Makro Kruzer Wet Sand/Salt Water woes

[mikebourgeois]

This machine on land and dry sand rocks. It digs deeper than my old machine and is lighter and a lot more fun to use period. But working on the wet sand and salt water... I'm not having a fun time. I'm in beach mode, I've grounded it and I'm being careful not to scuff the sand or leave the water if I'm doing a detecting sweep. I'm getting background chatter/whining that almost sounds like it's not been grounded at all. I'm still new to it's working so what am I missing... I've listened to videos with the Multi Kruzer and it's not silent but the chatter is almost non-existant by comparison. What do I need to do... it's a bit disheartening I'll admit and I'd like to learn how to fine tune my machine and use it to it's max.

thanks to anyone who can sorta steer me in a better direction.

So far I've updated my firmware as that seemed to be the problem for one individual and I've played with gain to see if it will make a difference.

thanks.

 

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[Peyton Manning]

sandshark

 

[tabman]

Somethings not right because I've seen several videos of MF Kruzer running quiet as a mouse on wet sand, in the surf and underwater.

tabman

 

[mikebourgeois]

I know... I've watched a few as well. That's why I wondered if I was doing something wrong. On dry land it works like a charm but wet sand and water and it does chatter... I know a little isn't unreasonable but I'd really like to know what I can do to rectify it.

 

[smokeythecat]

Move a half mile or mile from where you were looking. Might be an underground cable or such nearby.

 

[mikebourgeois]

I'll try moving next time I'm in that area but it is pretty much rural out there... but I suppose there could be anything buried out there. Thanks for the thought.

 

[Welgund]

When you updated it did you select the link for the Kruzer or the one for the Multi Kruzer? I know some were accidentally downloading the wrong update tool.

 

[mikebourgeois]

pretty sure I did the kruzer but I can always update it again and if I match up with the Makro Kruzer info then I'll know I have to keep looking for another possibility. Thanks for the thought though.

 

[Welgund]

In the update tool it the link for the Multi Kruzer one should be right below the Kruzer link.

 

[tabman]

How do you know which version you have and what is the latest version? What did the latest version cure?

tabman

 

[mikebourgeois]

According to their website both the Kruzer and Multi Kruzer updates addressed the following below...

Updates Made :
* The iSAT level in GEN mode while ground balancing in 3-TONE mode has been adjusted to level 4 automatically.
* The display time of the depth indicator has been increased.
* Constant "Lo" battery warning has been changed to a blinking one.

 

[mikebourgeois]

Still background chatter... nowhere as quiet as the videos I'm seeing online but I am learning to work in the wet sand now... I'm making finds and it's a lot less stressful for that I guess. Working in salt water though is still a pain. I'm getting a constant ID reading of 17 and it doesn't matter if I ground balance or just turn it on and switch to beach... it's still not giving me anything other than this one hit on a constant basis. It wanes as I retreat from the surf but this rather defeats the purpose of trying to saltwater detect if I can't put the detector in the salt water. If there is a fault in my coil or wire then I can send it in for repair or replacement but I'd really hope that it's just something I'm doing wrong.

 

[sws33]

I had the same problem at the beach with the seven in concentric coil. I just could not get the thing usable anywhere near the water line, a constant Litany of beeps with every swing of the coil. Every blip sounded like a good Target but was unrepeatable. I went home and re downloaded the software version, which I really shouldn't have had to because the machine showed it was running the current version. after redownloading the software I put the stock coil on the machine and headed back to the beach. Way, way better. I was able to venture into and out of the water without issue or falsing. I know that on a saltwater beach with a heavy black sand layer like I have here in Huntington Beach that the machine is just going to make some noises, there's just no way around it. So I have yet to head back to the beach with the concentric coil to find out if it was the machine needing to update the software version or do I have a bad coil, I will find out more tomorrow when I head back to the beach. I know the machine is going to be deep at the beach though, I did get onto one target that I believe was either the top or the bottom of a corroded aluminum can. I have had this issue with a couple of Pi machines I have used. I just keep digging and digging and digging, the signal gets louder and stronger and better with every scoop of sand that comes out of the hole but once I'm down around 12 or 14 in and still don't have the target I give up. I hope you are able to figure out what your issue is, I was ready to throw the towel in and start shopping for another pi machine but decided to redownload the software first, just in case, and I think that was my issue as I have had that 7 into concentric oil at the local park and have dipped it into the pond at the local park and had no issue. 1 tip for sure I can hand out, leave the coil cover at home if you're headed to the beach. after only about a half hour of hunting with that concentric coil at the beach I had a boatload of black sand inside of it. That in and of itself could have been my problem. when I went back with the stock coil, I didn't get as much black sand inside of it but just enough regular sand that trying to take the coil cover off when I got home was damn near impossible. I think I'll be getting some marine-grade epoxy and just adding to the layer on the bottom of the coil that is already there and leave the coil covers at home permanently.

