First recovery and some reality regarding my machine

[SweetCorn]

The minute I stepped onto the beach today a young guy asked me if I could help him find his car keys. He said he'd give my $10 if I found them. I said "maybe, do you know where you lost them at?" He showed me a spot where his buddy was looking through some wet sand where the tide had come up and swamped the area their stuff had been. I realized I agreed to the price without stating a length of time. Fortunately I had a signal within 30 seconds and looking down, I see a key ring poking out through the sand. I picked 'em up and handed them to the guy. The fob still worked, doors unlocked and he kept his word and handed me a $10 bill.

The rest of my hunt today was uneventful and honesty, frustrating. It's clear to my my machine, a AT Pro is not cut out for a salt water beach. I've known this for awhile and have attempted to adjust the sensitivity, ground balance a lot and try to figure out how to get the machine to perform in wet sand. I don't think this machine is going to work out. I was thinking of getting a second machine, like an Excal II or Sand Shark. It's a bit frustrating because when I chose the AT Pro it was partly because I was under the impression it would work on land and water, even salt water. The machine falses a lot in wet saltwater sand. I've tried to dig what appear to be "real" targets, meaning the signal is somewhat consistent from multiple angles but when I start digging, the "target" keeps moving which makes me think there wasn't actually ever a real target to begin with.

I guess I'm wondering, is it the machine or is it the user?? These machines do have a reputation for not performing in salt water right?

 

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[UnderMiner]

When I got my first 'expensive detector' I had to choose between the AT-Pro or the Excal-II, I chose the Excal-II because I knew it worked well in salt water and that was where I planned to do most of my detecting, not to mention it also works well on land too. If you intend to hunt salt water the Excal-II is quite possibly the best option for you, the salt does not interfere with it as it would with Garrett detectors. Garrett detectors are great for dry sand but once you get near the saltwater they will freak out and not work properly.

 

[SweetCorn]

Interesting. The excal II does well on land too?

I forgot to mention that the beach was seriously impacted by two large storms that hit Northern CA this past weekend. There was a bulldozer parked on the beach, piles of kelp everywhere and new erosion channels in a lot of places. Not the day I want to realize my machine really does suck for this type of environment!!
Fortunately there was another guy there today and he wasn't finding much on the new sand. He had a good machine too, I think it was a Minelab CTX3030.

 

[smokeythecat]

I have a Tesoro Cibola and it does work well in salt water, however, you have to detune it also. Found a gold earring at the beach Saturday, but depth was only giving me a couple inches. I've found more frankly in the dry sand and mildly wet sand with the Cibola than in the water. Earring was on wet sand, just above tide line. Machine almost missed it but I spied it peaking out so was able to get it. Sure it would do better with bigger gold. I am not spending $1500 on any machine, so I guess I'm stuck. I had one of the Tesoro salt water machines but it was too heavy for me. Even pretty much sticking to the dry sand, I have done magnificently.

So much sand, so little time.....my inexpensive machine has seriously kicked arse at the beach.

 

[tomhighland]

Check out some of the dealer members. One of them will probably come up with a fair deal for you to get what you need and get rid of what you don't.

 

[TheCaribbeanDigger]

I used a AT Pro for 2 1/2 years. Honestly its not a wet sand detector. Yes, I had some beaches that I could run it 50-70% sensitivity and it was pretty stable, not perfect, but stable. I found a couple of gold rings that could well pay for the ATP. But it wont work well on wet sand. There were beaches that I just lowered the sensitivity to its lowest and still was extremely chatty. I sold it a couple of months ago and I know have a Fisher Gold Bug Pro and currently waiting for a F75 Camo LTD that I got on a good deal. Ive tried the GBP on wet sand. Pretty deep, its pretty stable, not perfect but definitely more stable than an ATP. If its beaches my friend I'd go with the Excal!!!

 

[Rogue Relic Hunter]

you should have told the guy to keep his $10. good Karma.

 

[trapperart]

Congrats

 

[Auriemma]

Congrats on the Find and Return.

As for the ATP on the beach, it can work, it's just not the best choice for wet salt sand to submerged in salt water. I found you need to constantly reset the the GB as you get closer to the ocean. If memory serves, dry sand GB was like 80, by the time you got the coil wet it would be under 10. The SENS would be decreased to cut the chatter the closer you got to the water as well. Like i said, it can work, but there are better tools for that job.

 

[ScubaDetector]

Even the right detector isn't exactly right. I say this because my experience in hunting water is vast. I used to always swear by the CZ-21. After hammering a spot over and over with it I tried the Tiger Shark. I found a lot more silver in gold in a spot I thought I had already cleaned out. Of course I am in fresh water. But even if you get a good salt water machine, somebody with a different machine can and will find things you miss. No the At-Pro is not salt water friendly and it has been said over and over. But in black sand there are machines that do better than the Excal and the CZ-21, and in other environments there are better machines yet.

Experience, settings, perseverance and luck all have a part to play in working the water. And sometimes more than one kind of machine.

 

[foreverRich]

No need telling you, what you already found out. You have a great land and dry sand machine. I agree that you need another detector for the salt water. Excal, Sand Shark or Detector Pro might be good choices. You can get used ones pretty reasonable to see if they suite your needs. Good luck.

 

[WHADIFIND]

Ya know, I'm not sure what to tell you. I've been hearing about how badly the ATP works in wet, salt, sand. But, I've been back and forth to the beach a few times. And although it does have it's issues in the wet sand, I have always been able to compensate enough so to find. Once found 14 rings in a day at the beach. Only worked the tide line.

If I was going to get a detector and I knew that saltwater would be where I'd be hunting most of the time, I would go with one of the others that've proved themselves there.It's solid in fresh water though. I just wanted a detector that gave me the widest possibilities. That....for me...is the ATP.

Good luck!