Tesoro sandshark setup

[Wiganer]

Hi folks.first post here and long time lurker. A question about the sandshark, I have looked at the owners manual online and if I'm reading it right it tells you to set the threshold and use the same knob in conjunction with another knob to set the next thing ECT. Is this really necessary , as it seems pointless setting the threshold 2 or 3 times for 1 hunt, so am I reading the instructions wrong or are they poorly written? Come on Terry soloman I know you can answer this. I am torn between the sandshark and the dual field, and then I read Terry's review on the macro racer 2!!!! Help. Thanks guys.

 

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[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.

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.

 

[Wiganer]

Thank you Terry for the very informative answer, all the best. Steve.

 

[Goldfleks]

Terry, would you buy a used Sand Shark? I'm considering my options for a wet sand beach machine for Southern California beaches and looking for a budget option to get me into the water and I don't have 1500 to throw at an Excal.

Or being a Salt Water Machine, should I purchase new?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Terry, would you buy a used Sand Shark? I'm considering my options for a wet sand beach machine for Southern California beaches and looking for a budget option to get me into the water and I don't have 1500 to throw at an Excal.

Or being a Salt Water Machine, should I purchase new?

If it was well maintained and the owner was willing to knock the first $50 off the purchase price for a factory tune up - Yes!

 

[Goldfleks]

If it was well maintained and the owner was willing to knock the first $50 off the purchase price for a factory tune up - Yes!

Looks like I'm part of Team Sand Shark

 

[Goldfleks]

What a steal. $360 for what appears to be a brand new machine, plus upgraded collapsable shaft and a case cover. I doubt it's ever even been submerged in the water with the sand cover on the box and the minimal amount of sand inside the box cover. No sand at all inside the machine. All the dials work great. No wear and tear on any of the rubber inserts for the coil and headphones. No scuffs even on the coil/coil cover. I've put more wear and tear on my MXT-300 in a few weeks of detecting than this Tesoro is showing.

I'm looking forward to getting in the water! We have a huge storm brewing here on the west coast, I'm hoping it digs out some beaches. This time I'm ready!

I'm going to dig around on how to best use this machine. I know there is no substitute for experience and time.

Terry any pointers on where to start besides searching this forum?

 

[Goldfleks]

What brand of divers greese should I buy for the O Ring? O-Ring itself looks great, but it needs extra greese on it before I would consider submerging the head unit.

I also think maybe I should consider getting rid of the sand cover? I think it's great to have for dry hunting, but I feel like it would just get soggy if I took it in the water. Thoughts?

 

[Terry Soloman]

What brand of divers greese should I buy for the O Ring? O-Ring itself looks great, but it needs extra greese on it before I would consider submerging the head unit.

I also think maybe I should consider getting rid of the sand cover? I think it's great to have for dry hunting, but I feel like it would just get soggy if I took it in the water. Thoughts?

Use any marine-grade silicone, but not too much. NO, do not get rid of the coil protector cover! It will save you from getting a pinhole leak in the coil or just sanding it down as you scrub the sand - Use It! Read through the pointers above, and watch this - Good Luck and Big Gold!

 

[Goldfleks]

No I'm not talking about the coil cover.



I'm talking about a fabric cover that's wrapped around the head unit. It's basically a weather protection unit.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Useless. In my opinion.

 

[Goldfleks]

Thanks Terry for the advice.

Got my first ring of 2017!

 

[Goldfleks]

Terry! I need your opinion!

So the black sands on the beach I was at were THICK today. This was probably the first time I've been to a beach the day after a storm and actually paid attention to the color of the sand. It looked like someone had spilled oil on the beach in a few areas.

So I swung my coil over these areas in both Normal and VCO. In Normal I got a break in the threshold where it would increase in volume and in VCO it would increase in volume like in normal, but not switch to the high tone. I dug plenty of holes in this area but never seemed to find anything. So I avoided these areas for better detecting as I'm new to my machine.

Was I just hearing concentrated black sands? I would get increases in volume no matter where I swung the coil. But when I dug out the area I just kept hearing signals, and I never found anything in my scoop.

My intuition says these areas are where heavies were concentrating. I found a one or two coins sitting on the surface of the black sands once the high tide started coming back and cutting the beach again. But I was having a very difficult time understanding what my detector was telling me.

It reminded me of my MXT-300 in wet sand and hitting on EVERYTHING.

Were the black sands just TOO highly concentrated for even my PI detector to cut through the noise?

I tried reducing the coil setting (top left dial) but that didn't seem to help clean up the signal.

Or should I just ignore these area's entirely (even though they seem to be where the heavies are hitting) and focus on other parts of the beach for quicker risk vs reward?

 

[Terry Soloman]

You should hunt all areas that are depressed, low points that the sand has been moved away from. Areas where pebbles and shells are visible on the clay. Experiment in heavy black sand by increasing your Pulse width in Normal mode. If your foot is sinking into the black sand, the targets are most likely too deep (20"). If you hit a black sand lead weight, ring, quarter - you'll hear it. It will be a hit- Bam, not a rise in the threshold.

 

[Goldfleks]

So I gave those sands one last shot today, and got my second gold ring of 2017! I was seeing change just sitting on top of the sands today after the tide went out. Black and heavy sands. It was really hard to detect on it. I scooped a bunch of what I thought were signals and got nothing in my bucket plenty of times but I kept at it.

Last scoop of the day, small looks like a childs 14k gold ring with a heart at the top. Pics to come.

 

[Goldfleks]

Terry!

How do you handle beaches with heavy iron?

So my Sat/Sun beach hunting was done on a single beach. Good success, and a beach with minimal iron from the looks of it. Or maybe the coins were just so much more in content, that I didn't notice the iron I was digging.

Went to 3 different beaches today, which are infested with bonfire pits (pallets) or have/had piers/docks/decks/etc and are infested with iron bits. Small nasty stuff that falls through the scoop so you dig the same hole over and over and over.

Suggestions for improving my luck on those beaches with my shark?

Or do I need a multi-frequency VLF for these beaches to avoid digging 10+ iron targets per 1 clad/aluminum/copper/whatever non-iron

 

[Terry Soloman]

I only use the Shark in the wet sand at low tide, and in the water. Up on the dry sand I use my Vaquero. That is the only advice I have. Any machine will work on the dry sand, and in my experience, there is much less garbage targets at low tide in the wet sand and water.