dewcon4414

GL with the phones ive got 3 pairs now........ 2 mine and one pair is Tony Eiesenhowers.   I like the two pair with piezos..... which you can make pretty waterproof.... but the audio sears volume and sound is hard to beat.  sounds a lot like Pro Golds.   I talked to someone i know at ML..... he said shipping was supposed to be first week of April then to dealers last week...... never happened.  Machine is working great...... but dang what a SNAFU.

Well....... how ya liking that jack mod now lol?   Why would anyone expect prices to go DOWN from the CTX accessories?   Im waiting to see the price on the waterproof phones and that cable......... hey i need a chuckle.

Dew

Contact ML ...they have been replacing them..... but oddly they want you to send the entire machine in.   Andersons uses two holes with spring clip that snaps into both those hole unlike MLs with with just one hole.   No twist lock... they use a small locking screw... system works well... no wobble. 

Same here..... thats why i bought a pair from Tony... i just wanted to get in the water with phones i knew was capable of going as deep as this machine was rated for.   Im one of those guys who once i see it done i can normally do it.   I wait and let others who know what they are doing waste time and money on parts.  Once they figure it out for me the lights go on and i can duplicate it.  Tony was great in giving me the parts and how to list.   It takes about 30 min.   So those on freebay are really over priced IMO..... and you still have to put it together.

I have a pair of Tonys new phones.... great WATERPROOF.... im mean get um wet headphones.   But ive found its a pretty simple mod and ive done a couple of mine ... one with piezo and the other with audio sears.   With the parts list Tony has .... its really a pretty simple task to make that jack.   Tonys said he doesnt want a job ...... so this is very temporary so hit him up while you can.  Not a lot of damage you can do to the machine provided you remove the phones and check them routinely for water getting into the jack entrance...... then a little corrosion spray will help that.   Mono jack, M12 4 prong connector..... and some marine grade epoxy..... grab a drill and soldering iron/solder cut off the longer prong to the jack....solder your wires one to each prong and ensure the jack is even with the end of the M12 epoxy in and there ya go..... ready to hunt using your fav phones.   BUT lets give Tony his dues for taking the time to start this mod.

How does having that chip IN the coil bring this all together better......based on the batteries, it doesnt seem to require more power to the coil.

Yes .... if those conditions exsist, but oddly with that moisture chatty effect the machine will still read default 0 GB in auto or somewhere near 14.... its not EMI you can hold the coil up and hear nothing but a nice steady threshold.   Tracking works ...... but you really loose depth.   Better off to leave it ... or auto GB.   Heck im debating if i even need to GB..... ive not found a lot of difference ..... except tracking isnt as deep i did test that..... here anyway.   This will really very i believe depending on location.  

Chase..... what do you think about this?   Im about to experiment with 2 tones.   In the water there really is fewer targets.  I plan on running AM...... lowering iron in both volume and tone to about 4.   The run full volume and tone for everything above 0.    Honestly ... i started thinking how many targets do i really get that i dont already know is trash ...... yet still dig them?   Pull tab, foil, .... even some iffy bottle caps.   It will be interesting to see the what i get doing this....... and how i deal with any chatter.   Will i get some weaker targets is was ignoring?    If need be i can set up my regular pattern .... and use the user profile for the other.

On the other hand, if you see a significant change in GB reading at different points on the beach including the wet sand, then GB tracking might be the ticket. 

Chase were you saying there to routinely check your GB to see if there are significant changes that might be better suited to tracking?   Cliff...... i take such abuse lol.   Hey right or wrong i dont mind a good discussion on something i dont understand..... no such thing as a dumb question.   As far as trying something with a new machine..... thats how i learn best from those smarter than me...... but i learn from my mistakes.  Dont care how many years you have been detecting or time in the water....... new machines have a learning curve for most of us.  Cliff..... this is just a fun machine to play with.

Did he just say i lacked my mental faculties or did he call me dumb...... lol.  JK..... good points.   I agree .... not sure its using all 5 either..... just take a look at how they are weighted...... say beach mode.

Chase.... im not sure they werent right about just being in multi freq at the beach with a salt setting.   Ive tried hunting in park and field modes.... multi freq.   IF we have a lot of moisture on the sand they can be difficult to hunt with.  I have been able to set them the same (tones, volumes, iron bias ect) way and it quiets them down a bit.   BUT i find myself going back to beach 1..... even thou field 2 and park 1 seems deeper..... doesnt help if you cant hunt with them easily.   Moisture just really seems to light the beach up in other modes.

All your comments seem right about raising the GB especially about loosing weak targets raising the GB.   But, didnt the manual say you get a symbol on the screen when the machine goes into Beach Mode transmission power reduction?  Ive never seen that happen on my screen yet.  

