...and I have one. But I don't (yet) have another PI to compare with. Got a SMPI Pro on the way so I can do a bench comparison later.
Based on depth numbers I've seen from others, the SandShark is probably average. I have the 8" coil. One nice thing about the SS is you can swap coils. Most others have hard-wired coils, probably to eliminate the connector in the pulse path.
The SS is well-built, has a really good waterproof control box. With it mounted under the arm cup it has superb balance, I can swing it all day no problem. I like the VCO audio, very smooth, and pinpointing is not bad at all.
Drawbacks? I don't think it gets short enough for true diving use. You can take out the middle stem but that's not quite enough. Has a bit of popcorn noise that's irritating, sometimes bad enought to give false signals. But it's random in nature, so an extra sweep over the spot will tell you whether you had a target or a noise burst. I'd like to get the oscope on this thing to try and figure that out. The disc coil is a little hard to use in the surf line, tends to want to flop over if you don't keep it really level. I'd think a donut coil like Garrett's would be better for surf, just guessing.
Overall I like the SS but I think that, like the SMPI, it could use some tweaking. Problem is, you can't tweak the sample delay because it's set by a microcontroller. I'd also like to try the 10" coil, and maybe wind a donut coil and see how that compares to the printed circuit spiral coil.
I'll have a more relevant opinion as soon as my SMPI arrives.
- Carl
