midalake

On 6/11/2023 at 8:49 AM, Ogliuga said:

This one is based on program 12, beach sens. Its name is “Focus 2T”. It’s with 2 tones and first tone break on 9. Magnetic reject, audio filter 5, sensitivity 95 and reactivity 1-1.5. It’s a nice result because that soil is hematite and that target is a very low conductor.

I have had a hard time getting good depth and general machine response form using Magnetic Reject. I now only hunt in Magnetic Accept. 

Have you done much testing with just back and forth in this mode? 

On 8/25/2023 at 4:09 PM, Jeff McClendon said:

See above post.

In my limited manual GB experience. {depending on detector] one can get 2-3 points difference standing in one spot changing nothing. 

20 hours ago, Valens Legacy said:

When I have had a chance to use my detector (Nox 800) I always re- ground balance about every 20 feet when I am in a creek bed, because I know that the soil has changed in the area and I could have a false reading. I have only been able to get out with the detector about 4 times this year, and so I always use the factory settings and ground balance often

You should use Tracking Ground Balance. !!  

On 7/13/2023 at 1:19 PM, ColonelDan said:

These examples/samples pretty much cover what we're most likely to find on our tourist beaches.

I admire people who have good target lock. The reality is in Black Sand conditions there is wild swings in target ID. It would be VERY unheard of to get any 10k ring in my location in the 70's. In my last beach hunts, Pulltabs would come in 52-64 with the D2. [disappointing] 
But testing in your location is very important! 

10 hours ago, mcjtom said:

I always thought that GB settings were independent of the Recovery Speed.  Is that true for the MF detectors, like the Equinox: i.e. if the recovery speed is adjusted, does the GB stay the same, or also needs to be changed as a result, everything else being equal?

GB and Recovery are two different settings, yes. The GB balance will not change when one changes the recovery speed. 

On 8/23/2023 at 10:57 AM, Geotech said:

Sorry, ignorance of the law isn't much of a defense. Plus, it's documented that everyone here knows of the patent issue.

100% disagree. [but that is ok!]  Good thing I only use the detector at my address in Mexico. 😉😉

On 8/22/2023 at 5:09 PM, Dirtshark said:

How can there be so much emi when there are no houses, no power lines and no iron in the ground?

Do you still have your "EMI" with holding the coil still 3 feet in the air? 

Did any of the noise cancel channels help? 

11 hours ago, au pirata said:

I would like to know what advantages you feel 1 tone is over 50,I will be trying 1 tone, for the next week of hunting.

On the Equinox 800 platform: 

I use one tone for several reasons. I do not like my detector chirping at me in different tones, makes it harder to tell the difference between false chirps and fringe targets. Also, this allows me to hear subtleties such as target size and depth better. 

I identify the ferrous/nonferrous targets two ways. First of course is by TID.
The second way I identify Nonferrous is by the sound in horseshoe mode.  If a target will not ID correctly or is fringe and very deep. I then procced to sweep slowly 360 degrees around the target. If the target double rings OR breaks down in signal strength as the coil passes over it, then the fringe target is 100% iron. You cannot make a fringe nonferrous target double ring on an Equinox. 

15 hours ago, Compass said:

I drove to 6 different beaches in 3 days of detecting but did find one particularly productive area while nearby spots made me question whether or not my detector was working properly. 

Awesome work for three days!!!!   Great finds! 

It has probably been 25 years since I have run a coil cover. Anyone here have that much experience with it? 

Even my Deus2 runs without a coil cover.  For those who hunt the beach I highly recommend Loctite Marine Epoxy.

15 hours ago, Geotech said:

Keep in mind that if you buy a Q80 in Canada and then take it into the US you will be personally infringing the ML patent and legally exposed. I can't imagine that ML would go after an individual but you never know. Loose lips enable lawyers to buy expensive ships.

Hogwash. Unless there is a document you sign off on or a user warning stamped all over that detector. 

10 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

I went out and do my own test this morning. Just wanted to see for myself, and make sure I'm not missing gold when it's there.

Onsite testing is the way to go!!!!  Conditions changed wildly here. Out today on the primary beach and it was like having a different detector. The black sand content is WAY down and I am back to running 91 plus sensitivity and getting responses on targets with water coming past the coil.

It is just stunning the effect Black Sand has on detection fields. Today's issue was very few targets. Most have been pulled back to the ocean or buried under fresh sand. 

On 8/14/2023 at 8:44 PM, DSMITH said:

Agree with you, I will end up getting one eventually, as Ridge Runner stated where there is a will there is a way

I am in Canada next week. Find a dealer between the border of Michigan and Trenton Ont. and I will pick you one up! 

3 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

Thanks! Do you hear a lot of chatter with AR that high, and are you using Beach Sensitive? I might need to look at another setting. 🤔 Or another program.

Really appreciate the info. 👍

I was in Beach Sensitive yesterday.  I was on a different beach yesterday and could work this beach at 91 +/-. With an AR of 6. Now my primary beach which I will hunt today I had sensitivity between 85 and 92 the day before. Yes, I have chatter. But is where I am comfortable. My disc. setting of 22 helps with chatter.
Because I am hunting with the 9" coil my reactivity is .05. If I raise it past .05 the audible detection signal really narrows up with that 9" coil and I am uncomfortable with that. I have used the 11" coil and you could raise the reactivity some with that 11" to help with chatter. Slowing sweep speed helps with chatter. Lowering your iron volume helps with chatter [mine is 3] 

Since I cannot hunt in water contact at all right now in either Beach or Beach sensitive, I am keeping the machine in Beach Sensitive because it more effective on gold chains. Normally I hunt high beach in Beach sensitive and turn around and hunt in constant water contact in Beach mode on my return. 

