detector for Japan

[Denarius]

I'm living in Japan (Tokyo) and I've been fooling around with a Vibratector 730 for a while. It's fun but it's time for a real detector. I need suggestions on what kind of detector I should get for the beach for Japan. I live on the mainland but I sometimes go to Okinawa. I was thinking of starting in the dry sand but since I love the water I will probably end up in the surf eventually. Unfortunately my budget is a little tight. I was thinking of starting with an ACE 350 (for dry sand) but I want something that will work too so if the 350 isn't good for Japan I'll go for something else.
Also, for those of who have done it, what is the best way to get a detector in Japan? They seem expensive here but I can't seem to find a company that will ship here from the States.
Thanks in advance.

 

[OBN]

My Suggestion,
I know and have done work for several hunters there and the Excalibur is the one to use, some even use the Whites PI DF. One thing for sure you will get your return in treasure in a few hunts to pay for your machine if you hunt the water. I would even suggest the CZ21 or a used CZ20, do what ever you can to get one you can use in the water, you won't regret it. me I would take a loan out if I lived there, and buy from a forum member with a good repe. Shipping can be high, about 60 dollars but you can dig that much in a one day hunt since the coins have a high face value. See if you can find someone that has a APO AP shipping address also...regular USPS rates apply.

Quick story on how good the hunting is there, one hunter needed a set of replacement headphones ASAP, He wanted a set of Gray Ghost Amphibians. He paid 110.oo to get 3 day shipping....Fedx

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

OBN speaks the truth, it is a detector hunters paradise there...






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[kc10bull]

You will not be disappointed in detecting in Japan. I still have a Japanese WWII dog tag, from Yokota A.B. When I was passing thru there. I know for a fact if you get a good water detector you will be building yourself a treasure chest of discoveries that we can only dream of here in the states. You will be hunting grounds that have never seen a metal detector. Or if it has been detected it will have been hit so few times you wouldn't know it. Oh and the biggest thing I can say is, it won't be just the jewelry, but the coins you recover 100 yen and 500 yen coins add up really fast. They could easily finance your adventures. Now back to the jewelry we are talking about 18k, 20k, 22k gold. I would be very surprised if you even found a 10k, or 14k gold rings. If I was going back to Japan I to live / work, it would be a treasure hunting paradise, and I would buy the best detectors I could get my hands on. Keep us informed on your adventures, just might have to get a plane ticket and come back to the Land of the Rising Sun. Happy Hunting!

 

[Denarius]

Wow sounds good guys. What kind and model should I get. I'm on a budget tho. I'm hoping to get a cheap one I can use as backup and get a better one when/if I make some good finds.
Thanks again.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Denarius, I would NOT recommend any of the ACE series (150, 250, 350, etc...) for wet sand beach hunting. Not only do they not fare well one wet salt beaches (when compared to dedicated machines for that venue), but you have another big issue for you there in Japan:

The Ace's have lump-sum groupings for their TID's. Ie.: not a very expanded scale of TIDs that the object ID (conductivities) fall into. For a lot of hunting, that's not an issue perhaps. People do just fine with machines like the CZ's, or excalibers (which is tones only, and no graphs at all, etc...), BUT, since you're in Japan, you have an odd niche that I'd suggest you fully exploit:

You guys have coins that go up to $1 and $5 denomination (100 yen and 500 yen). And they are carried around in people's pockets, as commonly as american's carry quarters, for instance. And while I realize that clad coins are not the "objective" of beach hunters, yet .... wow, when there's a coin that's worth $5, then sure, most persons personally wouldn't mind stopping to dig those , eh ?

I got a chance to meet a hunter from Japan who was visiting CA this past Christmas. He brought with him all your current coins (from the 5 yen up to 500 yen), and I discovered that there's distinct locations for those coins. Ie.: easy to tell apart. So for example, the 500 yen is not necessarily the upper most right corner (as our USA quarter or half is). Instead it's right in the middle. Conversely, nuisance coins like the 5c and 10c coins you have were higher conductors. By having a machine with more expanded TID's (like the Explorer), you can cherry pick them out, if you wanted, while leaving lower denomination coins behind. This ability is lessened when you have a machine that just has group categories of 7 or 10 or 12 "quadrants" or whatever.

