SE - black sand settings?

[swingman]

I keep experimenting at an old beach I know holds some good stuff (found a Barber dime on the surface once). [Some day I'm going to bring just a shovel and sift all the sand through a screen!].
Actually, the 'irony' sand here (CT) is usually deep red, almost purple. I've gotten down a few inches where it wasn't too dark, with my Sovereign XS-2, plus WOT. But in the darker stuff, even my Whites pulse wouldn't get far. I tried my SE today. and got only one target that was on the surface. Mostly I got a high-pitched whine. Swung very slowly.
My settings: Fast - off; Deep - ON; Iron mask - 18;
Sens. - 10 (manual); Sounds - Conduct; Audio response - Normal
Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks.
(Later I went to a normal beach - the SE was awesome! I got penny at 10 inches and several quarters at 12, and was able to run the Sens. at 27. Also got a nice 14K St. Anthony's medal - but not deep.)

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

Yeah, I have a suggestion...take that iron mask all the way over to All Metal. There's no reason to run any disc at the beach because you want to dig most of the targets anyway. Of course if the target is iron or you know it's a bottlecap, then don't dig it. But LISTEN to ALL of them. Run it in AM and that way you won't get any nulling. Use Ferrous tones and you'll be able to tell the iron by the low tones. I also feel that digital mode is of more value on the beach, because I can readily identify a penny vs. a dime vs. a quarter. And bottlecaps, although they will have a high pitched tone many times will also have very low conductive numbers, so you know it's not a coin or silver ring. But the best thing is that when you set it up as I have said, it's much more effective in pulling the good stuff out of the black sand.

I had mine on the beach today and was running at with the 12.5" Excelerator coil, sens at manual 25, and set up as above with fast off and deep on and gain at 6 and it was smooth running from the water to the wet sand to the dry sand and into the black sand...VERY well behaved, great depth, nice all around. I only found coins, some can-slaw, and a few pull tabs but that's to be expected...our beaches here are very barren right now and no cuts at all.

 

[swingman]

Thanks for all your suggestions, Mike. I'm heading back to that private beach later today, and will try them. I'll have to get used to running the 'ferrous tones'. [Can-slaw? I like it (the term, not the target).]
Dave G.

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

Yeah, can-slaw...the scourge of the beach detectorist. Actually, it's more common to plowed farm fields but you get the idea...any scraps of aluminum. Could also include little pieces of copper, foil, those little earring backs, jean snaps...all "FOOLS GOLD" for the beach detectorist. ALL that work and then you see what it finally is and it's like DAMN IT ALL!

 

[swingman]

Guess I'm not 'ready for prime time' yet. Tried detecting today in ferrous/sounds, but just couldn't get used to it. On the black sand, the background tone semed to vary depending on the 'strength' of the sand. I found it distracting. It's also possible there were no targets there! And the tide was going WAY out, so I was anxious to detect in the way I know. Practice will come later.
I do like your idea re. increasing the Iron Mask reading (reducing the iron mask) - didn't go all the way, but tried 28. [So far with the SE (27 hours), I've found 5 pieces of gold jewelry, compared with one gold ring all last year! Beginner's luck? I did pull a 14K wedding band from a real 10 inches today - I love the SE!]

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

You know, you can (and should) turn the threshold (background tone) DOWN. Turn it down to where you can just hear it. No need for it to be blaring or annoying. You simply want to be able to hear when it goes away. And WHEN it goes away, the question is did it go away because you went over something that you have dicriminated out or did it go away because you went over (or close by) a target that is realy DEEP? If you go back and check it again, is it now a good target? That's what the threshold is for. So turn it down to a low and pleasant volume that you can NEARLY forget...just loud enough. Second, keeping that smooth threshold will be easier in IM-AM. Because it will still null on you everytime you go over anything iron. Wheras if you have it in AM, you get the low tone for iron. Which to me is easier to deal with that losing my threshold. But you have to find your style. And given your early success, I'd say you're doing fine.

 

[swingman]

Thanks, Mike - I did remember to turn the 'background threshold' down, to where I'm just able to hear it. It was the background pitch that varied, as I went over different 'grades' of black sand. Not sharp changes like with a target - but a gradual change in tone. Not like the steady background hum when I'm in CONDUCT/sounds.
Maybe black sand here is 'worse' than other places? With my other machines, I'd see a coin on the surface and could do NOTHING to get a reading!

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

You aren't running "Pitch Hold" are you? That will make it do that.

As for the black sand, it CAN be a bear. And it is worse some places than others.