ON THE HORIZON = MDT-8000

You only need to highlight the GB box if you are manually adjusting the GB using the plus and minus keys. If you press the GB button, there's no need to highlight GB.

Tom is correct. You do not need to highlight the Grnd Bal box...… if you plan on hitting the GB button to do a auto ground-grab.

I took the Tarsacci relic hunting this morning to test against the Equinox at my bullet site. Sadly, 5 acres of it is now gone...new housing developments. I hadn't been there in about a year.

Anyways I have a question or two. If salt balance is not activated, does the unit have an internal default salt setting that it runs at? Or is that one of those things where it's only actually ON when activated? The reason I ask...while hunting with it OFF like normal, I was getting a ton of noise with every sweep. I don't mean like the noise of the machine needing to be ground balanced...just a lot of falses and noise. I don't know what made me think about it...but I had an idea to try doing a salt balance. I know that this field has been used for bailing hay for decades and every year they fertilize it with manure, etc. Well, all that stuff is loaded with salt. I thought, as many times and as much fertilizer that has been put on it...and with the ground wet from tons of rain we have received, it might be seeing things similar to a saltwater beach and maybe THAT is what is causing the falsing. So I tried it. I had to look up the manual on my phone just to know how to do it LOL but sure enough, as I adjusted the salinity numbers I got it to where when I raised and lowered the coil, there wasn't any noise. I was in 9khz and if I remember right, it settled down at 29. It made a huge difference in the noise factor. My GB numbers were in the mid 900s. Does this even make sense? Whatever the case, it sure kicked into gear. I dug 12 minie balls and compared the Equinox on all 12. I would have only dug 2 of em with the Nox. In fact I have one on video where the Tarsacci was hitting hard audio and would give + numbers in the teens when centered over it (but when not centered would give all metal only audio). I say on video that I think its a deeper minie ball. Go and get the Nox and it didn't even give a + number false. It locked in totally with negative numbers. I did a live dig on it...and sure enough was a pinpointer deep minie ball in some terrible ground. That was the deepest one I dug today. The rain ran me off again.

I run 9khz in the salt water SB 30. So you turned the SB back on or are you saying you did a SB..... then turned it off? Its going to run quieter if found with SB on...... just because it makes the single freqs more sensitive..... so to me at that point with it off it was more important to choose a different freq. I can run 12 and 18khz also in the salt water...... however in the wet sand the SB might be 27....... but waist deep you have to move it to say 43 to quiet it down...... and im using AM NOT disc which helps with falsing noise. Now just what is that high of a SB doing to TID? After some comparison using say 12khz i dont believe i got nearly the audio i did when i was using 9khz... it was just a weaker sound. WHEN i can see the screen targets do require coil control and where it hits on the coil can make a difference as well on the jumpy digits. Its something you get a feel for...... as you have already found. I find on DEEP targets i have to move the coil around...... but by time im done i can say THATS IRON.. Its not surprised me very often .....well except those weak sounding pesty screws lol.

Im sure im not doing it right..... but i use 27 as a base line..... i do a GB (if it will).....then manually adjust it up until i get the amount of noise i want to hunt with.

With salt turned OFF, it was noisy to me. Almost to the point that it was fatiguing me listening to all of it. This is assuming I am understanding what is OFF (if it just says SALT, it was noisy and therefore I figured it was OFF). I swapped it into St...which I figured was Salt ON and adjusted the St numbers until it was quiet and hunted with it like that. I did adjust it a couple times to get it back quiet...seems like the range was from 15 to 29 in various parts of the field. I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing was helping or hurting until I dug a few deep bullets. That made me feel more confident. There's no way I would have heard them through the noise with Salt OFF.

Daniel...…. you are correct. When 'Salt' is a clear window (on the LCD screen)….. it is OFF. When "Salt" is Blackened...…. the button/function is "on"...… AND you can see a Salt Balance number in the Salt Balance Window.

Also...…. you are using this function correctly. Your dirt is mineralized, fertilized AND has salts in it. You can (now) see ….it is nice to have the Salt Balance function!.....and separately (divorced) from the Ground Balance circuitry. (((Try taking a single-freq unit into your dirt..... that does NOT compensate for 'salt'..... and you will acquire the same instability/chattiness as the MDT when Salt Balance is 'OFF'.

Daniel...… you are the first hard-core, diehard, experienced Tarsacci owner/user that is finally debunking my first/initial (incorrect) portrayal of: "The Tarsacci is best suited for wet-salt". (As if to --incorrectly-- implicate that it is not good for dirt). You are VERY successfully using it in really bad dirt...…. and experiencing substantial success. After you hunt a few more times with it...…. and play with Black Sand 'on/off'...…. play with Salt Balance...…. and play with Ground Balance.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,. I will truly wonder what your gut/feel is with the MDT...….. as compared with the heavy-hitter GPX.

Daniel..... are you the one with two Tarsacci coils? (((One of them is special.....and hand-built))).

