My Tarsacci salt beach review

Beachhunt1

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Had a good friend loan me his Tarsacci for a few months. Settings: Sens 9, Black sand ON, Salt 33, 9khz, disc -30, G-bal 623. Tested both coils

First off, if you are tall like me the detector is NOT long enough. I know Steve is working on an extension but here is the problem. Not enough coil cable length. So if you are tall and plan to order one, be sure to ask for longer coil cable length . Myself, I would need 4-5 inches more rod length.

Pros: Works good in the wave wash [all metal mode], good depth, silent running wet sand, NO EMI issues in a known EMI problem area, Awesome battery, good sound and volume. Pinpoints well in mixed mode, good target separation, fast recovery speed, large coil was just as stable in saltwater.

Cons: Too short, lousy coil mount location on small coil, poor on target identification [vdi display]. Iron wrap around issues, gold chain issue?.

I will probably ramble some so if you have a question please ask. For the most part worked in all metal.
I was impressed how the Tarsacci handled moving salt water. While it is no GT Sovereign, it is 100% better than the Equinox. There is an initial disturbance by the wave and then sometimes on withdrawal but working in the wash is more than workable. Also you will never lose or bury a target in a hole of soft sand like the equinox. The tarsacci will chase it all the way until you recover.

The ability of the machine to give you tone and VDI numbers at depth is a question. I was not confident that the machine separates the difference between iron and non-ferrous well at depth. While I dug very few nails and no bobby pins the MDT had an issue with the ferrous Mexican coins. Many of them would want to ring-up and some of them indicated must dig. I would say anything past 8 inches had issues to where the target would not lock-out. I am sure more time on this machine would solve some of this confidence. One tip I have on deep targets is to take a small scoop of sand 3-4 inches off. The MDT did better reading targets regardless if there was water in the hole made or not.

On my last day both myself and my friend were on the MDT and myself the Equinox. I found a gold wrist chain that had a small name plate on it. I hit a solid 5. When we got together the MDT would not lock out on the chain with the 12”round coil, even on top of it. I could take the Equinox to about 4” above it and still locked out at 5.

All in all, the machine was a pleasure to use. The increased coverage of the larger coil is well noted, and in my case no difference in salt water effect on the machine. Target identification takes a bit longer than the Equinox, but the MDT exceeds in moving water contact. It is not even close. Also the loss of EMI issues for three blocks of beach is a huge plus.
 
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Which mexican coins does it have an issue with, the 1 2 and 5 peso coins? They are tough with an excal until you get used to the clean null.
 
I also am really impressed by the tarssacci but to hit gold chains try 18 or even 12 kz it will do much better,the area where i think you will like it much better than the equinox is black sand it rivals the best pi"s in black sand.I never had any problems with vdi but then again i never look at numbers
 
Which mexican coins does it have an issue with, the 1 2 and 5 peso coins? They are tough with an excal until you get used to the clean null.

Well the tarssacci handles the Mexican 1,2 and 5 peso coin very different. When these coins are high in the sand they identify well. However add a little corrosion and place them 4" and deeper they wrap around to non-ferrous targets. It is problematic because they ring close to silver at +26-30 So it takes time to sort and dig extra targets. When these coins read correctly they are -26 to -29.
 
I also am really impressed by the tarssacci but to hit gold chains try 18 or even 12 kz it will do much better,the area where i think you will like it much better than the equinox is black sand it rivals the best pi"s in black sand.I never had any problems with vdi but then again i never look at numbers

How is it you do not have problems with the VDI? Do you dig all targets?
 
How is it you do not have problems with the VDI? Do you dig all targets?

On the beach, I always dig up anything that isn't ferrous. Seems that the gold rings a bit low anyway. (This is when I tested it on my parent's wedding ring, I have not found any so far.)
 
Well ive likely put in more hours on this machine that most that have it. Its does pick up chains.... IN THE SALT WATER. I got 6 my first year. Thats using 9khz not 18 even. It seems to work on density as well so i dont get nearly the tiny piece of foil. It may well not air test very well..... but it does very well when the coil hits the sand. Bottle caps dont ID right in the middle of the gold digits unless they are very deep. Either iron.... or they wrap around to a high digit above a quarter. Targets like aluminum at say 8" or more tend to upscale in the water .... again above a quarter. Ie.... a penny is 13.... deep pull tab maybe 24. I personally like some of the trash out of the gold range since honestly if i miss a silver ring or coin im ok with that. For deep targets the machine has a learning curve before you can start telling what might be iron.... the tell to me it iron tones and HIGH tones mixed. I think no matter the machine none of us are passing on a deep target with a mixed tone.

I think its a pretty good review considering the time spent with the machine. Im a fan of this machine..... ive put up my Xcal and Nox now for over 2 years as have a couple of my friends. Its been called a niche machine.... i guess it is for me..... that being my go to beach machine. She maybe a little over priced and it may not be designated as a multi use machine ..... but ive straddled hole out there going after a gold ring. I paid for mine in the first couple of months. Tell me how many single freqs machines that go in the water get about 3" more depth than the Nox on a 3 gram gold ring? Ive not used it in the dirt .... but the relic guys are starting to talk about it. Also how many machines use 1 lith battery that gets 14 hours and costs $5 to replace? Why do we need to pay $200 for a battery pack?
 
Well ive likely put in more hours on this machine that most that have it. Its does pick up chains.... IN THE SALT WATER. I got 6 my first year. Thats using 9khz not 18 even. It seems to work on density as well so i dont get nearly the tiny piece of foil. It may well not air test very well..... but it does very well when the coil hits the sand. Bottle caps dont ID right in the middle of the gold digits unless they are very deep. Either iron.... or they wrap around to a high digit above a quarter. Targets like aluminum at say 8" or more tend to upscale in the water .... again above a quarter. Ie.... a penny is 13.... deep pull tab maybe 24. I personally like some of the trash out of the gold range since honestly if i miss a silver ring or coin im ok with that. For deep targets the machine has a learning curve before you can start telling what might be iron.... the tell to me it iron tones and HIGH tones mixed. I think no matter the machine none of us are passing on a deep target with a mixed tone.

I think its a pretty good review considering the time spent with the machine. Im a fan of this machine..... ive put up my Xcal and Nox now for over 2 years as have a couple of my friends. Its been called a niche machine.... i guess it is for me..... that being my go to beach machine. She maybe a little over priced and it may not be designated as a multi use machine ..... but ive straddled hole out there going after a gold ring. I paid for mine in the first couple of months. Tell me how many single freqs machines that go in the water get about 3" more depth than the Nox on a 3 gram gold ring? Ive not used it in the dirt .... but the relic guys are starting to talk about it. Also how many machines use 1 lith battery that gets 14 hours and costs $5 to replace? Why do we need to pay $200 for a battery pack?

Well Dew, of course most of my success is because of you! Thanks for your help on initial setup. There was just not enough time between testing the two different coils and then trying a whole bunch of different settings. My focus was machine stability with max gain.

There is not a big learning curve to this machine. However fine tuning a machine to location is a different story.
Not sure why the MDT did not VDI lock on that chain? But all I can do is report what happened. The 12" coil was on at the time.
I noticed your comment on air testing. Personally I thought the MDT air tested LIKE A BOSS! This was air testing with my settings done on the wet sand. HH to ALL!
 
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Tell me how many single freqs machines that go in the water
Is it sold as a in the water machine? (submerged) Love the single battery setup, Fisher addressed the new "AQ" battery pack issue with 4 drop in 18650's, but they still cost you close to 40 dollars if you go with the best made for the job.
 
I have owned my Tarsacci for a little over a year, and while I don't spend nearly as much time hunting as I'd like, when it comes to the beach, the MDT 8000 is my go to machine. Like the other machines I own, its not perfect, and as Dewcon mentioned, a bit overpriced, but the things it does well far overshadow the things it doesn't do so well. It's super quiet, lightweight, is much easier to control in variable conditions and deeper than any machine I own. Don't get me wrong, my Nox 600 and Simplex are great machines and I use them when hunting parks and fields, but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents that the Tarsacci is an awesome metal detector!
 
Beachhunt i dig mid and high conductors if they are the appropriate size on all detectors i have ever used i only dig low conductors if their so deep the detector might not be sure
 
Joe .... initially no. I had the only waterproof one. But my understanding is the new machines are to include an upgraded aluminum battery pod with longer threads. We are talking salt water too. I agree ... I’ve sent a wish list for improvements but the good far exceeds the negatives.
 
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