Need A New Pi For Beach Detecting

[Hard Prospector]

Well my trusty Sand Shark finally died and well we all know Tesoro is no longer with us.  I need a new PI specifically for beach detecting wet salty sand, in tidal areas mainly looking for jewelry. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.........thanks!

Robert

[midalake]

5 minutes ago, Hard Prospector said:

Well my trusty Sand Shark finally died and well we all know Tesoro is no longer with us.  I need a new PI specifically for beach detecting wet salty sand, in tidal areas mainly looking for jewelry. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.........thanks!

Robert

Gosh

I came from YEARS of hunting with the Sovereign. In pinpoint all metal mode, this detector worked just like a PI.

NOW, that I have used the Equinox and Deus 2 for many years. there is NO WAY I am going back to a detector that is a dig all machine!!!   Recommend taking the leap to MF machines! 

[BigSkyGuy]

 

[Tony]

18 minutes ago, Hard Prospector said:

Well my trusty Sand Shark finally died and well we all know Tesoro is no longer with us.  I need a new PI specifically for beach detecting wet salty sand, in tidal areas mainly looking for jewelry. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.........thanks!

Robert

If black sands (remember not all black sands are bad unless attracted to a magnet) aren't a problem then the PI detector may offer no real advantage to a decent multi frequency VLF machine. Also remember that the Sand Shark ran a pulse delay of about 20uS to 22uS so the salt audio is nicely dealt with. Some people saw that setting as "no good" but I disagree. Anyhow, what's available new today.....I think it's the Garrett Sea Hunter MK2 which is well regarded. It has a minimal pulse delay of around 15uS and maxes out around 30uS to 40uS (rough guess based on what the "Elimination" control knocks out at the higher setting). When I had the Garrett, I used to advance the delay setting to around the 20uS which is very effective in fast salt water. So if you're after "new" as you mention above then the Garrett is it......if you have deep pockets then the Fisher AQ is still available but you really should think hard about that machine as it's expensive and it's quite a handful to operate.

 

[Hard Prospector]

5 minutes ago, Tony said:

If black sands (remember not all black sands are bad unless attracted to a magnet) aren't a problem then the PI detector may offer no real advantage to a decent multi frequency VLF machine. Also remember that the Sand Shark ran a pulse delay of about 20uS to 22uS so the salt audio is nicely dealt with. Some people saw that setting as "no good" but I disagree. Anyhow, what's available new today.....I think it's the Garrett Sea Hunter MK2 which is well regarded. It has a minimal pulse delay of around 15uS and maxes out around 30uS to 40uS (rough guess based on what the "Elimination" control knocks out at the higher setting). When I had the Garrett, I used to advance the delay setting to around the 20uS which is very effective in fast salt water. So if you're after "new" as you mention above then the Garrett is it......if you have deep pockets then the Fisher AQ is still available but you really should think hard about that machine as it's expensive and it's quite a handful to operate.

 

Was leaning toward the Sea Hunter MK2 as it seems kinda like the Sand Shark and the price is certainly right. Rugged simplicity is what I lean toward and having been nugget shooting for 15 years,  I'm used to digging everything anyways.

Thanks a bunch for input,  much appreciated Tony

[Tony]

You are welcome......I sold mine years ago (and regretted it). To make up for it......I bought a fully restored and updated Garrett XL500 Pulse from Eric Foster (RIP).......my machine of choice when I venture to the black sand beach areas. The Garrett Sea Hunter MK2 with that little 8" coil is impressive.....I never cared for the bigger coil.

HH

Tony

[Hard Prospector]

1 hour ago, Tony said:

You are welcome......I sold mine years ago (and regretted it). To make up for it......I bought a fully restored and updated Garrett XL500 Pulse from Eric Foster (RIP).......my machine of choice when I venture to the black sand beach areas. The Garrett Sea Hunter MK2 with that little 8" coil is impressive.....I never cared for the bigger coil.

HH

Tony

Was just about to ask you about the larger optional Sea Hunter 10 x 14 coil.........thanks again!

My mind is almost made up but suppose I'll  let this thread run for a day or two before I order  a Sea Hunter

[Skull diver]

31 minutes ago, Hard Prospector said:

before I order  a Sea Hunter

Reading the answers you have been sent in the posts, I can only add that even today the Sea Hunter is the right compromise between expense and yield.

