PI Machines

[unearth]

Looking for information on PI machines. Any recommendations and why the recommendation would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[bob.oz]

PI's have their uses, but are not for everyone or beach. You will dig a lot more targets on a trashy beach with a PI that you would not dig with a detector that nulls out iron., so during the summer when beaches and waters are packed you can waste valuable time digging bad targets. Some, like my Dual Field, are noisy and false a lot in the surf, so you need to adjust to hearing the chatter to be able to distinguish the faint whispers of a deep target.
I like to use mine on the major low tides to hunt the exposed sand bars and shoreline. Prepare to dig a lot and deep and have a large finds pouch for all the extra targets you will be digging.
I used a DF for 3 years b4 I got an Xcal.......humbled as I was, I still enjoy my DF.

 

[unearth]

Thanks Bob-
I have an Excal but was thinking a PI unit would be good to have for the wet sand in locating gold chains that the Excal would miss. I was at a beach not to long ago and found a gold chain with a pendant, but without the pendant the chain was not detected by the Excal. Another hunter had a DF unit and he could detect the chain. Also, I was wondering what else I may be missing using the Excal instead of a PI unit? Thanks again for your response.

 

[adamBomb]

Where do you live and what is your sand like? Do you have a lot of iron/trash?

I ask because if your beach has low mineralization, like mine on the US east coast, the PI won't be any deeper until you start getting in the water. So it depends. Also if you have a lot of trash it will definitely not be fun...as someone else said there is a time and place for a PI. Since you have an Excal a PI is a nice secondary machine...especially if you go over and area you just cleaned out with your Excal. All of the ones you are looking at are very good. The TDI is the deepest but not waterproof. Depending on your beach the PI might not really shine until you are in the water...

 

[unearth]

Where do you live and what is your sand like? Do you have a lot of iron/trash?

I ask because if your beach has low mineralization, like mine on the US east coast, the PI won't be any deeper until you start getting in the water. So it depends. Also if you have a lot of trash it will definitely not be fun...as someone else said there is a time and place for a PI. Since you have an Excal a PI is a nice secondary machine...especially if you go over and area you just cleaned out with your Excal. All of the ones you are looking at are very good. The TDI is the deepest but not waterproof. Depending on your beach the PI might not really shine until you are in the water...

Thanks for the reply. I live in S. Calif. The beaches here, I'm told, are very mineralized. As for trash, there isn't much in the wet sand or water. The dry sand is a different story. Where there are a lot of people, there is a LOT of trash. My use of the PI machine would be limited to the wet sand and water.

 

[lasergod]

Let me know when you get one. Or want to try one. Where in So Cal?

 

[John(Tx)]

I mainly hunt with the excal in wet salt sand and water but use the Whites TDI Pro in the winter months when the tide is way, way out and look for the deep stuff than can't normally be found during the summer months cause I can't get to them. They do have their place....HH