Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: My First Beach Hunt Tomorrow

  1. #1
    Candidate Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Spring/Grapeland Tx
    Posts
    9

    My First Beach Hunt Tomorrow

    I will be on S Padre Island (Tx) tomorrow and plan on conducting my first beach hunt. Will need to buy a sand scoop. Using a new Garrett 350. No great expectations, just thought I would give it a few swings.
    Bill Hamilton
    V3, Garrett ADS, Lesche, Bullseye PP

  2. #2
    Administrator del's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    13,014
    Good luck Bill , please tell us how you do
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  3. #3
    Candidate Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Spring/Grapeland Tx
    Posts
    9
    Got skunked, but was an excellent learning experience. Will be better prepared tomorrow when I try again.

  4. #4
    Administrator del's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    13,014
    how did the machine act Samarai ? did you get a lot of falsing or erratic behavior on the wet sand?
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  5. #5
    Candidate Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Spring/Grapeland Tx
    Posts
    9
    Del, constant light false signals. Did not understand why, but they really didn't interfere with my hunting. Just never got a good clear tone anywhere. .

  6. #6
    Administrator del's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    13,014
    your garret is a single frequency machine and has a tough time sorting through the minerals (the black iron ferrite) and the wet salt which also registers as a mineral to the machine . between the both of them the machine will false especially when you go from dry sand to wet. your machine probably does alright in the dry sand and runs pretty smooth ,yes?
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  7. #7
    Candidate Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Spring/Grapeland Tx
    Posts
    9
    Yes it did. I did test it with coins in the sand to see what kind of tone it had for them. I am comfortable with what I heard. Was using no discrimination. Thanks for the input.

  8. #8
    Administrator del's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    13,014
    for your next attempt try re balancing the machine in the wet sand when you move onto it and if you go back into the dry sand re balance it there too . sometimes you might get it to quiet down a little when you balance the machine for that particular area.
    "Honesty is an expensive gift ,
    so don't expect it from cheap people"

    XP Deus II , DFX ,TDI sl -

    Click here to view my finds album


  9. #9
    Candidate Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Spring/Grapeland Tx
    Posts
    9
    Okay, thanks. I will try it Friday when I go back out again.

  10. #10
    Elite Member Digger_O'Dell's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    near Milwaukee Wi.
    Posts
    3,932
    Just a little insight maybe since I'm using a single frequency X-Terra 705. I had similar experiences first time out beach hunting on Lake Michigan. Here we have no salt, but layers and layers of black sand sometimes hard caked an inch or more deep-sort of like an iron plate. lol For a while I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting any targets. Even tried detecting a quarter I placed on the surface of the sand, and got nothing! Digging through the top thin layer of normal sand, that's where I discovered the deep black stuff.
    So to try and find a solution I adjusted settings until I was able to get exceptional response under those conditions-surprising for a single frequency machine. I found I had to lower the sensitivity-a LOT! I also had to set the ground balance all the way down to the 10 to 12 range, eliminate the discrimination blocks (all metal) and readjust the threshold. Once it was all dialed in I was able to detect a clad penny several inches under even the worst of the black sand and was finally finding good stuff!
    Hope this helps!
    Equipment:
    Minelab: CTX 3030, GPX 4800, X-Terra 705. Whites TDI SL.

    2023 Silver: 1 Gold: 0

    Best finds: 28 silver dime spill, 1800s Dutch customs seal.
    Oldest/best coins: 1837 Upper Canada large cent, 1877 Seated Dime
    Oldest find: 1800 Sailors Luck token
    You Tube: Rediscovering America

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •