Beaches

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Nightf10182003

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No..this isn't about a Bette Midler movie...sorry to dissapoint. So...I finally went to the beach as it is the first weekend that it hasn't been crappy out since I got my new toy. I wasn't expecting much as there aren't too many people frequenting the beach these days. I went to an out of the way, secluded spot that buts up against the local navy base and within a few minutes I was digging..and I never stopped. I found weights and some kind of toe ring and very little in the way of trash...and a lot of clad. I didn't realize the effeects of salt on coins...I got coins with barnacles on them, all the dimes look like pennies, the quarters were either penny-esque or shiny and worn down...and there were only two nickels....but this is the weird part....after walking a few hundred yards, I turned around and headed back the way I came and found even more clad. I figured in all my wisdom, "hey!, if this little remote beach has this much stuff, let me go down the beach 1 mile to the public area where all the people go!" So, I get in my car and head down to the "busy" beach and after about 20 minutes, I got.........nothing...not a single signal...not even a pop top...good job cleaning crews....so I head back to the secluded beach and I finish out the day finding even more clad....all in all about $8.00. Not too bad for a first time out. The only problem I had was that I couldn't get near the water or the wet sand because the detector would go crazy....any ideas how to stop that? Pictures will be sent tonight after work...
 

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Great start. My first outing only produced $.26 but it was great fun. I haven't been to a beach yet but I will try your "out of the way" method.

I am no expert but - my ACE 250 has this discrimination feature that allows you to turn off the audio signal for certain materials. I am just learning the feature but it worked to eliminate junk at an old barn site I was searching. You may check your detector to see if that elimination is available. If you have a graphic display it will probably still show junk but you won't be hearing all those false audio signals.
 

I am coming over to Jacksonville to hunt soon. ?I hope you didn't find ALL the clad and left me a little. ?You don't say what kind of machine you use. ?It may be one that can only be used in the dry sand. ?Even my Garrett GTI 1500 and the BH QD II will "chatter" in wet areas. ?They both "say" that you can use them in the water (coil only) but the reality of it is... they are only good in the dry sand and for land hunting. ?You need a water machine to hunt the edge of the water such as a cz20 or Sea Hunter etc. ?There are lots of good ones out there.
 

I see...ok..well, I have a Whites Prizm II...I tried turning the sensitivity down..but that didn't work...If you are making your way to JAX, I would suggest Hannah Park or Hugonaut Park for the beach.....Jax Beach is a little too hard packed for much to get lost. Those other beaches are wide and very sandy
 

The chatter you are receiving has something to do with the properties in the salt water. I had that problem with my Tesoro Silver Sabre II. I THINK you will have to stay away from the water, or get a machine that is specifically designed to hunt near salt water. I don't know the technical side of it, but I've read it a time or two. I'm just a dumb grunt, not a techie. Someone here will be able to articulate it better than me.

Continued good luck with your 'out of the way site'. (It's near a military base, it's out of the way, you found a toe ring.............I was a soldier once. With a girlfriend. Near a beach.)

Roger
 

that seems to be the consensus..stay away from the water...that really bites. We have so much buried treasure on our beaches, from all the spanish gallions that have sunk, to modern day ships that toss their illegal stash overboard...lol....I can just hope that it washes up to the dry point....
 

mmmmm? I seem to remember being a girlfriend with the soldier at a beach.? I married him and still have him after 47 years!? He doesn't care for MD'ing but he's the best thing I ever found! ;) He was Air Force - so was my dad and AND my son.
 

Plenty of good salt water detectors out there. But you'll probably have to shell out a little more dough than the cost of a Prizm II. ;D
 

Sound like you had a heck of a day!!!!!Deep us posted on more finds and Pics..........Seeker
 

You are catching on fast, I would suggest checking on a Prizm specific forum. ?I use a Whites XLT and have detected knee deep in the water on beaches but they are fresh water and I the detector did well, I wonder what it would do in salt water? ?An idea would be to save your clad change finds and put it towards a better detector, many months from now you will have developed your skills and places to hunt, have a bucket of change and know if you actually want to invest up to a $1000 or more for a really good detector. ?Many detectors cost less than that. ?Wish I had some experience in the salty beaches to share. ?HH, Mike
 

I believe Sandman said once that that noise you hear near salt water is the coil detecting the salt and black sand at the same time and it acts like a bunch of bb's. All land machines will do this and only having a salt mode, Excalibur or PI machine will act stable near the water. I plan on getting my first real water machine next spring.


LOL,

Doctor Detroit.
 

Hey Nightf---Thats a real good amount of coins for a first timer.
I use an Xlt on the beach a lot and had the same problem at
one time.The cure--I had to raise my coil of the surface and
not make any contact at all with the wet sand.The downside
is that you loose a little depth.Black or purple sand also affect
mds.HappyHunts
 

Wow very good for the first time out...I had my Quantum over wet sand on the beach with no problems but didn't get too close to the water. It was pretty windy on the beach. I live within 3 hrs of the Graveyard of the Pacific. It's claimed almost 2000 vessels near the Columbias Mouth. I'm hoping the weather turns better soon. Would like to hit the beach again to see what the winter storms brought in....
 

a water machine is what i use and i do not have that problem. mine is a fisher impluse and it is a silent run non motion pluse machine i get about 12 inches down in the sand.it is real easy to pin point your targets with this machine. i had my best year this year i found 16 gold rings in the water in lake erie.lake is frozen now so i am looking for the owners of some of the class rings i found.
 

a water machine is what i use and i do not have that problem. mine is a fisher impluse and it is a silent run non motion pluse machine i get about 12 inches down in the sand.it is real easy to pin point your targets with this machine. i had my best year this year i found 16 gold rings in the water in lake erie.lake is frozen now so i am looking for the owners of some of the class rings i found. ;D
 

I recently got a friend into metal detecting,he has a prismII and the same problemThe only thing he could do to help was to take it off of all metal and he says he can get into the wet sand a little better now.Also salt water.GL!!HH!!NATE
 

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