laserfocusguy
Junior Member
Hello to all,
Just returned from a short trip to Ft. Myers Beach, FL. Unfortunately only got to spend about 4 days over a long weekend there. And even more unfortunate; it rained for about 1/2 of the prime MD'ing time. But, made the best of it and surely enjoyed it. Got to test out the MXT in salt mode for the first time since I bought it; and I found that it worked nicely. GND VDI readings even in the dry sand were in the range of 5 to 10. My "The MXT Edge" book described using it in the Salt setting if the readings are below 25; so I did.
Now I am back in MN and we just got 8 inches of snow. The wind today was gusting to 30+ MPH so you really couldn't see out in the country and the wind chill was -20. I spent most of the day clearing the 2+ foot drifts out of the driveway; plus the city plow left about 3 feet at the end of the driveway, which I had to shovel since the snowblower decided to quit running right. Temp. for me went from 65 in FL Monday AM to 0 as I am writing this. Man, talk about a rude awakening.
Detecting on the beach is interesting. I found that trying to dig multiple time s in a single hole in the water (just a foot inside the water line) was hard...the hole kept refilling with water! Whatever that target was I missed it. I couldn't seem to figure out how to get it before it sunk deeper. My beach scoop only has a 1 qt. basket, so I think that didn't help. It seems to me that getting the target in 1 scoop would be better....before the hole refills. Another interesting thing that I completely overlooked....I brought only the 5.3 coil for the MXT. Well, because it is small and has no opening in the center....it would float! I couldn't keep it down in the water. Dang. Well, I will at least bring the original 9.5 coil on the next trip; if I don't buy a DD or something first. Never thought of that one. My final learning experience was the use of a 14 inch long beach scoop. Very difficult in the wet sand or the sand under the water. The sand is the consistency of wet concrete. Very hard to scoop by hand; but I could put my foot on it and push and pry and it would work. I can see why you beach guys use those long handled scoops with the handle in the center and the big basket. Oh well, I will modify my scoop to a longer handle and something that can be carried in travel for the next trip.
Travelling with a metal detector....Well, not "really" a problem. What I didn't like was the lack of any "standards" with the TSA. In Minneapolis, they only X-rayed it, and in 2 mins. I was on my way. When leaving RSW (Ft. Myers), it was scrutinized for a good 15 minutes. It was taken out of the carry-on bag, X-rayed 3 times, and wiped down with those cloths and tested (for explosive mat'l, I think). The guy said that he had never seen a metal detector come thru before. (IN FLORIDA....
) I couldn't believe that. Well, anyway, the machine is back home and it even works after all those X-rays zapping the electronics. Those guys must have turned it on...'cause when I got it home the power was on and the batteries were dead.
Should I charge the TSA for 8 AA batteries?
The moral of the story is, dang, I miss the place. It was a fun MD'ing trip, and as you could imagine I want to go back (soon) with the weather we are having here. The finds were not anything spectacular....although I dug everything as so many have talked about in this forum. Wanted to get some gold/ice but it didn't happen. The MXT was solid on all the coins, and the rings dinged a solid VDI of 42 in both cases. I have not shown all of the trash in the photos....I was emptying it into the hotel trash cans after every "shift". But, what is shown in the pics is what was typical.
The other two pics are one outside the hotel room,(with the railing), and one towards the north end of the beach showing the pier.
Happy Hunting to you all...my season is now over....
Dave
Just returned from a short trip to Ft. Myers Beach, FL. Unfortunately only got to spend about 4 days over a long weekend there. And even more unfortunate; it rained for about 1/2 of the prime MD'ing time. But, made the best of it and surely enjoyed it. Got to test out the MXT in salt mode for the first time since I bought it; and I found that it worked nicely. GND VDI readings even in the dry sand were in the range of 5 to 10. My "The MXT Edge" book described using it in the Salt setting if the readings are below 25; so I did.
Now I am back in MN and we just got 8 inches of snow. The wind today was gusting to 30+ MPH so you really couldn't see out in the country and the wind chill was -20. I spent most of the day clearing the 2+ foot drifts out of the driveway; plus the city plow left about 3 feet at the end of the driveway, which I had to shovel since the snowblower decided to quit running right. Temp. for me went from 65 in FL Monday AM to 0 as I am writing this. Man, talk about a rude awakening.
Detecting on the beach is interesting. I found that trying to dig multiple time s in a single hole in the water (just a foot inside the water line) was hard...the hole kept refilling with water! Whatever that target was I missed it. I couldn't seem to figure out how to get it before it sunk deeper. My beach scoop only has a 1 qt. basket, so I think that didn't help. It seems to me that getting the target in 1 scoop would be better....before the hole refills. Another interesting thing that I completely overlooked....I brought only the 5.3 coil for the MXT. Well, because it is small and has no opening in the center....it would float! I couldn't keep it down in the water. Dang. Well, I will at least bring the original 9.5 coil on the next trip; if I don't buy a DD or something first. Never thought of that one. My final learning experience was the use of a 14 inch long beach scoop. Very difficult in the wet sand or the sand under the water. The sand is the consistency of wet concrete. Very hard to scoop by hand; but I could put my foot on it and push and pry and it would work. I can see why you beach guys use those long handled scoops with the handle in the center and the big basket. Oh well, I will modify my scoop to a longer handle and something that can be carried in travel for the next trip.
Travelling with a metal detector....Well, not "really" a problem. What I didn't like was the lack of any "standards" with the TSA. In Minneapolis, they only X-rayed it, and in 2 mins. I was on my way. When leaving RSW (Ft. Myers), it was scrutinized for a good 15 minutes. It was taken out of the carry-on bag, X-rayed 3 times, and wiped down with those cloths and tested (for explosive mat'l, I think). The guy said that he had never seen a metal detector come thru before. (IN FLORIDA....
) I couldn't believe that. Well, anyway, the machine is back home and it even works after all those X-rays zapping the electronics. Those guys must have turned it on...'cause when I got it home the power was on and the batteries were dead.Should I charge the TSA for 8 AA batteries?
The moral of the story is, dang, I miss the place. It was a fun MD'ing trip, and as you could imagine I want to go back (soon) with the weather we are having here. The finds were not anything spectacular....although I dug everything as so many have talked about in this forum. Wanted to get some gold/ice but it didn't happen. The MXT was solid on all the coins, and the rings dinged a solid VDI of 42 in both cases. I have not shown all of the trash in the photos....I was emptying it into the hotel trash cans after every "shift". But, what is shown in the pics is what was typical.
The other two pics are one outside the hotel room,(with the railing), and one towards the north end of the beach showing the pier.
Happy Hunting to you all...my season is now over....
Dave
I'm not surprised about the TSA reation to the MD... most people I know put them in checked baggage as to not worry about the TSA tango.
"hmmm, this might be an explosive device so lets turn it on and see if it is." 