Me and Cliff have been discussing GB so  I talked to Tom about this ....... seems he was talking about adjusting the SENSITIVITY NOT  the GB up those 5 digits.   Which i had found i could easily adjust it up 3 already and keep it fairly quiet in beach 2.   Now .... i read an article that Gordon Heritage did ..... he recommended using the default 0 ALWAYS.  His reasoning was ..... because by balancing them they got very noisy because it make flakes more visible to the machine.   But on a beach thats kind of what we are looking for more sensitivity to smaller targets...... which means a little more chatter ... am i wrong?  

Manual.... vs Auto.... vs tracking on a beach.    To me... you really have to know what the machine is doing in order to manually GUESS at the GB.   In Auto the machine selects the best GB..... and if im correct LOCKS it and doesnt check the GB again...... which means you will have some parts of the beach.... like fluffy sand with nothing there that will be quiet.... and hard pan where it will be chatty.   NOW in tracking .......it adjusts constantly down fall here is depth/sensitivity over the fixed.... am i right?   Auto GB doesnt mean it auto adjusts like in tracking..... it just means the machine will select the correct GB and it stays there once selected.

A good many on the CTX ....... just grabbed the machine and hit the water without GBing.   I think we believed auto GB ment it was being adjusted ..... which was incorrect.   It just ment we were likely hunting in the default unless we or someone had done an auto GB on the machine.   Which is why sometimes ...... you wondered, are targets shallow today or am i just not getting the depth?

Also......GBing before you get into the water..... where should it be done?    Many say right near the water so it can identify the salt as well as the sand.   But isnt that where a greater concentration of black sand and in our case buried seaweed is?  

Thanks for the info Chase.

Im not Bill Nye....... so all i have to go by is results testing the various modes for what im doing looking for depth and sensitivity.   Sometimes all you need to know is it works.........not why.   Anytime someone throws in Algorithms, multi freqs, or weighed signals in the same sentence...... count me out of the conversation.    

Everything is done manually for each mode.   What i did do was made a program for beach 1 saved it in my USER PROFILE.   That away when i was flipping from beach 1 and 2  i didnt have to use the DETECT MODE BUTTON repeatedly.  Even a back button would have been nice here.

On  the stereo jack you have 3 wire connectors and on the mono 2.   Looks like you can just squash two together and solder one wire then attach the other to the other wire connector.   Kind of like a CTX connector..... you solder 2 pins together and the other pin for the other wire.   

I sat here looking at my ML shaft thinking about what you said.  the middle shaft has all the holes for the spring clip and bending it would significantly reduce the length... the ML lower is only 24" long im not certain what the total length would be once put together but id guess to short.   Couldnt you use say a whites S shaft? 

Chase...... Tom Dankowski recommended if you are hunting in beach 2 in the water to add those extra digits.   If you GB on the beach in beach 1 you may get say 11....... then do a GB in beach 2.... you get a 4.   He recommended bringing your GB up in beach 2 by 5 digits to get some of that sensitivity back.   You can tell ..... it gets a little chatty to... but not like beach 1.... and obviously you can back it off some as needed.   Real learning process with this GB, iron bias and recovery speed to find the right combo in the water. 

OK.... Cliff you forgot to say if your Xcal and CTX would hit on that earring buddy.  Stop leaving me all the big gold.... lol.

Im betting that $150 is for both the upper and lower..... IF they are that high.  Just the upper will be cheaper and you use the ML lower...... which isnt as long.   they may not be worth it to dirt hunters... but they certainly are to anyone hunting IN the water.   There is a lot of torque on a shaft and cuff in the water.... especially swift water.   I have an Anderson travel shaft ..... which says.... its not intended for daily use.... and they are correct.    In MLs case to many moving parts plus they are aluminum which blisters inside and there is nothing you can really do about it.  Forget one time to clean um and that baby will lock up tight.   Shorter shafts ..... if you have a slight wiggle and one end ...... you have a longer wiggle at the coil.   there are a lot of things dirt digger dont need us water hunters do........ and salt water...... man you best plan for repairs.  I have a whole locker full of parts and replacement parts that most dirt hunters would never need.

I do have one.   Nice shaft.  Mine is a 2piece.... lower shaf is 28" for u tall guys.  The spring clip come thru both sides and there a several holes.  It looks like a twist lock.... but u just push the lower in the spring clips locks.... and there is a set screw you finger tighten.  NO movement.   Very stiff shaft.  Two holes for handle adjustment. ...cuff has a new style lock done with set screws but it has hole that u can use other cuffs.  The 3 piece ML has already had issue's with locks and wabble. ...put in salt water the aluminum will blister inside and those locks will wear or lock up.  Wont be available for a couple of week to dealers I think Pere said.  I dont know which shaft that price is for.... 

The way it read....... you auto GB...... then add the digits.  He also recommended 0 iron bias, a high but STABLE sensitivity, and sweep speed at 3 as a starting point ... but bump it to 4 if needed.