I tried for a while to exploit a TDI Bh and even got some satisfaction out of it, but after a few months leaks started at the control box, I changed coils to a mono 8" by adapting one for prospecting and having to struggle with the extreme buoyancy of the instrument.

So, to close concretely, despite being an old design, it is still damn effective and at an honest price.

I do not mention the difference with a digital instrument of today, which I think is exactly as deep and sensitive as a P.I. because the aptitude for digging everything out is not resolved anyway.

[Tony]

2 hours ago, Hard Prospector said:

Was just about to ask you about the larger optional Sea Hunter 10 x 14 coil.........thanks again!

My mind is almost made up but suppose I'll  let this thread run for a day or two before I order  a Sea Hunter

The bigger coil might be okay if you're hunting the tidal flats.......my hunting was in the surf where pinpointing was somewhat difficult. Better coverage and slightly more depth with the bigger coil is something to consider.

[Steve Herschbach]

This thread raises an interesting point. Here is a chart I made in 2019 showing available waterproof PI options:

 

Fully submersible pulse induction metal detectors

Bounty Hunter - no PI
Garrett - Sea Hunter Mark II (PI) and ATX (GBPI)
Fisher - no PI (one on the way?)
Minelab - SDC 2300 (GBPI)
Nokta/Makro - no PI
Teknetics - no PI
Tesoro - Sand Shark (PI)
White's - Surfmaster Dual Field (PI) and TDI BeachHunter (GBPI)
XP - No PI

Finally, here are the key specifications for comparison:

Fully submersible pulse induction metal detectors

 

What a change just five years later! Tesoro and White's are no longer in business, reducing the number of models available new with full warranty by a full 50%!!

We have a new option in the form of the Fisher Impulse AQ Ltd but I think that is less a new model for sale at this point than  a failed experiment, with Fisher still trying to clear out the last of the limited 100 unit production run literally years after they started selling them. Less than 100 sold in four years is a bomb of epic proportions. In my opinion any AQ Ltd unit purchased new has a high chance of failure due to design flaws, and woe to the owners once they are out of warranty and the supply of spare parts runs out.

Then we have the Minelab SDC 2300, which in my opinion is not a truly submersible waterproof detector in anything like the way most people imagine. It is based on a military design spec that required the unit to stand up to being submersed, but more in the form of a model to be floated across a lake or river. It floats like a cork and the tall flat sided body seems designed for maximum resistance when used underwater. I for one would not want to test the waterproof integrity of this $3500 detector by subjecting it to extended use in heavy surf. The SDC is not really a dive detector.

So where does that leave us as far as waterproof PI detectors, brand new with warranty, going into 2024? Two models from one company! The Garrett ATX and Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II. The ATX is good to ten feet, and the Sea Hunter Mark II is a true SCUBA model good to 200 feet.

There are lots of detectors good to ten feet, but I'll be frank in saying it is a stretch to call them fully waterproof. The IP68 rating only calls for a limited time underwater, not unlimited hours of submersion, and I only really consider models with 100 ft plus ratings to be the real deal.

So I suppose I would be remiss in not mentioning a brand that almost never gets mentioned on this forum. J.W. Fisher, not relation to the Fisher brand we are all familiar with. This company specializes in underwater detecting technology including towable devices. They do make some handheld underwater models, like their Pulse 8X model. The 8X is as old school as you can get, a basic PI circuit in a bulletproof box that has been in production for decades. Not unlike the Garrett Sea Hunter in that regard. I used to be a dealer for them, and while it is solid reliable gear I can't really recommend the 8X due to the $2400 price tag. It is marketed to police departments and government agencies who are immune to the price for what is a very basic circuit with moderate performance at best.

 

Anyway, it kind of amazes me how the options have become so limited. There is always the option to buy used, but anyone who has used underwater detectors for long knows that they almost always eventually leak if used a lot, and service out of warranty is not cheap. If service can even be had, a real concern for models like the Tesoro in particular. Shopping used means careful shopping for low hour models - avoid anything that looks like it has really been through the wringer, as it may be a great price when you buy it but cost a lot more later. Personally I always sold my underwater detectors right before the warranty ran out so my units were always under warranty. It is cheap insurance as far as I am concerned, for detectors with a far higher failure rate than normal dry land models, just due to the way they are being used.