A PI detector or a VLF detector? what is the best?

Jul 2, 2013
11
2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hi everybody, i have read on a site earlier that a PI detector is very good in deep seeking activities, but poor in discrimination system (identifying ferrous or non-ferrous). And VLF detectors are poor in deep seeking but good in discrimination. So, as for my case that i have engaged in treasure hunting, most specially here in philippines, japanese loot were mostly depth hidden. how do i perform both? cause those 2 factors were very important in treasure hunting. Is there one that is cheap that do both system?

This is also a guide to some folks out there trying to find out what model,brand, and system preferably suits to everyone activity.


-pearl of the orient
 

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
A Pulse Induction Minelab GPX 5000 will give you 40" in depth on a 5-ounce gold nugget, a VLF machine with a huge coil, maybe 18". There is no easy or affordable answer. You want deep, you dig every iron nail and poptop, tin can and piece of metal under the coil with a PI. And if you are looking for gold, a VLF will only knock out IRON. If you discriminate aluminum, you also lose gold. Gold hunting is hard miserable WORK. Good Luck!
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
Looking for the Japanese buried loot!? There is no cheap way! You will need, at the least, an SSP 2100 ($3495) with a blanket coil ($650) for the 18". That will get you down roughly,20'. Now if you want to go to app. 100' you will need the 3D Pinpoint Pro. It cost ($5500). You have to spend money to make money. Check out the specs. Accurate Locators Metal Detectors, Treasure Hunting Metal Detector Frank...

black bamboo.jpg black bamboo.jpg black bamboo.jpg
 

Last edited:

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
First off, if you're looking for large cache-sized targets (fanciful legend-stuff), & not coin-sized stuff , then you want a two-box machie . It will detect a tool-box sized item to perhaps 3 or 4 foot deep, and not be bothered by nails and i'm small stuff then.
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
First off, if you're looking for large cache-sized targets (fanciful legend-stuff), & not coin-sized stuff , then you want a two-box machie . It will detect a tool-box sized item to perhaps 3 or 4 foot deep, and not be bothered by nails and i'm small stuff then.

TOM, I normally use a 2 Box for caches, but what this person is looking for is beyond their range. The Japanese used bulldozers to dig and bury gold bars at 15'+ . I have only red about one find, years ago and as I remember, it was something like 15' down. Frank...

hand print-2_edited-6.jpg
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
TOM, I normally use a 2 Box for caches, but what this person is looking for is beyond their range. The Japanese used bulldozers to dig and bury gold bars at 15'+ . I have only red about one find, years ago and as I remember, it was something like 15' down. Frank...

View attachment 823710

15 ft. deep, eh? Well, a 2-box machine will find an object to 15 ft, assuming it's the size of a volkswagon I think! haha

I would pity the poor soul to tries to use a standard nugget machine (which can also perhaps get a volkswagon to 15 ft.) in any type of environment other than nuggets. To try to use such a machine where there was any sort of human activity (MUCH LESS WAR ACTIVITY!) is a going to be tooo punishing. No one is going to be able to get every last piece of shrapnel, pinhead, nail, grommet, foil wad, etc.... from any junky place.

But, aside from the technology question at hand here, I can't help but say that the superstitious lore that a lot of people in the Phillipines has, must be called into question. Their culture is steeped in the belief that a "treasure certainly lies in every cave", and they're always (of course) "10 to 30 ft. deep" Does anyone ever ask themselves WHY a treasure must, of necessity, be that deep? I mean, all the persons who buried it needed to do, was obscure it from view of the surface. Therefore 1 ft. vs 5 ft. vs 10 ft. makes utterly no difference.

Reminds me of my trip to remote parts of Mexico to chase treasure stories too. Same cultural psychology there as well. Everyone's convinced there's treasures everywhere. And when you search there they point out to you, and find nothing (a cave floor that it totally sterile with absolutely no beeps, even in all metal), well guess what? It's not that the treasure "isn't there". It's *always* that the treasure must be deeper, and you need a machine which can go 10 ft. deep. It got to almost comical. No amount of suggesting to them that it's merely superstition or legend helped. They would just become more adamant that a deeper machine was needed, blah blah blah. So I gave up chasing all these ghost stories, and had a fun time shooting for coins and relics round ruins in the sierra madres anyhow :)
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
15 ft. deep, eh? Well, a 2-box machine will find an object to 15 ft, assuming it's the size of a volkswagon I think! haha

I would pity the poor soul to tries to use a standard nugget machine (which can also perhaps get a volkswagon to 15 ft.) in any type of environment other than nuggets. To try to use such a machine where there was any sort of human activity (MUCH LESS WAR ACTIVITY!) is a going to be tooo punishing. No one is going to be able to get every last piece of shrapnel, pinhead, nail, grommet, foil wad, etc.... from any junky place.

