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New scoop from RTG. Anyone using one yet?

I decide to hit the beach for a few hours today to see what the bit of a storm we had did. First thing…. Two of the buoys had been moved a good bit North. I ended up getting 3 rings. The one is a nice copper ring the other is silver. That one in the middle after I posted it to my FB page one of the guys recognized it from someone back in Sept 2020 having lost it. At the time it was near the sand bar and no one could get out that deep. I found it straight in…. But now in knee deep water. So the sands doing something. I contacted the owner. It’s TI with what appears to be SS band with junk stones. That one necklace piece isn’t marked gold and is incased in SS.

This may save some of our mates in Australia some time in shipping. Finders Keepers Gold in Kalgoorlie Australia is carrying my GSpot Scoops and also the cover for the GPX6000. Ring them up if you need either of these items. Metal Detectors - Metal Detectors For Sale - Buy Metal Detectors Online (finderskeepersgold.com) Address: 80b Hannan Street KALGOORLIE WA 6430 Phone: (08) 9021 7207 Email: info@finderskeepersgold.com Thank you, Doc

Hello all. I'm pretty new to this forum. Great stuff posted by many. My question is: What type of sand scoop do you folks prefer for beach hunting, both ocean and/or river. I saw a guy a while back, on a northern California beach, with a long handled scoop which was driven into the sand like a shovel (by foot). The entire head also pivoted. It appeared to be made of aluminum or stainless steel. Any pictures and or links would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike

Want to get a sand scoop for the beach. Search did not come up with a good discussion here. Looking for suggestions. Use 2-3 times a year, salt water, wet and dry use. A travel type scoop would be nice for travel and storage. Not wanting to spend $300 on high end since it won’t see the heavy use in the near term. I like the RTGs but there are so many options! Length, scoop size, material/weight. The travel scoop with 2 piece handle seems nice but I have read it has a crappy connection with a sheet metal type screw? Scoopal and the Nokta scoops are tempting but I could see breaking these. Thoughts?

I tried running my Orx on the wet sand today and could not get it to quiet down, it was very chatty. I tried coin fast and gold 1. I had to run "Salt" mode but every time I tried to ground balance the machine would scream just like in Gary's video and a id number would come up. No matter how many times I tried, it kept doing it. I tried different programs and settings and just couldn't quiet it down completely. I eventually got it as quiet as possible using "relic" settings I think someone posted on this forum. It was Gold 1, freq called for 27.6 KHZ but it would only go to 24.5 or something like that. React at 2.5, IAR at 3, sens 90. I gave up on trying to ground balance it. Very time consuming and frustrating to say the least. Sorry this was so long.

Kept snapping the wood handle I had for my sand scoop so I snagged a snow rake extension that has spring clips and insert for around $15. Now I can take the handle off so it fits in my car easier and should hold up well. It seems very sturdy with the ribbed walls. Overall length is cut to 48" including the scoop.

I have a question regarding how the Equinox throttles back sensitivity when it encounters black sand. If I am running at 17 sensitivity on a salt water beach and detect over black sand; the machine throttles back sensitivity. By how much does it do this? What would be the sensitivity when the black sand indicator is active at 17? This leads me to wonder. If running at 25 sensitivity and the machine encounters black sand, is it going to be a higher number than the previous scenario? I also realize, that at 25 the machine will probably throttle back sensitivity much sooner than at 17... Just curious, thanks!

Found this 10K ring a few days ago with what I think are garnets with 2 tiny diamonds. 3.4 grams. Not many targets in the wet sand but this was not a recent drop and about 8 - 10 inches in depth. It was found in a low spot on the beach while gridding, using the Nox 800.

