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Beach Detecting With A Gpx4500


Jin

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Taking the misses away caravaning again and seeing that the last two trips were too gold-bearing spots I decided to take her to the coast instead. I've never detected beaches before and until I get the new equinox will have to settle on the 4500.

I'm assuming the gpx will work on sand. Would I use the salt timings? And what about ground balancing? would you turn that off? The other question is coil choice. Go with a DD and use discrimination or don't bother and dig everything. Only got 2 DD's. the standard 11" and a coiltek 24" Would a mono coil work? I've got a 13"x17" nugget finder that's waterproof. The place where staying at isn't popular so I don't think the rubbish levels will be like most beaches. Of course, ill try and keep sand and moisture out of the gpx box. 

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Jin,

I bought a 5000 in 2010 and used it on the beach for nearly two years.  It found everything ... well ... not really ... I've got a story about a diamond on a very thin chain I found by accident.  I heard another target and found the chain!

Don't use a big coil.  It will just see too many targets.  You have enough timings on the 4500 to find a place for it to be quiet.  If you have a beach with a substantial tide then hunt the wet sand on the low tide.  There is no real reason to get the coil or the unit wet.  One thing you can do to protect it is to put it in a plastic bag.  You can still adjust it.  You just have to get your headphone cord out of it.

I think you will have fun digging everything.  It is a good way to learn a beach.  You want to know what trash to look for that holds the rings and jewelry.  You'll learn the coin sounds.

Dig, dig, dig ... it will go deeper than anyone else on the beach.  You'll find some good things.

Mitchel

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Thanks Mitchel, Not expecting anything great out of the gpx as its really built for gold but at least I know now that it works on sand. 

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Jin,

You are a young man.  Don't be scared by trash.  The man I know who finds more than all of the rest of us combined month after month after month has a Surfmaster PI.  Sure he has a big pile of trash at the end of the year also but he is greatly rewarded.  He goes to the deep 'holes' in the surf beaches and doesn't wait for the wave energy to bring it back to the shore.

You will have fun.  Once you find a patch treat it just like gold.  As Steve has said the beaches are just like a big pan.  Once it is shaken around for a few years/months/weeks the fines and the heavies sort themselves out.  Look for the lead fishing weights!

Look online for a video about the beach you are going to and see what they have found.

Mitchel

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Get a sand scoop and an unbreakable shaft i use my Goldscan 5c last week on the beach in Cornwall and i dug massive holes

 

 

RR

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tried out beach detecting and didn't like it. The beach was pretty clean so not many targets. Found a few metal bottle tops down around 650mm and a can that was pretty deep.

Decided to do the water line when the tide was out but the sand kept caving in and filling with water which drove me mad so I walked away not retrieving anything.

Only spent about 3 hours at it then packed the detector away for the rest of the trip. Maybe a proper detector with discrimination would be better but for the moment I think gold hunting is what I prefer. Can't wait to get back to digging in real ground, not sand. Next time ill take fishing rods as there was plenty being caught off the beach.

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Jin

 A very good sand scoop with a long handle is a must when detecting in the sand

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Yes, probably why I didn't enjoy it that much. Digging in the sand with a pick that's designed for digging hard ground didn't help. After 3 or 4  (3 foot) holes id had enough. Plus was on a diet for the last month and energy levels were nearly non-existent, so got really tired after digging a few deep holes. (lost 7kg in 3 weeks so far) Won't give up on the idea though and will try again when I have more energy and have a detector that has a proper way to discriminate rubbish. 

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Gotta have the right tools for the job at hand....... as you have found out.

Sorry you didn't find anything or enjoy your hunt.

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