PI machines relevant anymore?

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.
^x2. My experience as well with both machines. With my Pulse I can tell with 80% certainty a bottlecap. It's the other 20% I'm worried about. I once stated here I dug a -5. Kinda had a flash of 13 but mostly a -5. About 14" deep , horrible signal on the Nox. Out pops a fat 18k ring , that out of the hole reads a solid 19. This was an eye opener for me on the Nox. Also the double beeps bobby pins have produced rings as well. Just shows no machine is perfect. The big decision for my digs is not just based on tone or how solid it is. It is also by size. But even then , with cellphones and some watches out there , I dig.
 
All of the comments on this thread are helpful and should be carefully considered. Maybe I can add some experience too. The beach and your hunting choices need to be considered when choosing the right machine. In general, I’ve had good success with a multifrequency machine if the amount of sand overlying the hard pan is relatively shallow. On this type of beach hunt for recent drops and the low spots and cuts. Also be sure to hunt after a significant beach erosion event, you’ll find enough goodies to make you happy. However, if the beach has substantial sand overburden and is relatively stable, the goodies are deep and you’ll need a deeper seeking Pulse Induction machine. Just this week I bought a White’s TDI Beach Hunter PI for this type of hunting. Hope this helps, Tt
 
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Beach.... this machine isnt a multi freq or a VLF as we know it. Its a PI/VLF combo. Starting out.... i dug it all. Like most machines you best dig enough of the deep sand away from the deep one to know what you might have left. I have yet to find any gold with this machine that was IDed as iron.... unlike my Nox that may change a nickel at 12" to iron. This machine does NOT positively ID deep iron.... but lets you know you have a good mixed target. In some ways to me thats better than getting a solid iron reading on that 12" nickel as iron. This is also a single freq machine.... like the Aquasound it works very well in the salt water with a salt balance. These are the only single freq machines i know you will get any depth in the salt water with. Its starting to catch the interest of some hunters.... both relic and beach guys. I dont know if thats good for me or not :lol: When i go out there i like to have fun using my machine..... this one is fun to learn. Where are you located by the way
 
There is 3 of us who started using the machine about 2 years back. Two of us now rarely use anything else.... in fact we have sold machines. I sold 2 Xcals and a CTX. The other guy switches between the nox and the MDT. The machine has been good to us thus far. Not nearly the repairs i was having with the Xcals..... they just got pricy to fix. Its not perfect.... there are thing we'd change. But the depth is very good.... running hot yes the screen is jumpy....but it still knows a target. It is quieter than the Xcal. Once set ... shes good.
 
Beach.... this machine isnt a multi freq or a VLF as we know it. Its a PI/VLF combo. Starting out.... i dug it all. Like most machines you best dig enough of the deep sand away from the deep one to know what you might have left. I have yet to find any gold with this machine that was IDed as iron.... unlike my Nox that may change a nickel at 12" to iron. This machine does NOT positively ID deep iron.... but lets you know you have a good mixed target. In some ways to me thats better than getting a solid iron reading on that 12" nickel as iron. This is also a single freq machine.... like the Aquasound it works very well in the salt water with a salt balance. These are the only single freq machines i know you will get any depth in the salt water with. Its starting to catch the interest of some hunters.... both relic and beach guys. I dont know if thats good for me or not :lol: When i go out there i like to have fun using my machine..... this one is fun to learn. Where are you located by the way




How much is that buzzard Dew?
 
I much prefer PIs. With a VLF the target ID is wrong way too often in salt water. Have found gold that IDs as iron on my Nox, V3i, CTX, and CZ21. The only VLF I trusted was the Sovereign. With practice, you can tell the size and shape of a target with a PI, I’ll take that over ID numbers that are often incorrect. PI can be very frustrating at first when you don’t understand what it is telling you, or when you get into heavy targets.
 
I much prefer PIs. With a VLF the target ID is wrong way too often in salt water. Have found gold that IDs as iron on my Nox, V3i, CTX, and CZ21. The only VLF I trusted was the Sovereign. With practice, you can tell the size and shape of a target with a PI, I’ll take that over ID numbers that are often incorrect. PI can be very frustrating at first when you don’t understand what it is telling you, or when you get into heavy targets.
Couldn't have said it better. Oh wait...I can... ok. I got a "13" on the screen , oh wait..it's a "19" , I don't want to dig another penny. Let me do a "X" pattern or wiggle over it for 2 minutes. Wait...now it's a -5.. oh heck , I'll dig it up anyway. OMG !!! It's a 18k , 12 gram ring...lol...🤣🤣🤣
 
Agree with Crumble. When I hunted SoCal, PI was the best. Many beaches I hunted were thick black sand. VLF was pointless. I pulled targets in deep black sand. Buddy with CTX and even sovereign couldn’t pull a quarter even at 1-2”. VLF is great in clean sand. But black sand beaches, PI only way to go. Over time could learn the sound too. Also determine if target is odd shape. Though that double beep could be broken ring or chain. I dug pretty much everything. I kept my sovereign(probably sell it now as no longer living by the beach) but thankfully borrow buddy’s PI when visiting SoCal. I like simplicity of PI too. Peaceful stroll on the beach and dig it all. No overthinking what the target is. Most targets at beach easy to dig(at least beaches I hunted)
 
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.