When getting close to the target, I lay the pick aside and start digging with the scoop, to avoid any possibility of marking the prospective nugget with the pick. I think it's time to finally retire my scoop, though. 😞

Hello, I was out this past weekend with my Gold Monster 1000. Here is a picture of a rock that I came across that had crystals and what I believe is black sand. I have come across black sand by it self and has done the same issue with my machine. Reading and sounding hot and then a blank sound as well. 1) I assume that you can find black sand like this still in a rock with Quartz. 2) Is is not true that usally when you find black sand you may end off finding gold as well because black sand and gold go together. here are four pictures of the rock. Allen

Another good hunting day this month. I went out for a low tide stroll and as usual things start slow. The .925 silver which is actually copper came in about the second hour. The next one was the gold ring with some tiny Ruby’s (I think that’s what they are). This ring was a lucky find since all I had found around was light trash and I was getting ready to move one. The tungsten was my last and I called it quits after that. Thanks for looking and happy hunting.

On 9 August, I posted my initial impression of Steve Goss’ latest offering---carbon fiber scoop handles for the T-Rex, Stealth and X-treme series of sand scoops. I’ve been using his product exclusively now for over a month and thought I’d submit a few follow up thoughts. Bottom line up front: Does his handle still impress me as it did when I first got it? ABSOLUTELY. A few descriptive words/phrases come to mind when evaluating this handle after many beach outings: Stout: This handle is indeed worthy of the term. It leaves no doubt that what you have in your hand is a very stout piece of carbon fiber. There isn’t one hint of flex or weakness in this thing. Reliable: I’m more than certain Steve’s handle will serve me well for years to come. Professional construction: Steve’s handle is not your big box store, mass produced item. This man takes pride in what he makes and each one reflects his strict attention to detail. Conclusion: I’m even more impressed now than I was when I first posted my initial report. If you decide you’d like a top notch carbon fiber handle, you can buy this with the utmost confidence that you’re getting the best I’ve seen since I bought my first detector in 1970. Again, I have no financial interest in Steve’s business. I’m just passing along my personal opinion.

I got my hands on a new product from Steve’s Detector Rods--a scoop handle for my Stealth 920! As we all know, Steve has a well earned and most deserved reputation for giving us top quality shafts for a variety of metal detectors and now he’s dedicated that same level of attention to producing carbon fiber handles for the Stealth, X-treme and T-Rex scoops. It really is a great day for the detecting world. As soon as I opened the box, that professional manufacturing and precise attention to detail was clearly evident. You can just tell it’s first class when you see and hold it. The feel of this handle immediately tells you it’s ready for anything you can throw at it. The look of it tells you this is a professional piece of equipment...it’s simply a great looking handle. I took it to New Smyrna Beach, Florida for its 3 day maiden voyage and the bottom line: It proved itself to be a real beast...but a very light beast! There was absolutely no flex in this handle even when pulling out a 920 scoop full of very wet sand. This handle felt and performed like the extremely substantial shaft that it was designed to be and there were no exceptions regardless of the various conditions under which I used it. Fit, finish and texture: Like all his other shafts, Steve’s scoop handle is a work of art. The carbon fiber is top quality and the finish is truly professional in every way. The top cap is a perfect fit with no sign of twisting...no matter how hard I tried and the handle at the business end slipped perfectly into the 920s tube. It has a shark skin texture that ensures a firm solid grip regardless of how wet it was. Specifications: Overall length is right at 46.5 inches; the wall thickness is an impressive 2.5mm; the diameter of the handle is 35mm except at the point it slides into the scoop tube where it’s shaved down to 34.7mm. The weight is a scant 23.73 ozs (1.48 lbs). Even the bolt washer Steve uses to attach the end of the handle to the scoop is larger and thicker than others I’ve used measuring 1.25 inches by 0.050 inches! Simply put, Steve has built this thing for the long haul and the tough going with no detail being overlooked. Wet sand or dry, shells or surf, I found it’s all the same to this handle...tough as steel yet light as anything. It makes your scoop sing and a real pleasure to use. My “go to” set up is now 100% Steve Goss--both of my EQX shafts and 920 scoop handle are his creations. In summary, I’m convinced that I have the best of the best. Finally, rest assured that I have absolutely no financial interest in Steve’s business. My sole purpose is to simply share my views on what I consider great equipment. Another superb job by Steve Goss. Note: The two vertical grips shown in the photos are not part of Steve’s handle--I added those. www.stevesdetectorrods.com www.facebook.com/stevesdetectorrods

