Tough choice...

[nick hunter]

Hi all.

I have been very happy with the SH MKII the last years, I use it exclusively on wet salt sand and it has been good to me.

I use it on cleaner parts of the wet beaches, for the dirt I prefer to use the Sovie GT.

I appreciate the easy settings, the depth (own both coils), and use the discrete mode once in a while hunting for coins on the dry.

I was thinking of extending my jewelry hunting by buying a specialty detector.

I have had FBS Minelabs, and I don't want the 3030. Sore arms I don't want any more, dislike bungees, and - at last on the explorers, the "patterns" didn't work well, and there was no sensitivity to small gold.

That being said, IL like the technology, But I prefer to use the GT by far
.
I don't want the ATX, it seems also too heavy for me, and I don't understand the price tag. Waterproof 10' costs double than waterproof 200' (Infinium). Plus I do not like the design, too complicated...

And here is my point : every research I do, everything I read about serious wet beach hunting leads me towards the Infinium. This is half the price of the ATX, and even buying all the coils for it would be cheaper, lighter and easier to swing.

Now the question is : is there a real advantage in using the Infinium VS the Sea Hunter? Less digging (wouldn't dig the lo-hi I think)? Plagued by bottlecaps ? Or not?

To sum it up : is it worth buying the LS when already owning the SHMKII?

The Idea of GBPI is something interesting, as I have some of my beaches here that are partly unworkable with the SHMKII.

Last question. ATX uses LS coils. Will it work in the other direction ?

Thanks in advance for you very welcome thoughts and advices.


Nick

 

[WaterWalker]

NO one detector will do everything you want. I have used the Infinium for over 9 years and would not have traded it for anything UNTIL the ATX came along.
I detect in the water 99% of the time and therefore the weight is of no concern to me. When and if I detect on land with the ATX I use the ProSing 45.
If you want to get the good stuff...dig all targets, is pressed for time in one hot location, cherry-pick ( get gold / leave silver).
Note: the Infinium has been discontinued...get it quick if you want one. I understand Garrett does have a few left in stock. The Infinium will handle the "Black Sand" / highly mineralized area better than the SH MII. The ATX does an even better job. If I did not have the highly mineralized areas, I may have purchased the SH MII if it had been available way back when I purchased the Infinium.

As for inter-changing coils...anything is possible, but the inter-mounting of the coils (ATX/Infinny/ATX) presents many problems such as the ATX coil is an integral part of the ATX's lower shaft. The differences in the shaft itself - fiberglass vs metal tube...they just don't mate up. One more thing you loose some functionality with the ATX if you use something other than the standard DD coil that comes with the ATX. I have all the Infinium coils and each has it use and that is why I am keeping the Infinium and the ATX.

For me, it all comes down to having the best combination of detector/coil for each specific item I am looking for in any given environment. The notch filtering of the ATPro is my most favorite feature on any detector, period. A feature that is not available on any PI detector that I know of. The Iron Masking of the Excalibur is my second most favorite features, that may be why I own two Excaliburs. As for the lightest detector I have, it is the hip mounted Whites SurfMaster PI. I guess I got this mind set from my father who would say: "Always use the correct tool for the job at hand",

Hope this helps ...

 

[Ozleif]

My ATX is mainly used when gold prospecting but also at times on the beach, it's always used chest mounted (weight) at both locations with either the original issued ATX DD coil or with one of the Infinium DD coils, it's surprising what the 7x3"DD coil can do on an ATX when prospecting.
For beach work the Infinium LS is easier to use than the ATX, again chest mounted ..... and yes the ATX DD coil can be used and work well on the Infinium LS.

To your questions: Black sand beaches require a PI detector that can GB, in this case the Infinium LS is better than the Sea Hunter MK II.

Identify bottle caps and hair bins with either ATX or Infinium is Very unreliable, I wind up with plenty of each on every outing.
Hi-Low or Low-Hi audio is only to classify a target as low or high conductivity, a sizable Gold nugget combined with iron stone can indicate Lo-Hi i.e. high conductivity.

Our $1/$2 coins are made of a material that produce Low-Hi audio, it is useful when quick searching a beach after a large party.
In the end beach hunting with a PI is mainly a dig it all go slow and steady activity.

Incidentally I also got a SH-MK II and a Sea Hunter XL-500 PI which are both excellent, but if specifically looking for a Silver or Gold ring the Infinium have the advantage.

As WW says its a tool, use the one best suited for the job/location.

The GT and SH-MK II cover a great deal of hunting scenarios, but sometimes one treat oneself to a little extra.

 

[nick hunter]

Thanks WW and Ozleif !

Yes, that little extra ... Maybe it' what it's all about in my case (and that of many fellow hunters...)

I can buy an infinium new in the box, and I suspect it would save a little bit more digging time than I'm used with the SH, although I'm quite good with this unit.

Our coins here will fall in the Hi lo range, If I don't want silver jewelry when hutning with the LS, I just have to ignore the Lo Hi tones, and that's very tempting and time saving.

I'm used to trashy high tide mark, where the Sovereign shines, and cleanes wet sands areas, where I'm convinced the Infinium would be a good choice.

I thank you both very much for sharing your thoughts with me.

HH

Nick