But, aside from the technology question at hand here, I can't help but say that the superstitious lore that a lot of people in the Phillipines has, must be called into question. Their culture is steeped in the belief that a "treasure certainly lies in every cave", and they're always (of course) "10 to 30 ft. deep" Does anyone ever ask themselves WHY a treasure must, of necessity, be that deep? I mean, all the persons who buried it needed to do, was obscure it from view of the surface. Therefore 1 ft. vs 5 ft. vs 10 ft. makes utterly no difference.

Reminds me of my trip to remote parts of Mexico to chase treasure stories too. Same cultural psychology there as well. Everyone's convinced there's treasures everywhere. And when you search there they point out to you, and find nothing (a cave floor that it totally sterile with absolutely no beeps, even in all metal), well guess what? It's not that the treasure "isn't there". It's *always* that the treasure must be deeper, and you need a machine which can go 10 ft. deep. It got to almost comical. No amount of suggesting to them that it's merely superstition or legend helped. They would just become more adamant that a deeper machine was needed, blah blah blah. So I gave up chasing all these ghost stories, and had a fun time shooting for coins and relics round ruins in the sierra madres anyhow :)

You have a good point about war junk. It would drive that PI crazy. The pinpointer pro has a computer image that would give them an idea of shape and size along with depth. I have never used one, but if it even came close to the advertising, it could locate it. It looks like one the utility locators use. The cache they found years ago was on another island, I think it was NewGuinea or something like that. Frank

111-1 profile.jpg
 

OP
OP
P
Jul 2, 2013
11
2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Originally Posted by Frankn View Post
TOM, I normally use a 2 Box for caches, but what this person is looking for is beyond their range. The Japanese used bulldozers to dig and bury gold bars at 15'+ . I have only red about one find, years ago and as I remember, it was something like 15' down. Frank...

Yeah, your right Frankn.... though it maybe a 15'+ or not i have anticipation to locate much deeper cause most of the finds here in Ph was 15'+ depth, though some was buried like glued in the wall which was called by most as giveaways or gift.

If i choose the middle range MD, is it better to have both stuff or one that do both system, probably what MD is that?
have you tried the jeohunter 3d, i am planning to get that stuff, cause its available in Manila, and the capability of this stuff to locate up to 12 meters by its maximum size coil. But i have doubts cause its a turkish made MD. maybe you can give me a brief overview with that stuff and comparison with some stuff with the capacity to do its system but much cheaper.
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
....cause most of the finds here in Ph was 15'+ depth,...........

pearl, what makes you think this? Who told you that "most of the finds (past tense) in the Phillipines was 15' + depth" ?

Because so too did I hear this "everything is super deep" mantra in Mexico (where buried treasure lore superstition is steeped in the culture as well). And whenever I went to ask this question "why do you believe this thing we're looking for is so deep?", they would say something like what you're saying. That is: simply because it's an accepted fact of whatever stories were passed on to them by others. The old "someone who told someone who told someone who told someone", etc...

So while at first, their treasure stories seemed so bullet-proof and firsthand, yet the more questions you ask, the more you realize that ..... it's all just embellished campfire stories.

So likewise, wherever you got this notion that all the treasures are going to be automatically that deep, ask yourself where that person who's telling you the campfire story got HIS information? Well obviously someone told him. And where did THAT person get their story? Well... someone told him. And so and so forth the telephone game works. And before you know it, it's 100 ft. deep in solid rock, and worth 1 gazzillion dollars.
 

Frankn

Gold Member
Mar 21, 2010
8,711
2,989
Maryland
Detector(s) used
XLT , surfmaster PI , HAYS 2Box , VIBRA-TECTOR
Yeah, your right Frankn.... though it maybe a 15'+ or not i have anticipation to locate much deeper cause most of the finds here in Ph was 15'+ depth, though some was buried like glued in the wall which was called by most as giveaways or gift.

If i choose the middle range MD, is it better to have both stuff or one that do both system, probably what MD is that?
have you tried the jeohunter 3d, i am planning to get that stuff, cause its available in Manila, and the capability of this stuff to locate up to 12 meters by its maximum size coil. But i have doubts cause its a turkish made MD. maybe you can give me a brief overview with that stuff and comparison with some stuff with the capacity to do its system but much cheaper.

Never used the jeohunter or seen any favorable reports on it. To get down that deep, you are going to have to pay the piper. Frank...

hand print-2_edited-5.jpg
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top