Understanding Beach Conditions:

Saltwater and Wet Sand: Saltwater is conductive and can cause false signals in metal detectors. Wet sand retains this conductivity.   

Mineralization: Beaches, especially those with black sand, can have high levels of mineralization (iron oxides), which can also interfere with detection.

Trash: Beaches are often littered with bottle caps, foil, and other non-valuable metallic items.   

Target Types: You'll likely be searching for coins, jewellery (gold and silver), and potentially relics.

Recommended Search Modes:

The Minelab Manticore has specific Beach modes designed to handle these conditions. Here are the key ones and when to use them:   

Beach General: A good all-around mode for most beach conditions, including dry and moderately wet sand. It offers a balance of sensitivity and stability.

Beach Low Conductors: Optimized for finding small, low-conductivity targets like gold jewellery, especially in wet sand and saltwater.   

Beach Surf & Seawater: Specifically designed for detecting in the surf zone and shallow saltwater. It's built to handle the increased conductivity of saltwater.

Key Settings to Adjust:

Sensitivity: Start with a moderate sensitivity (e.g., 20-25) and adjust based on stability. Higher sensitivity offers more depth but can also increase false signals in mineralized areas. Reduce sensitivity if you experience excessive chatter.

Ground Balance: This is crucial for beach hunting.

Manual Ground Balance: It's often recommended to manually ground balance, sometimes in dry sand it is not needed and can be left at zero. how to ground balance.. Pump the coil over the sand (away from any metal this is important or you will ground balance to a target under the coil and get a false reading) and adjust the ground balance value until you get a stable threshold sound or minimal ground noise. Do this frequently as ground conditions can change. Balance near the water's edge for wet sand and surf.

Auto Tracking: Is more useful in the surf zone where conditions change rapidly. However, in some situations, it can mask faint target signals. Experiment to see what works best for your location.

Ground Balance Values: Note the ground balance value. Consistently high readings might indicate heavy mineralization.

Noise Cancel: Perform a noise cancel regularly (or long press the Noise Cancel button to perform a ROLLING noise cancel) to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI). Hold the coil still and away from metal during this process.  just be careful as in the beach modes you CANNOT select a single frequncy and in a single frequency you LOOSE all the functions of the multi IQ+ which is what the Manticore runs best with..

Recovery Speed: A moderate to fast recovery speed (e.g., 4-6) is generally recommended for beach hunting. This helps with target separation in trashy areas and allows you to hear subtle signals from good targets mixed with iron. i think any higher than 6 on the manticore then opt for a smaller search coil.

Discrimination: Consider using minimal to no discrimination on the beach, especially if you're looking for gold jewellery. You might dig more trash, but you'll also have a better chance of finding valuable low-conductive items. You can use the Ferrous Limits to help identify likely iron objects through audio.

Ferrous Limits: This allows you to set a range for ferrous (iron) targets.1 Items falling within this range can be set to give an iron grunt. A common starting point is a wide-open setting (Top: 0-2, Bottom: 0) to hear most signals. You can then fine-tune this to help identify and potentially avoid dense iron patches. Be cautious not to eliminate good targets by setting the ferrous limits too high.   

You could also use a multi-tone setting to get more information about potential targets but this is again a personal preferance. And the water use a flat 2 tone setting.

As with every setting on the Manticore this is all to suit your style of detecting and personal choice.

Volume: Adjust the overall volume and the ferrous volume to your preference. Ensure you can clearly hear both ferrous and non-ferrous signals. Personally i like the iron volume just high enough to hear it. and have the target I.D. number RED to help identify iron under the coil.

Coil Choice:

The standard 11-inch coil is a good all-around choice for beach detecting, offering a balance of depth and coverage.   

A smaller coil (like the 9-inch or 6-inch) can be beneficial in trashy areas like the dry sand for for better target separation.

Larger coils offer more depth but can be more susceptible to mineralization and may have difficulty separating targets, and again give alot of resistance in the water this is where the slim 9 inch coil excels. The CoilTek MythTek 18 inch coil is really deep in areas where it can be used ie not much junk.

Detecting Techniques:

Overlap Swings: Overlap your swings by about 25% to ensure complete coverage.

Listen Carefully: Pay close attention to the audio signals. Faint or broken signals could be deep or small targets. these need closer investigation especially when detecting the wet sand.

Cross Check Signals: Once you get a repeatable signal, approach it from a different angle (90 degrees) to confirm its consistency. This can help differentiate between good targets and erratic signals from trash or mineralization. Although sometimes a target can be uneven in the sand and a true 2 way signal wont be achieved so again this comes down to experience (trial and error).

Dig Everything Repeatable: Especially when starting out, dig most repeatable non-ferrous signals to learn the sounds and target IDs associated with different beach finds and trash.

this is much easier on the dry sand, the wet sand and water conditions can change a target id, hence the reason i use 2 flat tones here so its either a dig me target of not.

Specific Tips for Different Beach Zones:

Dry Sand: Generally less challenging. You can often run higher sensitivity. Manual ground balance is usually not needed.

Wet Sand: More conductive. You may need to lower sensitivity and ensure accurate ground balancing. "Beach Low Conductors" mode can be very effective here.

Surf Zone: Highly dynamic. Use "Beach Surf & Seawater" mode. Auto tracking can be helpful. Be prepared for more false signals from the moving saltwater.

Shallow Water: "Beach Surf & Seawater" mode is essential. Move slowly and deliberately.

By understanding the challenges of beach detecting and carefully adjusting your Minelab Manticore's settings, you'll significantly increase your chances of finding valuable treasures! Remember to also check local regulations regarding metal detecting on beaches.