What is the best underwater detector to find gold and silver coins and rings?

[OBXmetalDet]

My Nokta PulseDive Underwater Metal Detector failed on me after going into the water (and not even using it). When I came back on land, although I could turn it on, I couldn't detect metal. Maybe some water got into it.

I'm looking for something that is handheld so about 15" long.

I would be diving right off the shore/beach in relatively shallow, but it would be good to have the ability to go much deeper in case I ever decide to boat dive.

Can anybody recommend anything?

 

[CASPER-2]

Very active forum. Don"t really know how it fell apart. Lots of drama and some infighting or squabbling, but in that day it was all welcome and high entertainment. Larry, Pete and their buddies did have some exceptional relic finds.

It didnt fall apart - to run the site got real expensive (not only in $ but in time plus he had the magazine
I was asked if i wanted to possibly take over running it cause i had writen so much for it)
and were not enough sponsors to keep it going - some members wanted to band together and possibly purchase but there was a lot involved in doing that - too much
I met a lot of good people there and great hunters too - luckily some of them are now here at
the TNET

 

[ropesfish]

We use to do the repairs on the AQ1B in Kellyco repair center....

Oddly enough, I ended up with most of the spare parts that Kellyco had. I missed the garage sale, but I was lucky enough that a friend of mine bought them and sold them to me. I've rebuilt a few machines but still have a good stock of parts. I sure wish I had a complete set of repair manuals for the various boards used over the years.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

One of my better yrs

View attachment 2211778

Geez, it must be nice. I've never found a single ring.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Geez, it must be nice. I've never found a single ring.

What are you using and where are you hunting on the beaches.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

What are you using and where are you hunting on the beaches.

I use a Minelab Manticore and keep it on Beach-General. I've detected the surf-line, in the dry sand, and in the water. I'd rather search only in the water, but lately the high waves have been preventing it. All I find is bottle caps, foil, and tent pegs - maybe an occasional Hot Wheel. I get excited when I find real money, like pennies, nickels, and quarters. Never found silver, though.

 

[CASPER-2]

I use a Minelab Manticore and keep it on Beach-General. I've detected the surf-line, in the dry sand, and in the water. I'd rather search only in the water, but lately the high waves have been preventing it. All I find is bottle caps, foil, and tent pegs - maybe an occasional Hot Wheel. I get excited when I find real money, like pennies, nickels, and quarters. Never found silver, though.

ive always done pretty good in Fla.
this is just some of finds from there over the yrs

FINDS FROM FLORIDA TRIPS

www.treasurenet.com

 

[CASPER-2]

ive always done pretty good in Fla.
this is just some of finds from there over the yrs

FINDS FROM FLORIDA TRIPS

www.treasurenet.com

and ive just been a visitor

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

ive always done pretty good in Fla.
this is just some of finds from there over the yrs

FINDS FROM FLORIDA TRIPS

www.treasurenet.com

I remember your original posts, you did good. 👍

 

[Paul Revere’s Ghost]

and ive just been a visitor

Because it’s a nice place to visit but you didn’t want to live there? I lived in Port Orange for a few years. That was enough. Everything had teeth and wanted to eat me.

 

[Crunchyhippo]

ive always done pretty good in Fla.
this is just some of finds from there over the yrs

FINDS FROM FLORIDA TRIPS

www.treasurenet.com

Since I've been detecting, the only thing I've managed to find at the beach is bad luck. I don't know what people are doing different from me, but I've hunted in the water, at the surf line, in the hard-packed sand, and the loose sand and have yet to find any gold or silver in any form. It gets pretty discouraging sometimes, bringing home nothing but bottle caps and foil all the time.

 

[OBN]

Since I've been detecting, the only thing I've managed to find at the beach is bad luck. I don't know what people are doing different from me, but I've hunted in the water, at the surf line, in the hard-packed sand, and the loose sand and have yet to find any gold or silver in any form. It gets pretty discouraging sometimes, bringing home nothing but bottle caps and foil all the time.

Not to be nosy, where are you hunting..? location and timing are the number one determining factors in what you find. It took me 3 months to find my first gold, I was in the right spot but where I was ... the season did not start till July.

Your time will come, be patient and keep moving.

 

[Paul Revere’s Ghost]

Since I've been detecting, the only thing I've managed to find at the beach is bad luck. I don't know what people are doing different from me, but I've hunted in the water, at the surf line, in the hard-packed sand, and the loose sand and have yet to find any gold or silver in any form. It gets pretty discouraging sometimes, bringing home nothing but bottle caps and foil all the time.

