Big Boys Hobbies

PI machines relevant anymore?

C

CalReg

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Joined
May 31, 2020
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San Jose, CA
Greetings All!

It's been a while since I posted anything. COVID and work have conspired against me getting out and hunting. I did, however, get out yesterday. I have been following the advice of Tom out here around the Monterey area (thanks Tom!) and found some free time to hunt the beaches during the King Tides. First off, no jewelry, just a bunch of clad and junk, but just getting out was good enough for me. Now here I am sitting at my desk, waiting for my last zoom meeting of the day and have been thinking about Pulse Induction MD'ers. Does anyone use them anymore? I've read several books on beach hunting and they all refer to them one way or the other. Since I started back in this wonderful hobby in April, I've run into a few fellow detectorists and none of them have PI detectors. What's your opinion?
 
Of course they are... I started with a pulse and would still have one if I was hunting fresh drop beaches but I decided to hunt old spots that were thick with iron and switched to a VLF... I wish I still had a pulse for a few spots that all the good stuff is super deep and out of the range of my Excal even hunting in PP mode.. its a pulse beach. Maybe I can find a nice PI PRO never should have sold it..
 
CalReg said:
Greetings All!

It's been a while since I posted anything. COVID and work have conspired against me getting out and hunting. I did, however, get out yesterday. I have been following the advice of Tom out here around the Monterey area (thanks Tom!) and found some free time to hunt the beaches during the King Tides. First off, no jewelry, just a bunch of clad and junk, but just getting out was good enough for me. Now here I am sitting at my desk, waiting for my last zoom meeting of the day and have been thinking about Pulse Induction MD'ers. Does anyone use them anymore? I've read several books on beach hunting and they all refer to them one way or the other. Since I started back in this wonderful hobby in April, I've run into a few fellow detectorists and none of them have PI detectors. What's your opinion?
Click to expand...

I am too old to dig EVERYTHING>ANYMORE!
 
Hey there cal-reg, I saw my name :laughing:

Big action today on the "certain beach". Will post a recap in the next day or so. When my partner's-in-crime & I get some pix and tallies together. Thick action via mother nature's kiss. But only in a select certain zone.

The pro's & con's of pulse vs standard machine will take pages to weigh out. But in-short:

Pulse up-side : Effortlessly cuts black sand, gets tinsel thin chains, and goes insanely deep. Who can argue with all those plus-points? Eh ? Heck, it's so sensitive, it can get a paper clip to a foot deep ! :clapping:

Ok, now the down-side : It's so sensitive it can get a paper clip to a foot deep :roll:

The issue is: Iron disc. This might not be an issue where nails aren't an issue. But I've seen TOO MANY TIMES when the pulse guys get driven bonkers by nails. And unlike yesteryear, today's discriminators can knock out iron and have a fighting chance at dainty-jewelry.
 
They are beach dependent..... you have to know your beach. Otherwise you waste a lot of time digging. So trash to treasure vs time ....doesnt make it the better machine. Places like here in Fl..... most chasing recent drops so its hard to be an Xcal.... but during the winter having one can be an advantage on the right beaches. You get a couple more inches down here but more in areas with black sand. Depth is a great thing...... but so is TID at nearly that depth. With machines like the Nox 600s price and warranty .... its hard to pay more for a machine thats going to make it WORK. Im also not so sure about them being better on chains....with many having a uS of 15 or above. Thou the newest and greatest .... and of course the more expensive might with their lower uS. Everyone says dig it all..... but what they mean is dig everything that aint iron.... and some trash targets. When you really start digging it all..... it has a different meaning for us old guys. At the end of the year..... being able to cover more beach easily with TID will be a better pay off. There is a place and time to use um.... but not as a daily user for most of us.
 
It seems the talk on Fisher's new Aqua pulse died off months ago before Covid hit. :?: I still like the simplicity of beep and dig. On clean beaches I run my Excal in PP and dig it all. Would it not just be better to have a deeper and more sensitive machine such as pulse if those are your conditions? Still looking to replace my Sandshark which was that machine for me which I sold about 2-3 years ago since it wasn't as deep as either my Nox or Excal.
 
