The F2 get's a F- for sandy Soil/Beach hunting

[rks1040]

I took the F2 out today to a couple of local beaches(gravel pits),and on the flat farm lands. The beach is sand,and the flat farm lands are sandy soil,also. I had to run the sensitivity all the way down,(one bar left showing)from the top because of the mineral contentshrug in the sand/soil? It was still giving false signals like crazy,and there is no power lines,or anything else,by the areas I was hunting? I guess it's the minerals in the sand/soil,and it looks like I'm going to have to buy a better MDT to use in this area. It works like a champ in regular dirt/soil,but not in the sandy conditions I was trying today. When I got back home it worked perfect in the back yard,and never missed a beat?

 

[MarcM]

If the sandy areas you're in are highly mineralized, no single freq machine is going to work well.

You need either a multi-freq. or PI machine.

This article might be of some help:

http://www.hollandsbrook.com/blog/saltwater-beach-detecting-101/

 

[Mike Hillis]

Hi Ron,

Before you let the dealers get into your pocket, it might help to spend some more time with your detector. You are very, very new to metal detecting and there is still a lot of stuff going on you need to learn.

First, what you experienced sounds like electrical interference to me, not mineralized ground. In mineralized ground you could have dropped your sensitivity to half or just above and slowed your sweep speed way down and still been able to hunt. The fact that you said you had to drop your sensitivity down to 1 tells me you were experiencing electrical interference. I'm just telling you now because what are going to do when you upgrade to a more expensive unit and experience the same thing? Spend more money?

You can't say 'no' to electrical interference just because you don't see a power line or pole somewhere. Electrical interference can affect you even when the source is miles away and it affects the very expensive detectors just like it does the $200 detectors.

No...spend some more time learning your detector before you spend more money.

I'll tell you a trick to tell how far off your ground balance is for your ground. That is what causes the falsing in bad ground, not the strength of the minerals. Hold your detector up in air. Push the pinpoint button and lower the coil to the ground and see how it reads the ground. Does it tell you the ground is 1" deep, 3" deep, what? Do it in several places so you know you are not over metal. That will give you an idea of how far off your preset ground balance may be from the ground you are hunting. No numbers tell you that you that your ground balance is just right. Could be due to no or very mild minerals or just a perfect ground balance setting for the site conditions. High pinpoint numbers will tell you that your ground balance is doing ok but could be better. Lower pinpoint numbers will tell you that preset ground balance is really strugging and you can expect to deal with some falsing. It is at this time that a lower sensitivity setting and a slower sweep speed is in order if the extra falsing is too troublesome.

HH
Mike

 

[Cheryl]

Running in all metal will cause that too....I've tried the beach myself and I know what you mean...

 

[WhatTheBeep]

I'll tell you a trick to tell how far off your ground balance is for your ground. That is what causes the falsing in bad ground, not the strength of the minerals. Hold your detector up in air. Push the pinpoint button and lower the coil to the ground and see how it reads the ground. Does it tell you the ground is 1" deep, 3" deep, what? Do it in several places so you know you are not over metal. That will give you an idea of how far off your preset ground balance may be from the ground you are hunting. No numbers tell you that you that your ground balance is just right. Could be due to no or very mild minerals or just a perfect ground balance setting for the site conditions. High pinpoint numbers will tell you that your ground balance is doing ok but could be better. Lower pinpoint numbers will tell you that preset ground balance is really strugging and you can expect to deal with some falsing. It is at this time that a lower sensitivity setting and a slower sweep speed is in order if the extra falsing is too troublesome.

I've read tons of information over the last few months and have never seen this trick mentioned before. I've even asked the question elsewhere as to why my metal detector "pinpoints" everywhere I put the coil in my area and was told there were targets there, but I knew there were not. I figured it was due to high iron content in the soil, but had no idea there was a way to judge the severity by the pinpoint numbers. Great information, and thanks.

 

[rks1040]

Thanks,Mike! Yes I'm a very new user,and have a lot to learn,about the F2! I'll try your suggestion and see what's up with the area. There is a airport in the area,and I did get permission to hunt there. I thought it would be great,since it was a WWII air base during the war,complete with housing (over 4000) enlisted men and their familys lived on base there during the war. All the houses are long gone,but the small roads leading to the housing areas are still there. There might be some good WWII relics,and WWII era coins there. The air port does have a VOR,and that may be a big part of the problem?

 

[pasttom]

My first machine was an f2 and I moved on mostly to get a unit that would allow ground balancing. I understood that preset GB machines usually worked fine in about 80% of conditions, but cannot fine tune to handle severe GB needs. I could do dry sand okay, but as soon as I hit wet performance suffered and falseing increased rapidly. Mike Hillis' ground depth trick is a new one to me. I know he is the master of the f5 and I respect his opinion greatly. I will have to think about how to integrate that into my trick bag. Also, his advice about not getting into the new machine rut is very sage. I have a closetful to prove it! I have averaged a new addition every 60 days- ouch! IMHO, no unit will hunt every situation at peak performance, though some pricey models may come close. The f2 is a great entry level machine and will handle many needs, but the toughest condition may be a bit out of reach. Of course the more skillful a hunter the better they will do in every situation.

