Fisher M-Scope 1280x aquanaut Salt and wet sand?

[cracker]

I just bought this unit used (white 10 1/2 in. coil) and I haven't had a chance to use it on the beach yet. I tested it in the yard
(found a roofing nail and a bolt) and it seems to chatter alot even when I reduce the sensitivity to around 5 and turn up the discrim to 3 or 4. Is this normal? I'm in Florida and plan on hitting the beach this Sunday. I've read that this unit is not too good on wet sand and salt near the edge of the water, which is where I had planned on using it. They say it has to be completely submerged for it to work well. My question is when it starts chattering will I lose alot of depth when I turn down the sensitivity? What if I have to turn it down to almost nil ? Anybody familiar with this unit in saltwater but not submerged? Hints or recommendations appreciated.

 

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[billn1956]

As long as the chattering dont drive you nuts,it will still sound off good on a target.its what i use, would like to trade up but it does do the job.

 

[Sandman]

The 1280 is an good detector for fresh water and can be used well in the dry sand. You are right, in the wet saltwater sand it can chatter and lowering the sens is the only way to quiet it down. If it still chatters outside when you hold the coil still and above the sand you might just have interferience from an outside source. Turn off your cell phone. At the beach, Wiggle the cable wire to see if the noise continues. Take off the coil cover and clean it out. Use fresh batteries. If this doesn't help you might need to send it in for a check up. Good Luck......

 

[cracker]

As long as the chattering dont drive you nuts,it will still sound off good on a target.its what i use, would like to trade up but it does do the job.

Thats good to know. Thanks

The 1280 is an good detector for fresh water and can be used well in the dry sand. You are right, in the wet saltwater sand it can chatter and lowering the sens is the only way to quiet it down. If it still chatters outside when you hold the coil still and above the sand you might just have interferience from an outside source. Turn off your cell phone. At the beach, Wiggle the cable wire to see if the noise continues. Take off the coil cover and clean it out. Use fresh batteries. If this doesn't help you might need to send it in for a check up. Good Luck......

It doesn't have a coil cover. I have the wire nice and snug with a little play as to not cause stress on the connection points on either end. I can get it relatively quiet by turning down the sensitivety to 4-5, I just worry ....how much depth am I losing by doing this or by this being a factory preset ground balanced machine maybe it isn't that big of a worry? Hopefully? Does that make any sense to you?

I didn't make to the beach yet because of the rain on Sat. but i"m gonna try it out on my next day off sometime before this weekend hopefully.