Since my introduction

[Whit30]

!
Hi everyone,
Since I did the welcome and introduction post and met a few of you, my son and I have been out a couple of times.
I shared I am a total rookie and have a Whites Spectrum XLT. The first day at the beach nothing. A total wipe out and a lot of learning.
The next time, still not figuring out wet sands at all. Either missing signals, the balancing isn't correct or needing to figure out how to reject when the ground is wet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Decided to just go on dry land and learn where it would be easier and try out my cheap pin pointer from the big online store. While under Beach\jewlery we found a bunch of trash and one penny. Came back proud of that penny and sack of trash because we are learning a little.
Third time out close by the house, we found less trash and a whopping .24 cents! Jackpot!
My son and myself are having a great time as my health allows and can't wait until the bigger find shows up. Probably will be at the beach but would love to know how to search the web sands with my XLT. One day, I'll be able to get a proper beach machine.

 

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[RustyGold]

Sounds like you and your son had a good time. I wish I knew your machine but I don’t. Maybe someone will post some good info on beach use and settings. Don’t give up because you’re doing it right, one small step at a time. Good luck!

 

[cudamark]

Back when I had the XLT, I tried wet beach sand too, and soon found out it wasn't the machine for that venue. By the time I detuned the machine and ground balanced it several times, the best I could do was about 2 inches on a quarter. Even at that setting, it was pretty chatty. Got an Excalibur and never looked back. The XLT will work fine in the dry sand (though a bit depth limited by today's standards). Forget the wet though. If you're looking into a good, reasonably priced, waterproof, salt water machine, take a look at the Minelab Equinox. Great machine for land or water.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congrats on the new machine! The best part is hunting with your son!

 

[Mudflap]

Cudamark hit the nail right on the head. The XLT wiii run ok in the sand. As you get closer to the water it will start to get all kinds of yackity.

 

[against the wind]

Back when I had the XLT, I tried wet beach sand too, and soon found out it wasn't the machine for that venue. By the time I detuned the machine and ground balanced it several times, the best I could do was about 2 inches on a quarter. Even at that setting, it was pretty chatty. Got an Excalibur and never looked back. The XLT will work fine in the dry sand (though a bit depth limited by today's standards). Forget the wet though. If you're looking into a good, reasonably priced, waterproof, salt water machine, take a look at the Minelab Equinox. Great machine for land or water.

Yep, no better machine for hunting salt water than the Excalibur.

 

[Whit30]

Thank you everyone for your input and advice! I spoke with someone using an Equinox and a nice gentleman saw us struggling with a target in wet sand and with a swipe of his Excalibur, the target was found. Of course he knew what he was doing but I have had total machine envy since One day, I'll be able to upgrade to a better machine but will continue to enjoy searching with my son as my health allows.
My dream find would be to uncover a Civil War relic. Any Civil War relic even if just a Mini ball. That is what inspired me to get into the hobby but since I don't live in an area for my dream find to be found, finding some good beach finds would be next on the list.
Thanks again everyone and happy hunting!

 

[Silvermonkey]

The more you work at it, the better your finds. It takes a while to learn any machine, and its strengths and weaknesses. What part of the country are you in? From everyone's input, it sounds like your detector isn't designed for hunting in wet sand. Try your luck in different types of sites...ball fields, parks, woods, curb strips , etc. Keep us posted on your progress. HH