MXT or whites in wet sand and coil submerged question

chong2

Bronze Member
Apr 25, 2006
2,041
140
El Paso, TX
Detector(s) used
Flippin Stick n good luck :)
IF YOU BOTHER TO OPEN AND READ THIS PLEASE GIVE YOU OPINION!!!!!!!! THANKS

i also posted this in beach/shallow water hunting.

sorry to bother, i am gonna ask a question you must have heard a thousand times. i currently live in new mexico, and i once had a mxt, i loved it, it was simple and worked great. i am moving to florida soon. i would like to purchase another mxt. the problem is i will be at the beach on wet sand coil in salt water alot (i dont swim in oceans) . at the same time i will be coinshooting and relic hunting away from the beach on dry land. i have read reviews about the mxt having problems with , chatter in wet sand and coil in salt water. what would you recomend? i dont want to lose performance. i love the mxt tho. should i veer to a pulse MD? if so how does it do on dry land? please help!!!
thank you
Chong
 

TonyinCT

Sr. Member
Mar 14, 2006
455
2
Granby, CT
Not a bother at all. I would not buy the MXT for beach hunting if you were to be doing a lot of it. The MXT is not great at salt wet sand areas and almost impossible for many water applications. It's too "chattery" in that situation. You canhunt there with one but the PI or a VLF water detector would be the better choice for you.
 

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chong2

chong2

Bronze Member
Apr 25, 2006
2,041
140
El Paso, TX
Detector(s) used
Flippin Stick n good luck :)
tony, someone told me they had a pulse that did great on land and in shallow water, the problem is its had to pinpoint. . does whites have ne detectors you can recomend for my situation? for land and shallow water.?
 

TonyinCT

Sr. Member
Mar 14, 2006
455
2
Granby, CT
Well PI's are great in salt water conditions and there should be no problem pinpointing there. It will drive you nuts on land as it picks up very small iron deep. Pinpointing on land can be frustrating. Whites makes the Surf PI pro which is one of the detectors I use but only at salt sand beaches.
 

cyeager

Jr. Member
Feb 20, 2007
32
0
PI = Find "Everything" NO discrimination. Just everything and deep or DEEPER! Best for gold!
VLF = Discrimination / ID / Pin point Info ect.....(Kitchen sink ect) Just no depth....
 

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chong2

chong2

Bronze Member
Apr 25, 2006
2,041
140
El Paso, TX
Detector(s) used
Flippin Stick n good luck :)
well that breaks it down, so no trashy areas with pi. hmmmmmmmmmmmm, im the lazy type ;D u made it even harder.
do you know of a vlf that can go to beach as well?
 

cyeager

Jr. Member
Feb 20, 2007
32
0
Hunting is hunting. PI / VLF ... Hmmm.. Trashy over abused area...
Any good discrim with exceptional ground balance. MXT / Minelab..
But if you want awsome clean digs for high probability..
GO NUTS with a PI!!
Pulse induction will pop out everything! SO PICK YOUR SPOTS WISELY!
 

jocap

Full Member
Mar 8, 2007
133
14
NV
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 600, Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
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XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There's already been lots of detectors with iron discrimination, PPD1, Pulse Analyst, British (not U.S.) Groundhawk to name a few.
The Whites seems to be a repackaged Eric Foster GS5. He meanwhile moved on to the GS5b and no doubt will have something else in the pipeline.
The original question was about wet sand detecting and thats not the GS5's strong point, with the Deepstar range being a better choice though you lack discrimination except for the audio clues most P.I.'s supply and the probe on the Deepstar 3 that allows larger items that are normaly rubbish to be ignored.
The trouble with gold hunting P.I.'s and the new Whites seems to be aimed at that market, is that the sensitivity (not depth) is such that you can spend all day digging tea leaf sized pieces of copper and alloy that don't affect most beach P.I.'s
 

dahut

Hero Member
Nov 6, 2004
809
54
Lee's Tavern Road
Detector(s) used
21 years behind a coil

Fisher F70
Bounty Hunter Lone Star
Tesoro Tiger Shark
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If it were me, I'd get the Minelab Excalibur 1000 for wet sand and wading in the surf.

It will also work well in all those freshwater sites in FL. The 'Excal' has become the benchmark by which all others are judged down at the shore. The marine environment is a tough one and surf detecting 'pirates' are a tight and fussy lot. When something works well, it isnt hard to know it by all the surf bums using them. Right now, that's the Excal.

Second tier would be the Whites Beach Hunter ID, by all reports.

Third level would be the Tesoro Tiger Shark, especially if you get to alot of freshwater sites.

But, unless you have a strong back for diggin in wet sand (or want to develop one), veer off from PI units. On the beach they are very deep, have almost NO DISC (contrary to ad hype) and will signal on every bobby pin, nail and sparkler wire on the beach. You can get to know them, and many do, but it's tough sloggin. Why go through that when you can have the Excal? PI's are at their best in the cleaner, deeper water...where you say you don't care to venture.

There are few detectors that are superior at both marine/fresh water AND land hunting. NONE, in fact. Water searching is a highly specialized endeavor and there are just too many compromises involved. You've heard it said that you should use the right tool for the job? That's never more true than in and around the water.

If you are determined to get a land detector for occasional beach use, then the MXT would do, as would the DFX. Many folks use them for that. Here's the one tip you MUST absolutely burn into your brain, though, if you do:

NEVER lift your coil higher than the control box when it is in the water. NEVER!

Water running down the shaft and into the guts may spell doom for the instrument, if you are careless enough to disregard this warning. Also, dont be cavalier about wrappnig your detector in a waterproof/sandproof cocoon. Protecting your equipment when it is out of it's normal element is important.

I would think that chattering issues with the MXT are due mostly to overdriven gain, so be mindful of that. Turning up your gain into "Blister Mode" does more harm than good, especially down at the salt waters edge.

That's my $.02
 

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