Multi frequency Detectors vs Single Frequency for Beach Hunting

[Keep On Diggin]

Have always read that I should have a multi frequency detector for beach hunting especially for wet salt sand and moving from one to the other. I do have 2 m-f detectors, a DFX & a V3i. Now White's is promoting their new MX Sport which is a single frequency machine with a "beach" mode.
I thought the beach mode to be simply an algorithm to cancel the wet salt from detection.
Does this mean that any machine with "salt subtraction" or beach mode will perform as well as a multi frequency machine?

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Don't bet on it. Salt mode is very simple - it drops the sensitivity (gain). My buddy uses a DFX with a big ol' coil on it here on the Atlantic and does very well.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Have always read that I should have a multi frequency detector for beach hunting especially for wet salt sand and moving from one to the other. I do have 2 m-f detectors, a DFX & a V3i. Now White's is promoting their new MX Sport which is a single frequency machine with a "beach" mode.
I thought the beach mode to be simply an algorithm to cancel the wet salt from detection.
Does this mean that any machine with "salt subtraction" or beach mode will perform as well as a multi frequency machine?

I know several people who have tested the new MX Sport, it was not usable in salt water at all, as soon as it touched the water it went nuts, even in the beach mode... I personally would not be buying it as a salt beach hunter.... I haven't seen any single freq non pulse detector that beats a multifreq detector in salt water yet.

 

[Peyton Manning]

ok this is gonna sound dumb

I only have one machine and it is the only one I have used

whites MXT-PRO , what type of machine is it? what is a PI detector?

 

[finderskeepers]

MXT-Pro= single frequency detector (14khz, I think)
PI=Pulse Induction

 

[Keep On Diggin]

I know several people who have tested the new MX Sport, it was not usable in salt water at all, as soon as it touched the water it went nuts, even in the beach mode... I personally would not be buying it as a salt beach hunter.... I haven't seen any single freq non pulse detector that beats a multifreq detector in salt water yet.

Makes sense and would explain why most of the popular VLF detectors used on the beach are multi frequency. Puzzling however is why the DFX has a "salt subtraction" mode built in the circuitry and cannot be turned off. Is (was) it really necessary? Would the DFX detect deeper without it?

 

[Carl-NC]

Don't bet on it. Salt mode is very simple - it drops the sensitivity (gain).

Not quite so simple. Most single-freq machines with salt mode extend the ground tracking range to go all the way up to salt. It can work OK in clean wet salt sand like Florida, but if there is also black sand mixed in it can make the ground tracking exceptionally noisy. Going into the surf can also make the tracking noisy. Salt tracking also has a side-effect of reduced sensitivity if done wrong, but it's not the case that salt mode is simply a sensitivity redux.

Puzzling however is why the DFX has a "salt subtraction" mode built in the circuitry and cannot be turned off. Is (was) it really necessary? Would the DFX detect deeper without it?

Yes, salt subtraction creates a notch in the low foil region where some fine jewelry (esp chains) can show up. It's one of those unavoidable trade-offs for good salt performance. But if you're not in salt, there is no need for it and should preferably be turned off if you want those items to respond.

 

[airscapes]

That is why when hunting gold in non wet sand envrionment with a DFX, you use 15kHz only not best data which is multi frequency.

 

[Keep On Diggin]

Not quite so simple. Most single-freq machines with salt mode extend the ground tracking range to go all the way up to salt. It can work OK in clean wet salt sand like Florida, but if there is also black sand mixed in it can make the ground tracking exceptionally noisy. Going into the surf can also make the tracking noisy. Salt tracking also has a side-effect of reduced sensitivity if done wrong, but it's not the case that salt mode is simply a sensitivity redux.



Yes, salt subtraction creates a notch in the low foil region where some fine jewelry (esp chains) can show up. It's one of those unavoidable trade-offs for good salt performance. But if you're not in salt, there is no need for it and should preferably be turned off if you want those items to respond.

Is there a way then to disable SS on the DFX, like simply changing the notch in Disc. Edit in the Beach prog?

 

[airscapes]

Is there a way then to disable SS on the DFX, like simply changing the notch in Disc. Edit in the Beach prog?

Only can speak for the DFX, you turn it off buy using single frequency.
The attached is a paragraph on duel frequency ground balancing from Digging Deeper with the DFX which touches on the subject.

 

[Keep On Diggin]

No problem with the V3i. It has separate settings for a Salt Compensate mode and a Three Frequency mode.
Still not quite sure about the DFX though.

Here's an excerpt taken from the V's "Advanced Users Guide" The very last sentence is why I wonder!

Salt Compensate
Salt Compensate mode is the same as Three Frequency mode, except that salt responses are subtracted out. This eliminates salt signals while still allowing V3i to track ferrous mineralization. This technique is only possible in multi-frequency detectors, which is a second reason to use multiple frequencies.
Trivia: White’s DFX is always in salt compensate mode.