Another item that needs to be covered is Magnetic accept/reject..  I have done quite a bit of testing of that [including this trip] and it seems there is better performance with the accept mode.[regardless of the amount of black sand] The detector reacts choppy, and nonferrous signals are even worse in reject mode. 

15 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

With AR at 1 in the water, Beach Sensitive runs quiet and still hits small bits of cans and sinkers hard at a pretty good depth. (That's all that is there, I can keep it clean) On the beach I can run AR at 3 but not higher and it's still quiet until something is there.

Well I completed AR testing today and it did not take long to see where strengths lay. 

To sum it up before the longer version: Keep your AR high and control detectability with sensitivity. 

 Went to a second beach today and was able to work slightly higher sensitivity 91-92 in beach sensitive and AR at 6. Still could not work in the water without the Black Sand crippling the detection field. 

Buried two different sized targets a Mex ten-peso coin and a coper Canada penny at about 12"> Wet Sand, slight water contact. 

Both sounded good with a solid TID reading with sensitivity at 91 and AR 6.
Changed the AR to 1 and sensitivity to 97 and could not hear either target.
It was not until AR hit 3 that the target had a good response you would not walk by, but the TID was not reliable. At an AR of 4 the TID was better but read a bit low for both targets. AR of 5 had good TID lock. 

I do not think it is wise to turn AR down from 5 or 6. There was nothing to be gained in a sensitivity boost from 91 to 97 and a lower AR. Clearly, reducing sensitivity to get to your desired huntable level with a high AR is a winning combination. 

1 hour ago, F350Platinum said:

When I encounter black sand on one beach I have to turn it down to 1. It could be because I have sensitivity at 95, I imagine the two sort of regulate each other.

Interesting idea from your thoughts. I was finally able to get out post Hilary yesterday. The Black Sand is really bad here with the large waves. I regulated my sensitivity from 85 to 92 to deal with different black sand concentrations, also tracking GB was used. It was tough conditions.
I learned about a half hour in that the wave wash moving Black Sand was so severe if there was any water going over the top of the coil there was no detection.  For example: If there was still 3 inches of water rushing over my coil, I could not hear my aluminum scoop handle passed over the coil 4"away.  ANY found target I had was not to be heard with any amount of water passing over the coil. It made for very slow progress detecting. 

Today I will bury a few fringe objects and test lower sensitivity higher AR, and lower AR with higher sensitivity. 

Even though conditions were some of the worst I have seen, the outcome was not too bad. Wrist chain 10k, ring 18k. 

The new forecast has multiple sources showing this thing coming on shore mid-Baja peninsula. 

Might not work out for CA beaches. 

11 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I have been very critical of the XP Deus 2's FMF Gold Field mode and its level of sensitivity on gold nuggets starting at roughly 0.5 grams and especially in the 0.25 to .01 gram range. Nothing has changed in that regard.

Funny how so many keyboard types thought the D2 was going to be the bomb at a salt beach for finding micro gold. Oh how thoughts fade.  
Since I have both the Equinox and D2 for some time now, I can say with 100% confidence. the Equinox will out hunt the D2 on small targets and small gold. Add Black Sand into the mix and the D2 only loses by a larger margin. I could not believe the loss of performance I had with the D2 today in tough black sand conditions. 

9 hours ago, okara gold said:

Hey Steve... You made me think of how much magnetite is in some locations in the NY Adirondack Mountains.

With a Rare Earth magnet, I can get build-up like that in two scoops. Full magnet in 5 scoops. 

On 7/26/2023 at 10:59 AM, SeaScene said:

OK .... Heading back out there testing again soon.  Thanks for very helpful advice ... 

How is the beach working out? Any new settings? 

That is an awesome find!!!!  I hope that becomes some kind of fad in Mexico!! 

4 hours ago, palzynski said:

A medieval castle at the back :

Was there any Royal Maiden's flocking around? 

4 hours ago, Skate said:

Learn to hear the rough edges at the end of your sweep indicating a bad target. Learn to walk around a target while sweeping it to determine whether to dig or not. A bad signal can become a good signal by moving 90 degrees. 

Yes and YES!!!!  Sometimes 360 degree look! 

2 hours ago, DirtyBoatGuy said:

was wondering if there is a list of items and what the numbers are for such items.

If you are talking about Beach Hunting? Dig EVERYTHING +1 and higher. No need to dig Iron. 

9 hours ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

I was running my sensitivity from 95 to 96 and started out with Audio Response at 5 but reduced it to 4 because there was way too much falsing on iron and tiny bits of trash.

Therein lies the possibilities. All of my testing tells me you will not miss deep targets when running sensitivity in 90 as compared to 96. In fact, on fringe testing, it was not until the D2 had a sensitivity of 88 did I lose depth capability. 
We ran that test Mutiple times with different targets in different locations.