 

[mikebourgeois]

Dry sand and wet sand now are workable and actually moderately enjoyable to work in. The water is still a pain but I'll find a way to deal with the noise. One thing suggested and worked on was hitting the beach setting, ground balancing and then going to 3 tone. Ok... wow... that made a huge diff. Still the sand graze whinges but that's not a biggy... I have to work on my swing anyways. But the chatter is almost gone entirely... and I seriously like that. Still having probs with the water... but strangely enough... if I don't pinpoint with the Kruzer I can get good targets... the moment I pinpoint it goes a bit spare and I think that I have to work with something there as well. But water will wait and the wet sand is producing junk... but it is producing... I can dig, dig, dig and dig more until the law of averages tells me I actually hit something fun. My best non useful but kinda enjoyable find today was a two part one... first I found one of the propellers from a motorized plane... cool. Then I found the rest of the plane... strange... like a burial... the rest of the pieces were scattered in about a foot diameter and about 3 or 4 inches. Just enough metal bits to keep digging and then piecing the stuff out on a towel. Couple of young fellas were watching with some interest and commenting on how it looked like their buddies plane that had mysteriously disappeared a while back.

Back to the beach again soon.

 

[sws33]

I have been back to the beach a few times now and still am not able to hunt in, on or around the the water. Wet sand and dry is ok, water is just not happening. My MMK, at the water line and in the water starts falsing like crazy up around 96, 97 and 98 on the vdi. So I tried both notching out those numbers and having them ring in as iron tone but low volume but to no avail. It either nulled everything out or was a constant low iron grunts non stop. I have given up hope this machine will ever be any good, on the beaches of the west coast anyway. I have definitely found my new park and school yard detector though. I thought my T2SE was killing it in the park till I got the MMK. Been back to a few places I have pounded with the T2SE and have walked away with more each time, by double at least. Back to a PI machine at the beach for me I guess. Now to find one for sale.

 

[Jacza]

I have been back to the beach a few times now and still am not able to hunt in, on or around the the water. Wet sand and dry is ok, water is just not happening. My MMK, at the water line and in the water starts falsing like crazy up around 96, 97 and 98 on the vdi.

The manual says on page 27: " The search coil may give false signals when going into and coming out of the water so
please try to keep the coil either in or out of the water."

 

[sws33]

What the manual doesn't say is, " this machine may remain unstable if used in, on or around saltwater beaches with heavy black sand." If it did say that I would almost certainly be swinging another brand detector. It doesn't matter if I leave the coil submerged or hover it above the water. I can use it just about at the water line, but no closer unless I drop the gain so low it barley gets a nickel at 3". There is a guy on you tube, unfreqented world, I think, who's machine acts like mine, but in fresh water as well. Don't get me wrong, I actually love my MMK, my last hunts have gotten me darn near $20 bucks and a watch. The watch was actually working, but had taken a hit from a lawn mower, nothing special. For the longest time I thought my T2SE was all that and a bag of chips, and it may very well be deeper, but it can't hold a candle to the MMK when it comes to separation. For that reason alone I'm going to keeping it.

 

[buckee]

You are 100% correct, the Multi-Kruzer and you can include the Racer2 are terrible when in the wet sand or the water. I am on the central coast and at some beaches I can not even ground balance the detector, even after the update and in the beach mode. I have the exact same problems no matter the setting, non stop chatter, falsing, both sound and VDI. Also I have watched the video's claiming smooth and quiet detecting in the wet sand and in the water, yeah right. I like you have nothing but praise for the Kruser, just not in the wet sand or water.

 

[Bottlecapbill]

I use my MMK in the fresh water without issues. It's dead quiet.........right at the water line and in the wet sand it's not quiet at all. That zone just has varying moisture levels, too much varying sand/gravel/rust and trash, and is now adding EMI to the mix. I've never used any VLF machine that was stable right on the water line unless the water line still had at least a foot or two of pure white sand. Everyone's conditions are different. A couple things to try......three tone obviously but sometimes 2 tone runs really smooth for me as well. CHange to a lower or higher frequency to see if that helps. Then play with your frequency shift to see if that improves anything. Leave your cell phone in your car(it sends out EMI). Try not to cycle through your modes to see if you can find one that may be quieter than three tone. I find 2 tone to be the most stable for me. Before you fully commit to digging a target make sure it's repeatable from two directions and give the sand a scuff with your foot to test again. Grid along the parallel to the water line, not perpendicular to it and ground balance regularly if you see the sand change colours.
That's about all I've ever come up with and it's worked pretty well. It's not perfect but passable.