miss much. Tesoro Sand Shark, Whites Dual Field, are a few strong contenders with good price points. Welcome to the hobby, good luck and happy hunting.

 

[Brit888]

Thanks Max.

The beach thing was really just an experiment as although new to the hobby I have been lurking around this forum for a good few years reading and learning and learnt all about black sand being mineralized.

My initial aim was to get a good land detector then a designated wet sand/water detector but its all down to money.