DFX at Ocean City, Md

[whoknows52]

Just got back from 5 days at the beach and I gotta say, the feedback from the dfx drove me crazy. Even using the factory beach setting it was terrible. I ended up on the dry sand instead of in the water like I had planned. Thinking seriously about another machine...any suggestions?

 

[Sandman]

When Whites says Beach Setting, they only mean dry sand and the discrimination goes down to include foil so as to not miss the thin gold rings. Course all areas are different and some DFX users can get the coil in the water and some can't. It is best to have a detector with a saltwater mode or a PI for the wet stuff.

Minelabs like the Excal don't need a saltwater mode and are excellent water detectors. When you get one, get the Excal 1000.

 

[spez401]

I always found that my DFX worked great on the dry sand and in the shallow water... but I never used the beach settings on the beach. The factory programs are set up for beginners to turn on and go, and don't take into account mineralization and other variables like you get in salt water.

Go get Jeff Foster's book, Digging Deeper with the DFX. There is a "flow chart" in the book that I laminated and stuck on the side of my DFX. It shows how to adjust the Preamp gain and the other settings to get maximum depth and sensitivity.

Also, join www.dfxonly.com. Every question you ever need an answer to is on that forum. It is dedicated specifically to the DFX (go figure with that name), and they are very helpful. There are also some great custom programs that I had saved in the EPROM memory on my machine.

All of that being said, the DFX is NOT A WATER MACHINE. Yes, you can get the coil wet, but one big wave, or a small slip and you now have a $1200 paperweight. If you're going to be doing mostly water hunting (or a lot of it), you might want to check out the dedicated water machines. I have an excalibur which I swear by, as do many on this forum. White's Beachunter ID supposedly uses the same technology as the DFX. or, there are several PI machines available.

good luck

steve

 

[Born2Dtect]

I have successfully used the Whites PI PRO and the Explorer II at Ocean city, wet and dry sand. Both worked well. One point, when going from water to wet sand or dry sand you need to pause and allow your detector to re-balance, then swing away. Going in and out of the water continuously or from wet to dry sand slows you down. Stay in one condition as long as you can.

Ed D.

 

[Sandman]

Go get Jeff Foster's book, Digging Deeper with the DFX. There is a "flow chart" in the book that I laminated and stuck on the side of my DFX. It shows how to adjust the Preamp gain and the other settings to get maximum depth and sensitivity.

This is what I should have added.

Nice post Steve, as always.

Sandman