Suggestions for a Beach Detector ????

[Gonzo]

Hello,
My name is Gonzo, and I'm new to the forum. I was hoping to get some feedback on which detector I should buy for the beach.
I purchased the Whites IDX pro, and took it to the beach. However it was either defective or not good on wet sand. I could not ground balance it, and ended up only working the very dry sand area's. I returned it to Kelly Co, and am know trying to decide what to get to replace it.
Bonnie, a very nice woman at kellyoCo, suggested the Minelab Quatro MP for 845.99 This is a little more than I wanted to spend, but the Whites IDX pro was not effective.

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions, Gonzo

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

I think Bonnie made a good recommendation with the Quattro. It's a wet sand demon and has some killer depth.

That said, if the price is too much then you won't want to hear the Excalibur suggested...it's what I use at the beach these days and it's a little over $1000.

If less expensive is what you want, I would say try a Minelab Sovereign GT. The Sovereign has a legendary reputation as a killer beach machine, although of course it isn't waterproof. But you can hunt the shallow water and wet sand with ease (due to it's 17 frequency BBS technology), it goes deep, and the variable tones are a big help in knowing when you have a coin and when you have a gold ring. There's nothing sweeter than the sound of gold on a BBS machine, Sovereign or Excal...which are essentially the same, save for the Excal being submersible. I hunted with the Sovereign Elite very successfully on the beach and it has the added "plus" of being an outstanding land machine as well. The Sovereign GT is the newest version of Sovereign and has some nice improvements, like better balance, improved circuitry, and the ability to turn off the iron mask feature (I believe) which can be good in some cases, like relic hunting.

 

[Gonzo]

Hey Thanks for the reply,

I went with the Whites QXT pro, because it has a preprogrammed beach program, ans was only 400 dollars.
However I can still change my mind, know that you know what I got and what I got it for, is the Quattro 450 dollars better???

Please honest, you won't hurt my feelings. I went whit the QXT pro because of cost and I am brand new to this, However if the qxt pro is not a good choice its a waste of money. But is the Quattro that much better for a beginner???

Thanks for your help, Gonzo

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

Well, I can't speak for the QXT Pro because I've never used one. But I can speak for the DFX, as a former owner. And although the DFX is a capable and sophisticated machine (and White's top-of-the-line machine) it was never more than adequate on the beach. I used it for 6 months and did well with it but ultimately got rid of it in favor of a Fisher CZ-70 which is a better machine both on the beach and on land than the DFX. And the Sovereign I recommended is better at the beach than the CZ, and that's a tough trick. And the Quattro is better at the beach than all of them, in my opinion. So you be the judge.

As for the QXT having a beach program, most machines do. And many don't work as well as others. And some that don't have a beach program per say, like the CZ-70 and the Sovereign, are some of the best beach machines. "Programs" are generally worthless if you ask me. They are no substitute for a user that has done the time and gained the experience with their machine that comes from getting out there with it and learning it. And these forums will help immensely with that.

Now the Quattro DOES have a beach program. And it's actually quite good and what I used when I had mine. Because it accepts all non-ferrous metals...basically from foil on up, ignoring the iron...which would be rusty things, fish hooks, old bobbie pins, etc. and lets you know about the good stuff, like foil and pull tabs. Which since you said you are new, I will guess that you don't know that those things and other aluminum stuff is the same exact range that your gold and diamond rings come in at. And no, there is no detector that can tell the difference between a pull tab and a gold ring with any certainty, unfortunately. And the Quattro is very easy to use. Turn it on, choose the "Coin and Jewelry" program (that's Beach mode) and start hunting. It goes very deep, even in the factory "Auto" sensitivity mode. But if you get tired of digging up stuff 12" and less deep, you can always set the sensitivity to manual at about 17 or 18 (20 is max) and you will be digging stuff at 18" and deeper. It's pretty amazing.

