HELP what is the best Metal detectorfor 200$

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
hi i have bin hunting for 2y now with a 44$ harbor freight 9 function metal detector and it will find coins down 6 ". on my 2 hunt with this MD I found a civil war button 8" down . but that was just dumb luck :dontknow:. I like to look for old coins :coins: . i want something that can look a little deeper .i feel like i am missing out on a lot of deep old coins . I have 200 $ and I was thinking of getting a Teknetics Alpha . Garrett ACE 250 or a Fisher F2. but i would like to know what you all think i should get :icon_scratch:. I have a ? for you all ...does the kHz matter the Teknetics Alpha is 7.8 kHz . the Garrett ACE 250 is 6.5kHz and the Fisher F2 is 5.9kHz . what is the kHz. does it go deeper with more kHz or can you swing it faster :dontknow:. thank you for your help :notworthy: here is a pick of the button just for the heck of it 2011-04-24_20-21-14_715.jpg
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,419
30,081
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Tesoro Compadre - hands down!
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Tesoro Compadre i did consider this MD but i want something that i can upgrade latter you cant Chang the coil on that thing . i hunt big open spots .the coil on it is small . and they dont have a md in 200 $ rang . I wanted the Tesoro
Cibola but its 350 $. i dont have that cash right now is there a better md then the Tesoro Compadre in the 200$ rang ?
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,417
54,768
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
With your $200 limit you are limiting yourself even if you go used. Compadre is good detector, if you want more options you have to spend few more dollars. Add another $150 to your budget and you open up a lot more choices, especially used.
 

Ace 250

Full Member
Jul 8, 2012
120
27
Detector(s) used
ACE 250
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
hey i just got an ace 250 and it fond coins my 505 missed
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
my 44$ md gos just as deep as the Tesoro Compadre .and it has pinpointing all metal mode disc and tone id and auto ground balancing.y wood i want to pay 3 times more for less options .that dont make much sense to me:icon_scratch: . there has got to be a MD that can go deeper then 6" for 200$ . thank you all . pleas no more talk about the Tesoro Compadre .I am not getting that MD lol
 

gresults

Jr. Member
Jun 19, 2012
30
2
Houston, TX
Detector(s) used
FISHER Coinstrike, XP Deus , DetecorPro Pirate Pro, Tesoro Cortes.. Dealer for all these lines.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Frequencies in a metal detector are referred to in kHz (kilo hertz) which is the number of times a signal is transmitted into the ground as received back per second. The lower the detector's frequency, the deeper it will penetrate. However, its sensitivity to smaller targets may be reduced. On the other hand, the higher the detector's frequency, the higher its sensitivity to even the smallest targets, but it may not penetrate as deeply.

Generally, gold detectors operate at a higher frequency for locating small gold nuggets. Coin, relic and treasure hunting detectors operate at lower frequencies for greater depth penetration.
 

norbyx

Hero Member
Jun 3, 2012
837
163
San Jose
Detector(s) used
Actual: Whites MXT All Pro, M6 and Tesoro Sand Shark

Ex: BH Platinum, Tesoro Lobo, ST & Tejon, Teknetics Delta, Whites MXT, V3i, Dual Field, MX5; DP Wader, Garrett At-PRO, Fisher Gold Bug 2, CZ-70Pro
Primary Interest:
Other
silversurfer1111 said:
my 44$ md gos just as deep as the Tesoro Compadre .and it has pinpointing all metal mode disc and tone id and auto ground balancing.y wood i want to pay 3 times more for less options .that dont make much sense to me:icon_scratch: . there has got to be a MD that can go deeper then 6" for 200$ . thank you all . pleas no more talk about the Tesoro Compadre .I am not getting that MD lol

With all due respect my friend but if I were you I would start to listen to more experienced members. If you actually think your detector can find coins at 6" without any problems than keep it and save the money, keep your detector and go out and find stuff. I have a v3i that is worth 50 times the one you have and depending on the ground situations sometimes I can just go down 6-8 inches. On other grounds it can do 11" but not much more than that. The Tesoro compadre is 10 times a better detector than the one you have, as any mayor brand detector will be. No offense but comparing the HF to almost any detector of a mayor brand is just unrealistic, it just shows the lack of experience.
My advise go to a metal detector shop, also take your detector, and let them show you why some detectors cost more than others.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
norbyx sorry if i upset you . I am listen to more experienced members. that's y im here but it seem as if i am being misunderstood . at the top of this post i said I am looking for a MD that can go deeper then 6 " . i understand it all depends on ground situations . but lets say the ground situation is good the Tesoro Compadre can go down 6" MAX when looking for coins .so i dont care if it is 1000 times better then my md. what i want to know is if there is a md in the 200$ rang that can go DEEPER THEN 6" IN the best ground situation.
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
gresults thank you for your useful comment. :icon_thumright:
 

Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
3,992
In Michigan now.
Detector(s) used
Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
hi i have bin hunting for 2y now with a 44$ harbor freight 9 function metal detector and it will find coins down 6 ". on my 2 hunt with this MD I found a civil war button 8" down . but that was just dumb luck :dontknow:. I like to look for old coins :coins: . i want something that can look a little deeper .i feel like i am missing out on a lot of deep old coins . I have 200 $ and I was thinking of getting a Teknetics Alpha . Garrett ACE 250 or a Fisher F2. but i would like to know what you all think i should get :icon_scratch:. I have a ? for you all ...does the kHz matter the Teknetics Alpha is 7.8 kHz . the Garrett ACE 250 is 6.5kHz and the Fisher F2 is 5.9kHz . what is the kHz. does it go deeper with more kHz or can you swing it faster :dontknow:. thank you for your help :notworthy: here is a pick of the button just for the heck of it View attachment 654447

