Deep Detector under $700

[tiderider]

Get a PI machine Deere than any other vlf or bbs machine

 

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[picklepete]

I used to live an hour north of Milwaukee. I used a T2 on the beach, and could nail coins 10-12 inches deep in the sand, in disc mode. In low minerals, the Fishers/ Teknetics are hard to beat.

 

[LuckyLarry]

Here we go again, opinions vs facts. Everybody has a brain, but opinions mean very little since when we voice opinions - we have no foundation other than to "think" something is:

To start with, where do you hunt, and which mineralogical type of ground is there? It all comes into play..

Depth is partially determined by EMF (radiating field), and it's amount of force, and how it's directed, and how well it is received by the detector when created or amplified, and by the soil, what type it is, what it's near. This of course includes which coil size and which type we use too.

Then some serious interference comes into play; mineral deposits, salts, Rf, microwave, other EMF's, radar, sonar, even metallic moss and high voltage power transformers. There is no constant, there is no pat formula, and there is no real-world blueprint either. To say one will do better than the other even only 1 mile away is about like playing horseshoes and hand grenades, nothing is accurate and nothing is predictable one place compared to the other. The only sure way to make a viable solid choice is to use one against the other side-by-side, and in the same place, and in the same ground, and with the same items under the earth, all of it undisturbed, and with the same other interference. Nothing else will prove better than a side-by-side, count on it. And then of course, there other parameters to consider too; is one tuned as closely as possible to match the other one, or not, and even if they are exactly the same brand, the same settings, and the same model. And is the same person doing the tests? Some people's very physiology dictates a different outcome than the person alternately using it or even standing right next to the other. The list goes on..

DO NOT under any circumstances ever consider the testimony of other individuals to be the Gospel, myself included. It isn't the Gospel, and it can't be either. The only way to make the best choice is to use them side-by-side, any other ideas are just plain foolery, opinions, speculation, and guess work. Even in the R&D of the detector (it doesn't matter which brand) I have seen discrepancies when I worked there, and even one only minimally and slightly different will magnify the results out in the field to at least a slight degree.

Go to a multi-brand dealer and compare one against another, and on YOUR Terms, not the dealers. It's your best bet.

LL

 

[rainyday101]

Thanks Lucky Larry. I know there are a lot of factors that effect depth. My soil is mild with little mineralization. Most of the areas I hunt are about 2" of turf/topsoil, followed by sand. Other areas are just sandy loam. As of yet I have only experienced EMF one time near an underground phone line.

Right now the Silver uMax has been very very effective for me, but does have it's depth limits. I am just looking for a deeper machine and want some opinions. I spend a lot of time researching and would not buy based on 1 persons opinion alone.

Multi brand dealers don't seem to exist by me. I found one about 4.5 hours from home and it was staffed by a lady who was there to just sell and swipe you card. She didn't know squat. A few others that I have found operate out of their house and don't stock squat. One I did find operating out of his garage had several but didn't want to demo any. So like many people I end up using the internet as my sole source of information to make my buying decision.

Forgot to mention. The areas I hunt are trashy as all hell. Mostly pull tabs and bottle caps. The silver I find is usually in the trash where others have just flat out missed it.

 

[LuckyLarry]

I can't advise you on which to buy, but I will say that the F75, F70, T2 and the Omega 8000 all seem to cherry-pick very, very well through thick trash. The F75 and T2 are a bit too noisy for some people but they do get as good of depth as any other of the high-priced ones in most cases, and the Omega is almost a match for them. A Vaquero make less noise than a Tejon, and it runs smoother too. The Vista line of detectors have OUTSTANDING depth in mild soil, find tiny gold very well, but do yourself a favor and leave them behind in high Fe soils, they usually run on very high frequencies. If you like to search open fields and often, the Whites TDI Pro or the Garrett Infinium LS might be two of the best. As for my own personal taste, if I were to start all over again, I would buy an Infinium or TDY, and a Gold Bug Pro for small gold, but my needs are different than yours, I live in the high iron belt, and an hour away from a high black sand ocean shore.

If I lived where you do, I would strongly consider driving somewhere to look at a Fisher F70, a Vaquero, or maybe an MXT Pro, all pretty much within your price range. The F70 would likely (likely) go the deepest, the Vaquero probably the least depth.


My personal philosophy (just mine) is that if I have to change settings often, or switch coils to get the right settings, or if the thing wears me out, I'll go have a beer instead, and have a lot better time with it..

