garrett 350 problem with locking signals on beaches...

[DiggityDiggity]

So when I detect beaches my 350 seems to go haywire over sand. It's very tough to hone in on a signal. When I do finally lock a signal, I'll dig the hole and find nothing there. This happens so frequently that I've almost given up on sand and stay with the grassy areas of the beach. I've put my sensitivity on multiple levels and still I'm having the same problem. Am I doing something wrong? Is this a common problem with 350's and/or detectors in general?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[RobRieman]

350's don't like salt water or black or wet sand. Does it work in the dry sand?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

350 is a single frequency detector an single freq do not handle salt, black sand or highly mineralized soils very well.

If your hunting below the high tide line you will have problems, especially the closer you get to the water. Remember salt is made up of several minerals and causes single freq detectors to think there is metal every where.


In dry sand it is not an issue but in wet sand or salt water it is an issue, you have to turn your sensitivity way down or hunt only dry sand.

For hunting saltwater beaches you need a PI or multi - freq detector....

Sent from my new Galaxy Note3
now Free

 

[tiderider]

Make sure your coil cover is clean between the two, if you have a smaller coil will help, less ground it's seeing, GL tiderider

 

[DiggityDiggity]

Thanks for the responses guys. Now I wish I waited a month or two and saved up for the AT Pro *facepalm* I hunt freshwater beaches and most seem dry on top but when you dig there's definitely moisture. I do have more success in the parts of the sand that are farther away from the tide. I was starting to think I had a flawed detector. At least now I know what to ask Santa Claus for Christmas Cheers!

 

[Metal Detecting Stuff]

Yes, some parts of the USA have higher mineralization in the sand. Sometimes, turning down the sensitivity helps, but what you really need is, at the minimum, a detector that has ground balance capability. Even the AT Pro can chatter on a beach with high mineralization.

Wayne

www.metaldetectingstuff.com

 

[LifeNRA]

In dry sand it is not an issue but in wet sand or salt water it is an issue, you have to turn your sensitivity way down or hunt only dry sand.

This is what I did with my 350. Once I turned down the sensitivity I was also able to hit the wet sand without any issues. But, since the housing is not waterproof, I would not go anywhere near the wet sand. I have a cover on it, but the idea of a corrosive salt water spray getting in every opening changed my mind. I spoke to a local museum down in Delaware and they even said as long as you turn down your sensitivity to the point where it stabilizes you can hit the wet sand. But the salt spray will eventually kill the machine. So I hit the towel line and stayed up in the dry.

 

[Terry Soloman]

The quest for the perfect metal detector to this point has been quixotic. Minelab, has come the closest to building a fully submersible beach machine that can discriminate out iron in wet sand and saltwater. The “Excalibur” uses Broad Band Spectrum, or “BBS” technology, and retails for about $1,500.00. According to Minelab, their BBS operating system, “simultaneously transmits, receives and analyses a broad band of multiple frequencies to deliver substantial detection depth, high sensitivity and accurate discrimination for a wide range of target types.” The key takeaway here is “multiple frequencies.” Unfortunately, radio waves regardless of their frequency still have to be filtered and balanced in heavily conductive wet-ocean sand and highly mineralized saltwater. That limits the systems depth capabilities.

Single frequency VLF machines (Very Low Frequency), have even more limitations in the harsh saltwater environment. Take for example the Tesoro Lobo Super Traq. This VLF single frequency machine (17.9Khz) is one of the finest and deepest gold nugget finders on the market today. The Lobo Super Traq, is capable of finding BB-sized gold nuggets eight-inches deep in heavily mineralized ground, or a nickel in dry beach sand at 12-inches. Put that same nugget – or even the nickel, seven-inches deep in wet saltwater sand and the Lobo could walk right over it while chattering, or maybe without seeing it at all. Why?

The magnetic iron sands (“Black Sands”), salt, and high concentrations of other minerals in the water and sand conspire to bounce the radio waves away from the target. Conductivity and mineralization act like a shield around the target and create white noise that must be filtered electronically. Think of it as turning on your bright headlights in a heavy fog at night. All that powerful light is diffused and causes a complete white out – you can’t see anything three-feet past the hood of your car! However when you turn on your yellow fog lights, you can see a little further – not as far as you could in clear daylight, but further. That is why all radio wave machines must be “ground balanced” or tuned, to maximize their depth potential, and why BBS filters and multi-frequencies are so effective – yet still limited.

Unlike BBS and VLF metal detectors, which constantly send and receive thousands of low frequency radio waves per second, a Pulse Induction (PI) metal detector fires high-voltage pulses into the sand several hundred times per second. If no metal is present the electric pulse decays at a uniform rate with no anomalies. When metal is present a small “eddy” current flows through it causing the voltage decay time to increase, which creates a measurable anomaly. Unlike VLF radio waves, electronic pulses are impervious to the effects of conductivity and mineralization, and are unaffected by salt or black sands.

