Help with settings on old coinmaster 5500D

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Hi,
I'm new to the forum and metal detecting in general. I am primarily interested in doing some detecting on the beach - both in the dry sand and wet sand. I have a mint condition Coinmaster 5500/d Series 3 on its way in the post. I decided on an older analog detector as my first to properly learn how they work.

In the meantime I've been reading the manual a few times. A lot to get your head around...
I have made a list of a few general questions that I should be ale to answer myself after a bit of practice, but I was wondering if anyone has any comments from their own experience which might speed up the learning curve for me.

For hunting on wet salt beaches, it was suggested that I use one of the non-discriminating GEB modes with SAT turned on. With this set-up I will get no discrimination but should get good depth with smooth operation once ground balanced.

There is a statement in the manual that in disc mode salt is the first thing to be rejected in disc mode. Aren't I already knocking this out by ground balancing? If I am able so ground balance out the wet salt sand then I guess this in not necessary and discrimination modes are really only to reject junk targets.

It also states that TR disc when set up in "mode 2" has more rejection than all of the GEB modes and is useful for wet sand beaches. TR Disc mode 2 refers to setting up in this mode in a similar manner to ground balancing, but instead of using the GEB knob, the Disc knob is used. You have to turn the knob the opposite way that you would turn the GEB knob during the procedure. Again, I don't really get this. Surely if the ground can't be balanced out, then using GEB disc mode and adjusting the disc knob in will allow enough rejection for wet salt beaches. Is it only a difference of whether there is more background noise?

So I guess what I am wondering is - What is the difference between using TR Disc Mode 2 or GEB norm in wet sand? Both say excellent depth and are all metal as you lose the ability to get discrimination when setting TR disc up in this way. You dont have to move the coil in TR disc, but do with GEB norm when using SAT. I found a statement that someone had made which said "even though the GEB Normal or GEB Disc. modes can be used at times on some saltwater beaches, the TR-Disc. mode can provide you a little better control over the wet salt environment a lot of the time.. I don't really understand this.

Also - Is the SAT setting likely to compensate enough to allow going from wet sand to dry sand without ground balancing again?

Is SAT mode necessary to use on dry sand? Beaches near here seem quite uniform in consistency of the sand no patches of black sand. If it is not necessary, then it seems like it would be better to not use it to avoid the need for having to keep the coil moving.

If SAT isn't necessary then I guess using GEB disc would be better to use on dry sand to be able to reject junk? Will I always lose depth if using GEB disc compared to GEB norm i.e. if the beach is not very trashy is GEB norm/ GEB max preferable due to greater depth?

If your pulling the trigger in GEB norm or GEB max, you will be swapping over to GEB disc mode. GEB disc is not supposed to work well with SAT turned on. Do you have to turn SAT off before pulling the trigger for it to work properly?

Any help is really appreciated.

Cheers.
 
It's newer than my old detector Mark,... more knobs whistles and bells. :eek: :D
 
Some VLF detectors will not have enough ground balance range to totally eliminate the effects of salt, hence why the use of some discrimination can limit the amount of falsing when running over wet sand. I had this issue with a Tesoro Vaquero not ground balancing properly on the beach, and the only way to shut it up over wet sand was to introduce some discrimination to make things workable.

Not knowing enough about this prticular detector, all I can suggest is to head down to beach with some coin targets, and try out the various modes and SAT settings on both dry and wet, and see what works best. Hopefully someone else can chime in with regards to this particular detector. :)
 
Gdmay Mark and welcome. They are a great detector, forget ground balancing on them as its not needed and confusing.

Set it to TR DISC, SENS up to 8, DISCRIM Set to about 5-8. ( you may not have sens )

Hold the coil half a foot off the ground and press the red button.

Lay a rusty nail, foil and multiple coins on the ground and choose the discrimination amount you want set by turning the disc knob. Sometimes it won't pickup 1c and 2c and 20c. But get it setup for dollars and silvers / pennies

Sat mode is like a little bloke in the machine pressing the button for you..don't need it.

When on the beach, put sens right up...or hold the coil a foot off the ground and press the button

Play with both disc and TR to figure out what suits you best.

In dirt expect to get only 6" depth..if your lucky you will get more depth.

I used to use GEB DISC but found that TR DISC kept me much happier.

A photo of your control box would be useful as there are a few models that differ if you can show
 
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Ok, you may have to play with tuner a little bit, either give yourself a little tone to hear, or no tone at all with that knob. But you may also find that the tone dissapears with a button press. Hold the coil off the ground half an inch, press the button, release..and then turn the tuner to a quiet mode or silent ( just below buzzing ).

And all like I said above with tr disc, and disc to be safe, put GEB onto 5-6 if it seems noisy.
 

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