When the rubber meets the road it's better to spend $100-$200 on gas and drive to the nearest multi-detector shop, or you might lose $1,000 on a detector you wind up hating, or wrapping it around a tree (like my friend did with his), then stabbing it right through the ten-ringer with his bayonette when someone like me comes in behind you and gets the 18 Kt Rose Gold Signature ring worth more than the $1000 you paid for the wrong detector.

 

[issombeituni]

I have had the 705 and love it. Deep and ids are accurate. I just recently got a minelab safari ( u can find them on ebay $600 or so) but I have not mastered the machine at all. I have been out at hunts that I gone over 100s of times. Just in auto I dug this silver at 13 inches. I am very happy with the safari but so far battery life and weight are cons so far

 

[issombeituni]

Also digging 13 inches in a park sucks most silver I find was 3-6 inches

 

[LuckyLarry]

The deepest I've ever dug any coin; silver, copper, or any other metallic coin was 10 inches in high black sand, and that was with a Garrett Deepseeker when I dug up several very crusty ones back in the early 70's, and in all-metal. So far, that is the deepest land detector I've ever had my hands on, with the Tesoro Tejon coming in at #2. However, the Tejon is mostly a boat anchor when used near the ocean shore, it just plain sucks. In adverse conditions of high Fe, the Fishers since then have almost consistently done best under extreme conditions, but in Texas for example, nobody needs to pay more than $500 for a detector, because minerals there are almost non-existent, especially on the Gulf sand beaches. The Garrett 2500 reportedly has the deepest all-metal ever made. I tend to believe that, but it's not a good one if the soil has too much iron in it. Here is some depth to (consider), and the F70 matches it for depth in most soils, and in high mineral soils too. If I ever buy another Minelab, I might get a 705, but I don't trust Minelab because of its too-frequent customer service complaints:


www.metaldetectorreviews.net/detectors/175-1-fisherf75.html

 

[rainyday101]

Thanks Larry, I have been looking hard at the F70. Also the Vaq., Tejon, MX5, M6, Omega, CZ3D, 705, MXT Pro. The F70 I understand can give some people fits, but I am very patient and think I could handle it. Another I have looked at is the Detector Pro Pirate Pro and that is a 2.5KHz machine. I have read it hits deep on silver, but there is not enough information/test/opinions on it. I do believe any in that list would do well, but I do want depth.

Up to 6-7 inches my inexpensive little Silver uMax does pretty dam good. I found 12 quarters in one short outing all in that 6-7 inch range with fainter signals and they were all late 60's and early 70's coins. With things being so sandy it seems the older ones are deep. I have found wheaties pushing or at the 8" mark that sounded off pretty well, but that was with a moist ground. I have found old kids toys, like a toy metal pistol at 10", and I am guessing they are early 1900's. I know most people find older silver at 6" or less but here in the sandy soil they seem to be deeper. All the areas I hunt are near the sandy bay of Green Bay or sandy areas near local rivers.

I know along with the depth that great target separation is a must. I don't have a lot to compare to but my Silver uMax and Tiger Shark seem to have excellent target separation. For sheer depth the Tiger in all metal mode with threshold hum is a one depth demon. Problem is, it is not ideal for cherry picking like that and most of my areas are trashy.

I have gotten to dam addicted to this metal detecting! Now my 8 year old wants a metal detector for Xmas and soon he will be the proud owner of a Compadre and a Garrett pro pointer.

Maybe tomorrow I can visit the metal detector dealer in Madison. It will be kinda in that area and would drive the hour or so out my way to check out the detectors.

 

[rainyday101]

Almost forgot, I have also been looking at some used Fisher CZ's, especially the CZ5.

 

[Rawhide]

I own the F75 and think the F70 would be a great choice. The F70 was designed from the T2, and came after the T2 and F75. Your getting the best of all worlds there. I could buy a more expensive machine, but I really love the F75. The way it feels and the way my earphones explode over targets. It has mono or multitones, in case you want to go really deep. I dig 12" inch holes on a fairly regular basis. But Im sure there is other machines to fit your needs also.