PI metal detectors give the user superior depth capabilities in all metal detecting situations and soil conditions. Using the same heavy fog at night metaphor that I referred to earlier, pulse induction is like headlights that cut completely through the fog as if it were not there at all. The trade-off for that added depth and clarity is the inability to discriminate, or block out iron targets that you generally don’t want to waste time and energy digging. While a pulse induction machine detects all metals without discrimination, the minute differences in the signal tone and quality can give a skilled and experienced operator a clue as to what the target may, or may not be.

Will one machine do it all? Not in my opinion. I always advise new beach metal detecting hobbyists to have a VLF machine for dry sand (as well as their other dirt detecting needs), and a PI machine for the water and wet-sand (and deep farm field and relic hunting). In truth, it all comes down to what you prefer and can afford. Good Luck!

 

[Mr.T]

The quest for the perfect metal detector to this point has been quixotic. Minelab, has come the closest to building a fully submersible beach machine that can discriminate out iron in wet sand and saltwater. The “Excalibur” uses Broad Band Spectrum, or “BBS” technology, and retails for about $1,500.00. According to Minelab, their BBS operating system, “simultaneously transmits, receives and analyses a broad band of multiple frequencies to deliver substantial detection depth, high sensitivity and accurate discrimination for a wide range of target types.” The key takeaway here is “multiple frequencies.” Unfortunately, radio waves regardless of their frequency still have to be filtered and balanced in heavily conductive wet-ocean sand and highly mineralized saltwater. That limits the systems depth capabilities.

Single frequency VLF machines (Very Low Frequency), have even more limitations in the harsh saltwater environment. Take for example the Tesoro Lobo Super Traq. This VLF single frequency machine (17.9Khz) is one of the finest and deepest gold nugget finders on the market today. The Lobo Super Traq, is capable of finding BB-sized gold nuggets eight-inches deep in heavily mineralized ground, or a nickel in dry beach sand at 12-inches. Put that same nugget – or even the nickel, seven-inches deep in wet saltwater sand and the Lobo could walk right over it while chattering, or maybe without seeing it at all. Why?

The magnetic iron sands (“Black Sands”), salt, and high concentrations of other minerals in the water and sand conspire to bounce the radio waves away from the target. Conductivity and mineralization act like a shield around the target and create white noise that must be filtered electronically. Think of it as turning on your bright headlights in a heavy fog at night. All that powerful light is diffused and causes a complete white out – you can’t see anything three-feet past the hood of your car! However when you turn on your yellow fog lights, you can see a little further – not as far as you could in clear daylight, but further. That is why all radio wave machines must be “ground balanced” or tuned, to maximize their depth potential, and why BBS filters and multi-frequencies are so effective – yet still limited.

Unlike BBS and VLF metal detectors, which constantly send and receive thousands of low frequency radio waves per second, a Pulse Induction (PI) metal detector fires high-voltage pulses into the sand several hundred times per second. If no metal is present the electric pulse decays at a uniform rate with no anomalies. When metal is present a small “eddy” current flows through it causing the voltage decay time to increase, which creates a measurable anomaly. Unlike VLF radio waves, electronic pulses are impervious to the effects of conductivity and mineralization, and are unaffected by salt or black sands.

PI metal detectors give the user superior depth capabilities in all metal detecting situations and soil conditions. Using the same heavy fog at night metaphor that I referred to earlier, pulse induction is like headlights that cut completely through the fog as if it were not there at all. The trade-off for that added depth and clarity is the inability to discriminate, or block out iron targets that you generally don’t want to waste time and energy digging. While a pulse induction machine detects all metals without discrimination, the minute differences in the signal tone and quality can give a skilled and experienced operator a clue as to what the target may, or may not be.

Will one machine do it all? Not in my opinion. I always advise new beach metal detecting hobbyists to have a VLF machine for dry sand (as well as their other dirt detecting needs), and a PI machine for the water and wet-sand (and deep farm field and relic hunting). In truth, it all comes down to what you prefer and can afford. Good Luck!

Hi there Just curious to know how much deeper the PI detectors would go in the farm field scenario. And why someone couldn't make a detector that could do both! Very informative post by the way. Thanks hh
Rory

 

[tiderider]

Having a PI in the field relic hunting is like a top fuel dragster with no seat belts or helmet, full throttle all the time, tiderider

 

[Terry Soloman]

Hi there Just curious to know how much deeper the PI detectors would go in the farm field scenario. And why someone couldn't make a detector that could do both! Very informative post by the way. Thanks hh
Rory

15-30 inches depending on the unit and target size. Garrett ATX 15"-17" on a quarter-sized target easily, 20"-25" on the same target with a Minelab GPX 5000.