TampaBayBrad

Hoping the 15 doesn't add a whole bunch of resistance in the water.

You worked hard for those two! I see you pulled one of those Westward Journey nickels too, somewhat uncommon.

I'm at that "aha" point now with calling my targets, but I'm just a beach guy who doesn't have to deal with mineralized soil. I'm pretty darn good with calling all coin denominations, can slaw, foil, bottle caps, pull tabs and tent stakes. Not always, but at least 80% accurate when I do decide to dig one against my better judgement. Sometimes, you just gotta "make sure" it's not something else. Ha! Round coin sized can slaw, broken beaver tails, and pull tabs that read below 29 are tough/hardest to call. Also, a whole aluminum can top or bottom that reads in the 80's will fool you and get you to dig.

If your running Beach Low Conductors in ankle deep water it may be giving you a high salt (blue line) indication every so often. I can't recall what that sounds like in prospecting, but I know I always switch to Seawater mode if I'm IN the water to avoid the high salt warning. I use beach low for both dry and wet sand and seawater anytime I'm in the water. Always prospecting audio and All Metal no disc. Noise cancel is also mode specific, so do that the first time you turn on any new mode in your hunt area then you should be good to go the rest of the day unless you walk a country mile to a different area.

The lesson: Never wear your jewelry OR your false teeth in the ocean.

My first detector as a kid was a BFO unit. That article brought back that memory. 🙂

Been dunking mine since January without any problems. It spends 80% of it's life underwater and does a great job. JUST DO IT!

No, not at all. I rinse after every hunt also. One time my charging light didn't come on when I connected so I rubbed both contacts (wire and detector) with a dry cloth and it started charging. That's the only time anything happened. Contacts look like new.

No Kidding! 75% of the caps that I used to dig before learning their ID were Corona. Must be the beach advertising on the TV that they do. "If you're at the beach, you gotta drink Corona!" Ha!

Bottle caps are easy for me to identify. They jump all over the place TID # wise with each pass, never settling on a 2 or 3 digit swing indication like a good target does. They also don't have a clean "hit" sound like a coin or ring in Prospecting Audio. This is with a setting of "0" for you're lower ferrous limit.

I have never tried Beach Deep, so I can't compare it to any other setting. I have flirted with the idea of trying it if I intend to hunt the dry or wet sand, but when I get to the beach I always say "No....stick with what's been working." (Beach Low Conductors) The manual says Deep has aggressive settings for max depth, but loses some target separation ability compared to Low Conductors. I mostly hunt in the water, so I'm using Surf and Seawater there. Only time I hunt the sand is when I get to the beach before sun up which is usual for me, or if it's too rough surf or too cold water to wade in. Yes, ferrous limits are still relevant in All Metal mode in that the detector will give you an iron grunt and a ferrous indication on the screen for a ferrous target that is within your set ferrous limit range. If you're not in All Metal, the detector will give no response at all to a ferrous target within the ferrous limit range you have selected. The "iron grunt" sound can be manipulated to your liking under the "Ferrous Tones" section of the menu.

Yup. I'm chomping at the bit for a M15 but am having a ball with the 11". If they never ever even produced a 15" or 8", I would still be happy. But I'm just a beach guy. No need for a small coil like some of you all need for you're hunt areas. Simon, have you used the 15 in the water yet? I'm wondering how much more resistance you get compared to the 11.

So much for buying myself a Christmas present. 🤔

Never have heard anything that sounds like "took" that I can recall. Do you go back over the ground where you were when you heard it to see if it repeats?

Yea, I get what you're saying. Pretty good translation.....Ha!

I'll have to remember that next time I come across a weak mixed double signal. I'll give it a shot at 26 to see what you're talking about. Usually if I hear/see any indication of a nonferrous target mixed with iron, i dig it just to check it out.

Yes, and keep in mind the settings being discussed are for salt water beaches only in the "Beach" area of the Manticore menu, so it may or may not apply to west coast beaches depending on the mineralization of the beach. This is not a dirt set up.

Dankowski's post on his beach settings that you describe is on page 13 of his Manticore forum. I discovered it the first week of January when I bought my detector and never looked back. Been using upper 4 and lower 0 with Prospecting Audio and All Metal ever since I turned the machine on the first time. I figured if Dankowski uses it, it's good enough for me. Only difference for me is that I cut the ferrous volume down to half of what my regular volume is and I run the sensitivity at around 21-22 for my beach. Both these adjustments help cut down on ear fatigue during a long hunt. If you're hunting an area with a lot of iron, the the iron grunts along with the high sensitivity chatter can be fatiguing to the ears after a while. I do however bump up the sensitivity to 25-26 temporarily when I come across a deep weak signal to help identify it as "dig" or "no dig". This does make the target easier to identify after crossing it in all directions. Then I go back to my 21-22 sensitivity. The Prospecting Audio has some very telling differences in it's target hit sounds depending on metal type and shape and depth. For instance, can slaw and foil in the 12 TID range and under sounds different than a gold ring in the same range even though both may show as right on the non-ferrous center line. I have a lot of slaw on one area of beach that I hit regularly and this little nuance in the sound helps tremendously once you learn it and trust it to be can slaw or foil "no dig". Took me a while to pass those hits up without digging, but I learned after digging so many pieces of slaw in my first month or so with the detector. However, pull tabs in the 29-32 range sound just as good as a dig target and are usually a dot right on the center line like a good target. If I'm in an area as usual with a lot of pull tabs, anything 29-32 I don't dig anymore. I have dug way too many pull tabs in an infested area to waste time digging them all thinking "this one may be the gold....dig it"! Those who haven't given Prospecting Audio a good try because it's different than what you're used to should really give it a good shot. It has so many subtle differences in hit sounds that you learn with a little time and experience that help identify a target.

I usually run 18 or at most 19 in Seawater mode in the water. Any more and it's chatty. I run 21 or 22 on the dry or wet sand in Beach Low Conductor. As far as waterproof phones, I have some that I bought but haven't used yet. You can always use the stock phones with the included wire, just don't get smacked in the side of the head by a wave. Shortly after I ordered my waterproof phones, I discovered someone on ebay rigging up waterproof ear buds for Manticore and have used them every hunt. Much cooler to wear, and you can wear a wide brim hat when using them. Just search "ear buds for minelab" on ebay. I got the black wire long cord version and am happy. Welcome to the forum.

Good job Compass. You're going to like the machine even more the longer you use it.

Hearing the iron grunts should tell you it's not a coin without looking at the screen. Go into the "Ferrous Tones" section of the menu to adjust them. I hunt in all metal on the beach and usually just keep on swinging if I hear iron grunts. I keep their volume at half of what my regular volume is.

Very nice. Need more and more and more.....😁

I thought they said you can never remember your good dreams?

Ain't it fun? Seeing a ring in the scoop never get's old and is what keeps us looking for more. You look like you did just fine this year, nice job and welcome to "the other side"! 15 grams?!?!! Wow! Probably worth a bunch more than melt value for that old vintage piece.

Is that place called Bullet Beach? You will enjoy your new machine once you learn it's sounds. Good first hunt and good luck.