Tesoro Sand Shark- Annoying humming, ringing type sound.

[TSS]

I just bought this machine and the first day I take it out, it starts humming constantly no matter which part of the sand I put it on. It does the same thing in the air.

I read the manual and did everything it told me to.

Can anyone help me with this please?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[KirkS]

I'm guessing it's your threshold that you're hearing. I also just got one, and find the threshold to be on the high-side, but tolerable. I know there are was to adjust it with the "F Set", but I haven't played with it too much.

I'm sure Terry Solomon will check in here soon; he's the Sand Shark guru.

 

[Goldfleks]

That's the threshold.

Excellent for telling you when something delicious is buried deep down in the sand.

You can use the volume/threshold knob (still not sure why there is two, maybe Terry can elaborate lol) to fix the threshold to a point where you just hear the mosquito humming in you ears the entire time. Or turn it down entirely and miss out on the breaks, and only hear the high tones. Up to you.

But the deep whisper targets aren't going to be pings in you ears, they are going to be breaks in the threshold until you uncover them more for the shark to get a better signal.

 

[Terry Soloman]

FIRST, go back to page 12 in the manual and MAKE SURE you have set your tone frequency to match YOUR hearing the best. Do you hear high or low tones better? Next, set your pulse width to about 3/4 power (2-230pm position). Turn your threshold up to where you can barely hear it above the waves and wind noise - like a mosquito hum, and use the machine in NORMAL mode.

DO NOT just walk up or down the beach in one direction or the other! Pick yourself a 50-yard long beachfront, and start gridding it. You start at the wet sand high mark and detect right into the water thigh-deep, move over a step and detect right back up to the high wet sand mark.. Rinse and repeat until the whole 50-yards or 5-hours is done.

Slight “Positive” signals are also called “whisper” signals. This is a very soft or slight, almost unnoticeable, rise in the threshold signal. It will always be repeatable over the target — not random. If your threshold is set too high, or too low, you can miss them easily. If your threshold is not smooth you can miss these whisper signals easily. There can be a couple of reasons, including EMI, for an unstable threshold. The most common is too much pulse width. Sometimes you can max it out, sometimes you can only run it at the 12-1 o’clock position. It depends on the beach. If you want to make your machine more sensitive and cut down on interference, make sure you are not wrapping your coil wire close to the coil down on the lower plastic rod (see photo).

“Negative breaks,” are also referred to as whisper signals. This is when the threshold gets quieter, or goes away completely over the target. Again, negative breaks are always repeatable over a real target — not random. As you remove a little sand from over the target and re-sweep with your coil, the signal becomes a slight or stronger positive signal.

I use “Normal” mode, because it is easier for me to hear these positive and negative breaks in the threshold — that does not hold true for everyone. It takes time on the headphones to learn to recognize whisper signals, usually over 100-hours. Sometimes actually speeding up your swing back and forth helps to recognize these signals. The general rule however is always to SLOW down and pay attention.

I’m right-handed, so I swing the Sand Shark with my left arm. I mount the box up high and use the arm strap so that I let go of the detector and use my left hand to remove the target from the scoop. The arm strap keeps the detector right there attached to me, but gives me the ability to use both hands. Lastly, using your scoop effectively takes practice in the water. I put my toe just in back of the pinpointed target then place my scoop right in front of my toe for the recovery. This works well with practice. You’ll learn to time the waves. Hope this helps you, and feel free to PM me with any other questions or explanations.

 

[Goldfleks]

Terry what do you do with the volume? Compared to Threshold?

On my MXT all I have is threshold, no volume, which makes sense. Turn up the threshold and the sound gets louder.

So do you max out the volume and adjust the threshold accordingly? Or max the threshold and adjust the volume. Seems redundant, but with two dials there has to be a best setting.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Terry what do you do with the volume? Compared to Threshold?

On my MXT all I have is threshold, no volume, which makes sense. Turn up the threshold and the sound gets louder.

So do you max out the volume and adjust the threshold accordingly? Or max the threshold and adjust the volume. Seems redundant, but with two dials there has to be a best setting.

Great question. I start with the volume at around 3/4's, and then set my threshold wherever it becomes audible and smooths out. Then I adjust the volume so I can hear the threshold over the wind and wave action. It is something that you experiment with as you progress in experience with the machine, and you start becoming more aware of slight breaks in the threshold. These "whisper" or faint target responses are super important to learn with the SS. The volume has to be loud enough to hear them BUT, it it is too loud, it can actually mask ever-so-slight raises in the threshold.