Very nice Daniel, WTG, figuring out the Salinity balance like that.
Looking forward to the video.

What mode were you using? Is there a lot of iron where you're at?

Thanks for this post! I have really been struggling with the Tarsacci for relics and keep returning back to the Equinox for that reason. All the things you are saying about it being really noisy and not being able to pick out targets is what Ive been getting in farm fields. Ill have to try turning on salt and give it a try.

I absolutely loved using the Tarsacci on the beach when I was in Florida. Still trying to get similar results on land. I talked to Dimitar about this last week and even with his recommendations Im still having problems. Not ready to give up though because I know how good it works at the beach.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2020 02:09AM by BigYankeeAmes.

Yesterday I took the Tarsacci to one of my heavily hunted colonial sites. It's an overgrown field. The ground contains a moderate amount of small iron mixed with extremely small ferrous material (probably birdshot and rust particles).

I dug two non-ferrous relic trash targets. I can't really draw any conclusions from it except that it did find targets which is becoming more and more of a challenge to do at this site.

I took the Equinox to the same site today and found two buttons and one relic trash item. To be honest, I have a lot more experience with the Equinox.

I will keep trying it at my other sites. It would be cool if the Tarsacci could show some advantage over the Equinox in the dirt, even if it was just in certain conditions. So far, I prefer the Equinox.

Daniel good discovery on the Salt Balance for land hunting. I had a hunch it would work and now I see it will....what I would be interested to see is how the moisture affects the salt balance on the Tarsacci. I do know using an Equinox on the dry sand here in Florida is easy to do in all frequencies however IF the sand is wet from rain (or closer to the wet sand) you can then hear (experience) the salt factor since it is "activated" (for lack of a different word). Using the Tarsacci, I've never even tried NOT having SB turned on.....you may find SB not necessary in the drier dirt but needed in wetter conditions.

Also, is the video you made available to view? link?

Cliff

Nasa Tom - You are correct about the single freq VLFs having a tough time at that particular site. I would even go so far as to say some of them I've tried there were useless. We've had 4 different brands of pulse machines there as well, and even with those, you have to stay on top of keeping them GB as the ground does transition. I have a brand new Tek Pulse pinpointer that went with me on its maiden voyage yesterday, and even it would false/chatter on the ground. I could do a detune/balance to the dirt, but would still get falsing chirps down in the holes. Yes, I do have the special coil, and that's the one I put on when I knew I was going to go try and find some bullets down at the bullet place.

I did the video clips with my phone. I had to buy a new video editing software when I got a new laptop and it was supposed to be easier to use. I've been having to watch YouTube videos on how to even get started editing my own videos. That don't sound easier to me but it is what it is I guess. I will try to get some of it together and presentable over the weekend; may be able to find time to do some more detecting and add to it.

Here is the video from the hunt. I am slowly starting to be able to function with the new software. I spared ya'll the time of me digging.

In editing, I mistakenly cut out the settings for the Equinox, which for those of you curious, was initially Park 1, 50 tone, 20 sensitivity, GBed manually, Fe2 was set at 2. I also cut out trying different modes as they all gave an all iron tone on that bullet in the field. On the Tarsacci settings, in the early part of the video I hadn't yet discovered what I talk about in the above posts about the salt balance. Any rate, thought I would post it in here.

[youtu.be]

VERY good capture. And you say: This was videoed before you learned the 'Salt Balance' enhanced performance?
I can tell your ground is hot.

Your special coil … is what we call the New Zealand coil.

Yes, that would have been prior to the salt balance, except for the one dug in the field. The part of the field we use to find the majority of the bullets in, now has a brand new house on it. That was part of 5 acres the landowners sold. I need to hit some places where I have found dropped bullets, buttons, etc before. That would be a bit more interesting than fired bullets.

Good video. Just go’s to show how the TARSACCI shines over the Equinox in that red dirt!

bump



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/29/2020 01:22PM by Aaron.

Ill just add the video i posted earlier..... so we can keep a running info for those just looking for info. I felt the video needed to be shared with some who dont read these long threads. But have an interest in comparison videos.

[www.youtube.com]

One of the best videos yet! Between this video and Daniel's stunning/excellent video …… a lot of leg-work is accomplished.

