Gt on the beach

[Nauti]

Hi,i have just moved down to the coast which will enable me to concentrate on the beach a lot more.I have beach detected in the past and concentrated mainly on the dry sand areas.I have tried to detect in the shallow surf a few times with little success but most of the good finds seem to come from this area.Is it best to search here when the tide is out fully or at some other time.Also is it best to search in all metal or discrim?Cheers.

 

[Critterhunter]

Only thing I can help with is this- Hunt in disc and if targets are scarce due to it being hit hard or due to bad minerals, flip to pin point mode, full volume, full sensitivity, and watch how suddenly the beach comes to life. When I first saw what PP could do it made a dead badly mineralized beach like virgin ground. Over a hour or two in disc with few targets in my pouch, and then when I flipped to PP I filled my apron with a large amount of clads in no time. I'm even going to use PP at some of my less trashy/deep target land sites where the potential of old coins at PI-like depths out of the reach of VLF machines will still be in reach of the PI-like ability of PP mode.

I didn't even need to turn sensitivity all the way up on that beach and instead kept it where it was stable for disc, but they say (and I've seen) that you can go full blast with sensitivity in PP mode even in the worst of grounds with no issues. Also, I kept volume all the way down, yet my tests confirm that full volume does give PP mode even more depth like I had heard in the past.

If targets are plentiful in disc, which they usually are due to the ultra deep mineralized penetrating power of BBS, then I stick with disc on the beach, but if they are scarce, or I want to concentrate on the ultra deep signals and ignore the "fluff" shallower light stuff (which usually ain't gold rings), then I'll use PP and only go after those deep soft whispers to get down to the heavier stuff where gold rings and silver coins should be sitting. But then again a fresh dropped ring could be shallow.

 

[Neil]

Hi,i have just moved down to the coast which will enable me to concentrate on the beach a lot more.I have beach detected in the past and concentrated mainly on the dry sand areas.I have tried to detect in the shallow surf a few times with little success but most of the good finds seem to come from this area.Is it best to search here when the tide is out fully or at some other time.Also is it best to search in all metal or discrim?Cheers.

Low tide should expose more of the swimming area to you. try and locate those areas, where people congregate at these beaches your hunting. Its a little harder in tidal areas as sands move around and of course how much wave action you have. Even in simple lake hunting, if you pay attention you can see where people swim/hang out most in the water. Which mode and what settings are all on you, dependent on the site. Experiment on different targets you locate and you will see what works best for your location.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

most prefer to hunt the waterline from 2 hours prior to low tide till 2 hours past low tide.... i hunt in disc mode with iron mask on and sensetivity straight up at 12 oclock.... dig all repeatable signals ,especially the weak ones as they are more likely to be deeper targets that others have missed... ...... be very careful not to get the control box wet.... have fun....

 

[Nauti]

Went out for three hours on the beach yesterday and had a fairly productive time.I had decided to go when the tide was fully out so I could work from the tideline up towards the dry sand at the top of the beach.I was slightly later than planned so I had already lost about 20 yards detecting as the sea was coming in.I worked parallel to the surf in about a 50 yard corridor so that I was not trying to cover too much ground in the time I had.I was not expecting much because most of the finds have long been hoovered up at the end of the summer season by all the local detectorists.To cut a long story short,these were my conclusions :
I need a bigger spade....i had to leave many signals because my spade was not big enough for the gt's depth.....it has even more depth than I thought possible on wet sand.

I need to get to the beach a bit earlier so I am not racing the tide up the beach.There was a number of times that I had a number of signals on the same line I was taking and the tide was preventing me from digging them all.

I think the number of signals still left must be down to the gt's superior depth capabilities on the wet sand over other detectors.....these are items left by detectorists using different detectors that are nowhere near as good on wet sand.

I only covered a small area and dug many signals which means there must be many more items left to be found with the gt that are unreachable with most other machines.

Anyway I found about six pounds in change....equivalent to about severn or eight dollars I think,an earing which was a non precious metal,a gents tissot watch which unfortunatey had let water in and a wedding ring made of palladium worth about $96.I can't wait to get out again.....it does not matter how many detectorists have gone over a beach.....if you have a gt you will find things others have left behind.Happy days.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

i would say you are off to a good start...congrats...

 

[JASONSPAZ1]

Low tide especially on low tides of full moon when there is a slightly more negative tide. That way you can get out further into wet sand areas that where previously underwater.
Go into the wet sand right up to the edge of the water.
Tie a rope from your waist to the GT pole assembly. You do not want to drop the GT in the wet slop.
If you keep the GT on the pole assembly be sure to tie a market plastic bag around the control box and then put the hip mount bag over that if you have one. Trust me better to be safe than sorry the GT ain't no Excalibur.
Other than that the GT is the most capable salt wet sand machine you can get. And the wet salt sand is where the gold is.
Have fun and good luck.

