Looking for some help...Thanks

[Groot]

I’m In the process of buying my first metal detector. After many hours of reading I have narrowed it down to getting a PI detector. The ones I’m looked at are, Garrett Infinium LS and I did see this is now discontinued but you can still buy them. Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II ,Whites Surf Dual Field and the Whites TDI SL. Being close to the beach made me choose them . I’m not going to ask which one is better but I have some questions about some of the things I read in their specifications . Audio Tones, Garrett does not have tones the TID has tones , I cannot find the difference between have them or not having them. The Sea Hunter does not have ground balance, The TDI has Ground balance I’m not sure if that is a big deal. Number of Frequencies, Surf PI has 1 one, Garrett has 96, is that important ? I know about frequencies long and short and how different kHz find different things. This will help me make my decision. Thanks

 

[Terry Soloman]

You're confused. Pulse Induction machines do not use Very Low Frequency sine (radio) waves or kHz. On a saltwater beach, Multi-frequency VLF machines work, as well as PI machines, which send out 600-900 Pulses Per Second, and read the decay rate of the pulses - two VERY different machines.

If you decide on a PI machine for the beach, buy a Tesoro SAND Shark ($600) with a Lifetime Warranty. It is all you need for beach hunting. If you have enough for a TDI - look at Multi-freq machines like a Minelab Excalibur or Fisher CZ.

 

[Mzjavert]

You're confused. Pulse Induction machines do not use Very Low Frequency sine (radio) waves or kHz. On a saltwater beach, Multi-frequency VLF machines work, as well as PI machines, which send out 600-900 Pulses Per Second, and read the decay rate of the pulses - two VERY different machines.

If you decide on a PI machine for the beach, buy a Tesoro SAND Shark ($600) with a Lifetime Warranty. It is all you need for beach hunting. If you have enough for a TDI - look at Multi-freq machines like a Minelab Excalibur or Fisher CZ.

The Tesoro life-time warranty is outstanding! I bought a used Sidewinder in the mid-90's. Twenty years later I needed a repair. I was upfront that I bought the machine used. They still covered what was probably a $200 repair FREE OF CHANGE!

 

[Groot]

Well.... I'm not confused , I just said I understand high and low Frequency not that the PI had VLF, but thanks. I just wanted information on my questions before I buy one . I know about the Life time warranty on the Sand Shark ,that's great but that is not the one I want to buy.

 

[CASPER-2]

what area of the country do you plan on hitting - Pi not recommended in the south east
lot of guys use the whites dual field up here in New England - and do very well
I used the whites pi pro for my first water machine and did great (1992-2007)
I use a CZ21 now - bout 90% of guys up here use Minelabs

 

[sprailroad]

You're confused. Pulse Induction machines do not use Very Low Frequency sine (radio) waves or kHz. On a saltwater beach, Multi-frequency VLF machines work, as well as PI machines, which send out 600-900 Pulses Per Second, and read the decay rate of the pulses - two VERY different machines.

If you decide on a PI machine for the beach, buy a Tesoro SAND Shark ($600) with a Lifetime Warranty. It is all you need for beach hunting. If you have enough for a TDI - look at Multi-freq machines like a Minelab Excalibur or Fisher CZ.

For me, I go with advice from Terry and Scuba both. I somehow have the feeling that they have forgotten more about salt & fresh water hunting then many of us have yet learned, and of course, I consider myself as one of the "us".

 

[Groot]

I Live in DE close to the beach in Rehoboth. I really appreciate everyone’s advice and recommendations. Even if I take the advice from Terry I still will have the same questions from my first post Number of Frequencies, Audio Tones, and Ground Balance. If anyone can answer them that would be great, I just cannot find my answers on the net.

 

[Groot]

Should I post this in another section to see if I can get an answer , I'm new to the forum so let me know thanks

 

[ChampFerguson/TN]

Since you have narrowed it down to specific models, I'd advise asking in those specific forums.

(I don't know enough about your choices to answer your questions. Now if you decide to throw a Minelab into the mix.......)

 

[chub]

I just bought an old minelab sovereign for the beach. $140. 17 frequency. I would also like a PI but I borrowed one last Christmas for our holiday at the beach.Hunting in the water was difficult! I found alot of stuff but the iron that I dug was annoying. I used a whites DF. Not to put you off, but if you intend to hunt anywhere other than the beach the PI may not be the best choice. Other things to conside-The PI machines are quite heavy. The seahunter has a smaller coil than the whites. While both have some form of scrim i believe the whites is more functional. If you are hunting in the water anything less than a glassy sea can be taxing. If you are hunting on land the weight can be taxing. I know you have your mind set on one of the machines you mentioned but try and think realistically about what type of hunting you will be doing the most.

Chub

 

[Groot]

I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions and comments on certain metal detectors. As to my original post, I just had three general questions about some of different specifications they listed for each MD and what was the impact on the metal detector or the user .Some had Audio Tones and some did not, same with ground balance, if you don’t have Ground Balance or Audio Tones or if have it, what is the difference? And the number of Number of Frequencies, one detector had 1 and one had 96. OK...96 sounds better than having 1, maybe not .Being new to this they may sound like silly questions but I don’t understand the difference between them. I will try again to find my answers on the net, thanks again