It was streaks of black sand on the beach. I hunted in the water with the Equinox 800 in Gold 1. I didn't dig any deep targets. The scoop would have black sand go across regular sand when I would shake the scoop. Everywhere I hunt is very mild. I don't know if this is affecting the depth here or not. My other beach waters would ground balance 0. This one was 14. The Gold Kruzer mineral was bouncing 2 - 3 bars. That's not to bad. I ran a super magnet thru the sand on the beach. Is this a lot of black sand on the magnet or not? I have seen sold black sand beaches in the upper peninsula of Michigan. They mine a lot iron in the UP.

Have you ever had a dig and you look down and you say 'Oh MY?' I got this hit as I was leaving the beach not too far from where I 'found' the toilet paper. It turns out that the toilet paper is worth more than this coin! haha Why? When I got the number on the 800 it was 18. I was just about to finish my 3 hour session with a penny I thought. When I saw the edge of a large silver coin in the sand I said this is odd. It doesn't match. When I got it in the scoop it was not heavy enough to be real. I could see a couple of spots on the edge without my glasses and knew it had to be fake. When I got home I saw the sandwich line. You can see other fake things about it too but it is probably not counterfeit because it doesn't say United States of America on it. There were a lot of targets and any one of the washers could have been a ring. I dug a lot of holes.

I'm in the process of moving to Texas and will be very close to Lake Travis. I need to add to my gear a decent sand scoop for fresh water hunting, can someone recommend one that won't break the bank. I'm not sure what type of soil/sand/dirt I'm going to encounter, so, I may have to wait until I get over there later this month, thanks.

When I use my Gmx with the 6' concentric coil in a beach section with a high concentration of black sand it is overloading all the time and I have to raise coil about an inch to have it go away.I then go for the nice zip sound and I usually get a coin because all the light stuff has been swept away. This 48kz machine is very hot with this coil.Would a bigger DD coil stop this overloading?

I got my scoop today. I shouldve done more research before buying one but wanted to get out asap and this one shipped fast. I'll try it out tomorrow or friday. After watching some YouTube videos it seems the guys have scoops with much bigger mouths and more holes drilled. This is mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LX79QFT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Well, I'm finally upgrading from my piddly short handled hand scoop to something much better. I'm getting ready to purchase a Stealth 720i, but there is a scoop option I need help with. In the past, the holes have been 1/2", but now you can have the option of 1/4" holes in the bottom and the back. It seems like with that much 1/4" coverage wet sand would have a tendency to sit there and not want to sift out or at least take longer. (I'm sure the small holes are there for good reason earring charms etc.) Does anyone have experience with 1/4" holes in this or other scoops. Is 1/4" a good thing or go with their standard 1/2" holes. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Here are my latest digs in the water at Tahoe. Things were going great until the handle on my old scoop finally gave up the ghost. Can't complain, it served me well, but not like you just run to the store and get another. I'll have to make one. Anyway, I have to admit at this point I am wondering where my first gold ring with the Impulse is at. Popular beach, tons of people in the water for many years, plenty of targets... no ring. Maybe somebody is running a magic detector here that finds gold rings while leaving all the aluminum tabs and nickels behind? I'm actually very pleased with this mix of trash. Exactly what I expect to be finding, but getting it pretty focused, good ratio of ferrous to non-ferrous. I’m digging tight signals that have a little depth to them. Generally ignoring boomer targets and surface double-blips, though a few surface targets got dug just because they were so easy. It's mostly bottle caps and large ferrous faking me out, but not so much as to bother me. I expect a certain amount. Anyway, I need to get a new handle made up so I can get back in the water tomorrow. Best find - a Buffalo nickel, can't read the date so far. The item in lower left is a corroded zinc penny. I’m in thick magnetite sands with lots of rock. Hunting tones exclusively, 7uS, sensitivity to max, ATS and reject at preset. Fisher Impulse - the non-ferrous Fisher Impulse - the ferrous Broken scoop handle

