Legacy 3500 ground balance question

[frankj3]

I'm getting used to my Legacy3500 and really enjoying finding all sorts of things....exactly what and where it says. I do a lot of beach hunting and on dry sand this unit is AWESOME!! The ground balance adjustment really helps.

The problem Is in the wet sand. I can't get the unit to ground balance in wet sand. When I finish swinging to one side or the other, I get a low, deep tone sound and a reading of 1 in the iron scale. And it is virtually quiet during the rest of the swing.

I'm wondering if I need a different coil for wet sand detecting? I want to work the wet sand because that is suppose to be where the bling is located. Should I use a smaller coil or a larger coil? I'm using the 8" factory stock coil at this time.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

HH y'all.

Frank

 

[PostalTwo]

I'm not sure the balance adjustment goes all the way to salt frank. can u get it to quiet when doing the adjust? one of the problems is that its single freq. all single freq machines have at least some trouble with wet sand that's why multi freq machines are so popular for that and pi machines for salt beach are the best IMO u could try reducing the sen but if its good through out ur swing id just leave it and put up with the falsing

 

[frankj3]

Postal, that's what I've been doing......letting it do it's own thing in all metal mode. Backing off the sensitivity had little to no affect on the false soundings. I guess my "no finds" in wet sand is because there was nothing to be found. But man, I am LOVING this machine in every other application....131 coins in less than 1 month.

Thanks for the feedback.

HH y'all.

Frank

 

[PostalTwo]

yep this machine is one of the best kept secrets out there. i love it. i loved my 2200 as well but this 3300 is even better

 

[BH505Man]

Frank, Try using the 4" gold coil it seems to cut thru the black sand and seems to work better in wet sand with less falsing. Another trick with the larger coils is to raise them about 3 to 4 inches above the wet sand.
I was out with my Legacy 3500 today on a saltwater beach at Birch Bay, Washington on the Pugget Sound and I was using the 8" coil. I had to zap out the iron sand and reduced the sensitivity. I searched the wet sand shoreline parallel to the water. I searched sand of even wetness. It seemed to help by searching with the coil kept raised 3 to 4 inches above the sand to reduce falsing.
I didn't find much today, only 1 copper US cent and some melted aluminum.
Next time I'm going to remember to bring my 4" coil and my 11"DD coil.

HH.

 

[Dave J.]

The ground balance control on the 3500 covers the range of iron minerals but does not "go all the way to wet salt" which is a different animal.

For working in the wet stuff with a single-frequency machine the ground balance range of which does not go all the way to salt, the following advice is usually applicable.

1. Reduce sensitivity setting.

2. Set discrimination to knock out foil.

3. Use a small searchcoil.

Users are often reluctant to do those things because the first thing they're thinking is "won't I lose depth?" Wrong question: the right question is "can I search this site?" Same thing as driving a car: just because the tires and the speedo can both hit 100 mph on the flats with no cops watching, doesn't mean you shouldn't be using brakes and lower gears on a twisty mountain road.

BTW: salt air is murder on electronics. If you're using the thing on an ocean beach, as an absolute minimum Please! put a plastic bag over its head.

--Dave J.

 

[frankj3]

Thanks Dave for the feedback. I do bag my unit. Started that with my Tracker IV. I will try my next search with the coil raised and other settings suggested.

Walt, I think I will invest in the 4" and DD coils soon.

HH y'all.

Frank

 

[BH505Man]

Frank,
BTW, the author of the last post (DaveJ) was the chief engineer for the Legacy 3500 design team. So he's definately an expert on the Legacy 3500. You can take his word as gospel.

 

[frankj3]

I figured that was "The Dave" from the 3500 build. I remember his name being mentioned in some earlier posts.

My first hunt with the 3500 was 3/17/14.
As of today, 4/15/14, I have found 1 ring, 131 coins, and a $20 bill for my labor.
I've made back 7.25% of my purchase price, including my pin pointer!

To say I'm having fun is an understatement.....I can't hardly remember which end of my golf clubs to hold anymore.

But I know which end to hold my [size=x-large][/size] Legacy 3500 with!!!

HH y'all.

Frank

 

[Dave J.]

Actually, the platform on which the 3500 is based was developed primarily by Sherwood Engineering, a local contract engineering firm, although I did a little kibitzing on it.

--Dave J.

 

[BH505Man]

I'm enjoying my Legacy 3500 too. Today(actually yesterday 14 April 2014), I had my best day ever. During a short 1 1/2 hour hunt, I found $2.03 in US coins. I found 6 quarters, 5 dimes and 3 cents.