Independently researched Settings Guide
Nokta Legend Settings for beach
The current Legend v1.17 Beach workflow starts with its salt-specific multi-frequency options, a fresh noise cancel and sensitivity set below chatter. Dry sand and conductive wet sand are separate problems.
Bottom line
Use Beach MW on wet salt; reserve MD for genuinely dry sand
Update to current firmware, reset after updating as Nokta directs, select Beach MW at the waterline and begin near the factory recovery baseline of 6. Use MD only on dry sand; if dry sand remains highly saline, Nokta directs users back to MW.
Field setup
Starting points—not universal presets
| Situation | Mode / baseline | First adjustment | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry, low-salt upper beach | Beach MD | Factory discrimination first | Recheck after crossing moisture line |
| Wet sand or waterline | Beach MW | Recovery 6 baseline | Reduce sensitivity before changing several filters |
| Dry but strongly saline sand | Beach MW | Stable sensitivity | Nokta explicitly points high-salt dry sand to MW |
| Dense iron near concessions | Beach MW/MD by moisture | Raise recovery one step only if separation improves | High recovery can weaken deep audio |
Adjustment method
Test the setting instead of copying it
Choose the salt profile
MW for wet conductive sand and water; MD for dry sand.
Cancel interference
Noise cancel with the coil held still and away from metal.
Set stable sensitivity
Raise only until salt/EMI chatter begins, then back down.
Validate targets
Cross-sweep and use All Metal audio before rejecting a doubtful signal.
Decision analysis
What actually changes the result
MW and MD are not depth presets. They are different salt/ground treatments. The moisture line is the practical trigger to reconfigure, not a desire for a higher number.
Recovery 6 is a defensible baseline. Legend v1.17 allows 1–10. Faster response can unmask adjacent targets, but costs signal duration and commonly depth.
Do not notch the gold range. Foil, pull tabs and small gold overlap. Use repeatability, shape, audio and recovery context rather than a “gold ID.”
FAQ
Seven questions specific to this detector
Should Legend use MW or MD on wet sand?
Use Beach MW on conductive wet salt, the surf and underwater; MD is for dry sand.
What if the dry sand is still very salty?
Nokta’s current manual directs users to MW when nominally dry sand has high salinity.
What recovery speed should I start with?
Beach defaults to 6 in the current v1.17 manual; change it only after testing separation and faint responses.
Should I ground balance on the beach?
Follow the current Beach-mode instructions and recheck after a major salinity or mineral change; do not copy a land balance number.
Is maximum sensitivity best at the waterline?
No. Salt response can hide targets; lower sensitivity until the audio is stable and repeatable.
Can single frequency improve wet-salt stability?
The salt-specific multi-frequency Beach option is the intended baseline; single frequency is not the first fix for conductive seawater.
Does Iron Filter zero guarantee bottle-cap rejection?
No. Bottle caps and complex iron require cross-sweeps and audio/shape judgment; filters always involve tradeoffs.
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Use stable, repeatable settings
Record the mode, coil, firmware and ground conditions that work at your own sites.