Factoring in the time is reasonable when PI detecting (i.e. Dig all / Dig some). In my experience the White’s TDI Beach Hunter detects smaller and deeper items, some that fall through the holes in the scoop. A magnet takes care of the iron...but items that are non-magnetic still fall through. Here’s my question: How much time do you spend chasing small non-metallic items that fall through the scoop? Thanks, Tt
 
Couldn't have said it better. Oh wait...I can... ok. I got a "13" on the screen , oh wait..it's a "19" , I don't want to dig another penny. Let me do a "X" pattern or wiggle over it for 2 minutes. Wait...now it's a -5.. oh heck , I'll dig it up anyway. OMG !!! It's a 18k , 12 gram ring...lol...🤣🤣🤣
The last thing I want to do when I'm on South Beach is read numbers on a screen. First, I'll dig 2-3 targets in the time another hunter is debating and fiddling on whether to dig or not. 2nd, there are much more interesting things to look at than a VDI screen. ;):D
 
The last thing I want to do when I'm on South Beach is read numbers on a screen. First, I'll dig 2-3 targets in the time another hunter is debating and fiddling on whether to dig or not. 2nd, there are much more interesting things to look at than a VDI screen. ;):D


Like what? Seagulls? :crazy:
 
Couldn't have said it better. Oh wait...I can... ok. I got a "13" on the screen , oh wait..it's a "19" , I don't want to dig another penny. Let me do a "X" pattern or wiggle over it for 2 minutes. Wait...now it's a -5.. oh heck , I'll dig it up anyway. OMG !!! It's a 18k , 12 gram ring...lol...🤣🤣🤣

Yeah but the other 999 times it was just a piece of iron.
If you're in a beach with tonnes of iron you're better off to cover more ground and cherry pick because time and ability to detect is more of a limitation.

I'd love a good PI machine for cleaning up a few beaches I've hit. But I wouldn't have wanted to start out on them with a PI.
 
Factoring in the time is reasonable when PI detecting (i.e. Dig all / Dig some). In my experience the White’s TDI Beach Hunter detects smaller and deeper items, some that fall through the holes in the scoop. A magnet takes care of the iron...but items that are non-magnetic still fall through. Here’s my question: How much time do you spend chasing small non-metallic items that fall through the scoop? Thanks, Tt
I've used a magnet for years. But I also dump my scoop rather than shake it out. I get my target in usually 10-15 seconds. I got it down. There are on occasions of course the small micro bits. I get about 85% of those too. Most , I don't want anyway. But 2 years ago I had a split shot sized sinker that must have fallen through the scoop holes 5 times as I was at the waters edge. Very gravelly at the time. Finally got it , after I dumped it higher up the slope. It was a 18k 5 gram tooth ! My buddy had just passed over this target 10 minutes prior. It pays to investigate. HH
 
I agree with Felix 100 per cent i never look at numbers,but i hope you guys get a chance to try a tarrsacci on black sand and i mean really black sand the kind that looks like there was an oil spill,when compared against my pi it could cleanly hit a nickel at something like 14 inches that my pi could just kinda almost hit
 
I agree with Felix 100 per cent i never look at numbers,but i hope you guys get a chance to try a tarrsacci on black sand and i mean really black sand the kind that looks like there was an oil spill,when compared against my pi it could cleanly hit a nickel at something like 14 inches that my pi could just kinda almost hit
That is 1 machine I would like to try. Been doing a little research on it , but none around I can try. I think it is very beach dependent but not sure.
 
You guys think im looking at numbers out there chest deep??? Felix.... i doubt you would dig that many more targets than i would while i tryed to determine what a target is simply because you wouldnt find 3 targets worth digging unless you are talking trashy beach in that time frame. I use my machine very much like you do with the Xcal in PP mode. Now come on admit it .... you use the Xcal tones and disc .... you aint digging all that iron.... or even some of that trash. Its still location that determines a PIs use. Those with fewer and fewer targets this year more maybe wanting to snatch one up. They do come in handy. But ... i still believe its a small percentage who use them as their primary machine. You get to be an ole fossil like me.... you buy these machines that ALMOST get that PI depth with disc and frankly as sensitive to small gold that you can take anywhere.... including dirt hunting. The AVERAGE hunters wife dont want him to have a ton of money wrapped up into a lot of machines. Her question is always "why do you need that machine.... whats wrong with all these? That tends to have that hunter looking at multi use machines like the Nox. You buy the CTX, Xcal which you modify, and a Fisher AQ..... and the wife says hey this Nox is just $650. Whats your argument :lol:
 
You guys think im looking at numbers out there chest deep??? Felix.... i doubt you would dig that many more targets than i would while i tryed to determine what a target is simply because you wouldnt find 3 targets worth digging unless you are talking trashy beach in that time frame. I use my machine very much like you do with the Xcal in PP mode. Now come on admit it .... you use the Xcal tones and disc .... you aint digging all that iron.... or even some of that trash. Its still location that determines a PIs use. Those with fewer and fewer targets this year more maybe wanting to snatch one up. They do come in handy. But ... i still believe its a small percentage who use them as their primary machine. You get to be an ole fossil like me.... you buy these machines that ALMOST get that PI depth with disc and frankly as sensitive to small gold that you can take anywhere.... including dirt hunting. The AVERAGE hunters wife dont want him to have a ton of money wrapped up into a lot of machines. Her question is always "why do you need that machine.... whats wrong with all these? That tends to have that hunter looking at multi use machines like the Nox. You buy the CTX, Xcal which you modify, and a Fisher AQ..... and the wife says hey this Nox is just $650. Whats your argument :lol:

Why not turn the tables and ask the wife why she needs so many shoes, pocketbooks and accessories... what I do with my money is none of her concern anyway...


Florida does a lot more than make a man weak from cold temps now they worry about spending money they made :lol:
 
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