Best detector under $300?

[scavenger]

Ok heres the scoop, I have a tesoro compadre, while it is a good machine I feel I am sweeping over a lot of stuff. I have hunted some nice virgin homesites and have unearthed nothing but trash. I have found no silver coins or any gold yet and it's becoming kund of frustrating because I know the spots I have went to have never been hunted and dated back to the mid 1800's. It's good on schoolgrounds but I think that i'm missing a lot of deeper stuff, most of my finds range 4-5" unless they are quite large. I'd like to have a whites XLT but i'm not sure I want to spend quite that much on a machine since i'm not able to get out a lot. I'd mostly be hunting parks, schoolgrounds, old homesites/schoolhouses and maybe a few cornfields near a CW battle site, what would be the best bang for my buck preferebly under $300? My main targets are coins and jewelery and a relic hunt here and there. Something with a screen would be nice that displays depth and the like, lets hear your opinions.

 

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[ParkHunter61]

Hey Scavenger,
You could sell your compadre on eBay or the classifieds on this site and
buy a Silver umax for $240 and a 12x10 coil for $130 or for
$340 pick up a Cibola....
Either way you will get deeper.
Good luck - I think your going to find that silver.
Bill

 

[LuckyLarry]

My many years of electronics, metal detecting, detector repairs, and engineering would cause me to chose one of these:

#1 New Silver Umax w/8x9" coil- - This detector works well anywhere. 2.2 pounds plus extra wt. for the 8x9" coil. It's a good salt beach hunter too, and occasional nuggets

#2 Used Compass R&C (AKA "Goldscanner Pro") 8" coil. VERY deep detecting, @ 3.5 lbs. Both are nugget hunters in the extreme, SUPER discriminators - and have TID analog meters.

#3 Used Compass x-80, x-100, or x-200 8" coil. Very well-equiped and also very deep, and I mean SERIOUSLY deep. Heavy though.

Fisher 1236-x (a tad bit more power than the Silver uMax, but not real good for beach hunting). 3.0 pounds

Used Fisher cz-5. Deep-detecting and one of the best Fisher ever made, but like the 1236 not the best for salt beaches.

Ask Joe the dealer, he would have some info too. Also call Keith Wills @ East Texas Detector Sales (and repairs). Keith might have just the right ticket for you.

Hope this helps.

Larry,

AKA "EasyMoney".

 

[gametalman52]

Sell your machine, add 300.00 to it and buy an XLT on Ebay.

 

[SkiWhiz]

The Tesoro Silver uMax is a great machine for the $$$. I have nice brand new Teknetics Delta 4000 with new headphones for sale for $299.00 shipped ($50.00 savings) I posted it on the classified section today. Steve.

 

[Ricardo_NY1]

Sell what you have and add whatever money you were willing to spend and get an Explorer XS. You can find them used on Ebay for $400-450. Sometimes less. It's heavy, slow to recover, and many other things, but you will find deep stuff, and you will certainly find silver.

 

[bigtim1973]

Remember, when people dropped a dime or quarter way back then, they would get down and seek out that coin they dropped. There is one other thing you need to consider also and that is every old home site is not going to have nice finds. Just because you think there should be something there does not mean that there is. Where you think there is nothing though, is where alot of goodies are to be found!! I have run into this several times in the past. If your ready to upgrade, I would watch the classifieds here on t'net and the online auctions. Tesoro makes great detectors. A used XLT is still a very nice unit. But remember, If you spend the extra dough on a new unit, it does not garuntee that there will be something there still. It will up the chances though on deeper finds.

 

[Mike_of_Tenn]

Also check CragsList, you may find one there...Anyways good luck on your hunt for a new machine!

Mike

 

[scavenger]

It will up the chances though on deeper finds.

exactly my reason for upgrading. my compadre on all metal mode won't pick up a penny, nickel,dime,quarter, gold ring, or silver ring past 4.5". at 6" it will not make a peep, the chance of finding old coins under 4" is slim from what i've read on here. I think I may just go all out and get a new mxt, although I would like a dfx

 

[Jimmy(PA)]

Spend a few extra bucks and get a CZ5,7,7a,7a pro or an Explorer XS. IMO the CZ are the best deep coin machines ever made, only downfall is they like iron but other then that I dont think anything beats them in depth, not even my Explorer. Some say the Explorer is as deep but its only fair to put the 10.5in coil on the CZ when comparing them and not the smaller 8in coil and in my experience here in PA soil the CZ is at least slightly deeper. On the other hand the Explorer will go almost as deep and has better Disc. So its up to you, I like both and they can both be had for an extra 50-100 bucks. I havnt used the Explorer on the beach yet but the CZ series is incredible in wet salt sand. The Explorer is a funner machine, I like the smart find display and the tones better. You cant go wrong with either one, its like comparing a Mach 1 to a Challenger r/t to a Camaro SS, its all personal preference.