Summertime, you have to be there while people are dropping stuff. I thought I was being ambitious two weeks ago getting up at 3 am to be there at 5 am which was low tide and sunrise. Then I discovered somebody else was showing up at 2 and hunting the outgoing tide in the dark. Now that’s dedication. I hunted in between his dig lines and still found a ring and hour.
The other type of hunting is for old drops. You have to wait for a weather event. Wind will erode dry sand and waves will erode wet sand. Look for lines of stones or clay. Puddles with pebbles. Wave cuts. Just put in the time. 9 pm. I just shut off a good movie because I’m going to bed. I’ll be on the beach around 8 am. Low tide is at noon. You’ll get it. A bad day at the beach it better than a good day at work. 🏖️

 

[OBXmetalDet]

Update: I tried my Nokta Makro handheld detector again and now it does pick up metal so I don't know what happened before. However, I noticed while it does pick up some metal, it doesn't pick up coins or keys when I hold it right under the detector and go over it.

I'm worried that when I go to the beach it might not pick up gold or silver if I happen to come across it.

1. Why isn't it picking up coins or keys?
2. I'm going to feel pretty dumb admitting this, but I just realized that the black thing on the coil is a cover for the coil. I thought it was a part of the coil. See the pic. It seems like I can detect the same objects with the coil cover on or off. But when I detect in the ocean right off the beach, should I keep the cover on or should I take it off? It's probably a dumb question but I have to ask.

 

[OBXmetalDet]

In the owner's manual it talks about frequency shift. It says,
"there are 40 steps in frequency shift. The central frequency, which is the factory default, is indicated by double beeps/vibrations."

1. Are they saying there are 40 different frequencies?
2. Is there a multi-frequency option?
3. Which frequency is best for detecting gold and silver?

 

[OBXmetalDet]

One of my better yrs

View attachment 2211778

Excalibur or Excalibur 2?

 

[OBXmetalDet]

If you hip mount it and use the short dive shaft, it's not too bad. More than 15" though.....as most full featured detectors will be.

Which one of these parts is the side mount shaft?

Amazon.com

 

[CASPER-2]

Just to be sye, Excalibur or Excalibur 2


Excalibur or Excalibur 2?

FISHER CZ21s (i own 3) for like the last 20 yrs
CZ20 and Whites PIs before that

 

[CASPER-2]

Since I've been detecting, the only thing I've managed to find at the beach is bad luck. I don't know what people are doing different from me, but I've hunted in the water, at the surf line, in the hard-packed sand, and the loose sand and have yet to find any gold or silver in any form. It gets pretty discouraging sometimes, bringing home nothing but bottle caps and foil all the time.

Maybe some of my old articles will help - at very least they might inspire you

DON DEFORRE'

Explore DON DEFORRE'’s 170 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Since I've been detecting, the only thing I've managed to find at the beach is bad luck. I don't know what people are doing different from me, but I've hunted in the water, at the surf line, in the hard-packed sand, and the loose sand and have yet to find any gold or silver in any form. It gets pretty discouraging sometimes, bringing home nothing but bottle caps and foil all the time.

All beaches are different, when you go to the beach, do you note which zones have the most activity that day?

There are multiple zones on beaches, parking zone, blanket zone, beach towel zone, beach chair/umbrella zone, zone where mothers sit with babies in very shallow water, there is knee deep water zone, waisted deep zone where young couples hang and the sand bar zone.

I always look at the beach when I arrive to see which zones have the most activity and that is where I start.

It also depends on the time of day too. If a beach has rental chairs and umbrellas, they are moved at night. In evenings I hunt the area where these chairs and umbrellas were set up during day.

Others may do it different, I'm only reporting what I found works best for me. I find far, far more gold jewelry in water than dry sand, keeping in mind where the water line was at high tide.

People put on sunscreen and when they get hot they go the water to cool off, the sun screen makes fingers slippery, and the cool water causes fingers to shrink. This is why I like to hunt knee deep to waist deep water first, where couples play, toss Frisbee, balls ect.

 

[OBXmetalDet]

VibraTector for a simple hand held machine. For full function discriminating machines.....Excalibur or CZ21 for deep dives, Equinox 700/900, Manticore, Legend, or Deus 2 for shallower dives. Not much available in new PI machines at the moment. J.W, Fisher 6X and 8X, and Aquapulse are the one decent ones that come to mind right now.

How are you defining deep vs. shallow dives? How many feet?