my first reasoned post I hope why to buy a cheapo

[metal mania]

I was thinking about the price differences between detectors price wise technology wise and wish to raise what I would hope would be valid points.

1. If the majority of coins etc are in the 4-6inch range why buy a expensive model.

Hmm not withstanding discrimination and hot rock rejection shouldn't a cheapo be able to locate these items.

2. The less you pay for the detector the less time it would take to recoup the cost.

although I must admit the expensive brands should hold there values better but looking at some posts this wouldn't appear to be the case.

3. If some of the cheapos are in fact copies/clones of expensive brands isn't it worth a punt.

The only downside would be customer support or lack of.

 

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[Tank69]

wouldnt it depend on how much you can afford on a machine ,how much your into the hobby,an how much you plan to use it an what you plan to search for .I meen all of these things play a factor in machine choice dont they? the ace 250 is a fairly inexpensive machine ,if you buy one it wont be long to recoup your costs if thats what your wirried about an in the meen time you could save up for a better machine if thats wht you choose to do .

 

[sasnz]

I think Tank has raised a few good points, It depends on what you wish to hunt for. I see you live in england. It would be tragic to miss a cache or something because you didnt want to spend the money, If you are on a budget then there are some very good detectors that wont break the bank.

 

[UncleVinnys]

Well, the time spent is a factor too.

With a decent machine you can tell the difference between a bottle cap
and a quarter. That represents a lot of wasted time digging.
Same goes for a good pinpointer.
I bought the Garrett Pro-Pointer and I locate coins now
in MUCH less time. Time spent digging more than cut in half
That same principle applies to the detector.
You can find lots of junk in an hour with a cheap machine.
You can eliminate 90% of the junk with a good discriminating
machine, so most of what you dig is more valuable.

 

[metal mania]

some very good points time is a factor that I hadn't really considered as a variable

 

[Sandman]

Read my signature line below. You get out of a hobby what you put into it and fun is one of the main reasons we want to do this. If we wanted to make a profit we would all get a second job.

 

[metal mania]

Read my signature line below. You get out of a hobby what you put into it and fun is one of the main reasons we want to do this. If we wanted to make a profit we would all get a second job.

Thanks sandman and welcome back

 

[thompy]

and from what ive read you have some tuff soil conditions over there

 

[U.K. Brian]

The average U.K. soil conditions are rather mild compared to those in the States (excluding Florida's beaches).

No way are most wanted items just a few inches deep unless you want to limit yourself to detecting right after the plough then give up the hobby until the crops come out.

The clone machines vary in performance. If you try three one might appear O.K., the next average and the last poor. Then you try the "good" one, say the one thats a copy of the Whites 6000 and you find its only a little less in depth than the real thing on large coins but rather poor on the hammered silver we are after and the recovery speed is about half.
Mode change switches last a year or two compared to a Whites switch that still works after several years.

Discrimination, especially by means of a probability meter is a no go here as well. At most you require small nails to be indicated or rejected. Everything above small ferrous is a possible valuable find.

A more expensive detector is often more multipurpose as it has a wide range of coil types/sizes and frequencies. The cheap clone has one coil, if your lucky two and no third party options.

Really you should be asking what would suit your sites/needs/detecting style on a U.K. forum. The nearest to a good cheap machine I can think of would be the Golden Mask I, a Bulgarian import thats good and has a five year warranty with repairs in the U.K.