 

[LuckyLarry]

I have never seen a Minelab yet, save for one of their PI's - that will match the depth of any Fisher cz single or multi-freq or a Compass vlf. In fact even the Tesoro Tejon beats any Minelab, White's, Garrett vlf, for depth in light to medium soil, but of course, not in hard iron-rich soils because the Tejon runs with WAAAY TOOO much gain and retunes in all-metal too slowly and becomes erratic on and off, with little available to tame it down. For that reason it's not the best salt beach machine one can buy...

I hear many wild and fantastic tales and yarns about how deep the various Explorers and Sovereigns of different varieties go and do so well, but in real-life situations testing one beside the other and in engineering R&D we never have seen such things at all. Tests were done on California beaches pitting Explorers and DFX's with White's 950 against Minelab's 10.5 and there is little to zero difference in actual depth on salt beaches and/or inland in most soils. Sometimes there may be 1/2" better with the Explorer and sometimes the DFX gets the nod. They are nearly twins in the depth and operating capabilities department, but they are the deepest of their own company's design. The problem is, that neither are depth demons at all. When matched against the Nautiluses, the various XLT's, MXT's, etc. and top end Minelabs get a serious beating when up against the Nautiluses. We have tested them to the extreme and that's just how it is. A well-noted Engineer (name withheld) about 6 months ago put a 10.5" coil on his Company's cz-3d to have a fair coil-size match and whipped every Whites, Garretts, Minelab, top-dog detectors severely, akin to beating a hillbilly's red-headed step-child with a wooden spoon. They were testing them out in the open fields of Virginia. That was no contest. In fact, in some instances it actually beat the F-75 for depth.

I'll say this again; There is not one Minelab, Garrett, or White's vlf or multi-freq that will beat the old Compasses for depth in most soils. Only the Tejon and Nautiluses, and of course the Nexus can get close to the cz's, the 1260, 1265, 1266, 1270, and Compasses. The Nautiluses may do a tad bit better though in certain soils in the SE and deep S, but that's where it all ends. There is nothing else ever made that gets close to those old Compasses and some of the Fisher cz's. And yes, I used to work for one of the above companies (not Compass) in R&D. If you have questions about the depth capabilities of the old Compasses, and the depth of the various Minelabs, White's, etc, contact George Payne, the man who invented the modern-day circuitry that we now use in them (White's, Teknetics, Garrett, Compass, etc) . Or even better yet, contact Keith Wills, the man who gave Compass that extra depth modification when he designed for them a few years ago - in order to beat all the other for depth and best discrimination on the planet.

Oh, and BTW, the above is not my opinion. I just deal with facts. Maybe it's the scientist that lurks within me?

Have fun huntin'

Larry

 

[Gator01]

LuckyLarry,thanks for the education on depth. Could you give us some insight into target masking and which detectors do you think handles this better and why. As we all read the various forums and post on this brand and that brand, do you think some of the post are biased, I know I do, but it would be refreshing to read a post with an unbiased statement.
Thanks
John

 

[LuckyLarry]

John

Check out the Tesoro Silver uMax with 8x9" coil, Golden uMax w 8x9", Vaquero, and especially the Cibola, the Fisher 1236-x2, ANY old Compass, and various C-Scopes. These have the really good "iron mask", AKA iron discrimination, and super-fast auto-retune. So does an old Wilson Coin Select. My cz-70 has found only 4 nails in the last five years, and it's my primary detector, not bad at all, and it's relic notch reading is spot on.. My cheap Chinese one comes in at close second, and the Compass comes in a close 3rd as my preferred machines. Guess why?

And stay away from the Nauties, Garretts, White's, but especially Minelabs. They have more troubles with deep nails than any Fisher ever did, even with the Fisher's sensitivity turned up to the max..

In other words stay away from detectors that run really high gain, including Aces, etc. Some brands just run with way high gain, not good except for certain uses.

And yes, there are many, many posts that are biased, but mostly due to brand-loyalty.

Larry

 

[ink-a-alot]

John

Check out the Tesoro Silver uMax with 8x9" coil, Golden uMax w 8x9", Vaquero, and especially the Cibola, the Fisher 1236-x2, ANY old Compass, and various C-Scopes. These have the really good "iron mask", AKA iron discrimination, and super-fast auto-retune. So does an old Wilson Coin Select. My cz-70 has found only 4 nails in the last five years, and it's my primary detector, not bad at all, and it's relic notch reading is spot on.. My cheap Chinese one comes in at close second, and the Compass comes in a close 3rd as my preferred machines. Guess why?

And stay away from the Nauties, Garretts, White's, but especially Minelabs. They have more troubles with deep nails than any Fisher ever did, even with the Fisher's sensitivity turned up to the max..

In other words stay away from detectors that run really high gain, including Aces, etc. Some brands just run with way high gain, not good except for certain uses.

And yes, there are many, many posts that are biased, but mostly due to brand-loyalty.