The PI has been my weapon of choice for over 30 years. My daily driver. Here's my take. It goes deeper than any machine I'm aware of which is critical. You dig alot more trash which can be bothersome and painful. Thin chains are hard to hit on if they are laid out. The biggest thing for me is time and volume of digs. Your enemy isn't other hunters. It's the tides. Do you want to be looking at a screen with bouncing numbers , swinging your coil over the target in all sorts of different directions ? Just to decide whether to dig or not ? Yes , that might be 10 or 15 seconds. But it could be 1 or 2 minutes. I've had other VLF's and the Nox , so I know. Instead of THINKING about it , just dig it up. There are pros and cons with any detector. No matter what , you still have to dig aluminum signals if you want gold. That's with any detector. ut the bottom line at a beach , especially during an erosion event is you only have so much time in a given day to hunt before the conditions change.
 
FelixtheCat said:
It seems the talk on Fisher's new Aqua pulse died off months ago before Covid hit. :?: I still like the simplicity of beep and dig. On clean beaches I run my Excal in PP and dig it all. Would it not just be better to have a deeper and more sensitive machine such as pulse if those are your conditions? Still looking to replace my Sandshark which was that machine for me which I sold about 2-3 years ago since it wasn't as deep as either my Nox or Excal.
Click to expand...

A lot of guys who bought the holy grail... said the discrimination on the AQ is not very good at all... another failed attempt. Guys who bought them have been selling them...
 
Cfmct said:
A lot of guys who bought the holy grail... said the discrimination on the AQ is not very good at all... another failed attempt. Guys who bought them have been selling them...
Click to expand...

^x2. That's what I'm seeing and hearing as well. 1 guy can barely get any coins because it's designed for deep gold. They couldn't even get 100 machines out. And the failure rate of the 40 or so out has been around 50% with some problem or another. But buyers regretfully knew what they were getting into. I was kinda hoping to see the final version. And now , that might not even happen. The whole thing could be scrapped. Not much information is coming out of these guys. I think even Rick has thrown in the towel.
 
KOB said:
^x2. That's what I'm seeing and hearing as well. 1 guy can barely get any coins because it's designed for deep gold. They couldn't even get 100 machines out. And the failure rate of the 40 or so out has been around 50% with some problem or another. But buyers regretfully knew what they were getting into. I was kinda hoping to see the final version. And now , that might not even happen. The whole thing could be scrapped. Not much information is coming out of these guys. I think even Rick has thrown in the towel.
Click to expand...

I'd be willing to part with $300 to try one :yes:
 
KOB said:
The PI has been my weapon of choice for over 30 years. My daily driver. Here's my take. It goes deeper than any machine I'm aware of which is critical. You dig alot more trash which can be bothersome and painful. Thin chains are hard to hit on if they are laid out. The biggest thing for me is time and volume of digs. Your enemy isn't other hunters. It's the tides. Do you want to be looking at a screen with bouncing numbers , swinging your coil over the target in all sorts of different directions ? Just to decide whether to dig or not ? Yes , that might be 10 or 15 seconds. But it could be 1 or 2 minutes. I've had other VLF's and the Nox , so I know. Instead of THINKING about it , just dig it up. There are pros and cons with any detector. No matter what , you still have to dig aluminum signals if you want gold. That's with any detector. ut the bottom line at a beach , especially during an erosion event is you only have so much time in a given day to hunt before the conditions change.
Click to expand...


Which finds more bottle caps the Nox or your pulse :laughing:
 
Cfmct said:
Which finds more bottle caps the Nox or your pulse :laughing:
Click to expand...

Ugh....🤣...that's a tough 1. They are both close. But I'd have to say the PI. The Nox you can sort of disc them out , but that takes TIME to do it properly. The Pulse gets them solid and FAST ! And THE KOB is all about speed and volume of targets dug. Guess what ? By the time your done fiddling with your Nox on whether you should dig or not , I'm already on my 3rd target. Sad to say but either machine you have to dig those if you want the gold ! 🤣
 
KOB said:
Ugh....🤣...that's a tough 1. They are both close. But I'd have to say the PI. The Nox you can sort of disc them out , but that takes TIME to do it properly. The Pulse gets them solid and FAST ! And THE KOB is all about speed and volume of targets dug. Guess what ? By the time your done fiddling with your Nox on whether you should dig or not , I'm already on my 3rd target. Sad to say but either machine you have to dig those if you want the gold ! 🤣
Click to expand...