I notice you didn't mention coil size... Note that smaller coils are less prone to EMI and can be set to higher sensitivity in the same conditions. If you are getting signal bleed from the airport try your smallest coil. What you loose in depth may be less that you think and your gain may tell you a lot about what is going on. Also it is a whole lot easier to pinpoint and recover for a new hunter. Just try it!

 

[MetalMiner]

I started with the F2 & it worked fine on the beach in the dry sand, would get a lot of falsing in the wet sand near the water. It is very sensitive to EMI. I had several places I could not MD because of the EMI. A spot in my local park was unhuntable because of the EMI, I moved about 100yds away & it was fine.

 

[rks1040]

Thanks,for the advice guy's! I'll give it another go this weekend,and try the "tricks" out. pastom,I was using the 8 inch coil,but do have the 4 inch sniper coil.I've used the sniper coil once,but not in these conditions. I felt like I was missing a lot of targets,(although I found quite a few)due to my inexperience,and sweeping skills (hardly any):sad: LOL! MetalMiner,mine seems to be super sensitive to EMI also. I have to run the sensitivity at around 50% most of the time,and it may be just me still learning the signals,and trying to sort them out? It seemed like I was learning the MD,and finding targets pretty well,until,I hit the sandy beach,and soil. After 4 hours of searching,and digging,finding,and not finding targets,I had a total of 2 clad pennys,and about a pound of can slaw! I had some extra money stashed back for a new gun,but spent it on a new Garrett AT Pro. It should be here next week. I don't know if it will help,but the wife is showing some intrest in MDing,so having a couple of machines won't hurt. As far as machines go,I think it's about like anything else,you can't buy experience,it takes time,and a lot of practice,to learn the skills.

 

[MetalMiner]

Good luck with your new AtPro, I know several guys using them & they do real good with it. One guy found 6 rings on the beach in one day with his ATPro. I use the ML Safari & really like it, but I want something waterproof that I can take into the creeks & not worry about dropping it in the water so I'm leaning towards either the ATPro or the ATGold. I'll still keep & use the Safari it works real good on the beach in the wet sand, no falsing at all. Good Luck with the ATPro.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Briefly most entry level units are preset slightly positive to work in most conditions and for the bucks F2's are a good bargain and in time you will upgrade to a more serious unit to cover harsher conditions if you stay in hobby.....Its all part of the hobby and I started out with a flea market radio shack used unit and imagine same story for most...

 

[Mike Hillis]

At this time the ATPro, like the Goldbug, is less affected by EMI than the lower frequency units.

But I'm sure, given time, you will run into spots that affect it too.

Good luck,
HH
Mike

 

[rks1040]

At this time the ATPro, like the Goldbug, is less affected by EMI than the lower frequency units.

But I'm sure, given time, you will run into spots that affect it too.

Good luck,
HH
Mike

Yeah,I think there is no machine immune to all forms of EMI. My wife is really starting to show intrest in MDing. I can see it now,her finding all the good stuff with the F2,and me bringing up the rear with the new AT Pro! LOL!!

 

[GoVidGo]

try a few things before rulling our that 'you can't use the F2 in the sand'. Few people are right that 'dont let people tell you that you have to get a multi-frequency machine to detect in the sand'. I had a T2 (F75 variant) and it worked awesome in the dry sand on the beach. The wet sand was a little rough, but it liked the beach with the dry sand and was DEEP! I am currently running an AT Pro, and have had this on the dry sand, wet sand, and in the light surf of the Outer Banks, NC, and it was smooth and quiet! Both of those are single frequency machines, you know?
I had an F2, and although I never had it on the beach, I had a time when I had to make a few adjustments in mineralized soil. The F2 is a HOT detector, which is also a good thing!

 

[rks1040]

Yeah,I really like the F2! EMI doesn't seem to effect it much,except out there in that area. Of course the air port has VOR,and a ILS putting out strong signals,so that doesn't help matters either. I've found quite a few coins ,and a lot of trash with the F2! It's a great little MD,and it isn't going anywhere.

 

[jd88047]

I have hunted with a guy who owns a T2, it is very stable and will go deep. It has better iron disc than my F75. As for emi, all I have to do is raise my coil and find the source. I steer away from the source as fast as I can. I don't see anyone with a AT Pro yet, so I cant say anything about it. But from what I gather, its a great machine. I think the small coil will kill all the signal overload your are getting. Even my F75 quiets down when I put it on.