Larry

Is a bounty hunter an good?? An dhow deep do they Go??

 

[LuckyLarry]

The cheap Bounty Hunters are good for rock or gravel parking lots because of their reduced power (gain), and although it is supposed to be a Teknetics the T-2 certainly is a real powerhouse, very deep detecting, and has a bit to do with BH in some very few ways.

Most Bounty Hunters are now regarded as the "trash of the trade" (to quote another individual) but they can be moderately successful machines in a certain few situations. I own a mid-priced BH that I bought for $30 in good condition. They have a poor resale value, at best. Sorry to say. A $200 F-2 is a lot more machine than a $200 Bounty Hunter.

Hope this helps.

Larry

 

[Gator01]

Thanks for your time Larry. You can read a lot of things on depth and masking, and always wonder whats true and what isnt. And if you are like me, inexperienced, itll make your head hurt.
Thanks again and
Merry Christmas
John

 

[LuckyLarry]

Well Gator, I'm one of the old timers around here, AKA and formerly known as "EasyMoney". Built my first detector around early 70's. Same with the second and third one. Time goes quickly, and first thing you know a guy gets involved in the engineering and manufacturing/repairing of the things.

Hope I helped a bit.

LuckyLarry
EasyMoney

 

[CarolinaTiger]

Most Bounty Hunters are now regarded as the "trash of the trade" (to quote another individual) but they can be moderately successful machines in a certain few situations. I own a mid-priced BH that I bought for $30 in good condition. They have a poor resale value, at best.

Hey Larry,

Complete noob here. I had been seriously considering a BH Land Star until I saw your post. Having dug through a ton of posts here on this site, I gather your opinion is respected by those without brand loyalty. Would the BH Land Star fall into the "trash" category also? If so, is it because of durability or something more technical? What do you think of your "mid-priced BH"? Are the high priced BHs vastly different?

http://www.detecting.com/products/product.cmdl?c=378c73459a2911d4

Thanks!

 

[LuckyLarry]

CT I don't mean to trash any brand because I view things as they are, not idealistically.

The bounty Hunters are well-designed for those who wish to enter the hobby with a budget detector. However, once we get past the $150 range the Tesoros, (most) Minelabs, White's, Nautiluses, and Fishers produce a better made and better producing detector, in nearly all situations. Some Minelabs though are even worse than the Bounty Hunters, especially their budget detectors as in the xterra30 and a couple of their cheap nugget hunters and in some cases their Sovereign series when dealing with extreme soils or cancelling pulltabs in it. Coil for coil size both the Explorer series and the Sovs really lose a lot of depth in really bad soil, pitifully so, and in fact they suck. So do the Garrett vlf's. In milder soil though, this is not the case. Remember now, that this is not my opinion, it's just the truth.

There is not a better detector for the money than a Tesoro Silver uMax. It can produce good-to-excellent success in every soil in the USA, including beach hunting, and an extra large coil can oftentimes outdo a White's, Garrett, or Minelab using the same size coil.

The $69 "Explorer" metal detector found online in various places goes almost as deep as the Tesoro Compadre at $140 - and it has suspiciously-similar circuitry. It also has been fine-tuned in China to be particularily fond of silver, copper, and brass. It runs on a very low freq, around 6 Khz, if I remember the readings correctly. Yes, it likes gold but gold is not it's forte. It will however find a teardrop sized gold nugget at 3", something that some VERY expensive Garretts and Minelabs cannot do in a thousand light years.

Back to the question;

If you can find a used BH Land Star for under $100, you might want to pick it up as a spare, but the Land Star likes hotrocks and loves iron and gets real confused when the ground is littered with it or full of it. It has a tough time with it, even with it's sensitivity turned down to the lowest setting. The coils seem to be the bad guys, more so than the circuitry inside the box. My BH that I paid $30 for has the same problem. However, they both do well when hunting in crushed rock or conglomerate gravel parking lots, in fact, VERY well when sensitivity is turned down to the lowest setting. The Tesoros however, do even better.

Oh, and BTW, it's not so much the machine that gives you success, it's not even the operator, it's where you look that makes the difference. Try thinking "fringe", the place where nobody else searches, the places where nobody thinks that anybody has ever been.

Hope this helps

LuckyLarry

 

[Michigan Badger]

There is not a better detector for the money than a Tesoro Silver uMax. It can produce good-to-excellent success in every soil in the USA, including beach hunting, and an extra large coil can oftentimes outdo a White's, Garrett, or Minelab using the same size coil.

LuckyLarry

Amen! I've wrote this so many times here I've finally given up. Nice to hear it direct from someone else.

I get personal emails all the time from people I talked into the Silver uMax with the 12x10 concentric coil. All so far love that setup.

And don't spread this around Larry, but, that "junk" Chinese 1023 sold on ebay kicks butt on some big name brands (did I write this).

In BH the 505 Pro is one sweet machine I hear.

Okay, enough being serious.

Badger