MXT on wet sand ??

[srf2112]

I'm pretty new at detecting and was wondering if anyone has any advice for using the MXT on the wet stuff. I live on the coast and would love to put that hunting niche onto my list of options but have so far been pretty frustrated at it. The problem, apparently, is the level of mineralization on the beaches in my area. Central/Northern Ca. My machine does fine in the dry sand but continuously wants to overload on the wet sand. There is a LOT of black sand and impossible to avoid as there are large areas and smaller dense streaks everywhere. I have the stock 950 coil as well as a 6x10 DD and, soon to arrive, a 5.3 Bullseye. I've tried the first two already but have found that I have to turn the sens down so far that I feel I may be sacrificing so much in depth that I"m probably wasting my time. Any advice on coils, settings, tips etc would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to everyone in advance.
HH
Scott

 

[therover]

I never used an MXT but my friend had one and he could hunt the dry, but not get close to the wet sand here in NJ. The conducitivity of the salt water, along with the high gain of the MXT made it impossible to hunt the wet with any depth or stablility. I am not sure if he tried lowering the sensitivity or try to discriminate out the salt water ( not sure how that is done on the MXT ).

Try the DD coil and smaller coil, hopefully that helps.

 

[kered]

To get better results on the wet sand i used a trick i picked up don't remember where, If you try to ground balance in ground like in the dry it just wont do it so you have to use the salt mode which is somewhat vage and you do need to reduce the gain quite a bit. If you GB in salt mode then do it again in ground mode it will do it, then put into lock and away you go, its not perfect but a damn sight better than the salt mode only, worked on my moderately mineralized beaches. Also a DD coil is usually afected less by mineralization, i used the 14x8 eclipse for good coverage too.

 

[bcoop]

I have not used the MXT, but some machines just will not run stable on wet salt water beaches without lowering the sensitivity. I know a guy that ran his explorer in the single digits on the beach and still got exceptional depth on coins and jewelry. I don't remember why he ran it so low because the explorers and the E-Trac are exceptional on the beach. The wet sand is like a conductor to coin and jewelry targets but the black mineralized sand is like a road block to those targets. The only thing you can do to get through those conditions is use a PI machine. With lower sensitivity you will lose those small targets but I think dimes quarters and silver rings and good size gold rings will still come in strong. Maybe some others that have MXT experience on the beach can give you some insight.

Good luck
BCOOP

 

[southernstyle]

I have a MXT (stock and 6x8 s.e.f coils). I have been fairly successful using the MXT at the beach. I run salt mode with stock coil and regular mode with the s.e.f.coil...The s.e.f. is much more stable than the stock coil, and a lot more quite. The stock coil is much more chattery, which made me unable to get the deeper stuff. I also have to swing parallel with the water. Mine stays pretty balanced by pumping the coil, but it takes a minute. So what I do is swing the wet sand and work my way down the beach with a narrow path, then I move up closer to the drier sand, then work my way back to where I started. I would think the DD coil you have would have helped. I really enjoy my MXT. It is what I use for the dry sand at the beach, volleyball courts and all picnic table and cabanas. I use a Excalibur for the wet stuff. I did however use my MXT on the beach for 2 years before I upgraded. The MXT found me many things and discriminates very well. I dig all solid targets with it and you can bet your ass if it reads 18 on the VDI it will be a gold ring or a nickle. 20 is pull tabs, but still dig'em because it could be a bigger gold ring. 83 on VDI is a quarter. I dig all higher numbers also, they could be silver rings. I don't dig when it is very "jumpy" in the numbers, it will probably be a beer top. Those are the numbers I get on the beach. Your beach could be different, so your numbers may read a little different. If you are just starting out......dig it all, it's the only way you will get a good feel for it. I have often thought about selling the MXT because I only hunt beaches, but it works so well I just can't part with it. The MXT forums on this site can help out a lot also. I post over there when I find stuff with the MXT but usually stay on this forum because we are all hunting beaches. Most of the people on the MXT forum hunt dirt and old coins, but the are still very helpful and knowledgeable with these machines. They are very sensitive machines and may not work for you at your beach.


Good luck,
Chris

 

[srf2112]

Thanks all. I do have a Fisher 1280x that stays a lot stabler as long as I stay off the water's edge but I would much rather use the MXT if I'm able to for obvious reasons. Kered & Southern style, I'll try your tips & techniques next time I have a chance to hunt the beach. Looks like rain out here for awhile so I'll be studying and researching till then. Thanks again and HH.
Scott

 

[labeachbum]

Remember to do the Clad Nickel trick, once you get your MXT or other detector stable. Bury the Nickel 1-2 inch's or deeper in The wet Sand, and see it your Detector See's your Nickel.......... You will be surprise on The Results ................. Some of my Beach's The Nickel is invisible on the surface of the wet sand.................this works very good on testing different search coils to....... Nickel's are best to use because they are the same Alloy's, Size of the Rings we are after at The Beach.