Best pi machine for beaches?

nor kal kid

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Location
northern kalifornia, Bay area
Detector(s) used
XLT, Mxt all pro, garrett pp.coils 10"DD, 950, 12"spyder.for mxt all pro. Coils for xlt 950 and 15" magnum force field "depth plus"mxt max coil.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Whites Dual Field or Tesoro Sand Shark :skullflag:
 

Thank you.
 

Also, don't sleep on multifrequency machines such as the Minelab Excal II, CTX 3030, or Whites V3i (the latter of which is not waterproof). Another PI machine is the Garrett ATX. All of the machines recommended here are more expensive (some much more expensive) than the machines Terry recommended but all recommended above and in this post except for perhaps the V3i are considered capable beach machines because of their surf, wet, and dry sand performance and protection against the harsh beach environmental conditions (salt spray, sand, and salt water intrusion). Terry's recommended machines will definitely get the job done with a good bang for the buck. The others have certain bells and whistles (screen display, discrimination) they may be preferred depending on the type of beach hunting you plan to do. For example, the PI machines will give you max depth and immunity to interference from wet sand/black sand conditions, but you will be digging everything from bobby pins to that deep gold diamond ring, and everything in between should you pass your coil over it. Some of the other multifrequency machines may give you some audible or visual discrimination that you can use to make a decision on whether or not to dig, but may not be as deep as the PI machines.
 

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Thanks for the info am trying to purchase a whites surf pi pro,lots of people say they are better than the dual field.
 

My beach detecting friend uses the Whites Dual Field, I run the Sand Shark, I doubt we're missing much. Dig it all. All are good PI detectors. My advice would be to pick the one you can afford and that gets you on the beach ASAP. They are all going to find you rings and clad, but you can't find anything if you waste weekends and storm cuts waiting to buy the perfect machine.
 

Thank you for the info.
 

My beach detecting friend uses the Whites Dual Field, I run the Sand Shark, I doubt we're missing much. Dig it all. All are good PI detectors. My advice would be to pick the one you can afford and that gets you on the beach ASAP. They are all going to find you rings and clad, but you can't find anything if you waste weekends and storm cuts waiting to buy the perfect machine.

Thank i am going to start looking for a used dual field.
 

IMO, Minelab BBS detectors are more useful than PI. PI will go deeper, but has no discrimination. You will be digging iron. The extra PI depth isn't helpful in wet sand. You just can't dig that deep and keep the hole from filling in. I've found a gold pinky ring a foot deep with a Minelab Sovereign. Also used a Minelab Excalibur which performed as well. You learn the discrimination tones, and that distinct low "gold" tone will get you excited everytime. Go BBS. You won't regret it. FYI, if you want to hunt dry land, stick with whites as BBS machines are too squawky away from wet salty sand. I had a dual frequency DFX, but it couldn't perform like a BBS machine in wet salty sand, though it was fantastic on dry land.
 

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IMO, Minelab BBS detectors are more useful than PI. PI will go deeper, but has no discrimination. You will be digging iron. The extra PI depth isn't helpful in wet sand. You just can't dig that deep and keep the hole from filling in. I've found a gold pinky ring a foot deep with a Minelab Sovereign. Also used a Minelab Excalibur which performed as well. You learn the discrimination tones, and that distinct low "gold" tone will get you excited everytime. Go BBS. You won't regret it. FYI, if you want to hunt dry land, stick with whites as BBS machines are too squawky away from wet salty sand. I had a dual frequency DFX, but it couldn't perform like a BBS machine in wet salty sand, though it was fantastic on dry land.

What do you mean by bbs?
 

It's Minelab's terminology for their technology I believe. It's your first machine, just pick up a used PI on the cheap and get into the water. Save your gold/silver/clad from the first year and you can buy a multi-frequency VLF with it if you decide you need discrimination.
 

BBS (Broad Band Spectrum) simultaneously transmits, receives and analyses a broad band of multiple frequencies to deliver substantial detection depth, high sensitivity and accurate discrimination for a wide range of target types. Its proprietary to Minelab detectors.
 

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