ArrrggHHH...!!!! Can I use my MXT in wet sand?

[KiwiHunter]

Hi everyone, new to this Forum and to the gr8t world of detecting. I recently purchased a Whites MXT, and have had a heap of fun doing the normal stuff like parks yadda...yadda, and then had a crack at the beach.
Thats been fine ( doing the dry sand ) but as soon as I wandered down into the wet salty sand, *GZZZZ...ZZZiPPpppp...WWWWWzzzzz* and every false signal under the sun came to life.
Does anyone use an MXT on the wet, or do they know of a particular setting i should use? My chances of the "Handbrake" allowing me to get another detector are slim to none, and slim just left town. So any help would be appreciated.

Cheers!!!

[OT]

Welcome to the Kinzli forum KiwiHunter. I use the DFX and I'm not sure what the best setting fro the MXT would be but I'm sure an MXT hunter will pop up here soon.

I love your humor, "My chances of the "Handbrake" allowing me to get another detector are slim to none, and slim just left town." LOL Look forward to reading more of your post.

;D

[LodiTom]

Welcome to the forum KiwiHunter!!As for the MXT not sure what to use,but you should get some reply's from the folk's that use them on here.HH,Tom

[gerber]

Hey Kiwihunter,

I love my MXT, but like you, it does present a few challenges in real wet sand at the beach. Here's a few ideas that were given to me that have not proved all that helpful; maybe they will help you:

1. ground balance in the wet sand and then immediately lock it in.
2. Walk parallel to the waterline as you do your sweeps (I guess the idea is to try to maintain a fairly constant salt/moisture ratio)

Like I said, these werent that helpful to me here in So.Cal. However, here's a couple things that have helped quite a bit:

1. Get yourself a DD coil. This really helps cut some of the static in wet sand. It's not perfect, but you will see an improvement.

2. Save your pennies and buy a Detectorpro Wader or Diver. I bought a Wader just because I love hunting the beach and got tired of dealing with the MXT in the wet sand. It's light, totally waterproof, and even submersible in the water. And you find tons of great stuff with it! I love having two machines, and now I can go anywhere I want and have the right kind of machine for pretty much any terrain. The Wader is a nice backup machine on land, and the MXT is a good backup machine for my son to use at the beach.

HH,

Dan

[KiwiHunter]

Hi there OT. Thankyou for the welcome!!! Yeah, apparently my Wife says she understands my slang and accent now, but just try, go on...just try to order El Pollo chicken at the drive thru, and see how 2 orders of "Fries", gets me 2 lots of "Rice", and then I hear the bloke telling his mates he cant understand the dude on the other end...*grin* As for the wife, she's from N.Y, so it makes for enertaining listening to anyone who happens upon us.....Hahahahahahaa.

Hi there LodiTom, thanks to for saying G'day.
Someone has already emailed with some things to look at, so I am happy with the pretty quick response and friendliness from everyone.

Hey there Gerber, thankyou to for your post. I do have a DD coil which came with the MXT as a secondary, so will hiff that on and see how she goes. I'm going to suss out the 'tector you have pointed out, and see what the good ol NET can tell me about it. I will also have a crack at what you suggest, and see how I fare. Many thanks.

It's a pleasure to meet you all.

[Rudy]

Hi KiwiHunter, welcome to this THE FORUM.

Yes, the MXT can be a bit bitchy in the wet sand, but that is because it is an ultrasensitive machine.

A DD coil can help you quite a bit in the wet sand, compared to a concentric coil the . The Eclipse 6X10 DD would do the trick. In a pinch, you could use the Eclipse 4X6 DD, though it has a smaller pattern and is better for hunting in trashy areas. I haven't used the new 1400 DD though I hear that it is quite heavy.

The other one is to cut down the gain a bit until she is stable. Yes, you will lose a little depth, but then you'll also be able to hear a real target without all that snap crackle and pop in your earphones. Since you are at the beach where it is easy to scoop any/all targets, cut down the Disc to a tolerable minimum and you'll get some of the lost depth back.

If you will run your pattern such that it is all dry or wet sand for long stretches then locking the GB after balancing in the wet or dry sand as appropriate will also help you some.

Last, but not least, make sure that the lower and upper rods are locked and the coil cable is securedly wrapped around the lower rod. If not, the wave actions will move the cable some and... you'll get a lot of falsing.

Well, hope this helps and I am sure other mxt hunters will turn up with additional info. HH.

[KiwiHunter]

Hi there Rudy. Many thanks for the advice and hello to you too!
I have had more success in the last few hours by posting here, than I have trying to glean info off the NET over the last 2 weeks ( says a lot for my feeble attempts at finding info eh?...gawd )
I am going to put into practise what you and others have suggested hopefully tomorrow. What a can I have opened up getting into this as a hobby. Its so friggin addictive!! I did find a nice ring the other day at *CoUGH..HACK..COUgh* beach down by *hacK...cough..COUgh*..and it is a gold and ruby highschool ring, from Southgate High, and the year on it is 1947. I was stoked.
Except it was 10 inches deep, and about 50 feet from the water. So all i could do was look longingly at the wet areas and drool ( mothers genetic side...*grin* ) as to what lay just beneath the "WET".....yup, I have the metal detecting fever!!!

[TONKA]

Geez! That's a terrible cough you got there...

Better stay away from the water until you get better...

Isn't there a "salt" setting on the MXT?

[Vern2sjc]

Welcome aboard KiwiHunter. The advise Dan(Gerber) gave to you is the best. Have hunted with him a few times. If you ever get down so towards San Juan Capistrano, let me know I'll be glad to hunt with you. HH Vern2sjc

[KiwiHunter]

Hey there Tonka. Yeah nasty cough I know. The Dr recommends fresh sea air, and something about a nice long walk along the waters edge? *scratch*....got me puzzled to hell and back ;D

Yes, the MXT does have a salt tab, except....when I engage said tab, and ground the coil, it does exactly the same thing as b4. I am however going to put into practice some of the advice that has been passed on.
To be honest, the help I have had thusfar is just the dogs nungers. Truly, been gr8t to have had so much feedback from some really nice people.

HH<<< see, even learning the jargon...*grin*

[KiwiHunter]

Hi there Vern. many thanks for the post and the invite.
I certainly will take you up on the offer, when I find out where San Juan Cap' is located.

Yes, I am planning to trial a few things in the morning, and see how it all goes. If I still have no luck, then I am giong to have to convince the Wife, that "No baby, you shouldn't buy that .357 Ruger that you have your heart set on....what you r-e-a-l-l-y want-t-t-t, is that new Detector pro that Dan talked about....uh huh"

Although Vern, the words "Like Farking HeLL!!" leap to mind too quick for my liking......

*sigh*....so many places to go
HH mate.

[Rudy]

Hey Tonka,

Yes, there is a "salt" GB mode, but that is just to allow you to GB and track down to the alkali level normally associated with salty areas. It doesn't do much for the "GZZZZ...ZZZiPPpppp...WWWWWzzzzz"