Saturday, August 27, 2016

Using xChange 2 Software for the CTX

I have created a video for beginners to show them the basics of the xChange program for the CTX


Thursday, August 25, 2016

Fake spanish coin

I found this fake Atocha coin today on the beach. Pretty cool even to find a fake one. I could tell it was fake because the edges look a bit too nice and like they came from a mold...but the real test was when I got home and it was not even positive for silver.


Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Silver in the scoop

Found two pieces of silver today. The low tide line was sanded in so I went to the slope where it ended and was able to pull these two pieces along with some rusty quarters.


Tuesday, August 23, 2016

A pair

I found this pair of earrings about 30ft from one another on the low tide line. My acid test turns green which means they are 60% or so silver and probably plated...although I always question that green color when they are not marked. Either way it was an interesting lesson in how jewelry falls off of people. Most like the person went under the water and they both came off and drifted 30 or so feet away from one another due to the currents.


Tuesday, August 16, 2016

silver

Seems to be the thing to find around me lately. I haven't found gold since early july...then again its been very hot so my hunts are limited. I can't wait until it cools off. It's 9am and my outside thermometer says 97.

Anyway, I went out this morning. The no see ums were out in full force so I have tons of little bug bites but I did manage to come away with a bit of silver around the high tide line...


Monday, August 15, 2016

Beach Metal Detector Maintenance

Taking care of you metal detector can preserve its life, increase resale value, and keep you from having to send it in for repairs, which can be costly. Most of the things I do to maintain my machines should be done to all machines but each machine is different so make sure you read your user manual before doing anything to it. Many of you know that the salt, sand, and ocean destroy everything. Living at the beach I see this first hand. The salt destroys everything. It also destroys your metal detector. This is one of the reasons I ONLY have waterproof machines. I don't care how much you cover your machine, salt and sand will find it way in unless its water tight. So how to I maintain my machines? I follow a few simple steps.

1. Wash with fresh water after each use. I wash the entire machine. I either use my hose at home or better yet the shower at the beach (if it has one).

2. Lube the wires. I do this with silicone. Its something I do probably once a week to help prevent the wires from dry rot because you don't want them to crack.

3. Clean the coil covers. I do this every few times I detect.

4. Change the batteries when they are at 50%. I do not let my batteries go low.

5. Store inside my house. I put my machine in the house where its air conditioned. I do not believe the garage is a safe place due to humidity and such.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Some jewelry at the beach this morning...

I am sanded in so there is not much on the low tide sand. Everything I find is very deep. Today I found a ring and necklace. Both junk although the clasp on the necklace could be sterling I just haven't tested it yet. The ring is unmarked and I am pretty sure its just steel/tungsten. BUT...I was happy to find each of these. This is the first ring I've found with my CTX (wait or did I find another? I've lost count) and this is the first chain I have found this year. I was very surprised how easily the ctx with 17'' coil was able to detect it.

One thing I also discovered on my CTX is that I much prefer the long pitch vs the pitch hold I was using.


Thursday, August 11, 2016

Who says FBS doesn't air test well?

I ran some air tests in my yard today with my CTX. Here are the results:

Settings:

Coil: 17 inch
Sensitivity: 26
Pattern: All metal but last line
Tone: Combined
Deep on
Seawater on
Pitch long
Speaker - no headphones. 

Findings:


Mens 10k Gold band: 16 inches
Mens 14k thin white gold band: 14 inches
Womens 14k White gold wedding band: 8-9 inches
Tungsten Junk Ring Mens Wedding Band: 17 inches
Wheat Penny: 15 inches
1oz silver bullet: 11 inches
Silver nickel: 13 inches
Regular nickel: 13 inches
Quarter: 16 inches
Silver ring: 14 inches

Picture of items. All of these are finds of mine except the silver 1oz bullet:



Should you ignore pennies?

Normally, I say no. You should dig anything that could be gold. And normally I dig all pennies, even on my CTX when its saying 12.37...which is most likely a penny because there is gold that will ring up the same as a penny. Having said that, there are times when I might choose to ignore them.

For example, this morning I was in the wetsand, which is mostly sanded in around me so its only recent drops. I found one spot where I was getting hit after hit. After digging up about 10 pennies I chose to ignore the rest of the 12.37 numbers at this spot. Its very hot out so I can only dig so many times before I need to leave so I wanted to maximize my time by digging only good signals. Did I miss anything good? More than likely not. I think someone dropped their change in this area. In that spot I also found several dimes and that was it.

So I do recommend always digging pennies but if you run into an area like I was in this morning then I think its ok to ignore them, especially if you have limited time and/or other spots to search.

The photo was taken when I took a 2 minute break to wipe the sweat off of my face because this heat we are getting is unbearable.


Monday, August 8, 2016

Some silver

Found some silver with the CTX this morning - Yay!...and a junk ring - boo!

I'm still digging monster sized holes with this 17'' coil. Literally 12+ inches each time. I never thought I would say this but its too deep to dig that much...especially in this heat.


Sunday, August 7, 2016

CTX Week One Observations...

First this machine has tons and tons of options. I have read Andy's book several times and learn many new things each time I go through it. This machine is definitely for an advanced user - not someone new to metal detecting. It would just be too overwhelming. So some of my observations after the first week...

Manual sensitivity is much better than auto. I seem to be able to get 5-7 points higher using manual vs Auto.

The machine is very deep with the 17'' coil. I have been going to popular beaches where there is tons of competition...places I rarely get hits with my Excal/CZ21...and I cannot walk more than a few feet without getting hits. And these hits are deep. I swear every target I dug this morning was 12''+. Nothing shallow or on the surface because everyone else got them. I was at the point where I was just hoping I didn't have to dig deeper. I have been to around 4-5 beaches since I got this machine and I literally cant take more than a few steps without getting a deep target. Its crazy.

I need a lot more hours on this. I am still playing with many of the options and figuring out what works best for my beaches. I have found I like pitch hold for my threshold and have to run the seawater option on the wetsand at all of the beaches. And I am still playing with many other options.

I am still playing around with all of the patterns but here is the one I am currently using, which basically is a iron vs no iron. I need to make a few more for the trashy spots.


Thursday, August 4, 2016

Coverage

I took a picture of the 11'' coil and 17'' coil for the CTX side by side. You can see huge difference in size between these. The CZ21 coil is 10.5'' and the Excal is 10''...so both are even smaller than the 11'' CTX coil. When you consider how much area you are covering sometimes it is preferable to have more/less. In my case, I usually want more as I usually hunt the dry and wet sand. As a result (*please note these numbers are far from exact as I did NOT measure exact area...they are just fun guestimates), I get about 36% more coverage with the 17'' vs 11'' coil. That is 39% more than the CZ21 and 42% more than the excal. When you start to think about that it starts to add up fast. Then if I want to go in the water I will switch back the 11'' or go to my cz/excal because in the water the smaller coils are easier to swing and control.


Wednesday, August 3, 2016

New toy...

My new MD toy. I took it out this morning after reading the book and manual all night. I have to say its a very complicated detector. I cant imagine myself feeling comfortable until I have many hours on this. There are many settings and things to consider. My initial thoughts are that this is definitely not a beginners detector.