The transmit frequency has little to do with depth, only better operation of its settings for Disc or Id or conductivity. The deepest detectors are Pulse Induction ones and they lack any good disc and you would wear yourself out retrieving deep trash or the smallest pieces of iron rust. All the entry level detectors you mention don't have an adjustable ground balance and are almost toys when compared to the more expensive MD's. Having a larger coil helps if you can get only one item under it at a time, but larger coils "see" more minerals and limit max depth. Still there are plenty of good targets shallower than six inches, you just need to over lap your sweeps with a concentric coil. 233.jpg
 

Saltman241

Greenie
Jul 12, 2012
10
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
my 44$ md gos just as deep as the Tesoro Compadre .and it has pinpointing all metal mode disc and tone id and auto ground balancing.y wood i want to pay 3 times more for less options .that dont make much sense to me:icon_scratch: . there has got to be a MD that can go deeper then 6" for 200$ . thank you all . pleas no more talk about the Tesoro Compadre .I am not getting that MD lol

WOW ask for advise then completely disregard it. Sounds like you got it ALL FIGURED OUT.
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Figured out yes you definitely got me figured out. you're a rocket scientist. what are you doing here. all I wanna know is there hey detector that's around 200 dollars and look lower than 6 inches. some guys need to set the sensitivity a little lower. if I went to a store and ask the guy hey do you have a metal detector that can look deeper than 6 inches. and then he goes to sell me a metal detector that can only look in the ground 6 inches. I would not be a happy customer. I thought this would be quite simple but apparently not
 

Saltman241

Greenie
Jul 12, 2012
10
0
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Figured out yes you definitely got me figured out. you're a rocket scientist. what are you doing here. all I wanna know is there hey detector that's around 200 dollars and look lower than 6 inches. some guys need to set the sensitivity a little lower. if I went to a store and ask the guy hey do you have a metal detector that can look deeper than 6 inches. and then he goes to sell me a metal detector that can only look in the ground 6 inches. I would not be a happy customer. I thought this would be quite simple but apparently not

Deeper than 6 inches and less then $200 dollars. No. There happy?
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,417
54,768
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Problem is you want something guaranteed to be deeper than 6 inches for a Max of $200 which is very low end on detector scale for cost, you need to raise your budget some or settle for what you get...
 

Hosensack

Hero Member
Apr 20, 2007
752
107
Mertztown, Pa
Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac, Safari,X-Terra 705, Tesoro Tejon, Whites DFX, Garrett AT Pro, GTI 2500, 250, Fisher Gold Bug DP,F75 Limited
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
When you are claiming 8" are you using a pinpointer? If not there is a good chance you are finally finding it at 8" when in reality it was higher and dropped to the bottom from loosening the soil.

That aside, an upgraded machine whether an Ace 250, Fisher F2, or compadre will find a lot of shallower targets that are being masked etc. You will have plenty to find without your depth requirements.

Obviously size of target will determine depth as well as other factors previously mentioned.
 

OP
OP
silversurfer1111

silversurfer1111

Hero Member
Jul 14, 2012
808
715
Massachusetts
Detector(s) used
GARRET AT PRO ..Whites Classic SL. . modified 9 Function Metal Detector from Harbor Freight tools
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hosensack... I dont think its a outrageous claim that i found the civil ware button down 8" .there is a lot more metal on the button . then the coins i have found down 6" . looks like brass on the face of the button and what looks like rusty steel on the back of the button .my md gave me a trash and coin sound at the same time .it was the 2 hunt i went out on and i never herd that sound so i dug it up .the hole was deeper then 8" but i did a are test and it sounds like trash at 9 " @ 8" i get the trash and coin sound .this is a tough crowd here y should i have to feel like I need to walk on egg shells here. this is a hobby for me i like to go out and have fun hunting for stuff . some of you guys take this stuff way to serous . lighten up . G wizz lol :headbang:
 

norbyx

Hero Member
Jun 3, 2012
837
163
San Jose
Detector(s) used
Actual: Whites MXT All Pro, M6 and Tesoro Sand Shark

Ex: BH Platinum, Tesoro Lobo, ST & Tejon, Teknetics Delta, Whites MXT, V3i, Dual Field, MX5; DP Wader, Garrett At-PRO, Fisher Gold Bug 2, CZ-70Pro
Primary Interest:
Other

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,417
54,768
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
SS, they are just trying to help, but your asking for something that is consistantly deeper than 6 inches for $200 and it is a hard order to fill.....It is kinda like asking for a new car that gets 35 mpg, sits 8 people for $8000 new..... Your concentrating to much on depth and not enough on the quality of the detector... Even an Fisher F2 or Garret 250/350 is going to run you $300......

Best advice I can give you is either find a used Tesoro Cibola, Silver UMax, a Garrett 250/350 or a Fisher F2, that or cough up another $100 and buy one new.............

Keep this in mind though, when you spend the money for a higher dollar detector, your not out the money, it is still there in your detector....I ahve bought a lot of used detectors, and I halv always got more than 75% of my money back when I sold them, but I buy good quality detectors knowing I will get my money back...
 

Last edited:

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top