- Joined
- May 28, 2010
- Messages
- 20,164
- Reaction score
- 31,990
- Golden Thread
- 1
- Location
- White Plains, New York
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 1
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 1
- Detector(s) used
- Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
- #1
Thread Owner
It was a beautiful morning for the 70-minute ride to Jones Beach, with only two traffic jams on the Whitestone Bridge, and them merging onto the Long Island Expressway. We decided on Beach #4, and I hooked up with two other experienced beach detectorists, Joe and Anthony. I started off in “Coin Mode” with my sensitivity at about ¾ strength, detecting the dry sand as I walked out toward the water.
I notched out the Corona and Heineken bottle caps, and managed to find three-quarters, two-dimes, two-nickels, and three-pennies on the way out to the water. All were six-inches in depth or less. I hunted the wet sand for about 15-minutes with no signals, and switched to “Jewelry Mode,” kicking the sensitivity up to max.
My first Saltwater hit was faint but repeatable and coming up as an “8” on the readout. It was a nickel, about 10” deep. My next target screamed, coming up at “24” and was a #4 lead sinker, about a foot in the wet sand, resting on the hardpack. You can see from the coins I recovered -- none shallower than 8” in depth, that they have been lost for some time.
With the sensitivity maxed out, I experienced almost no false signals and no EMI at all. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I thought I would have to adjust it in the black sand depressions and bowls, but not even the salt water washing over the coil caused it to false.
Unfortunately, my video glasses failed so my brilliant commentary and terrific recovery shots have been lost to history. Next week I’ll borrow a Go-Pro and get some shots of the machine working. I have to say, the Vanquish 540 is a very capable metal detector in the dirt and in saltwater! Affordable, light, easy to use, and built on a collapsible frame that is easy to pack and go. So far, Two Thumbs Way Up!!

I notched out the Corona and Heineken bottle caps, and managed to find three-quarters, two-dimes, two-nickels, and three-pennies on the way out to the water. All were six-inches in depth or less. I hunted the wet sand for about 15-minutes with no signals, and switched to “Jewelry Mode,” kicking the sensitivity up to max.
My first Saltwater hit was faint but repeatable and coming up as an “8” on the readout. It was a nickel, about 10” deep. My next target screamed, coming up at “24” and was a #4 lead sinker, about a foot in the wet sand, resting on the hardpack. You can see from the coins I recovered -- none shallower than 8” in depth, that they have been lost for some time.
With the sensitivity maxed out, I experienced almost no false signals and no EMI at all. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I thought I would have to adjust it in the black sand depressions and bowls, but not even the salt water washing over the coil caused it to false.
Unfortunately, my video glasses failed so my brilliant commentary and terrific recovery shots have been lost to history. Next week I’ll borrow a Go-Pro and get some shots of the machine working. I have to say, the Vanquish 540 is a very capable metal detector in the dirt and in saltwater! Affordable, light, easy to use, and built on a collapsible frame that is easy to pack and go. So far, Two Thumbs Way Up!!

