midalake

Well yesterday was the day I had been waiting for in a long time. I have a friend who has a Nox 800 and is very accomplished on land with it. In fact if most of you were to see his colonial silver finds with the Nox you would pass out. YESTERDAY, started working with my machine for the first hour and a half, same issues in moving salt water as normal. Unhooked my machine and plugged his into my phones and the next hour and a half was exactly like my machine. Zero difference in depth, sounds, target ID issues, recovery, lost targets in moving salt water. I also did testing with different recovery speeds and IB, as compared to sensitivity. Worked tracking GB as well as fixed 0 GB. Standing by all of my original reporting and just stating that there are issues with the Nox in moving salt water. I want to give thanks to cjc with help and some special setting that might work. Dave

The potting compound used on coils to protect them and bury the internal workings of the coil is an epoxy. I have learned my method off of forums like this many moons ago by people who have gone to that big test garden in the sky. The excuse of Warranty is just that. MFG's are not turning you down on warranty because you put more epoxy on to protect your coil. However with Minelabs Nox design, I will say it is a real bugger to do. I would rather do 5 Sovereign coils to one Nox coil. Minelab has clearly made a bad design by the 100's of coils that have already failed and the 100's more to come. How about sending your failed coil back with holes in the cover? Minelab can easily state that one allowed the entrance of added weight which exacerbated the failure of the mount. Yes this is about trading ideas, and no one is required to do my ideas. However Minelab should set-up to the plate and do a new coil design on the new batches. Dave

I tried to make this smiley face bold but it will not work...….? Dave

Hey Dew I owned the machine before the up-date. Then the first time I installed the up-date the machine was bonkers, went back to orig. platform for a few more trips out to make sure the machine was operating properly, then re-installed the updates again with a positive note. For me, the update seems much better across the board on multiple levels. So I have not looked back. Also just to qualify NOT ALL targets go undetectable. The large and/or high targets are still able to punch through. Example: I routinely pull 10 peso coins [bigger than a .50 cent piece] at 12-13 inch depths in the wet sand. This will NEVER happen in and around moving salt water. Maybe you will detect this 10 peso coin to 4-5 inches. The sad part is a detector from K-mart can do that If you keep detecting in moving water you do not know what you are missing until you wait for the beach to drain-off. Took me a while to put 2&2 together, but it finally clicked when I would only progress my movement after the beach cleared of water. Then the amount of targets that became detectable increased greatly. Also the frequency of how many times I had to wait to recover the target increased because I could not hear it until the water withdrew. I have been working this beach for over 15 years, so I know its language and know where the targets are. That was also helpful in figuring out this issue of detection depth and lack of performance in moving water. Dave

Pinpoint mode to me is completely worthless. It has a broader spectrum signal than Disc mode and the water seems to drive even more noise/chatter in pinpoint. I have learned to "X" the target in Disc mode and recover. The more important part of the conversation is the loss of detection. How do I go forward with moving water and expect to detect targets? The answer is: I am unable to. Dave

I am guessing both of you have read my saltwater report card a few topics below? It is not just a "falsing" problem, but a significant lack of detection problem as well working in moving salt water. I had 100's of targets disappear when moving water was present, not to be heard again until the beach drained out. During the times when water is moving on the beach slope it just seems the Nox is seriously crippled by this water wash. I am going to work harder in July to crack this problem. I highly suggest not progressing your movement on the beach until the water has drained off. If anyone thinks there is an answer, I am all ears! Dave

Have you tried going to the all metal mode [horseshoe button] when these jumpy numbers happen? I work in one tone and when I seem to get targets that try to ring-in and try to repeat, I have gone to all metal mode and the target then locks in, usually in the minus 0-9 area. But I have also noticed that a jumpy conductive target has also locked in better in all metal mode. At least at the beach. Dave

Hi Ray There are just too many inches of RTV caulk line to make sure a seal is 100% correct where no water or sand will enter. This is why I recommend my process of direct protection without a cover. Also if you are careful and not sloppy the coil cover can still be attached if you so desire. You also bring up a good point about "holes" in a cover. This will not work in my case as I always "scrub" my targets while identifying them and digging them. The scrubbing will just jam product into the holes. Cheers Dave