So if you found a place where clad coins were prolific, you would have a great advantage over someone without expanded TID's

 

[Denarius]

Thanks Tom. Would a sand shark work here do you think?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Well sure. It "would work". It's a pulse machine with no ability for any TID, nor even any ability to reject iron.

I do not believe your sand there is *SO* mineralized that you need a pulse to cut through it. So why oh why oh why would you want a pulse then, that can't eliminate at least iron ?

Oh sure, it'll find teeensy thin dainty chains, and earing studs, that standard machine miss (d/t their small size). Granted. But on the other hand, if your beach is bedevilled with many hair-pins, nails, etc... you'll have to dig all them. And didn't you read my post ? You would also loose all ability to tell the coins apart (if you cared to cherry pick the 500s, and pass the lower denomination coins).

I know someone will come on and chastise this by saying that no one should ever cherry pick, or risk missing an earing stud, etc... But I have seen beach conditions here, where .... you'd be ONE SAD PUPPY INDEED after storm erosion leaves the beach riddled with targets as fast as you can dig. And then trust me, you don't want to have to put up with even 20% of the targets being nails, when. ... speed is the name of the game. Or another example of when/where TID comes into play: We had a storm/swell hit us a few months ago, that left SO many targets in a confined zone, that .... after a few hours, we actually got to where we were rejecting ALL high conductors, and ONLY digging low conductors (in our quest to up the odds at getting gold, versus nuisance coins).

But technically, to answer your question, sure a pulse sand shark would "work".

 

[Denarius]

Hey Tom, thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. You're bang on about the coins. The 100yen coins are worth it too but not the smaller ones. And there are definitely enough of them out there that it is worthwhile to chase them. I was at a beach in Okinawa once after a Typhoon and the sea floor was littered with them. Gold chain and rings as well for that matter. I'll put the explorer on my list. I can't buy it now tho cause I don't have enough money. I need something that will get the job done for cheap for now and then I'll upgrade. Any suggestions? Again thanks all for the info.

 

[Denarius]

[QUOTEbuy from a forum member with a good repe][/QUOTE]

How do I do that?

 

[hookahman]

Den, look for the exal 2 I was lucky enough to snare one for a killer price less than a grand. Keep looking or if you are will to have a roommate out there that will hunt everyday and split the proceeds.....huh? I do come with two detectors, sand shark and a excal 2.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

The excal too can be made to cherry pick highs, verus mids, versus lows. Thus yes, a 500 yen, versus a 100 yen, versus 5 or 10 yens, etc... may all come in at a different tone-reading.

But not to the same degree as the Explorer (IMHO). Yes it will do it, but you'll be having to rely on tones, and have no screen/meter to double check with. But yes, I have done it with the excal. What I do in a case like that, is to have a sample of the target I have in mind to want to have as a "bench-mark". Eg.: a zinc penny, or a nickel, etc.. And then everyone once in awhile, I'll pass that target in front of the coil JUST to compare with something I'm hearing in the ground. I've even gone so far as to put a zinc. in the toes section of my waders on one foot, and a nickel in the toes section of the other waders foot. Then, as needed, can wave past that foot to get my mental benchmarks ID rehearsed, haha

But the only trouble then is, you gotta keep your coil way out in front of you, lest you pick up up the signal from your feet, doh!

 

[hookahman]

Hey tom, I like the coin in the toes trick!!! Good on you! I might have to give that a go.

 

[Tank69]

look up crackbadger here on the site he detects over your way an does bery very good on all the good finds

 

[Denarius]

Any idea how to get ahold of crackbadger?

 

[OBN]

The Crack is in Korea and has been awhile since anyone has heard from him, he maybe back in the states. You can Pm would be a start.

 

[Denarius]

I checked the Cracks videos. Nice. Went to the beach yesterday too. Lots of wet sand and garbage. I think maybe a PI detector would be a pain. Whats the best way to find a second hand Excal or explorer?