Sea Hunter Vs. Sand Shark Vs. F75-Best PI.

[strongarm18]

Friends, a good buddy of mine is looking to invest in a PI detector.

With my limited knowledge, I gave him those three for a budget under $800...also thinking about the Whites now too?

Thoughts, suggestions?

Search area is West coast of Florida.

Thank you in advance!

 

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[Terry Soloman]

It's a "Ford or Chevy" argument. I Always say Tesoro Sand Shark with 8" coil. Least expensive with the best warranty, and as deep as you ever need to go.

 

[ron lord]

I agree with Terry

 

[tlane38003]

How about a whites duel field nice large coil great customer service hope your beaches don't have alot of iron pi detectors love to find rusty fish hooks at over a foot deep get a massive scoop

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[LawrencetheMDer]

F75 isn't a PI machine. VLF at 13Khz. But a great land machine with cheap coil packages...see Big Boys for example.

 

[strongarm18]

It's a "Ford or Chevy" argument. I Always say Tesoro Sand Shark with 8" coil. Least expensive with the best warranty, and as deep as you ever need to go.

Thanks everyone! I'm too new to really know any better. But least expensive, best warranty works for me! I'll pass it on.

 

[CASPER-2]

if he has ton of money and don't care - buy new - all machines mentioned are good and all PIs go deep and you will hit it all (if used right)
if he is on a budget and does not want to make a mistake spending the money and regretting it - have him sign on here and try
and find someone that may let them try one - many hunters here have older PIs as back up or in their closets and maybe someone
would take him out and try it - or if he can find a dealer that will let him try a floor model
have him check ebay/craigs list for a used one - if he really likes it (or if he finds some yellow) he can then possibly buy
a new one or upgrade - ive had many guys see my gold and run out and buy a new one and couple weeks later they sold them
and lost money - lot of people think its so easy - some times it can be - but most times (at least for me) its work -
so if he is not going to give up and really gonna stick withit - buy new
if he doesn't know if he is gonna like it or just gonna play with it now and then - try and get a good used one

 

[cudamark]

It's a "Ford or Chevy" argument. I Always say Tesoro Sand Shark with 8" coil. Least expensive with the best warranty, and as deep as you ever need to go.

As long as your search area isn't riddled with iron, I would agree with a PI machine being a good choice. The Sand Shark is as good as any and with the lower price and great warranty, it's a "best buy". Keep in mind that you're going to need a good scoop too. Don't get a cheapie one with a wire mesh basket. They'll crush with repeated foot pressure. A large opening stainless (like a Stealth) would be my first choice. Aluminum if you can't afford a stainless one. They're usually smaller in diameter and don't penetrate the sand as easily though, due to their thicker wall.

 

[rykroll]

I love my seahunter!

 

[gamiller]

Another vote for the sand shark. I prefer the ten inch coil myself. Slice through with great ease. I also have a white bhid 300 the close relative to the dual field . The larger coil is a double edged sword. Cover a wider area faster but also tires you out faster. Something you might want to keep in mind.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Strongarm, if you end up with the Sand Shark, pay close attenrtion to page 12 in the manual. MAKE SURE you set your tone frequency to match YOUR hearing the best. Do you hear high or low tones better? Set your pulse width to about 3/4 power (2-230pm position), and turn your threshold up to where you can hear it above the waves and wind noise, but no louder than it needs to be. It should sound like a constant, steady, mosquito hum in your ears. Use the machine in NORMAL mode.

DO NOT just walk up or down the beach in one direction or the other! Pick yourself a 50-yard long beachfront, and start gridding it. You start at the wet sand high mark and detect right into the water thigh-deep, move over a step and detect right back up to the high wet sand mark.. Rinse and repeat until the whole 50-yards or 5-hours is done.

Slight “Positive” signals are also called “whisper” signals. This is a very soft or slight, almost unnoticeable, rise in the threshold signal. It will always be repeatable over the target — not random. If your threshold is set too high, or too low, you can miss them easily. If your threshold is not smooth you can miss these whisper signals easily. There can be a couple of reasons, including EMI, for an unstable threshold. The most common is too much pulse width. Sometimes you can max it out, sometimes you can only run it at the 12-1 o’clock position. It depends on the beach. If you want to make your machine more sensitive and cut down on interference, make sure you are not wrapping your coil wire close to the coil down on the lower plastic rod (see photo).