HH
Jason

 

[Nauti]

Hi Jason,that is good advice about the rope...i will certainly do that in the future.As I said earlier I was too late to catch the low tide but next time I will be there in good time.I certainly had some great success considering it was the first time i had put any effort into searching the wet sand and I can't wait to get out again.Thanks to everyone for the advice and comments.....they have made a positive difference,Neil.

 

[Critterhunter]

Any of you guys see that new service that is offered for electronics like smart phones? You send it to them and they treat it with some kind of clear protective ultra slippery material that makes it water proof. I saw them sticking smart phones not rated as water proof in buckets of water with no issues, and then when you pull it out the water sheets right off of it. I wonder if they can do that to a Sovereign control box and meter? Not to make it waterproof to trust that to stick it under water, as the pots and switches alone would not make such a thing possible, but what I'm thinking is it might be a great way to protect a machine from water or salt should it get splashed by a rouge wave or dropped in the water accidently. I suspect the treatment would lock out any salt water to rust the electronics. Only thing is though, I'm not sure if they can waterproof the whole thing that way due to the mechanical pots and switches. Those smart phones use surface mount "pill" type sealed buttons, when they have those for on/off or such. Those types of buttons are sealed. Maybe they can treat the internal motherboard and external case to sheet off water/salt but not expose the pots and switches on the face plate to the treatment?

I also think there is another company selling a similar product that you apply yourself but haven't looked into it. If I were hunting salt water beaches I'd for sure seal off the Sovereign control box to any salt mist. That stuff will kill a machine over time as it mists inside and eats up the circuit boards, switches, and pots.

 

[broadestpower]

Nice hunt is the weather favorable?

George

 

[Eric]

Thank you for sharing nauti Neil, [or is it naughty Neil?] I am from Holland, and I live 2 hours away from the nearest saltwater beach, but still I want to search there more often with my Sovereign. I love detecting the beaches even when the costs to get there are sometimes higher than what I gain from it... but now I have a Sovereign again.

Eric, The Netherlands.

 

[Nauti]

The saltwater issue is quite a worrying one and I am now considering making some form of waterproof box like the ones found on machines like the sand shark etc.My main worry is the point that Critter raised...the long time exposure of the electronics to the salt air.Where I hunt on the north coast of devon in England it is always windy and this tends to cause the fine salty mist that has been mentioned.
As for question of the weather.....it is mild here at the moment but we have just had the second wettest year since records began.....it just has'nt stopped raining..another good reason for some form of waterproof box.

 

[Eric]

Maybe like what they mentioned also Neil, put a plastic bag around it and then a controlboxcover. Before when I had my Sovereign XS2, I got this Walborn controlboxcover from Crawfords in the UK. Or from kevin from Staffordshire detectors. What Critter mentioned would be a good idea, the method they use to waterproof Celphones.

Good luck with it.

Eric.

 

[Neil]

I like the minelab/walborn style bags but for hunting around brush, in the woods, that type of thing. On the beach here is what I use. I got this idea from a guy way back when minelab was still putting the coinsearch on their sovs. He put a post up about making the coinsearch and control box water resistant so you can wade with that setup.
A note on the coinsearch coil: if you unscrew the flex connector on the coil you will see a small O ring that seals the coil from outside moisture. Clean that all off really well, put a generous amount of aquarium silicone around that O ring, then screw the connector back in place......then let it dry about 2 days, and even though bouyant, you can wade safely with the coinsearch coil.

The bags I use are 1 gallon size, a little larger would work also but I wouldnt go to big..

Put the control box into the bag, attach it to your rod. Now attach the coil cable and cinch that end of the bag down with a piece of rubber band or similiar, something that will stretch and grab the plastic. (I use old bicycle tube cut up to strips, works great). Then poke a tiny hole in the front where the headphones will connect and connect your headphones. I use a pencil and just poke the hole the size of the point so the plastic stays tight around the headphones connector. your done.

This works with either the Sov GT or Elite connectors or the older V clips.

After a few hunts, toss the bag and do it again. Also, connecting it up this way allows you to easily change the battery or coil without removing the box again.

 

[Nauti]

Cheap,simple and effective......that will do for me.Cheers Neil.

 

[Eric]

Thanks for the info Neil!

Your advice on how to make the coinsearch coil waterproof is very good. I will look for that aquarium silicone and do that as well. That plastic bag seems to be effective enough and I will get me that GT raincover if you say that it will fit the XS as well. Maybe I have to adjust the hole where it has to go around the V clip a little as the bracket for the GT seems much larger.

Thanks for sharing the pictures, that explains it better.

Eric.

 

[berryman]

I've used this method too Neil. The only hassle you have to put up with is having to open up the back end of the bag when you have to change out the battery pack.