Depth in saltwater.

[bklein]

I loaded the new firmware in my EQ800 and found it a great improvement in several areas. However, I experienced something weird, which got me wondering...
How deep have your saltwater finds been? As deep/ same number as other detectors you’ve used?
I was hunting the wet sand area, high tide so occasional waves would come higher up the slope than others. I hit a dime target. No doubt about it - one thing I’ve noticed with the new code is good targets seem to stand out better than before. So I’m digging this dime. Stealth Extreme 9.5” scoop. Dig one scoop and the target is still in the hole. A wave comes and the water comes into the hole and covers the bottom sand about 3”. Not much added sand- just the water came in a bit. The target is gone and it was just one scoop away! I take the scoop and slide it under the target area less than half depth. Dump it out and it is there in the dump. So just the water over it wiped it out completely before. Never seen this before. If I lose a target it is a small aluminum bit left in my scoop. This is new and got me thinking - Does this just happen with dimes? Worthy of someone to run some tests. I did find like 12 dimes - (5 nickels, 4 quarters, 12 or so pennies. (In wet and dry, not under water) And finally a small silver ring. 6 hours hunting, so a very slow target day. Similar for others hunting there except they did not try underwater like I did.

 

[JASON CHINA]

me too A firm signal, a shovel is gone

 

[dewcon4414]

if you are saying targets are disappearing in the hole...... i agree. Ive found myself having to check around the hole a lot more. The machine seems to like to read the hole rather than the target after you remove some sand IN the water. But ..... i know there was a target so i just take another scoop from the middle most of the time its right there. Ill add thou..... that was an issue before the update for me. All things seems to be equal IN the salt water...... ive not noticed a lot of depth difference. Now on the wet sand i have. The question to me is ....... if they improved response to coins..... did i loose even more response to smaller gold???

 

[Jason in Enid]

This has always been happening, with every water detector I have owned. What happens is that the target is in the side and slides down, often on-edge to the bottom of the hole. Any time you have a solid target and it disappears after scooping (and isnt something falling out through the scoop holes) then its slid down in the hole and your next scoop almost always gets it.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

Explorers are notorious for this, solid signal on a 6 inch deep coin, dig a 5 inch plug with the coin still sitting flat in the bottom of the hole and poof the target vanishes. Explorers HATE an air gap with soil underneath it so I'm not surprised the Equinox is exhibiting the same behavior.

 

[bklein]

Jason, smack in the middle of the hole. I took just a small like 4” slice of the sand and it was in it.
We need to dig a hole, have like 3” of water in it, and place a dime in it 3” down and see if we can duplicate this.

 

[midalake]

I am guessing there was no moving water happening when you were re-checking the hole? Every machine I have used looses depth when there is salt water moving past the coil. Dave

 

[bklein]

Just a hole with some water in it. No active waves when I was working it. Wonder if tracking ground balance might cause it?

 

[midalake]

Just a hole with some water in it. No active waves when I was working it. Wonder if tracking ground balance might cause it?

I do not have enough time on the machine to know if auto GB would do it. However, I have checked plenty of targets without digging yet, just wet and with water moving by. There is loss of function [some] with water moving by. Seems about the same as my Sovereign . Dave

 

[dewcon4414]

Machines WILL read the matrices of the hole its self as well. Yes, orientation of the target does it as well....... and some targets just drop and the machine just plain cant see um any more. Salt water is a bear....... just watch your coil HALO go to half as soon as i hits the water. Im seeing a bit more than normal thou. Good example is the Xcal...... it will loose it ...... but a lot of times once it recovers and resets few swings and it picks it right back up. Youd think a faster recovery machine would do better. Lets hope its not that it dont like fluffy soil....... cause we have a lot of fluffy out there right now. If i dig a pretty good size hole out there and miss the target it will do it about every time. The only problem it creates is ...... its a time waster looking for the target.

 

[Hotrod65]

I have had this same experience far too many times to count, and 90% of the time it was a clad dime. Not sure what happens but target seems to just disappear. After a lot of digging and expanding the hole I eventually find it with the trusty carrot.

 

[stateguyt]

I have the same problem with the 3030. When you hunt I with the 17 in coil it even harder for me to pinpoint the target

 

[tcornel]

I believe part or all of the issue might be that after a scoop has been removed the target has not had a chance to settle into its new position. Wait a while and it usually appears. I have blamed it on the machine not being able to pick up the target while it is moving in the water filled hole.

 

[Charles (Upstate NY)]

AND clad dimes are notorious for flipping straight up on edge and sinking in a water filled sand hole. If you see me near a hole with like 15 scoops of sand dumped out and I'm cussing, I'm digging a clad dime

 

[bklein]

Had this happen again on my last trip out. I first just ignored it but later I realized it is probably happening on like 5% of targets. It vanishes but is really just 2-3" down in water. Last time that really surprised me was a pull tab target. I now just take it for granted the target is a bit deeper but am left wondering if I'm missing targets I skip over.