4/26/17 Report - Metal Detector Damage That Can Be Prevented. Artifacts Left Behind After Inca Attack.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.blogspot.com.

Detector Showing Poor Maintenance and Serious Damage.

Yesterday I started a post in which I was talking about why you might want to keep old metal detectors in good working order.  I mentioned the dangers of salt water.  Above is a good example of the damage that can be done to a metal detector by things like wind driven sand and salt spray and splashing water.

Notice the corrosion around the knobs and toggle switches.  Also notice the sand in the speakers.  The headphone plug is also vulnerable.

The best conditions for metal detecting can be the worst conditions for your detector.  The wind can be blowing sand and salt and the water can be splashing off of steep cliff faces.  Even knowing all of that, you can be caught by surprise.

There was one time that I was wading not much more than knee deep water in a calm bay and a single wave surprised me and splashed up onto my detector control box (not the detector shown in the pictures).  While I mostly use submersible detectors, I was not using one on this occasion.  The very small amount of salt water that splashed onto the control box was noted by the manufacturer and voided the warranty even though the detector worked fine for many years to come.

Closer Look At Some of the Corrosion.

The damage to the detector shown in these pictures is extreme and severe but happened with normal but heavy usage.  Obviously much needed maintenance was not done.

Most of my detectors are submersible.  Submersible detectors are better protected from the dangers of salt water environments, although even submersible detectors need to be rinsed and properly maintained.  If you work salt water beaches at all, wind driven sand and salt spray is enough to require periodic maintenance.  Salt and sand seem to find their way into the smallest cracks and crannies.

A lot of people complain about detector rods freezing up.  My experience is that all detector rods used on salt water beaches or in the salt water will freeze if they are not maintained.  Rinsing and working them occasionally should prevent that.  While I hear a lot of complaints about the ATX rods, I've had no trouble with them and prefer that type of rod to the others that I've used.

Some people seldom change their detector settings.  I advise working all knobs and switches once in a while even if you don't change your settings much.  I think it helps keep things in good working order and helps you identify any signs of deterioration early.

Even if you get salt water in your control box, rinsing it out with an electronics cleaner can save the electronics.

WD-40 or other oils and cleaners can be a good idea for various parts of your detector.

The Florida sun and heat can also cause damage.  The sun and heat can weaken plastic parts.  I had a lot of trouble with the plastic parts on a White's detector breaking.  It wasn't an old detector either.

Replaced Ear Phone Attachment.

Plastic parts on both the rod and ear phones broke.  I replaced the ear phone tab by making a new one from the metal of a soda can.  The rod was repaired by using a small section of PVC pipe.

I like to have more than one detector with me but I seldom do because I don't like to leave a metal detector in the car in the hot Florida heat.   I also don't like to leave anything good in the car because of possible theft.  That does happen on the Treasure Coast.  I saw some broken glass in a beach parking lot no long ago.  I reported other break-ins at the same parking lot before.

Dennis S. wrote and reminded me to mention the damage that can be caused by leaving old batteries in a metal detector.  Leaking batteries damaged one of his detectors.  I'm sure that many of you have experienced the same thing.  Don't leave batteries stored in your detector when you are not using it for a while.  Thanks for the reminder Dennis.

My main point today is that the beach is a tough environment for metal detectors, but with periodic maintenance you might be able to keep your metal detector working for many years.  The pictures I showed today show extreme and severe cases, but they do show what can happen.

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Here is an interesting article.


Treasure trove of bronze and copper reveals incredible speed of flash Inca invasion

Bronze jewellery, stone tools and intact pottery were abandoned as the native Colla people fled...

Bronze Chisel Left Behind by Colla.Source: See link below.

Here is the link for the entire article.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/treasure-trove-bronze-copper-reveals-incredible-speed-flash-inca-invasion-1618394

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I have some good emails and other things to talk about tomorrow.

The weather is beautiful on the Treasure Coast.  The air was cooler this morning after the front went through.

The surf is small, but we're having some nice low tides.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net

10/3/14 Report - Unbelievable Silver Shaker Box From Treasure Coast Shipwreck Like New. Ace 250 Field Test At The Beach.

Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of treasurebeachesreport.BlogSpot.com.

Silver Shaker Box Found On Treasure Coast Wreck Site
 By Crew of the Capitana
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah Martinez.

The crew of the Capitana made some great finds this summer off the Treasure Coast.  I showed you some of them.   Some of them have now been conserved.  Captain Jonah Martinez sent me a picture of the cleaned shaker box. 

UNBELIEVABLE ! 

That box looks like it is brand new but is hundreds of years old! 

Thanks for the great pictures Captain.

Below is a close up showing the top of the same box.

Top of Same Silver Shaker Box
Photo submitted by Captain Jonah Martinez.

Very ornate and intricate.  As fine as it gets.


We would not get to see stuff like this without the work of the early treasure hunters that worked the beaches and waters along the Treasure Coast decades ago.  They were the ones that invested time and effort and to find these wreck sites, and led to the eventual development of the field of underwater archaeology.








Back a few months ago I did a test of the Ace 250.  I first used it on an old yard and by an old wooded wagon trail.  It worked very well in those inland tests, but I suspected that it might not be good for hunting in wet sand. 

This morning I took it for its first test at the beach.  What I suspected was proved to be true.  It did not work well in wet sand.  It gave many false signals, especially in All Metals mode. 

In Coin mode it worked better than in All Metals mode in the wet sand but still gave a good number of false signals.

[Added 10/4.  One thing I forgot to mention is that the factory default sensitivity was use.  I did not attempt to reduce the sensitivity.]

The sand was not only salt water wet, but there was also a scattering of black sand.

I took it up to the dry sand where it did everything you could possibly expect out of an inexpensive detector.

It performed excellently in a very junky area, correctly identifying coins and junk.

One thing about the 250, and I suspect most detectors with target ID, is that if the ID is consistent, the ID is correct a very high percentage of the time.  However if the ID jumps around, for example between pull tab and penny, it is likely junk rather than a penny.   Consistent good target IDs are almost always correct.

In summary, the 250 is in my opinion an excellent machine for the money. As far as I'm concerned, it will do the job very well on a dry sand beach.  It is not, however, a good choice for salt water wet sand.

I also tested the 250 on a thin gold ring.   It gave a good clear loud signal on that particular thin gold ring in the Coin, Jewelry, and All Metals Mode.

Some more expensive detectors that would far out-perform the 250 in the wet sand would not do as well as the 250 in the dry sand. 

As I've said before, a detector that is good in one situation might not be good in another situation.  There are situations when an expensive detector will not work as well as an inexpensive detector.


On the Treasure Coast we had a one to two foot surf again.  Sunday the surf will increase a little, but probably not enough to do us much good.

The low tides are not going down very much.

Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@Comcast.net