I have written on this before. Can anyone explain why I would want any more than ONE TONE at the beach? I am looking for good repeatable targets +1 and better. What do I care if they ring in different? THAT is what I have a number readout for. I feel that I get so much more information on target size and depth in one tone. Also I do not have issues with ignoring a tick that might be in a wrong tone. In my world [one tone] everything gets investigated. Dave

I would say there is light black sand on this beach. I looked intensely for an overload symbol many times. None. Especially when a wave would first hit me. Dave

I do not have hard pan where I am except one end. It comes and goes but this last season I rarely had shells or rocks in my scoops. My main complaint is really not chatty ness. I am able to settle the machine down around 17-18 sens, in and around the moving wave wash area. I have lots of time in running machines on the edge and for me a comfortable area is having a false about every 10 steps or so. Usually an experience user can figure out the difference between a faint target tick and a false. However I always double check my "ticks". My main complaint is: the complete loss of a target when moving water is going by the coil. I had 100's of targets that I found, but when the wave wash was either coming up the beach or down it would not register, not even a tick until the water drained off. I found even 1 inch of moving water was enough to not allow the Nox to sound off on a target that was there, present, verified, and eventually dug out. I will be working harder when I find these conditions again to see if there is a series of settings that will cut through this. However I will be not back on the machine until July. One has to understand how frustrating it is to have a target but you have a 15 second to 1minute window to center it dig it and remove it before the next wave is coming at you. Also you could be waiting for minutes just to see wet sand with no water. For the most part my settings were Beach2, Sens, 17-18, IB, 2-3, recovery 4-6, GB set at 0 and tracking 50% of the time. I did NOT notice either GB mode to make this problem better. Dave

The epoxy and shoe goo is lighter than the coil cover. Everyone is missing the main point! It is to completely stop sand/black sand from packing under the coil cover. Nothing enters the coil I have. I fear holes/slots only let stuff in and may not "drain" well. I know for a fact sand and even dirt between the cover and coil on a Sovereign can, and will drive it nuts. I can imagine the Nox with it's increased sensitivity would even be worse. For the record, I have never had a coil fail done like this. I have 3 Sovereign coils that had the sheave break into bits, but that epoxy is still going strong. Dave

You think too much...………..?

The shoe goo IS to keep sand out of those openings, nothing else. The buoyancy on the coil is unchanged. The coil cover still fits, if one so desires to use it. Dave

The honey comb part is filled with shoe goo, and the coil part is covered with marine epoxy. Been putting this on coils for 20 years. Dave

Coil cover?? what coil cover.

Hi Chase I was there for over three months and detected 4 days a week for 3-4 hrs a trip. One thing I do like [which is local] The Equinox completely ignores the 1,2 and 5 peso Mexican coins, they ring in at -6 -7. This is an advantage in the wet sand as I can cover much more beach than I would otherwise. This is high season and any given day many hundreds use the beach. But I really encourage beach hunters with forceful waves to check their targets when water is moving up and down that slope. The amount of targets that disappeared was just short of unbelievable. But just as fast to reappear once the water had drained out. Thanks to all who put tips on here. I can tell from my years behind a detector that the Nox is most likely a beast on land. Dave

I am not totally discounting the Nox, but it will not go to the low trough with me often. I can see it doing well after a large wave event, high wet sand line where I can cover lots of sand. However that is a limited use. The EMI is concerning for me. I have talked to many detectorists on this beach every year. One thing never talked about was the EMI over...……..there. I have never had a conversation about EMI on this beach until now. I just want some people using the Nox to look closer and do some testing when the waves are moving lots of water. Dave

I have been salt water beach hunting for over 20 years. I have used A sovereign XS, XS2a, Elite, GT, Fisher CZ-21, Garrett beach hunter AT-4, Minelab Excal. I have tested several whites machines as well, but never owned one. I am always open to helpful hints! ? Dave

You did not read fully, 100's of targets disappeared with the wave moving past and back down from my location on the beach. The targets were only able to be heard when moving salt water drained. The sensitivity setting did not matter for this issue. You are completely incorrect. This is the first detector I have ever had EMI issues with. Dave

