Newbie needing some helpful pointers!

[Dave2]

Hi all,

Just signed up to this forum after lurking, reading and doing some research! Thinking about getting into the hobby and need a little bit of guidance and thought this was the best place to come.

I currently live in Puerto Rico which has a good history of natural gold being present on the island but also has lots of beaches with the potential for finds both in and out of the water. Being new to this hobby I was leaning towards a metal detector which would be the most versatile, meaning that it would cover as many of my options for detecting as possible and so be the most enjoyable. However, I realize that in doing so I'm probably going to be sacrificing quality compared with detectors dedicated to a particular environment.

From a purely money back point of view, the beach is where I'm most likely to find rings (gold or silver) and from what I've read it's going to be in the sea water at the beach where most rings will be found. But limiting my metal detecting to only in the sea might take some of the fun out of it for me, I'm not sure. I don't scuba dive but don't mind going out of my depth at the beach with a mask.

The Garrett AT Pro stood out on my research as one that does it all and doesn't break the bank. The Garrett AT Gold I read isn't great at the beach and is not good in the sea but would be better for detecting nuggets. It costs around $100 more than the at pro.
The Garrett Infinitum LS costs roughly twice as much as the at pro but can be used at all depths in the sea as well as being used on land (might detect gold nuggets better than the AT pro?), however if I understand right, the at pro discriminates better?

As for other brands I'm not too familiar with them as I seemed to hit the Garrett brand more often while searching. Any information on other detectors that might suit me best would be welcome.

So what do you think would suit me best taking all of this into consideration? I appreciate any advice you might have. Thanks

 

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[cudamark]

Welcome to Tnet! As you have surmised, there isn't one machine that will do it all exceptionally well. IMO the one that comes the closest is the Minelab CTX3030. It's quite a machine but might be a little more than a beginner would want to spend. The AT Pro is a good starter detector but with 43 years of detecting, it leaves me wanting more. I'm not convinced it's a good salt water machine either, even though some people say it works good there. You'll have to decide what type of hunting you plan on doing the most and pick one that is better in that area. Getting two (or more) machine(s) is another option.

 

[Terry Soloman]

A "VLF" or very low frequency type metal detector (AT Pro) works extremely well on dry sand and in fresh water. It does not work as well in saltwater, or on wet ocean-water beaches. In highly conductive saltwater conditions pulse induction or "PI," and multi-frequency VLF "BBS" metal detectors excel. The VLF metal detector sends 4,000 - 80,000 sign (radio) waves per-second into the ground. When the radio waves hit something conductive - like an iron nail, gold ring, coin or aluminum pull-tab, a magnetic field sets up around the object and a particular signal frequency is transmitted back to the detector's receiving coil. VLF metal detectors have the ability to "discriminate," or tell what type of metal they are seeing by "reading" the return signal frequency.

An iron nail for example, has a different frequency than a silver coin. The processor in the metal detector knows the difference between the two, and can be set to remain silent when seeing the nail. However, the radio waves bounce off everything that is conductive in the sand or water. This is why VLF detectors must be "ground balanced" to work effectively in highly mineralized soil, or on highly conductive saltwater beaches. You must tune or adjust the machine to see through the "fog," or white-noise created by the salt and iron in the sand or water you are detecting. Unfortunately, this usually leads to a loss of depth and stability with most VLF detectors.

Minelab has a fully submersible VLF beach machine that can discriminate out iron in wet sand and saltwater. The “Excalibur” uses Broad Band Spectrum, or “BBS” technology, and retails for about $1,400.00. According to Minelab, their BBS operating system, “simultaneously transmits, receives and analyses a broad band of multiple frequencies to deliver substantial detection depth, high sensitivity and accurate discrimination for a wide range of target types.” The key takeaway here is “multiple frequencies.” Unfortunately, radio waves regardless of their frequency still have to be filtered and balanced in heavily conductive wet-ocean sand and highly mineralized saltwater. That limits the systems depth capabilities.

The magnetic iron sands (“Black Sands”), salt, and high concentrations of other minerals in the water and sand conspire to bounce the radio waves away from the target. Conductivity and mineralization act like a shield around the target and create white noise that must be filtered electronically. Think of it as turning on your bright headlights in a heavy fog at night. All that powerful light is diffused and causes a complete white out – you can’t see anything three-feet past the hood of your car! However when you turn on your yellow fog lights, you can see a little further – not as far as you could in clear daylight, but further. That is why all radio wave machines must be “ground balanced” or tuned, to maximize their depth potential, and why BBS filters and multi-frequencies are so effective – yet still limited.

Unlike BBS and VLF metal detectors which constantly send and receive thousands of low frequency radio waves per second, a Pulse Induction (PI) metal detector fires high-voltage pulses into the sand several hundred times per second. If no metal is present the electric pulse decays at a uniform rate with no anomalies. When metal is present a small “eddy” current flows through it causing the voltage decay time to increase, which creates a measurable anomaly. Unlike VLF radio waves, electronic pulses are impervious to the effects of conductivity and mineralization, and are unaffected by salt or black sands.

Using the same heavy fog at night metaphor that I referred to earlier, pulse induction is like headlights that cut completely through the fog as if it were not there at all. The trade-off for that added depth and clarity is the inability to discriminate, or block out iron targets that you generally don’t want to waste time and energy digging. While a pulse induction machine detects all metals without discrimination, the minute differences in the signal tone and quality can give a skilled and experienced operator a clue as to what the target may, or may not be.

