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Hitting the beach Monday

S

skateteacher

Member
School's out for the week and I'm hitting the beach Monday for the first time with the V3i. I'm in SoCal (Ventura County) and our sand is the dreaded black sand in the wet. I'm looking for advice on how to set up the machine. I'd like to detect both dry and wet sand but not in the water. Should I just use the basic salt beach program/coin and jewelry? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Dave
 
You need to use the salt beach program. I know the black sand can be bad where you are so I can't say what will happen with a VLF detector. The BHID is a great water detector on the east coast and gulf beaches but has troubles on some west coast beaches.
 
I don't live anywhere near the west coast. You can try c/J or Hi pro in the dry. If it doesn't work switch to salt beach. What is your reason to not wanting to use salt beach?
 
There isn't a reason. I just didn't know if there was a difference. Just asking as many questions as I can to increase my knowledge.
 
On the wet use a 950 coil as Rob taught me and if it's really mineralized take the RX down and see how far you have to go before she gets quiet. I just came off a really black sand mineralized beach and had to take the rx down to 6 I was hunting in regular salt beach. Please bare in mind I have only been hunting since January but I do ok. Im also playing with frequency offset but for me the jury is out on that. When I want to go deep I hunt in all metal using salt beach usually in pin point mode with VCO that will help with your mineralization. I find in the worst mineralization you'll get a waver in the threshold but it wont false. Since Ive been hunting the black sand I have been hunting this way. I have just started using stereo mixed mode with salt beach again thanks to Rob and I like it a lot. On a mild beach I run stock salt beach. I love this machine on the beach and I rarely use my PI anymore unless I'm going waist to knee deep. Good Luck!
 
Good, where are you black sand beaches located?
 
Rob I dont know if your talking to me but there are some beaches east of me that have patches of really bad black sand. So bad in fact the detector would not work at all in regular salt beach. I find by going slow in pinpoint I can hunt. Most guys dont bother with these particular beaches cause they are really difficult. If I go slow and deal with the pulsating in my head I have picked some good old coins among the black sand. Hoping for some gold.
 
Yep, I was asking you. I was wondering where in the country you and your beaches are located? Thanks.
 
I'm in the North East Rob. I usually hit all of Long Island tip to tip. (East To West) South to Jersey down to Cape May. Most beaches are mild but there are a few that are mind blowers. Came off one today!
 
The only beaches I have hunted are the Gulf beaches and they are usually mild.
 
A Strong black sand Beach, is a challenge with any VLF detector, you would be better off with The White's Dual Field PI, there made for that type of hunting and do very good.

You can try the V with the stock beach program and just adjust your gain/ sens to make the V stable. or just move to a less black sand area. When hunting near the wet sand watch out for that surprise wave

Good luck
 
Today's result was a whopping 5 pennies, all found in the same location. (worst coin spill ever) The beach was just real quiet, not much trash and I guess I can assume that since school started back for me and kept me away from the beach it did so for everyone else. Stayed in Salt Beach the entire time.
 
Also sometimes the (wet sand) part of the beach well be (sanded in) No metal Detector can go that deep, so always have a back up plan .... HH
 
Rob in (Ca) said:
Also sometimes the (wet sand) part of the beach well be (sanded in) No metal Detector can go that deep, so always have a back up plan .... HH
Click to expand...

Depending on how much the beach is sanded. Yes a beach that is well sanded in is a waste of time. However there are times when the beach is "lightly" sanded ...2-6 tides after erosion has occurred. At that point the V can shine. For a non mineralized beach you can run very hot and get down a foot or deeper. Mineralization is another story. Ive been experimenting with frequency offset with some good results. I am also finding that many if not all problems people experience with the V is due to bad ground. I have been doing some driving to different towns, parks and beaches and its amazing how different each hunt is. Sometimes you can run hot and sometimes you cant even come close. I am experimenting with a piece of ground now (in a park) that is full of iron and almost impossible to hunt. I run salt beach and it becomes a little more stable. I pulled an 1890 British North Borneo one cent piece from this spot. I believe it has been hunted but due to all the iron most guys just give up. I plan on getting the V very stable here and hopefully find some really interesting stuff.
 
I'm just down the coast from you in Santa Monica. I have found the V3i to be very stable in the stock apps in dry sand. C&J for example with the stock 10 DD coil are quite stable and go deep on the So Cal beaches. Unfortunately there is a but coming.....but if you want to hunt the wet sand and wash up area you need to use Salt Beach for sure. It helps to settle down the machine quite a bit.

The next challenge in the more populated areas is trash, trash and more trash. And in the most popular beach going areas you will also be banging coils with other detectorists as well. The public beaches are well covered each week. So don't go out there expecting to find a ring for each finger and toe, with a bag full of clad to go with it. It is more a good workout with beautiful views than a profitable venture. Most days the parking costs more than I find, but it's still fun! I don't mean to be a bummer, just trying to set the proper expectations is all. Plan on a little less and if you find a sweet spot......then enjoy it!

The Shark
 
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