Questions

[DeadEye Ice]

OK I'm relatively new to detecting and have done a little inland and a little on the dry sand at the beach. I have a few questions.

1.) Is the wet sand / surf less / as / more productive than the dry sand area of the beach?

2.) Good / bad of dual freq vs PI machines?

Also I am a certified scuba diver and may in the future want to use a detector to dive with.

 

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[Sandman]

Beaches can be as different as people even during the seasons or time of day. http://web.archive.org/web/20080202045558/http://thegoldenolde.com/
As for the detector a muilty freq like the Excal or CZ-20/21 fits the bill and I have used them diving. The White's Beach Hunter is not an equal as they're coils float like a cork and get tiring to control in the surf or and have a dive limit. Some swear by the use of a PI but they have no disc to speak of so you could dig deep holes for for hairpins and waste time you could have used with another detectors.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sandman is spot on.... If you have a very clean beach a PI is good, if it is dirty with pieces of iron you will digging to china for hairpins, nails and tiny pieces of iron.... Some will tell you that you can tell when it is iron by a double blip, maybe after years of use, but I have never seen anyone using a PI at the beach that didnt show me a handfull of tiny pieces of iron when I asked how they were doing....

 

[CASPER-2]

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[DeadEye Ice]

Thanks for all the help thus far, i am kind of a whites fan, but may not be the best unit for my purposes. I had contemplated a beach hunter id. I understand they offer a different coil that doesn't float. As for beach hunting i will be mostly on myrtle beach and the grand strand, though i may also get some opportunities in NC and FL. Thus far i search the dry sand with a whites prism IV but always wonder what I'm missing in the wet sand.

 

[Craig-PI]

If you are not going to venture in the water get yourself a Sov GT... you can use it in the dirt as well... I use the GT for wet sand and a DF in the water as there is less trash in the water.

Thanks for all the help thus far, i am kind of a whites fan, but may not be the best unit for my purposes. I had contemplated a beach hunter id. I understand they offer a different coil that doesn't float. As for beach hunting i will be mostly on myrtle beach and the grand strand, though i may also get some opportunities in NC and FL. Thus far i search the dry sand with a whites prism IV but always wonder what I'm missing in the wet sand.

 

[Terry Soloman]

I have a different opinion. I use my VLF machine in the dry sand and in the dirt. I use my PI machine in wet saltwater sand and in the water. I know several SCUBA certified divers, and the all use the Tesoro Sand Shark (as I do), for several reasons - Price, ease of use, sensitivity, depth, 200ft depth rating, all controls on the faceplate, Two modes, adjustable tone frequency, lifetime warranty. I dig a lot of bobbypins, and gold!

 

[cjon455]

when the sand is whet is screws up the signals

 

[DeadEye Ice]

when the sand is whet is screws up the signals

I'm aware that normal land machines go nuts trying to read wet sand. I was under the impression the dual freq and pi machines were both designed to work in wet sand/surf conditions. Was i wrong?

 

[Craig-PI]

I'm aware that normal land machines go nuts trying to read wet sand. I was under the impression the dual freq and pi machines were both designed to work in wet sand/surf conditions. Was i wrong?

Dual or multi-frequency work well in the wet sand... so you were correct.

 

[Can Slaw]

I have a different opinion. I use my VLF machine in the dry sand and in the dirt. I use my PI machine in wet saltwater sand and in the water. I know several SCUBA certified divers, and the all use the Tesoro Sand Shark (as I do), for several reasons - Price, ease of use, sensitivity, depth, 200ft depth rating, all controls on the faceplate, Two modes, adjustable tone frequency, lifetime warranty. I dig a lot of bobbypins, and gold!

The richest diver in the world, Mel Fisher, used a Garrett Sea Hunter

 

[Sandman]

I'm aware that normal land machines go nuts trying to read wet sand. I was under the impression the dual freq and pi machines were both designed to work in wet sand/surf conditions. Was i wrong?

No you weren't wrong. Minelab's, CZ's and PI's work well in wet saltwater sand.

 

[hamiddetecting]

Welcome, i wish you happy hunting. Day after day so you learn with when you dig the target.

 

[dewcon4414]

Sandmans' sure right about knowing the beaches. Tides change seasonally and so do people. I dont know where you are or if you are hunting salt water.... that can make a difference as well when you talk, tides, towel lines, and when people may be in the water. Most dual freqs have disc which allows you to avoid trash like bottle caps and hairpins, PIs dont. Its a matter of time management when you are out there..... how much you dig or the amount of beach you may get to cover. Someone said there is 400 to 1 target ratio in the dry sand..... 50 to one in the wet sand... and 25 to 1 in the water. That alone should tell you were best to use a PI.

Dew

 

[DeadEye Ice]

Well Myrtle Beach will be my most frequented beach, My gf and I take a 3-4 day vacation there each year. It is salt water. I should have other uses throughout the year around the rivers ponds and lakes more locally which will be fresh water obviously. Might be fun to snorkel the shallows around the swim areas and see what pops up.

 

[nickmarch]

OK I'm relatively new to detecting and have done a little inland and a little on the dry sand at the beach. I have a few questions.

1.) Is the wet sand / surf less / as / more productive than the dry sand area of the beach?

Yes but not as productive as the deeper water behind the breakers.

2.) Good / bad of dual freq vs PI machines?

Also I am a certified scuba diver and may in the future want to use a detector to dive with.

Learn to read the sediment on the ocean floor and it will lead you to the most productive areas where items of similar specific gravity gather.

...

 

[DeadEye Ice]

...

Is there a book or post that teaches what to look for or is this something that is only learned with time or from more experienced detectorists(spelling/word?)

 

[Sandman]

I'm aware that normal land machines go nuts trying to read wet sand. I was under the impression the dual freq and pi machines were both designed to work in wet sand/surf conditions. Was i wrong?

No both Dual Frequency detectors like the Fisher CZ20/21, White's Beach Hunter id and all the pulse detectors work very will in the surf and Wet saltwater sand. Beaches very in the amount of salt concentrations and Black Sand concentrations too. Conditions can change for hunting within feet. If you GB on dry sand, only hunt dry sand. When you are in the wet sand, you GB again and stay in the wet sand. Some guys and gals that use the AT PRO at salt water beaches swear their detector works fine, but they are fooling themselves by having to turn down the Sensitivity. You don't need to do that with the Dual Freq. MD's.

 

[Sandman]

Is there a book or post that teaches what to look for or is this something that is only learned with time or from more experienced detectorists(spelling/word?)

The Golden Olde

Enjoy,
Sandman

 

[DeadEye Ice]

The Golden Olde

Enjoy,
Sandman

I had actually already been to that site, and am reading more and more of it. Hoping i can retain enough of it to make me a better hunter.