I got out today for a low tide hunt and some needed exercise. Conditions weren’t good but I was eager to give it a whirl. After an hour I got a 7-8 on the MDT8000 and this 10k ring popped out. I haven’t tested the diamond chips yet. The rest of the hunt was uneventful but I had already achieved my goal so I was good to go. Thanks for reading and happy hunting.

Prior to testing the new Iron Bias F2 update at Daytona Beach this weekend, I ran a few preliminary tests using a silver quarter and a bottle cap; first an"air test", then using my beach sand test bucket. Just to ensure a degree of controlled conditions, I ran Beach 1 and Beach 2, recovery at level 3 in both tests adjusting only the iron bias level. The first test was simply placing the two selected targets on the ground and running my coil over them using the original 1.7.5.FE settings and then each level of the 2.0.1 F2 settings. The difference was stark. The new update performed as designed by clearly ID'ing the bottle cap with an iron grunt while hitting on the quarter with the familiar high silver tone. I did notice that the closer the two targets were in proximity to each other the tone was a "compromise" between the grunt and the high tone. In any case, 2.0.1 performed the Iron Bias function much better than 1.7.5 FE under those "air test" conditions. I then moved the test to my beach sand bucket. The bucket shown here is filled with sand taken from New Smyrna Beach. I also have several gallons of actual sea water taken from that same area that I use to soak the sand prior to conducting my wet salt sand tests. Disclaimer: I've noticed that New Smyrna Beach doesn't appear to have experienced any adverse environmental effects from this lack of sand and salt water since I brought it home! I used the same two targets for the test as before: the silver quarter and the bottle cap: I inserted the bottle cap at the 3 inch level and the quarter at the 6 inch level at angles that placed them close to each other in the center of the bucket...the cap being obviously above the quarter and closer to the surface than the quarter. I found that under these conditions, I had to adjust the F2 level in order to achieve distinct tonal separation. It wasn't as clear cut as in the "air test" scenario. Under these conditions, I found F2 at level 3 was best at separating the two targets. Preliminary Observations: 1. The 2.0.1 F2 does ID/separate iron much better than 1.7.5 FE...have no fear there. 2. Given the need to adjust the F2 level in order to achieve the best result, I suspect this will be true when I get on the real beach this weekend...I'll keep that in mind. I'll use my test sticks to determine the best setting for the area I'll be hunting. My test sticks: A gold ring, a bottle cap and an iron washer (not shown) I bury these in the wet salt sand and then adjust my settings accordingly to achieve the best level of performance. 3. One important reminder. Leave your phone in the car. I forgot to leave it in the house on my first run and my wireless Quest headphones soon reminded me of my forgetfulness with all the chatter! More to come when I return from the beach...the actual battlefield test!

The day ended up too hot for man nor beast and my hunting buddy and I ended up in the water to cool off. We havent had rain since 1st week of December so relic hunting in dirt is out!!!! The spot we went to was mixture of Black Iron sand, quartz sand and rocks I had to turn over. Iron and nails were in abundant supply but we will revisit here in cooler weather. I suspect people in the past with PI machines have snuck into this spot guaging by the mixed dates of targets found so the finds we were after were not as plentiful as they should have been , however I was happy with what I got and the performance of unit in hard hunting conditions. Photo includes the trash before sussing out cherry picking. Jews harp (broken unfortunately) , musket/pistol ball, 1889 UK penny, Nz pennies 1961,1946, bent apostle reaspoon, button from S.W.Silver &Co, London clothiers, oarlock.....which looks old but I cannot date, square nails which straight away tells me 1800s site and etc.