It's good to see you are still around and doing well. You have asked a couple of very good questions about the X5. The "Black Sand MGB" mode is an "All Metal" mode that operates only in manual ground balance (not fixed ground balance). The primary purpose of the Black Sand MGB mode is for gold prospecting, but can be used anytime you are searching in the All Metal mode. This mode helps reduce ground noise in highly mineralized ground conditions and is also beneficial when dealing with hot rocks. Note, the Mode switch must be in the All Metal position for the Black Sand MGB mode to operate.

The "Beach DISC" mode is a multipurpose discrimination mode. This mode helps to reduce ground noise when searching wet salt beaches, mineralized ground and it also helps with hot rocks and electrical interference. The Beach Disc mode is a great fall-back mode to use anytime excessive noise is experienced in the normal Disc mode. It also operates in either the fixed or manual ground balance operation.

So you see, you were correct about both questions you asked. Thanks for the questions and I wish you well with your new X5.

Troy