Need A New Pi For Beach Detecting

[Joe D.]

On 12/27/2023 at 8:40 PM, Tony said:

This line of detectors is not a niche market but for some reason the detector companies think so. Mind you, it doesn't help that White's and Tesoro are out of the game.

 

   And that's why I'm using Whites and Tesoro's at the beach! Still affordable and functional!

  Try and tell schoolofhardNox not to use a PI at the beach; he's a beast; and hugely successful in getting past the iron (cuz he digs it all out of the way intentionally😆), to get to the good stuff!

GPX 5000🤔, I'm not worthy yet!!🤣

     My location is somewhat unique; (The Treasure Coast) as I'm not only looking for gold with my PI, but also most other metals! And while my Nox; and others, have their place here! I need the most affordable, deepest machines for the black sand and salt, that are available, when hunting for artifacts, especially after a big storm! That's my modded Tdi SL, and Tesoro Sandshark currently! (Jmo) 

  Steve was just pointing out an observation, and in his defense, it's all in the title of this post! It appears to me that HP knows what he is looking for, and though limited; as has been pointed out, will find a suitable replacement! No one is looking to slight or insult anyone here; especially Steve! And it can happen easily sometimes as we are only reading text, and not hearing or seeing the other person's actual meaning! He's "corrected?" me on occasion, and i don't take it personally! After all, it's his forum, and it's still only metal detecting!!🍀👍👍

  

[Tony]

Agree completely.....on my profile, I have four detectors. Two PI and two VLF machines that cover just about everything I can think of from Australian goldfields to 200 feet under the briny. I actually hit a section of beach today that until recently, was free of black sands.......sure wish I had my (very) old Sea Hunter XL500 instead of the Excalibur.

Threads can drift off topic......I'm sure we are all guilty of that but I felt TBB had very good intentions and maybe that should be taken into consideration 🤨

[Hard Prospector]

OK guys, I've just ordered TWO new Sea Hunter MK2 detectors.  One I will have fitted out with the 10 x 14 coil and the other with  standard 8" loop.  Merry Christmas to me!

Thanks to all of you for the helpful suggestions,  I really appreciate your input

Robert

[schoolofhardNox]

19 hours ago, Joe D. said:

   And that's why I'm using Whites and Tesoro's at the beach! Still affordable and functional!

  Try and tell schoolofhardNox not to use a PI at the beach; he's a beast; and hugely successful in getting past the iron (cuz he digs it all out of the way intentionally😆), to get to the good stuff!

GPX 5000🤔, I'm not worthy yet!!🤣

     My location is somewhat unique; (The Treasure Coast) as I'm not only looking for gold with my PI, but also most other metals! And while my Nox; and others, have their place here! I need the most affordable, deepest machines for the black sand and salt, that are available, when hunting for artifacts, especially after a big storm! That's my modded Tdi SL, and Tesoro Sandshark currently! (Jmo) 

  Steve was just pointing out an observation, and in his defense, it's all in the title of this post! It appears to me that HP knows what he is looking for, and though limited; as has been pointed out, will find a suitable replacement! No one is looking to slight or insult anyone here; especially Steve! And it can happen easily sometimes as we are only reading text, and not hearing or seeing the other person's actual meaning! He's "corrected?" me on occasion, and i don't take it personally! After all, it's his forum, and it's still only metal detecting!!🍀👍👍

  

😄. Although I would recommend the 5000 on dry sand, I'm not much for it on wet sand. I think your choice was already mentioned and is a good one. Proven PI's that have withstood the test of time are your best bet. The AQ is not durable enough for the conditions unfortunately.

Come on Joe D, you know you want to dig some iron with a 5000. 🤣 I'm the guy to show you how to do it. 😇 And the VLF/ Multi vs PI thing never dies. 🙄 It's a situational thing....There are very, very few beaches where I hunt where a non PI machine can compete with a PI for extreme depth. Minelab and Deus are making great strides and are solidly hitting deeper than ever, but bury an 18" silver dime and ask those machines to see it and you will hear crickets.  In Florida it may be completely different, but in any kind of black sand situation I go PI and don't mind digging a lot of iron. No one is replacing old coins for me, and now days even the silver and gold rings are being depleted at an alarming rate. They are being replaced with Tungsten steel, zinc based plated junk, gold plate over steel, titanium, etc. Get a good PI, then get a back up good PI and dig until you drop!