“Negative breaks,” are also referred to as whisper signals. This is when the threshold gets quieter, or goes away completely over the target. Again, negative breaks are always repeatable over a real target — not random. As you remove a little sand from over the target and re-sweep with your coil, the signal becomes a slight or stronger positive signal.

I use “Normal” mode, because it is easier for me to hear these positive and negative breaks in the threshold — that does not hold true for everyone. It takes time on the headphones to learn to recognize whisper signals, usually over 100-hours. Sometimes actually speeding up your swing back and forth helps to recognize these signals. The general rule however is always to SLOW down and pay attention.

I’m right-handed, so I swing the Sand Shark with my left arm. I mount the box up high and use the arm strap so that I let go of the detector and use my left hand to remove the target from the scoop. The arm strap keeps the detector right there attached to me, but gives me the ability to use both hands. Lastly, using your scoop effectively takes practice in the water. I put my toe just in back of the pinpointed target then place my scoop right in front of my toe for the recovery. This works well with practice. You’ll learn to time the waves. Hope this helps you, and feel free to PM me with any other questions or explanations.

 

[strongarm18]

Wow. Thank you so much. I just bought my AT Pro....but am thinking I will eventually end up with the sand shark after all the comments on this post.
Is there a way to favorite...or flag a post for later review? I need to do that.

Cheers.

Strongarm, if you end up with the Sand Shark, pay close attenrtion to page 12 in the manual. MAKE SURE you set your tone frequency to match YOUR hearing the best. Do you hear high or low tones better? Set your pulse width to about 3/4 power (2-230pm position), and turn your threshold up to where you can hear it above the waves and wind noise, but no louder than it needs to be. It should sound like a constant, steady, mosquito hum in your ears. Use the machine in NORMAL mode.

DO NOT just walk up or down the beach in one direction or the other! Pick yourself a 50-yard long beachfront, and start gridding it. You start at the wet sand high mark and detect right into the water thigh-deep, move over a step and detect right back up to the high wet sand mark.. Rinse and repeat until the whole 50-yards or 5-hours is done.

Slight “Positive” signals are also called “whisper” signals. This is a very soft or slight, almost unnoticeable, rise in the threshold signal. It will always be repeatable over the target — not random. If your threshold is set too high, or too low, you can miss them easily. If your threshold is not smooth you can miss these whisper signals easily. There can be a couple of reasons, including EMI, for an unstable threshold. The most common is too much pulse width. Sometimes you can max it out, sometimes you can only run it at the 12-1 o’clock position. It depends on the beach. If you want to make your machine more sensitive and cut down on interference, make sure you are not wrapping your coil wire close to the coil down on the lower plastic rod (see photo).

“Negative breaks,” are also referred to as whisper signals. This is when the threshold gets quieter, or goes away completely over the target. Again, negative breaks are always repeatable over a real target — not random. As you remove a little sand from over the target and re-sweep with your coil, the signal becomes a slight or stronger positive signal.

I use “Normal” mode, because it is easier for me to hear these positive and negative breaks in the threshold — that does not hold true for everyone. It takes time on the headphones to learn to recognize whisper signals, usually over 100-hours. Sometimes actually speeding up your swing back and forth helps to recognize these signals. The general rule however is always to SLOW down and pay attention.

I’m right-handed, so I swing the Sand Shark with my left arm. I mount the box up high and use the arm strap so that I let go of the detector and use my left hand to remove the target from the scoop. The arm strap keeps the detector right there attached to me, but gives me the ability to use both hands. Lastly, using your scoop effectively takes practice in the water. I put my toe just in back of the pinpointed target then place my scoop right in front of my toe for the recovery. This works well with practice. You’ll learn to time the waves. Hope this helps you, and feel free to PM me with any other questions or explanations.

 

[cudamark]

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