what would be a good detector for a beginner?

[justin_to_metal]

Hey guys, I'm just startin out.. I live in San Diego and have plenty of beaches to search. Was interested in the hobby and spending like around 300 bucks for a detector. I see there's a lot of you pros out there. Wanted to get some good advice on brands. Any input would be appreciated, thx

 

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[fella]

Teknetics EuroTek Pro with 11" DD coil. Stay off the wet sand. There isn't a machine out there for 3 bills that'll handle wet sand.

 

[Terry Soloman]

 

[justin_to_metal]

Hey thanks for the input guys. those videos really helped to. so I'm starting to lean more towards the garret ace 250, seems to be pretty popular. And maybe put a bigger coil on that? how would that rate compare to the teknetics eurotek with a 11" dd?

 

[fella]

Hey thanks for the input guys. those videos really helped to. so I'm starting to lean more towards the garret ace 250, seems to be pretty popular. And maybe put a bigger coil on that? how would that rate compare to the teknetics eurotek with a 11" dd?

I have several hours on both. It only takes about 2min of use with the ETP to realize it's miles…er…light years ahead of the Ace 250.

The 250 may have been pretty decent in it's day (a decade ago) but some of these new detectors just flat embarrass it today!

EuroTek Pro or F2 over any Ace.

 

[justin_to_metal]

right on man, didn't realize that model has been around forever.. So with the 11in coil, does that just help with depth finds? Or it's just better overall with searching?

 

[fella]

So with the 11in coil, does that just help with depth finds? Or it's just better overall with searching?

Both! An 11"dd will get better depth than the stock 8" concentric and will cover more ground more evenly. The worse the soil conditions the more of an advantage to the DD.

 

[ZuluTango]

I've use an AT Pro, GTI 2500, XP Deus, and Ace 350. Do yourself a favor by considering the Tesoro Compadre. It's the only detector I own now.

 

[jwm45]

Hey guys, I'm just startin out.. I live in San Diego and have plenty of beaches to search. Was interested in the hobby and spending like around 300 bucks for a detector. I see there's a lot of you pros out there. Wanted to get some good advice on brands. Any input would be appreciated, thx

man,at that price you need to find a good used Tesoro "tiger shark" or "sand shark".stay away from fisher water detectors they are all Chinese made.water machines are very expensive and you pay the big bucks to work on them.Tesoro has good warranties on any thing they sell new.The top two best warranties and less expensive on maintenance are Tesoro and whites.
IF you just want to hunt in knee deep water any land detector with a water-proof coil will work.Tesoros are really good on gold the "COMPADRE "IS REALLY NICE IF YOU ARE JUST STARTING OUT!Its very cheap and has a very good discriminator and has a 8" donut coil .I have had one for $160 and has a LIFE TIME WARRANTY.It has one knob very accurate detector it does it all, 6''----8" average depth,auto. ground balance.IF you want a deeper one the "CIBOLA" will do 12"deep but runs around $ 340.Hope this has help.---james

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Always take in mind...When you first start. You are gonna need a good shovel/scoop, and a pinpointed, especially if you are first starting out.

 

[woof!]

fisher water detectors they are all Chinese made..---james

Absolute bullmalarkey, james. (Where do people come up with stuff like this?) Fisher metal detectors are made in El Paso, Texas, U.S.A. And come with a 5 year warranty.

The Fisher CZ21 is widely regarded as the best scuba rated salt compensated metal detector on the market; however it's not in justin's price bracket.

--Dave J.

 

[woof!]

Teknetics EuroTek Pro with 11" DD coil. Stay off the wet sand. There isn't a machine out there for 3 bills that'll handle wet sand.

That's "sort of" true. Some of the less expensive machines will do a pretty decent job in the drier sand. They'll start falsing when you get into the wet stuff. However, most of them are usable in the wet stuff provided that you crank the sensitivity down and crank the discrimination up into the foil region. Also, smaller searchcoils get a lot less saltwater pickup than do larger searchcoils. DD's have a reputation for working better than concentrics in mineralized environments: however this doesn't apply to wet salt, where DD's are just as noisy as concentrics of the same size.

The Tesoro Compadre as an entry level machine does have its fan club. However without a sensitivity control, you're not going to be able to run quiet in the wet salt. However it might be in the category of "noisy but usable" with discrimination cranked up.

There in San Diego you've usually got onshore winds. Whatever you get, put a plastic bag over its head to protect it from the salt air.

 

[dirtscratcher]

man,at that price you need to find a good used Tesoro "tiger shark" or "sand shark".stay away from fisher water detectors they are all Chinese made.water machines are very expensive and you pay the big bucks to work on them.Tesoro has good warranties on any thing they sell new.The top two best warranties and less expensive on maintenance are Tesoro and whites.
IF you just want to hunt in knee deep water any land detector with a water-proof coil will work.Tesoros are really good on gold the "COMPADRE "IS REALLY NICE IF YOU ARE JUST STARTING OUT!Its very cheap and has a very good discriminator and has a 8" donut coil .I have had one for $160 and has a LIFE TIME WARRANTY.It has one knob very accurate detector it does it all, 6''----8" average depth,auto. ground balance.IF you want a deeper one the "CIBOLA" will do 12"deep but runs around $ 340.Hope this has help.---james

I stay away from advice from anyone who says stay away from a brand and does not have their facts right.

 

[fella]

stay away from fisher water detectors they are all Chinese made.water machines are very expensive and you pay the big bucks to work on them….Hope this has help.---james

Dunno if you are just misinformed or flat out lying. Either way you are WRONG! And no, it doesn't help!

 

[Tahts-a-dats-ago]

Hi Justin,

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as fella is on the topic of metal detecting, but I sure do agree with him; the Eurotek Pro is a great machine and it is in your price range. I bought one for my wife when she expressed an interest in the hobby. I can't comment of the differences between the 8" concentric and the 11" DD coils though, as I haven't tried the machine with a DD coil (hers has the concentric). Nor am I able to comment on the machines ability in wet (salt) sand, as I haven't used the machine in that environment yet.

I can tell you that the machine is easy to learn, fun to use, light weight and has a fast recovery. My wife prefers to use it without headphones (they mess up her hair - LOL) but I use a cheap pair of phones with it (I think it helps me hear better and don't care about messing up my hair). I find the pinpointing to be very accurate, the depth to be better than expected and the fun-to-price factor to be out of the park. I can only compare the machine to the others I've owned and used (all of which cost substantially more than the ET) - I think the ET holds its own very well in comparison when all things are factored in and would highly recommend the machine to everyone who is interested in the hobby. I'd recommend the machine even if the price were doubled - it's that good in my opinion.

Whichever machine you end up buying, I hope you enjoy using it and make a lot of great finds.

 

[fella]

I'm not nearly as knowledgeable as fella is on the topic of metal detecting

Most of what I know is done with smoke and mirrors, the rest I make up!

 

[justin_to_metal]

seriously thanks for the suggestions! I should have specified on the wet sand. I plan to stay more on the dry stuff where people lay out what not. I'd also like to hit some parks and soccer fields. Hear those are pretty good.. think I'm set on the eurotek pro with 11" dd.. looks like a good machine to start with

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Jwm45, I don't know where you got your info from but Fisher metal detectors are American made not Chinese.

 

[tiderider]

Eruotek pro all the way, beats anything in it's price range by far!! For 219.00 with 8" coil or 299.00 with the 11" DD coil

 

[tiderider]

Fisher are made in Texas buoy!! Not China!!!!