[Tony]

14 hours ago, Hard Prospector said:

OK guys, I've just ordered TWO new Sea Hunter MK2 detectors.  One I will have fitted out with the 10 x 14 coil and the other with  standard 8" loop

Much respect to you....Go big or go home.......you do know the coils can be swapped out or did you need an excuse to get two detectors 🤣🤣

Here's my weapon of choice for an early New Years Day morning hunt....thanks to Eric Foster (RIP)

Fully retro / vintage for 2024

 

[Hard Prospector]

15 hours ago, Tony said:

Much respect to you....Go big or go home.......you do know the coils can be swapped out or did you need an excuse to get two detectors 🤣🤣

Here's my weapon of choice for an early New Years Day morning hunt....thanks to Eric Foster (RIP)

Fully retro / vintage for 2024

 

Easier to just grab a different detector than switch out coils (as we all know).  Plus the discussion on waterproof beach PI detectors possibly becoming extinct some day kinda spooked me.  Always wished I'd bought a second Sand Shark when I had the chance. Really appreciate all your help Tony,  perhaps when the detector arrives you'll give me some suggestions on settings,  thanks a bunch..........Robert

[cudamark]

On 12/28/2023 at 6:48 PM, kac said:

I like the SH and especially the 10x14 for beach combing. I had slapped a part whites, ml, garrett shaft together and put the control box under the arm cuff balancing it perfectly. Downside its still close to 6 lbs and if your have a bad shoulder this will limit your time hunting. There is the hip mount that works but any movement on coil wire can cause it to false a little.

Most sandy beaches or where there is black sand, hands down its far better than vlfs but there are areas I hunt that have so much iron trash that it would be impossible to dig everything. Sounds like a valor attempt at greatness but a daunting task that would leave you with a trash barrel of crap and only cover a small area.

I'm not a die hard beach hunter and prefer vlf's when possible.

Agreed, using a PI or SMF VLF is dependent on conditions and depth of targets. Digging everything is fine, if you have the time, physical endurance, and mental stability to do so. If you want to dig every signal and are willing to recover bobby pins and fire ring nails/staples from 18" down, have I got the beach for you! It would only take you a few years to cover it, so, come see me......please! Some of us weren't trying to convert him or talk the OP out of using a PI, just that with today's modern SMF machines, that in his situation, he might not need a PI as badly as he thinks. His decision, we just wanted to point out other options in case he wasn't aware of them.

[bklein]

Just got depressed using my Manticore in black sand at Newport Beach. Put a nickel on top of the sand and detect it probably >15”, depress an area 1-2” down from surface and it only sounds if the coil is an inch or so from it. I tried all modes. Sorry I didn’t have my AQ to see how it would perform.

 

[cjc]

21 hours ago, Tony said:

Much respect to you....Go big or go home.......you do know the coils can be swapped out or did you need an excuse to get two detectors 🤣🤣

Here's my weapon of choice for an early New Years Day morning hunt....thanks to Eric Foster (RIP)

Fully retro / vintage for 2024

 

 

V ery nice,  Tony.  Good Luck, clive

[cjc]

All told  I would  have still given the good old DF more weight in this discussion in that it just has a lot of target information in the tone and is as  deep  as anything out there including the TDIBH.  Ya it's got a bit of crackle but this is the interraction that makes it deep.  Ya there are some great VLFs out now but in  salt water or black sand  there's still  no contest.  None of  these  MF detecctors handle fast salt all that well.  Even a pulse with a small  coil still  needs to be balanced out to perfrom  well in these conditons--proof positive  that VLFs are faring much worse.  The Impulse AQ is the creame of  the PI crop but not for the PI novice--The build choices  are not all  good (Vishay  pots) and other small bobos  make it a troublesome  detector to  run.  Its a machine  with "rites  of  passage" that have to be surmounted to finally arrive  at a place where you have had components fail, broken a few fragile bits  and are at last ready  to swing problem  free.  Over all though--a superb  circuit and exacting service  from FT.  I have two and two  DF's -- without them I would  be competing on  a level  field and  these days  that can be hard.  With  a pulse, the  worse the conditons the  bigger the advantage.

cjc