Myers Depot Metal Detectors

Getting into the hobby. Have questions :)

W

Webster

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2014
Messages
7
I am going to be purchasing a detector very soon here. I will be spending the majority of my time on the beach so I decided a PI detector would be best just from doing online research but I will also love to go away from the beaches. I know of a few old places I would like to go on land. I'm really considering the Tesoro Sand Shark. Most of the research I have done people have been saying PI detectors are not good for dry sand or just land in general. They say that because you will be picking up every last pice of metal? I'm new to all this but this sounds like a good thing. I can see picking up a lot of trash might get annoying but more stuff ya dig the more likely to get the goods right? All in all I'm just wondering if a PI detector will work well on dry land if I don't mind picking up everything and anything :?:

Thank you, Nick
 
A PI is not very flexible. You will get tired of digging everything and waste a lot of time. It is not recommended as your first detector and is best used out in the water, not on land.
 
Okay thank you is there a good VLF detector for around $600 that will work well in all types of land wet and dry?
 
I plan on going in the water not scuba diving with it or anything like that but would like to hit the dry stuff as well. Tybee and Hilton head island are about 30 mins from me and those beaches do get packed with people! :) I've one seen one guy detecting on Tybee to my
surprise
 
The only water machine great on salt beaches for that money is a used CZ21. Fresh water you should get the AT Pro. Nice machine but not real deep on salt beaches and salt water can eat them up if not careful. The CZ is a tank and since it can discriminate out the worthless iron you can use it on land some. If you live near the beach then that is where the gold is. Good luck!
 
In your guys opinion where do you find more rings and jewelry dry or wet sand?
 
imalookin is giving you some great advice. :dingding:

I started off with a PI machine...then I moved to Florida. The PI is great because it doesn't usually have any issues with falsing in the salt water/sand. The down side, is it almost works too well and can't really discriminate targets. So you'll find every bobby pin, every tent stake, and every piece of broken crab trap or rusted iron boat hull piece.....and up to 12-20" deep. Sounds fun at first....until you're watching other guys find targets while you are playing "beach clean-up".

CZ is a real work horse, waterproof and certainly well built. You might want to start contacting the forum sponsors (MD companies) to see what they have in their pre-owned inventories. They usually verify everything is in tip-top working condition and give competitive prices to people on the forum.

-David
 
Awesome thanks for the advice everyone it is very helpful I think I just have to get the sand shark for wet sand and save my penny's for a nice VLF for the dry stuff :)

DnD do you think it is a bad idea to start off with a PI detector for your first?
 
Unless I can find amused cz. It's a little out of my price range brand new :/
 
I started with the Garratt Ace 350 for dry sand just to see if I liked the hobby. The 350 falses on the wet beach sand, so I bought a PI (Sea Hunter) but like DnD said, I was quickly becoming the "trash man". I went to the Fisher CZ-21 which can be submerged, and I like the machine, but wanted something more flexible in terms of coils and headphones. My latest purchase was a "used" (actually like new) Minelab Sovereign GT for $650. The GT can be used on the wet sand and dry land, but you cannot submerge the control box. Knowing what I know now, I would have gone straight from the 350 to the GT. Even if you are a "dig everything" kind of guy, sooner or later you are going to want discrimination.

Ebay Sovereign GT

Raider Regards,

R5
 
Not to cut you short Webster but the biggest thing you could learn is how to search the Forum for answers. Each one of your questions have been asked before and answered numerous times even by the same people. Nice thing is they aren't tired of answering those questions yet... kudos to them!

Cliff
 
Webster said:
Unless I can find amused cz. It's a little out of my price range brand new :/
Click to expand...
The only reason I mentioned the CZ is because you said waterproof. Know that living on the Atlantic coast the surf is usually tough. Even 1 foot waves will beat you up over waist deep. Almost all of the hunting is done on wet sand at lower tides. Once in a while you can get into the water. Truth is, a waterproof machine is not really needed. If you lived where there was calm water like a gulf or bay then a water machine is good. On the Atlantic you will be on wet sand 90% of the time. Trust me on that.

If you settle on a NON waterproof machine then that opens a lot of choices. One of the better is the Minelab SE Pro. You can get them used for about what your budget is and they are superb on the beach wet, dry and on land. You can also waterproof the SE Pro. Search for this information. Lots of guys have done this. If I were to buy just one machine, that would be it. Good luck!
 
Thank you I have just been looking at the AT Pro looks like a good machine for what I want it for:)
 
Beach Machine

If you can find the machine Imalookin2 has for his photo you won't regret it. There's a Soverign Elite on Fleabay right now that looks decent. Chest mounted or in a waterproof box it's an awesome shallow water wet sand machine! Trust me on this one! A PI will work you to death and make you discouraged quickly.
 
Webster said:
Thank you I have just been looking at the AT Pro looks like a good machine for what I want it for:)
Click to expand...

Well the AT Pro is a single frequency machine. So in many cases, you'll get false signals. To reduce the falsing, you will have to turn the sensitivity way down which means losing depth and sensitivity to small objects. In some cases a ring is a small object so ask yourself, do you really want a detector that (In my dramatic announcer voice) might pass up a thin gold engagement ring that has a 2 carat diamond?

A Minelab Explorer Se Pro (Has a visual display) or Minelab Sovereign GT are multi-frequency machines that are absolutely great inland, on wet sand, salt and mineralization. These machines are not waterproof, however, many of us have waterproofed them so we can hunt in the surf. The modification is fairly easy, and cost of parts is reasonable.

Also the machines mentioned above have dozens of aftermarket parts that you can buy new and pre-owned. You can get different grips, ergonomic shafts, headphones, harnesses, and coils that range from tiny 5" for hunting in tight places, to giant 24" coils for finding deep-buried targets or just quickly covering wide open beaches.
 
Also.... Ra1der and I both started off with a PI machine but have moved on through several detectors and now run Minelab equipment. If you believe that "actions speak louder than words" than that should say a lot! :yes:

The PI will always have a place, but usually it is for virgin beaches, deep diving, gold prospecting, or in some applications, hunting relics. I'd also like to add that there are a select few PI machines that claim to have an ability to discriminate targets like a VLF machine. Most of these retain at $3k and go up from there.
 
+1 on not starting with a PI detector. If at all possible, join a metal detecting club in your area and go to a meeting before buying. You will meet a lot of helpful members and may be able to take a detecting class and try out some different machines. Get a multifrequency machine. Go slow or you may get a closet full of machines you don't like. There may be just what your looking for
available at the club and you may be able to try it out. HH
Rusty
 
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