 

[Rawhide]

The deepest I've ever dug any coin; silver, copper, or any other metallic coin was 10 inches in high black sand, and that was with a Garrett Deepseeker when I dug up several very crusty ones back in the early 70's, and in all-metal. So far, that is the deepest land detector I've ever had my hands on, with the Tesoro Tejon coming in at #2. However, the Tejon is mostly a boat anchor when used near the ocean shore, it just plain sucks. In adverse conditions of high Fe, the Fishers since then have almost consistently done best under extreme conditions, but in Texas for example, nobody needs to pay more than $500 for a detector, because minerals there are almost non-existent, especially on the Gulf sand beaches. The Garrett 2500 reportedly has the deepest all-metal ever made. I tend to believe that, but it's not a good one if the soil has too much iron in it. Here is some depth to (consider), and the F70 matches it for depth in most soils, and in high mineral soils too. If I ever buy another Minelab, I might get a 705, but I don't trust Minelab because of its too-frequent customer service complaints:


www.metaldetectorreviews.net/detectors/175-1-fisherf75.html

Larry is correct about hunting in extreme conditions. My F75 will hit a gb of 99 and just keep hunting. Anything over 80 on a gb for my F75 is bad bad soil. I hunt it all and it just keep impressing me. No matter what you get, new machines are always fun.

 

[pescadore]

Almost forgot, I have also been looking at some used Fisher CZ's, especially the CZ5.

The CZ5 is coil for coil as deep as any detector out there. My friend buried a 9 inch dime at a church where we hunted for a while. I took the CZ5 out there yesterday and with the 8 inch coil it hit the 9 inch dime with a two way strong hit and a correct ID. I could raise the detector 1 to 2 inches over the target and still get the two way hit and a correct ID. That is with the 8 inch coil. I don't have a 10.5 inch coil but I am going to get one soon. I have owned an Etrac, XP Deus, DFX and others and none of them could find coins any deeper than the CZ5 coil for coil. Some may argue but I am speaking from experience and many hours detecting with other units.

 

[Newfiehunter]

The CZ5 is coil for coil as deep as any detector out there. My friend buried a 9 inch dime at a church where we hunted for a while. I took the CZ5 out there yesterday and with the 8 inch coil it hit the 9 inch dime with a two way strong hit and a correct ID. I could raise the detector 1 to 2 inches over the target and still get the two way hit and a correct ID. That is with the 8 inch coil. I don't have a 10.5 inch coil but I am going to get one soon. I have owned an Etrac, XP Deus, DFX and others and none of them could find coins any deeper than the CZ5 coil for coil. Some may argue but I am speaking from experience and many hours detecting with other units.

Hey Pescadore

I have the 10.5 inch coil for the CZ5 and to be honest it makes the detector feel heavier than it already is. Only used it a couple of times. I find the stock coil more than adequate and use it most of the time because like you said it is deep. The 5 inch coil is deadly for trashy areas.

 

[pescadore]

Hey Pescadore

I have the 10.5 inch coil for the CZ5 and to be honest it makes the detector feel heavier than it already is. Only used it a couple of times. I find the stock coil more than adequate and use it most of the time because like you said it is deep. The 5 inch coil is deadly for trashy areas.

Thanks, The 5 inch is first on my list and then the 10.5 when I can afford it. I don't see me hunting many places that the 10.5 would be a priority over the 8 inch.

 

[LuckyLarry]

I have the 10.5 for my CZ70, and there is not enough depth difference between the 10.5 and the 8" to justify buying it. It doesn't find the small stuff as well either. It makes the detector really heavy too. I might add that if anyone has a CZ5 or one of the high end old bad boy Compasses, you might consider putting it under lock and key, they bring the highest resale $$ rate incease of any other detector made, from around $200 new, to as much as $1200 used now. Try finding either for sale that you can afford, if you can even find one..

 

[rainyday101]

Casca, that F70 along with the CZ5 and CZ3D are at the top of my list. Close behind is the MXT5, M6, and Tejon.

Larry, there is an interesting thread about the CZ3D from Dave Johnson (woof on treasure net) about how the calibration on the new CZ3D's is up to par with the older Los Banos 1021's. Some of the last 1021's were not up to snuff on calibration and performance. If you search the fisher forum for CZ3D the original post was by Newfie asking about why the new CZ3D's were so expensive. Dave Johnson chimes in and gives some real interesting facts on the CZ3D to set the record straight. He also says that seeing as the CZ3D and CZ5 are so similar they will have parts for the CZ5 for quite awhile.

I was far from home today and thought I would check out dealer about an hour out of the way. Turns out he is another one operating out of the house. I googled the address and used satellite view to see it was a house in a residential area. I can only assume a total lack of brick and mortar stores in Wisconsin means it is hard to make a living just selling detectors.