Here are your adjustable settings with the QXT:

14 User Adjustments

Volume

Threshold

Search Sens.

Pinpoint Sens.

Viewing Angle

S.A.T. Speed

Tracking Speed

Transmit Frequency

Discrimination On/Off

VCO Audio

Noise Reduction

Mixed Mode Audio

Disc. Edit/Zones 1-8

Tone Alert

I'm not sure that is the best setup for a new user. Maybe too many settings to fiddle with and too much chance to screw it up. Now I'm SURE that any QXT owners reading this will say "Ah, that's crap...it's any easy machine to use." And it may be, if you use one of the "turn-on-and-go" programs. Even the Minelab Explorer II has those. And they work, somewhat. But one of the big gripes I had with the DFX was that I spent way too much time fiddling with it and tweaking it and adjusting it (it had 54 adjustable settings, by the way) and not enough time hunting and having fun with it. That said, I know that some have been successful with the QXT and the MXT and other White's machines. And they do make a quality product. I think for your use, and the fact that the beach is going to be your main thing, I would go with the Quattro. Or a Sovereign. And you may well be able to get a nice deal on either of those if you get a used one. I prefer new, with a warranty.

So hopefully there's some info there that helps you.

If you want to look at the Quattro users manual, you can get it in the links below. It's actually in 3 parts.

Here's a link to Quattro info on the Minelab site:

http://www.consumer.minelab.com/default.asp?pageid=PRODUCT&template=PRODUCTCAT&cid=344&pid=1635&site=3

Here are the 3 parts to the manual:

http://www.minelab.com/images/1-0_Consumer/1-2_Products/1-2-12_Quattro/quattro-manual1.pdf

http://www.minelab.com/images/1-0_Consumer/1-2_Products/1-2-12_Quattro/quattro-manual2.pdf

http://www.minelab.com/images/1-0_Consumer/1-2_Products/1-2-12_Quattro/quattro-manual3.pdf

 

[Gonzo]

Hey Mike,
Thank you very much for your help and time. I have put my purchase on hold at Kellco until I make a smart decision.
I called Minelab today and they suggested the sov GT, the X-50, and the Quattro.
Out of those 3 which would you choose??? I know I am asking for your opinion, and anyone elses, so let her fly.

Gonzo

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

I can't speak for the X50 because I don't know it. As for the GT and the Quattro, both are excellent beach machines. Of the two, the Quattro is the better. I have used both (the Elite, not the GT) as well as the Excal and the Quattro is the best as far as depth and info given to the user. Both are also great land machines, but of the two I would have to say I would rather hunt with the GT on land. But the Quattro is no slouch on land either.

But if it were me, knowing what I know, then if I did more than 50% beach hunting I would go with the Quattro and if I would be doing more than 50% land hunting I would go with the GT. On the other hand, if you were leaning toward more beach(or ALL beach) and you were going to pay $850 or so for a Quattro, why not go a little further and get the Excalibur? You would lose some depth but you would have that waterproof thing going for you. That's why I use the Excal on the beach now. The Quattro is a killer machine at the beach but drop it in the water and it's all over but the cryin', as they say.

If there's anything else I can answer, ask away.

 

[Beachcomber]

I have to agree with Mike. You will be much better served by a Multifrequency Minelab such as the Quattro, Sov GT or Excalibur than any single frequency detector such as the two Whites that you mentioned. You will end up having the same type of problems in the wet sand with the QXT as you did with the Prizm. There are ways to adjust the Prizm and the Qxt so that they will work in the wet sand but they won't work that well. While the Xterra 50 is a very new Minelab it is a single frequency machine and while preliminary reports by people who have them seem to indicate that they do work adequately in the wet salt sand it is not something they were sepcifically designed to do. If you are planning on doing mostly Beach Hunting the Quattro or the Sov GT would be in my opinion your best choices! Hope this helps!

HH

Beachcomber

 

[charliediller]

Find an elite,,,then you get a meter,,,cs