For me the definition of "auto" [automatic] is the same as tracking GB. Yes, having to back off for EMI of 1-2 points is an issue. Not only that, but everyone seems to be carrying a cell phone on the beach. I can not tell you the amount of times I can HEAR cell phones coming toward me, and of course much worse if they are standing next to me watching. I also wonder even though one "knocks out" the audible EMI just how much it still effects detection. Even backing it off, I can still hear pulsing and or disturbance in the sound when a target is detected. That is 100% EMI caused. Grade [F] To be set-up to just work the surf [complete water/wave action] I need to be in the 17-18 range for sensitivity as compared to 21-22. However in my location is never just an option to stay in the water only [it is too rough] So when the beach does drain for those precious seconds, I am sitting in a detection mode that is under powered for what I am swinging. I found it was most likely better to remain in the best possible wet sand setting and wait for the water to drain to work the low trough. Working the beach in this fashion GREATLY reduces the amount of beach that can be covered in a given session. The worst part of this equation is the loss of detection with moving water, as stated 100's of targets could not be heard while water was moving past the coil. The water drains and the target re-appears. Grade [F] Dave

It started in July of 2018. Took my new Nox to Mexico and even though I did testing at home before leaving it was disappointing to find that my Black Widows would not work, nor my Sun Ray pro golds. I did do some detecting but the wave noise on my beach made it difficult to really get into the machine. Fast forward to January, armed with the correct connector to use my black widows I starting learning the Nox. First impression was, chatty, difficult to PP, and issues with moving water and black sand. After the third time out I installed the update. WHAT A FAIL! I had a new machine alright but it was working way worse. I consulted a few people with the machine and was told that the update may not always take. I uninstalled and checked performance [seemed ok] Then put the up-date back on. What a difference! The machine seemed to perform better! Off to the report card! Saltwater Beach, Beach 2, GB auto. Dry Sand- [N/A] The dry sand is not worth my time where I hunt. Wet sand grade: [A- ]: I found the machine to work the wet sand well [no water]. With light black sand I could work in 21-22 sensitivity. Very little false signals, worked recovery between 4-6, iron bias 2-3. Even though I did not make any great recoveries in this part of the beach by the end of the season I felt confident there was not much getting by me. Wave Trough [moving water] grade: [ F] This is where I really like to hunt. To put it bluntly the Nox is a complete failure in moving salt water. It is like the moving salt water makes the machine blind to detect and see targets. The beach is rough where I hunt. At any point water could be over waist deep, then 50’ or more of wet sand to the water. If I were to stay in the wave zone completely I would have to significantly de-tune the machine do to the moving water causing the machine to false. When the water would drain out and I would locate a target the next wave is right there. When the wave would come through, repeated sweeping where the target was produced no sound at all. When the wave pulled back, re-sweeping showed the target was present. This happened over and over for 100’s of targets. Another drawback: It was clear there was two different set-ups needed. One for wet sand, another for moving water. If I had the machine set for moving water that meant every time the wave swept out I was WAY under matched for wet sand only. Mainly I found I had to run around 17-18 sensitivity and 5-6 on recovery. Other issues comments. EMI grade[ F] I have over ½ mile of the beach where I need to back off the sensitivity by 1-2 regardless of other conditions or controls. Pinpoint Mode grade [F] The worst functioning I have ever used, Especially on a beach! All metal mode grade [A] Or as I nick named it the “truth mode” Almost every jumpy target I had would lock in somewhere, once put in all metal mode. Recovery of targets grade [D] Well part of this grade is due to the pin-point mode, but make no mistake there are other issues, Even though I had the target out of the hole, many time the detector was still sounding off. Also it seems to be easy to bury targets or make them undetectable after missing them in the scooping process. Thanks for listening. Please do not tell me how it works on land, in fresh water, or gold mode [I don’t hunt land] This is my honest review. Sure I have a few more things to learn, but I doubt my grades would change much. Over-all grade C+

Thanks, but I never go to the beach for a coin hunt. ? Dave

Well as the OP, this was meant to be a discussion about recovery speed in Saltwater. Interesting...……...anyway. Dave

Other detector manuals have not exactly told me what is the best way to hunt and/or hunt in my location. I was hoping to get a real fringe target that day that I could work in either mode to see what rang up better. I did not consider any of the targets that day fringe targets. Except for a few ferrous ones. Unfortunately I will not be back on the beach until July. Also it seemed neither mode allowed me to jump a power level. I was able to hunt both ways running 21 [beach2] . there was too much chatter in going to 22 in each mode. Dave