Beach Hunter ID Wont Go Deep?

[kinigit]

Beach Hunter ID Won't Go Deep?

Hi I am new to the forum, but have scoured the internet for info with no luck. I have a Beach Hunter ID with the 9.5 inch coil. I just got it used and have been playing with it in the yard. Seems very touchy I am guessing because of below ground power lines in the neighborhood and random things (nails, trash, etc although most show up as yellow and green lights)?

However when I keep the sensitivity at the recommended spot it barely responds to my ring within 6 inches in the air when I wave it above or below the coil. Is this normal, seems range would be better?

Also I am very confused by the lack of audio sometimes. It will null sometimes and put a light on, but no audio in the earphones. I read the instruction manual and saw nothing about this. Any suggestions or clues. Thanks in advance and if I did miss a post I am sorry to ask again.

 

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[Sandman]

Ok, about your six inches in depth, clean out the coil cover of any sand, etc. Turn down disc as this affacts depth too and might be why it doesn't respond to the ring well or the type metal in the ring. If your wearing a gold ring the detector should report on it just as loud as a pull tab. If it doesn't turn down disc and up sens. As for the lights blinking on they tell there is something there but it is to deep to ID it.

 

[kinigit]

Okay I did a bit more playing with it today. Am I wrong is there no discriminate knob? I have threshold, ground balance, and sensitivity on the outside. There is a discriminate mode and an all metal mode. When using it today the lights did not seem to reflect what I was hitting in an agricultural field. Lots of medium size pieces of iron were showing up as "ring" or even one bigger one (a circular piece of iron strapping) as "coin" at about 7 inches.

Sometimes with the null sound I still get lights that are repeatable is that normal? Also the "all metal" mode seems to go much deeper? I am thinking on the beach that might be the best way to search as it seems to go way deeper and trash should not be as much of an issue. I had sensitivity almost all the way up today in the field since their was virtually no interference and still not impressive depth.

Thanks for the help. I saw in some of your old posts that you used to have one Sandman.

 

[Sandman]

Yes I had one of them suckers and I just didn't like the floating coil for water hunting. It worked great other wise however. White's thinks most hunters don't go in the water wading and they are right. When you want to use it in the water it is easy to add a sand filled sock to the shaft or coil and take it off when searching the wet or dry sand. This link tells you about the lights and how the disc works easier than I can type it. Whites Electronics Beach Hunter Id | Lost Treasure Online - Official Website of Lost Treasure Magazine

 

[kinigit]

That was exceptionally helpful. I think that answered all but one question I have. What do I do if when I go to ground balance I get no change in sound as I raise or lower the coil and that remains true even after turning it up or down? Thank you very much for the information. This is an outstanding resource.

 

[The-Bone]

First off, when ground balancing you MUST max out the sensitivity to get the unit to respond to the ground mineralization. Once you do this you should be able to hear the threshold change as you bob the coil. When you get it so it remains near the same when going down and up then lower the sensitivity back down to where you want it for hunting and off you go.

 

[U.K. Brian]

You are right. No discrimination knob so there's no way you can over discriminate. I'm thinking at the moment that my Beach Hunter needs to go back for a check over/tune as I'm getting 8.5 inches in discrim. and 11 in all metal on a average (not large) wedding band which is down on what I did get. (Ground set mid way, sensitivity on the Pre Set). So much better than your getting.
You can hypertune the detector but if your not getting the correct performance at pre set positions it does suggest something is not quite right.

Don't worry re iron rings. A circle shape affects all detectors and can break through the discrimination setting. All metal on most machines gives the best depth. With discrimination (all detectors) it doesn't work as well as some claim. Iron by shape, size can indicate as good. Best answer is the really check the target in all metal from two or three different directions and use the audio (smooth/small for good, broken, double blip or wide for ferrous).

 

[kinigit]

That is very helpul on how to set the ground balance and on the iron issue with circular shapes being able to crack the discrimination. I will set up a test bed as many have described to see how deep it will go under controlled conditions. My depth estimates were from a local agricultural field and I was estimating depths. The large iron ring I found was probably deeper than 7 inches maybe as much as nine, but it was also about 4 inches across and the strap was almost an inch wide (so a very large target), hopefully gold targets will also be that big I will try out all of the recommendations and see how that affects my results. Thank you to everyone who provided advice it should be a great hobby to enjoy with my daughter.
Any other ideas or advice would be great.

 

[kinigit]

Played with it more in the backyard and depth seemed to be okay in all metal. Ground balance is still not seeming to require any tweaking because it is not changing tones when raised and lowered even on max sensitivity. Maybe this is my soils not sure. Found an old piece of fence probably from before the development was established and a nickel at probably 7-8 inches. Sending it back in for a repair, but then can't wait to get it in the water at the beach.

Used it some more this evening and it performed well. Still can't figure out the audio not having sounds other than a null through the head phones when in discriminate, but I used it in all metal exclusively and utilized the lights which is a very nice thing to have even in the all metal. Up to a whopping $0.66! It is going to be a lot of fun and I am sure when it is re-waterproofed will be a blast in the ocean with the appropriate weighting on the coil.