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Sand Shark
- Thread starter Joetrikke
- Start date
If you aren't using it with scuba gear and don't already have a good long handled beach scoop, get one. RTG (Reilly's Treasured Gold) are a forum sponsor and I think they are not far from you; they are in Pompano Beach. I had a very nice visit there a couple years back. They have some good scoops for what I think are reasonable prices. Personally, I think the 5 inch diameter scoops don't hold enough when going for deep targets, I like their 6 inch diameter scoops.
Sand Shark is simple to set up. Read the manual through to see what options you have. I start with the pulse width about half way between the preset mark and full. The volume set to max and the threshold so it is audible. If the threshold sound wavers and is not fairly steady, back down the volume a little from max until the threshold settles to fairly smooth. I can not get it to run smooth in my house. I need to get away from all the wireless and wired signals in the house to get a smooth threshold. If you get near some other detectors or WiFi hot spots, it may sound very unsmooth and not settle down. You can listen through the changing threshold for repeatable signal rises when over a target. Excaliburs and DFX's interfere with the Sand Shark when I get close to them; most other detectors I've been near don't interfere as much; get 10 yards away or so and you won't hear them.
VCO mode or normal mode with your pick of frequency (pitch); either does well. The VCO mode catches my attention with both a threshold volume rise and pitch rise as the coil approaches a target. The normal mode seems to draw out the threshold rise just a little longer when over a target. Try both and see which you prefer.
Use it for a while and see what different targets sound like. Double blips can be a hair pin, a decaying zinc cent on edge or something else. Iron can have a more drawn out response after you pass the target with the coil. The sounds are subtle, but listen and observe and dig a lot of targets to see what the sounds map to.
Don't sweep it too fast. Give it time to respond and you will find some deep targets. If you run into very heavy black sand, slow down the sweep even more so you don't sound off on the sand. It takes pretty heavy black sand to sound off on, but it can happen. When fully in the water, it takes some effort to sweep it too fast, but it can be done. Keep the sweep relaxed and concentrate on listening and on what the water movement is doing around you. Keep clear of others in the water. Be safe.
Cheers,
tvr
Sand Shark is simple to set up. Read the manual through to see what options you have. I start with the pulse width about half way between the preset mark and full. The volume set to max and the threshold so it is audible. If the threshold sound wavers and is not fairly steady, back down the volume a little from max until the threshold settles to fairly smooth. I can not get it to run smooth in my house. I need to get away from all the wireless and wired signals in the house to get a smooth threshold. If you get near some other detectors or WiFi hot spots, it may sound very unsmooth and not settle down. You can listen through the changing threshold for repeatable signal rises when over a target. Excaliburs and DFX's interfere with the Sand Shark when I get close to them; most other detectors I've been near don't interfere as much; get 10 yards away or so and you won't hear them.
VCO mode or normal mode with your pick of frequency (pitch); either does well. The VCO mode catches my attention with both a threshold volume rise and pitch rise as the coil approaches a target. The normal mode seems to draw out the threshold rise just a little longer when over a target. Try both and see which you prefer.
Use it for a while and see what different targets sound like. Double blips can be a hair pin, a decaying zinc cent on edge or something else. Iron can have a more drawn out response after you pass the target with the coil. The sounds are subtle, but listen and observe and dig a lot of targets to see what the sounds map to.
Don't sweep it too fast. Give it time to respond and you will find some deep targets. If you run into very heavy black sand, slow down the sweep even more so you don't sound off on the sand. It takes pretty heavy black sand to sound off on, but it can happen. When fully in the water, it takes some effort to sweep it too fast, but it can be done. Keep the sweep relaxed and concentrate on listening and on what the water movement is doing around you. Keep clear of others in the water. Be safe.
Cheers,
tvr
Forgot to mention the pink / red sand I ran into on a trip to Daytona; although I may have mentioned it in a different thread. It was pretty to look at but kind of ugly detecting. It was worse than the heaviest black sand I've hit so far. The Sand Shark detected coins at good depth through that pink / red stuff, but I had to work with a very slow coil sweep. As I recall, I found what appeared to be a coin spill in that ugly sand area, several coins all within about a 10 foot circle.
Good luck when the detector arrives.
Post how you do with it, hopefully with some pictures of nice jewelry!
Cheers,
tvr
PS Also forgot to mention that I mount the box behind the upper part of the shaft. It balances very well in that position and for me, makes hours of swinging it not too fatiguing.
Good luck when the detector arrives.
Post how you do with it, hopefully with some pictures of nice jewelry!
Cheers,
tvr
PS Also forgot to mention that I mount the box behind the upper part of the shaft. It balances very well in that position and for me, makes hours of swinging it not too fatiguing.
Rob in (Ca)
Active member
what size coil 8 or 10 inch for wet salt sand hunting (no in water) and can you hip mount the Sand shark
My Sand Shark is older and has a coil connector so I have the luxury of being able to pack both coils for beach trips. 8 inch is good for places where there is a fair amount of water movement that catches and pulls the coil. For wet sand, unless your beach has a very high target density, I like the 10.5 inch coil, just to cover more area.
Cheers,
tvr
Cheers,
tvr
I would guess you might get an inch more potential depth in ideal conditions with the bigger coil.
I've found that as time on a detector goes up, I am more atuned to it's talk. Being well atuned gives me more depth gain than going from someting like an 8 inch to 10 inch coil. If I haven't hunted with a particular detector in a while, it takes a little bit of time to get reaquainted. I've found that to be true for me with just about any of the detectors I use.
If you hit any heavy black sand areas, are in an area with a lot of targets or are in the shallow water with a hard chopping in the breaking waves, the smaller coil can be a distinct advantage.
It is hard to go wrong with either coil. I think the 8 inch is a little more verstile while the 10.5 inch does cover more sand volume with each sweep.
Cheers,
tvr
I've found that as time on a detector goes up, I am more atuned to it's talk. Being well atuned gives me more depth gain than going from someting like an 8 inch to 10 inch coil. If I haven't hunted with a particular detector in a while, it takes a little bit of time to get reaquainted. I've found that to be true for me with just about any of the detectors I use.
If you hit any heavy black sand areas, are in an area with a lot of targets or are in the shallow water with a hard chopping in the breaking waves, the smaller coil can be a distinct advantage.
It is hard to go wrong with either coil. I think the 8 inch is a little more verstile while the 10.5 inch does cover more sand volume with each sweep.
Cheers,
tvr
Fishers Ghost
New member
I have the 10.5 inch coil and get very good depth in the wet sand with this coil.
The settings that give me good results are Pulse Width at the pre set, Threshold just audible and volume at max. This results in a somewhat jittery threshold but for me I feel that the weaker signals stand out better. Whereas with the vol at say 50 or 70% and the threshold cranked up in order to offset the reduced vol I find the threshold to be quite smooth but that weaker signals are not as easily heard.
maybe it is just my hearing but I still prefer the jittery threshold.
The settings that give me good results are Pulse Width at the pre set, Threshold just audible and volume at max. This results in a somewhat jittery threshold but for me I feel that the weaker signals stand out better. Whereas with the vol at say 50 or 70% and the threshold cranked up in order to offset the reduced vol I find the threshold to be quite smooth but that weaker signals are not as easily heard.
maybe it is just my hearing but I still prefer the jittery threshold.