Well... I could tell by the tone on my PI.. I got fooled on occasion a bottle cap is not a smooth round sounding tone... thanks for the opinion though :lol:
 
It’s the deep ones that trick you with both machines, the nox can get rid of the shallow ones usually if one knows how. The pulse they are long washed out targets.
 
Had

My Whites Surf PI with plugger strait shaft up for sale but took it down, a very good machine , but with not a lot of iron & junk present , a deep machine if your willing to dig all , the average Joe does not want to dig to China , but gold sinks deep , basically a good tool to have in your tool box , but isn't ideal in all conditions , happy hunting .
 
Calreg as much i iike a pi in black sand,you have a tarsacci that will beat almost all pi'seven in black sand
 
The MDT will likely NOT go deeper than the more recent PIs in difficult areas. BUT....once learned it does fairly well at letting you know what a target is to depth of detection. To me if you can eliminate most iron thats a time saver. You have to remember.... most of the disc VLFs are walking away from that iron and have been doing it for years. What ive found here in Fl is the MDT caught us back.... closing the depth difference between the PI and VLFs. Its as close to a disc PI as you get right now. With a 12" coil in the works that seems promising. I run AM HOT like the Xcal in PP mode.... so yes on deep targets the screen can be bouncy... BUT i know theres a target there.... small scoop off and then i decide i dont have to dig to China or do a lot to ID it. So im working very much like a PI.... with that TID and more tones to ID the target. Its been a durable machine for me for full time use in the water for me. Fishers had some issues they let two of their top market guys go. I think 40 over estimating the number out as well. But they do seem to be going into repair a lot. As far as them being bought then sold..... remember the catch is .... NO warranty.
 
dewcon said:
The MDT will likely NOT go deeper than the more recent PIs in difficult areas. BUT....once learned it does fairly well at letting you know what a target is to depth of detection. To me if you can eliminate most iron thats a time saver. You have to remember.... most of the disc VLFs are walking away from that iron and have been doing it for years. What ive found here in Fl is the MDT caught us back.... closing the depth difference between the PI and VLFs. Its as close to a disc PI as you get right now. With a 12" coil in the works that seems promising. I run AM HOT like the Xcal in PP mode.... so yes on deep targets the screen can be bouncy... BUT i know theres a target there.... small scoop off and then i decide i dont have to dig to China or do a lot to ID it. So im working very much like a PI.... with that TID and more tones to ID the target. Its been a durable machine for me for full time use in the water for me. Fishers had some issues they let two of their top market guys go. I think 40 over estimating the number out as well. But they do seem to be going into repair a lot. As far as them being bought then sold..... remember the catch is .... NO warranty.
Click to expand...

Walking away from iron, I don’t blame anyone for this as time is money right? I just wanted to bring up another point, when working with my discriminating machine, more than one time have I dig an iron target that by all rights I should have ignored and it was a gold ring in the hole with a flat rusted slab of iron. A hint of a good target and iron sounded just like bottle caps on the nox.
 
dewcon said:
The MDT will likely NOT go deeper than the more recent PIs in difficult areas. BUT....once learned it does fairly well at letting you know what a target is to depth of detection. To me if you can eliminate most iron thats a time saver. You have to remember.... most of the disc VLFs are walking away from that iron and have been doing it for years. What ive found here in Fl is the MDT caught us back.... closing the depth difference between the PI and VLFs. Its as close to a disc PI as you get right now. With a 12" coil in the works that seems promising. I run AM HOT like the Xcal in PP mode.... so yes on deep targets the screen can be bouncy... BUT i know theres a target there.... small scoop off and then i decide i dont have to dig to China or do a lot to ID it. So im working very much like a PI.... with that TID and more tones to ID the target. Its been a durable machine for me for full time use in the water for me. Fishers had some issues they let two of their top market guys go. I think 40 over estimating the number out as well. But they do seem to be going into repair a lot. As far as them being bought then sold..... remember the catch is .... NO warranty.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm running All Metal too. As far as VDI's, if it reads -30, I usually pass, but anything else, like -15 or or higher I'll probably dig. The machine is deep though. I have found hair clips a foot deep.
 
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