My comments/commentary on this beach video:

* First...…. ((And my biggest 'beef')). This video accentuates my unwanted 'slant' that I initially (substantially) biased the belief/portrayal …… that the Tarsacci is only good for a wet-salt environment.
* Initially...… it looked like the Tarsacci was only acquiring a 'one-way' hit on the Nickel.,.,.,.,.,.,.,., until I realized that.....when the detector was swept away from the cameras microphone...… it was simply harder to (pick up) hear the Tarsacci audio.
* I see zero problems with the EQX Target Recovery Response speed set at '2'. This is exactly how I hunt the wet-salt. It gives the best depth...… and stability. If TRR speed is set on '4'...… the EQX generates more 'quick-burst' audio falses….. (and also loses some depth)…… on my beaches.
* I can tell the operator was very close to the waters edge. (You could see some subsiding slosh over/around the PVC pipe). The Tarsacci appears to have lost zero performance with this. (The EQX does lose quite a bit of depth performance 'in-the-slosh').
* Great idea (and video capture) by sweeping the EQX over the Nickel......then over nothing......then over the Nickel..... then over nothing.,.,.,.,.,., so as to see AND hear zero difference between Nickel...... and nothing. When Sens was boosted to '22' on EQX..... you could hear (between the operators talking/words)…. the substantial 'falsing' of the EQX over the Nickel......then over nothing...… then over the Nickel.....then over nothing. In most cases... on my Florida beaches...… I can only run Sens on '19'. In the video...…. running Sens on '20' was VERY fair towards/for the EQX.
* I really appreciated that this video was a 'continuous-flow' video...….. leaving nothing...to be hacked/cut/spliced/edited/audited/altered/falsed/biased. Very well orchestrated. To include...… pulling the PVC pipe out of the ground..... clearly measuring...… then showing the Nickel. (At first...… I could not 'make out' the Nickel...… until the operator rotated it to correct orientation. Then..... I could see the reverse of the Nickel).
* Yes...… I do wonder how the Tarsacci would have performed on that Nickel...… had the Freq been 12Khz. But...…… 9Khz was fine...…. and still drove home the point.
* Also...…. (if you turn your computers volume up)……. you can hear the Tarsacci still acquiring the Nickel...with the coil being swept at (what appears to be) at least 3" of air-gap above the PVC pipe/Nickel. Again: good video idea/capture.....to drop the camera down to ground level.....so as to see coil altitude.
* Tarsacci Thresh was on '-1'. Another inch of performance can be ascertained by having the Thresh on '0'. But..... for the video...…. a bit conservative ...may be the ticket for most folks. By running Thresh on '0'...…. you do need to be a (somewhat) seasoned detectorist...so as to have steady coil control.
* I'm glad the EQX was on Beach Mode-1..... as..... that is the most powerful performer..... in a wet-salt environment.
* Both detectors did not sound so good on video. Headphones are MUCH better.

Well done. Aaron...…. if that's your video...…. we might just need to make you a Tarsacci dealer!

Hmmm, ya know Tom, that sounds doesn’t sound like a bad idea! ; )

Aaron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hmmm, ya know Tom, that sounds doesn’t sound like a bad idea! ; )


Lol.

Anyone on the east coast of Virginia? Im thinking of heading to the beach with the Tarsacci this Sunday.

It's a long coast. What part?

Im thinking of going to VA Beach Rudee Inlet and/or Norfolk beaches. The forcast calls for 20-30 mph NNW winds on Saturday. Im not real experienced with beach hunting so Im really not sure if winds from this direction will take some sand out or not.

BigYankeeAmes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Im thinking of going to VA Beach Rudee Inlet and/o
> r Norfolk beaches. The forcast calls for 20-30 mph
> NNW winds on Saturday. Im not real experienced wit
> h beach hunting so Im really not sure if winds fro
> m this direction will take some sand out or not.

NNW is sideshore at VA Beach, but winds don't move sand, swells do. Swells come from far offshore, often outside of the local weather systems, making the local wind conditions irrelevant.

For swell predictions, you should be checking the surf forecast. Looks like some sand movement might be possible on Saturday. [www.surf-forecast.com]



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2020 10:11PM by Badger in NH.

I live and hunt here regularly. The inlet north to the pier is the only beach which was not effected by replenishment this summer. We generally look for SW winds to cut the beach here in the winter but those strong of winds will move some sand. Things have been quite bleak this winter. Those winds will cause water hunting in the bay to be impossible. It could though cause some cuts though from Chicks beach, Lesner bridge west. As far as the Norfolk beaches the same will occur from Sarah Constant beach east . Granby st. The cave west to Sarah Constant would be your best bet. If you follow Coils to the soils. Gigmaster or VA. Beach Max you will know things are bleak around here. You could however end up on one of Max's or Gigs videos. Coils to the soils not so much. I have had my Tarsacci a year here now and rarely use anything else. I will talk with Max and see where and if he will have surf church Sunday. Good luck

Max just called. No surf church Sunday. He is Max the knife at the Hampton gun show this weekend. I have not decided where I will spin yet but will PM you. Good luck no matter what.

Things are bleak up here too. Worst beach hunting season ever. I've only been out a few times all winter. It's not worth the effort.

I believe if I go for a spin it will be seventh st. to the pier and back. Good luck whatever you do.

Thanks for all the advice guys! Like I said the beach is new to me and I want to learn what makes the sand move and where to go when it does move. Ive hunted relics for 40 years and have only tried beach hunting a few times. I live in the Richmond area so Im not that far from VA Beach.

You can learn a lot more with Toms Real World... Beach DVD he sells right here!


Aaron