Help with Garrett carrot, saltwater targets

[kblackfoto]

Hi I just received my pinpointer at yesterday and took it out to the beach here in NZ and I was getting signals in wet sand. I would dig and ground balance, dig and repeat and I ended up digging an arms length down and kept retuning it and it keeps taking me farther down. Is this just sand minerals and how do I get actual targets without endless digging. I got this so I could prevent this lol and save time. Also when I get it in the water it beeps instantly, retune every time and any water movement causes a beep. How many times can you retune before it’s at its limit and any saltwater and beach/ocean advice please share!!!

 

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[kblackfoto]

Oh yea as I was digging the endless hole, my ace 250 control panel got hit with a wave and it may be toast. Took it apart and rinsed it with freshwater and drying it out in hopes it will survive[emoji24]

 

[kblackfoto]

Had my ace for 7 years and never have I got the control panel wet [emoji15]

 

[RW]

When you say retuning, I take it you mean turning it on while it is in contact with the wet sand? You don't see many beach hunters with pinpointers. Maybe that is a reason why?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Not going to work in wet saltwater sand. Get a sand scoop!

 

[kblackfoto]

When you say retuning, I take it you mean turning it on while it is in contact with the wet sand? You don't see many beach hunters with pinpointers. Maybe that is a reason why?

I meant re-tuning so pushing the button to get it closer to the target

 

[kblackfoto]

Not going to work in wet saltwater sand. Get a sand scoop!

What won’t work?

 

[RW]

I meant re-tuning so pushing the button to get it closer to the target

Well you can try holding the tip to the wet sand as you turn it on. Works sometimes, sort of a ground balance. But Terry probably right, wet beach sand too mineralised for pinpointer to function. It thinks the sand is metal basically.

 

[kblackfoto]

Yea sucks because I thought it would do the trick. So you suggest any metal detector that is affordable for beach purposes?

 

[RW]

Yea sucks because I thought it would do the trick. So you suggest any metal detector that is affordable for beach purposes?

Equinox 600 is about the best bargain you can get for beach hunting.

 

[SeminoleJim]

Yea sucks because I thought it would do the trick. So you suggest any metal detector that is affordable for beach purposes?

ATpro works great

 

[HighVDI]

ATpro works great

No, it really doesn't.

 

[Georgivs]

Oh yea as I was digging the endless hole, my ace 250 control panel got hit with a wave and it may be toast. Took it apart and rinsed it with freshwater and drying it out in hopes it will survive[emoji24]

You might try spraying it with MAF (mass airflow) cleaner, you can get it at most autoparts stores. it's like ether and will drive out water and dry clean

 

[teleprospector]

Do a google search for pulse induction pinpointers. My scuba tector works in saltwater, I loaned it to my cousin in Scotland they were using it in the North sea. Choose the Equinox 600 metal detector if you are gonna be in saltwater.
Jon

 

[RustyGold]

The Ace and AT Pro can work fine on the dry sand but as soon as you hit the wet and damp they start to false from the saline and mineralized sand.
Probably a dedicated waterproof design would suit you better.

The Simplex is very affordable but on the beach in “Beach Mode” it suffers from being a 1 tone design. Hope they update that.
The Equinox 600 would be a much better choice but you will spend more.

After that comes the Sand Scoop. One can get by with the offerings on the different warehouse sites but most scoops can be a little challenging due to their design, size and weight etc.
The Sand Scoop needs to be a well thought out purchase as it is one of the most important tools in your detecting arsenal.

A small scoop won’t allow you to dig the dry sand before the sand caves into the hole. A heavy scoop is well, just too heavy and depending on the hole size, may just end up trapping damp sand in the scoop and not allowing it to empty without some effort.

Another thing to consider is your physical condition. Some of us, have problems with arthritis, surgeries and other limitations. This then requires a scoop that, with the long handle, is lightweight. So they sell a carbon fiber handle and titanium scoop for these individuals and others who enjoy that design.

The lighter the equipment, the longer you can hunt no matter what your physical condition.
One needs to add a long handle to the scoop to keep from bending down constantly.

Best of Luck!
Rusty

 

[kblackfoto]

Well update, my Ace Garret is toast- I ruined any chance of it working again by trying to open the control panel to let it dry out and some components broke. Regardless, that wasn't going to stop me. I still decided to take the pinpointer out. I finally figured out the ground balance- as suggested here turning it on, holding it to the ground. I then adjust the sensitivity depending on if there is water movement. Lately (or pre-lockdown) I've been dragging it on a string lol. It has actually detected more genuine targets than my ace ever did. I am losing alot of ground but I'm not wasting time digging trash. I primarily do that at the beach. One of my new faves is to detect around rocks and in crevices. I found two large pre decimal nz pennies along with several other coins, a silver baby spoon, an old lock, countless old school nails, etc. So turned lemons into lemonade haha. I'm still on the hunt for a solid beach detector but decided I want something that can really discriminate targets well. Maybe a gold detector or something that has high accuracy. It's much more enjoyable when you dig more fun stuff than pull tabs!!

 

[RustyGold]

Good job with the pinpointer, LoL! Some interesting finds. Sorry about the loss of the Ace. Thanks for the update and Good luck!

 

[devldog]

I too am sorry to hear about the loss of your Ace, but now you'll have the excitement of doing research and shopping for that new detector. If I may suggest, watch Utube videos on those units that you are most interested in. Great research tool. Best of luck to you.

 

[Underwonder]

I gave up on a deep hole near the water..After about a foot the water kept filling up and sand kept caving in...never did get the good sounding target with my hand scoop. No wonder I like the woods! I give you beach detectorists credit!

 

[CASPER-2]

Equinox 600 is about the best bargain you can get for beach hunting.

or look for new used - I got a used once like new CZ21 Fisher for $600 on e bay few yrs back did not have a scratch on the coil