DFX Overload

[Troll]

I got very frustrated today at the beach. There were a few scallops on the beach from errosion and whenever I got too close to the Black sand I got an "Overload" signal and alot of mixed up tones. When I got a quarter out and placed it 1" under the sand the DFX never picked it up. I tried to adjust some of the settings but got nowhere. HELP!

Troll

[AlamedaGayle]

Hi Troll. Was the signal really loud? At my beach there are storm drains. REALLY easy to find those, very loud. And they do overload. Never had a problem with the dfx at my beach. Hope someone else can enlighten you. AG

[Carole]

Hi everyone. Just wanted to let you know that the DFX video is great for teaching you what does what. $20.00 at you dealer.

I went out and all I could find was 25 cents, a penny, and a hot wheel. No big deal but exciting.

Lots of people I met want to talk about the detector.

I have a question? Do all of you normally wear your head phones? I find them very unconfortable and they don't fit. I guess you can't call me a fat head.

[AlamedaGayle]

Hi, Carole, I wouldn't skip using the headphones. You will miss some goodies. I always use mine. Kinda keep my ears warm lately too. Gayle

[Carole]

Thanks Gayle, you are probable right. They are really loose on my head. I will see what I can do to make them fit better.

[Troll]

Gayle, Nope no storm drains here. This happened whenever I was close to where the erosion had happened and was always around the black sand. The graph would go crazy and the tones were fluctuating everywhere like I was over a 220 electrical outlet. Further up on the sand and further down toward the water were fine.

Troll

[Jeff Kinzli]

Probably overloading on the black sand, which is acting like a large sheet of iron. Try lowering the preamp gain...

[Troll]

Jeff, I tried turning down the AC and then the DC but I wasn't sure which adjustment controlled what! I am new to this!

Thanks so much,

Chris

[Mark]

Hey Chris , I had the same problem with my DFX at Dockweiler beach the one and only time I hunted it, that day I was hunting with Randy and Bing, and I think they got a good laugh out of it. As you know Dockweiler has heavy black sand and is a problem, since then I have purchased a Goldquest PI from Surfscanner and I must say it has performed. www.surfscanner.com

[Troll]

Thanks for the info, Jeff mentiones turning down the Preamp Gain. I'll give it a try. Glad to know it wasn't just me! ;D

[Frank EastBay]

Hi Troll, As others have stated, you can lower your PreAmp setting or your AC Sensitivity to deal with black sand. I would start off with a PreAmp of 3 and an AC Sensitivity of 65.

Another function that you can use to handle blacksand is Hot Rock Reject. The higher you go the less effect that the blacksand will have on your DFX. But! If you go over 5 on the Hot Rock Reject you will start to loose depth. Sometimes that is the trade-off that you have to accept to detect in that kind of condition.

Later, Frank EastBay

[Troll]

Thanks for all the info. I will try these tips at the next low tide!

See you on the Beaches! ;D

Troll

[Binder]

Carole said:

Thanks Gayle, you are probable right. They are really loose on my head. I will see what I can do to make them fit better.

I found a pair of pilot's headphones (listen only) on eBay a while back, and they're great! No volume control, and they're mono, but are they ever comfortable! The ear cups have a gel type padding; the seal is great, so virtually no outside sound gets in.

I paid $20; they're more like $120 retail.. The downside was that it took about a month of looking to find them -and- get a winning bid in. Well worth the investment of time, since I'm such a cheap sod.

HH

Erik

[HunterD38]

Troll:
When ever you get into the over load area...Stop...Look around and remember! This will happen alot with the DFX! As a detector you must all ways try to determine just what this signal means! Soon or later it will start to make sense!
David