You use a sifter along with a scoop.   The sifter comes in handy with mud, shells or rocks.   scoop..... and dump in the sifter.  it can be a fast way to deal with material and find a target.   Any kind of larger shells where there are a lot of them can be a pain to dig thru.  Seems you are always right on top of one trying to find a spot that will let the nose of the scoop in.   You do want the right size holes for your conditions....... but also for the targets you are looking for.  To large and it drops thru.   Here in Fl ..... sand and shells a 1/2 hole works well for me.   If conditions change an i have a ton of shells piled up ...... i take a scoop, empty it..... and relocate the target.  That sometimes is easier than lifting a scoop full of shells i know wont shake out.   lifting a full scoop of anything over hours...... and years is physically demanding so you look for better ways..... or you will have shoulder, back, and arm issues. 

The main thing like was said try to match your scoop to the bottom you are dealing with.   The RTG especially with the SS lip is pretty durable..... but you might find it a little heavy.  Some of the RTGs will roll rather than dig too because of the rounded nose.   You might consider making yourself a sifter........ so much easier to find targets in fresh water ponds or lakes....... especially with mud.   Pretty easy to make with PVC and plastic mesh.   They you can wave your coil over it if need be.  Some even use a PPer.   You may find a need for a pouch to hold your finds and trash.  Good pair of hard bottom shoes..... or dive boots.   If you are digging AM...... consider putting a magnet in the bottom to catch iron trash.  Targets disintegrat MUCH slower in fresh water so some places may have a lot of trash to sift thru.

Flak..... i cant take credit for knowing this.  Tom Dankowski and i talk  and having spent many hours testing the EQ he has some good advice.   Vance detectors also sent out an Email on relic hunting .... he advised running in AM..... and increasing the GB by 2 to 4 digits.   Tom also recommends .... field 1, then park, then beach 1 in the dry sand.   What i found was field and park sometimes gets difficult to hunt with when the sand is damp..... it tends to really light the salt up.   BUT field 1 definitely is deeper and more sensitive in the dry sand.   I adjusted field to match what i was using in beach..... much easier to use.  I set up beach 1 and put it in my USER PROFILE....since i find myself trying different things right now between beach 1 and 2..... saves time.   Ill be getting another pair of phones from Tony Eisenhower next week....... so i should be able to stay in the water.   I did find a difference in my headphones than the wireless ones....... im hoping Tony's is better.   Ill start doing a little more adjusting to see if i can find a good balance between sensitivity and depth next week.   You wont find a better moving machine out there i can  tell you that.  I did remove the ML shaft and switched over to the Andersons new one that should be available in a couple of weeks.   Just not a fan of aluminum in the water or those locks.    Im seeing more people now doing their own jacks so more of the gurus should be in the water soon.   ML could loose out by not having the phones and that cable ready.   UNLESS...... they come out with something different in those yellows that can match their wireless phones..... those i really like.

Oh.... take a look at your screen when you fire up the machine..... see whats on.  I night hunt so sometimes after the sun comes up i forget to turn off the back light... it uses battery.   I also turn off the bluetooth if im wired. 

I seen Nuke asked about beach hunting in the iron bias thread. Ive got about 100 hours on it now beach playing ..... i say playing because i just got a pair of phones done on the 1st.   So..... now im hunting ... about 28 hours serious and about paid for the detector in the last 4 days.  You gotta want to hunt with this machine because she likes minerals and concentrations of aluminum.    So .... few things ive done to quiet it down.   One is ..... you can move the Iron bias from 0 finding a decent number without going over board..... and 6 default is to much for my beach, it seems 2 works well.   Also.... recovery speed.. the lower you go the longer those tones are stretched out making it sound like you are hunting right next to an electric fence lol.... moving it to 5 worked for me.   Let me throw something else in here ...... GB.  My beach was reading auto GB 12 in beach 1 in the wet sand.... but do another GB in beach 2.... you will get 4.   ADD 5 digits to you beach 2 GB will get you about the same sensitivity as beach 1, yet is a little quieter.    Anyone ever hunt with an Xcal with sensitivity set at just above 8 in disc..... thats what this machine can sound like...... and those digits jumping that Brandon showed on his video is what you may get..... until you hit a target.  If you run all the defaults......and in beach 2 shes pretty quiet...... but you aint getting the best out of it.    I also was using AM and reduced the target volume to 2 for iron....... throwing those tones in for me broke up the constant low tones the machine was giving.    Cant wait to see what others think about the machine IN the water and the suggestions/tricks they used for depth, sensitivity and chatter.

The handle is a good fit.  I used to use to small of a handle with the Xcal.   I ended up with TRIGGER FINGER.  Just changing to a fatter handle solved that.   A lot of sand to cover for us and we arent picking thru nearly as much trash as a park hunter would be.

Norm....... its balanced weight, you honestly only notice its no longer nose heavy.   Yes you can shorten the shaft.   But very few beach hunters do... . thats why when we can we use a straight shaft..... for that extended swing.  Also in the water to close and you can step on your coil even.   Way to much sand to cover with the coil right in front of you.