You can get a Tesoro Sand Shark (PI), and a Tesoro Vaquero (VLF) for about $1,050.00 Brand New. You would be set for ALL conditions and terrain. Just something to think about. Good luck!

 

[killerclown]

Welcome to the site!

 

[hunter_46356]

Welcome to the Tnet you couldn't find a better site to learn from. I had the same dilemma when I finally decided I needed more from a detector than the Bounty Hunters line of detectors could give me. Living in Indiana I don't get to the beach much. Saltwater beaches that is. My daughter lives in FL not far from the Treasure Coast but that is only good for a couple trips a year. All the above advice is solid what you have to decide is what you will use the detector for the most unless your ready to buy the big boys toys or two detectors one for salt and one for dirt. By the way I went with an AT Pro and gonna see if I can work the wet sand of FL. I know it will do fine in the dry. Have fun and good luck.

 

[Dave2]

Thanks for the welcome and the helpful posts! Thanks Terry for the technical side, it helps to understand what is really going on with the two different types of detectors, I appreciate it!

I guess it's true that to work the sea effectively you need a PI machine and that pretty much means you need two machines. Being in Puerto Rico one of my requirements would be that the machine I get be waterproof - even if it is just for land use, the reason being we get heavy tropical rain showers here and there is also high humidity.
Can most detectors cope with being out in heavy rain or cope with high humidity?

 

[cudamark]

If you get a cover for them, they usually can.

 

[Frankn]

OK , lets roll the facts out and keep it simple. On wet, dry, black or any other type of sand, you can't beat a PI detector. The PI also works best in the water.
You could get the best PI, which is a Fisher 8X, but it is expensive. Now on the beach forget discrimination and IDing the target. You just scoop them all look and deside if you want it. I use a Whites Surfmaster PI. It will find anything and go deep. You should look for a used one. There are other good PI detectors on the market, but after using mine for 12 years, I know it is up to the task. Frank...

 

[goldentruth]

Like my friend killerclown nailed it, Welcome to the site. I have a good ol buddy who has been in the business for over 35 years who has been selling metal Detectors, his shop is called "The Miners's Cache" (your complete mining outfitter) here in Northern California aprox 200 miles North of Sacramento. My good hearted Christian store owner and close friend is named "Chip", CALL him & tell him Don sent you. (530) 410-3122. Chip is a very keen on all kinds of Mining and searching for gold and will offer sound metal detecting advice.Chip is always open to spend time giving information and it wont cost you a dime. He does make some of his own eqpt. and has good prices. I was in yesterday and I found he has 2 hand pump Suction devices for aprox $30 & $40 bucks (Wow a good deal). While I was there I bought a metal detector aid! a 2 grain gold "picker"-piece laminated on the front of his business card & the good thing is you can fine tune your MD to pick it up once burried and set your MD for the best depth and carry in along in your wallet!! Also on the back of his business card-aid is a complete list of measurements of: TROY WEIGHT,TROY GRAMS AND GRAMS=DWT. I find this is very helpfull when you measure your finds and with weight you can estimate your value of your gold. if you want to email him: he's at: www.minersCache.com Good luck friend, I hope this helps in your quest. "goldentruth"

 

[killerclown]

Like my friend killerclown nailed it, Welcome to the site. I have a good ol buddy who has been in the business for over 35 years who has been selling metal Detectors, his shop is called "The Miners's Cache" (your complete mining outfitter) here in Northern California aprox 200 miles North of Sacramento. My good hearted Christian store owner and close friend is named "Chip", CALL him & tell him Don sent you. (530) 410-3122. Chip is a very keen on all kinds of Mining and searching for gold and will offer sound metal detecting advice.Chip is always open to spend time giving information and it wont cost you a dime. He does make some of his own eqpt. and has good prices. I was in yesterday and I found he has 2 hand pump Suction devices for aprox $30 & $40 bucks (Wow a good deal). While I was there I bought a metal detector aid! a 2 grain gold "picker"-piece laminated on the front of his business card & the good thing is you can fine tune your MD to pick it up once burried and set your MD for the best depth and carry in along in your wallet!! Also on the back of his business card-aid is a complete list of measurements of: TROY WEIGHT,TROY GRAMS AND GRAMS=DWT. I find this is very helpfull when you measure your finds and with weight you can estimate your value of your gold. if you want to email him: he's at: www.minersCache.com Good luck friend, I hope this helps in your quest. "goldentruth"

Sweet! Call chip for me and tell him I need a pro pointer. I broke mine. I don't have any money but you can hook me up...lol

 

[killerclown]

Sweet! Call chip for me and tell him I need a pro pointer. I broke mine. I don't have any money but you can hook me up...lol

Tell him we are friends so he's a bit easier on me! Lol

 

[goldentruth]

Tell him we are friends so he's a bit easier on me! Lol

Come on Pal, I know you some what but just get out your finger and phone him up or get more fingers and email him and be Frank. (Opps, I don't mean Frank the Tnet member just be yourself and tell him your perdicament,That's all.)
Chip is a good ol Christian guy and let him know you are a T-net Member too. By the way Christians can only do so much, (P.S. I'm the one who gave you sound advice with a past problem, remember.) Good luck Bro.

 

[Dave2]

Thanks for the info Goldentruth and Frankn. I'm doing a bit more research and will probably take the plunge in the next month or so - I'll update this with my final choice when I make it!