Newbie guidance

[LooseNut]

Hello all.

Been mostly a lurker on here for a few years now. Excellent site and wonderful info.
Anyway, I am seriously looking into the purchase of my first detector, and have a few questions?
First off, I am located in Northwest Wisconsin, soil type around me varies greatly from sandy to hard pan to rocky.
I also expect to roam around some into Northern Minnesota and the UP of Michigan etc.
I will mostly hunt relic type stuff but it would be nice to find coins and jewelry type stuff too.
I plan on getting a mid-high end metal detector, something I can count on using a while.
Some of my questions are:
1. Is there a difference between relic hunting and coin hunting detectors?
2. What about water proof and non-water proof detectors. I might find some places to detect that are wetter than others and
or a little rain from time to time etc.
3. coil sizes? should a person have multiple coil sizes with them? Are they quick to change out? I see some units have eliptical
shaped coils od double "D" shaped coils. What works where? Does coil diameter/shape effect depth or sensitivity?
4. I have seen some detectors that can be broken down and carried in a box type case, is this an option for many detectors or
just an option offered by certain brands?
5. Coil protection? How durable are these coils? Some of the places I think about going are rocky and or brushy. Are there
better coils than others for indistructibility?
6. I do not necessarily have a brand preference, and I do not know the difference between display styles etc. Is there a certain display that stands out as the one to use? etc.
7. Is there anything else I should be asking etc?

Thank you in advance,
LooseNut

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

How to Research for Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting From Lead Generation to Vetting - Grab it through Amazon!

[Tom_in_CA]

in order of your Q's:

1) No. Different mentalities of how they're used, how much tolerance to junk, disc. levels, goals, etc.... But generally, the machines are the same. Some are said to be better for coins, or better for relics, but the distinction can be that machines "better for coins", are ones reknowned for better retaining of TID at depths (d/t someone trying to soley go for coins, like in junky turf, may elect to pass surface stuff, and have better TID's at depth). A machine said to be good at relics might be better at snooping around and through iron (as "ghost town" or "ruins" type sites might be littered with nails, junk, etc...), w/o masking as badly. But most machines just do both venues, depending on ones personal preferences, familiarities, etc... And of course, a "relic hunter" won't belittle a nice coin turning up in a CW site, nor will a "coin hunter" belittle a nice relic turning up, that he thought was going to be a coin.

2) You only need a waterproof machine if you're going to be going underwater, or out in full-blown rain. Regular machines, of every type, all have water proof coils, so there's no problem going through wet grass, or sticking the coil through puddles, etc...

3) The bigger the coil, the deeper you go. The smaller the coil, the better target separation and see-around/through ability you have (because the machine is "seeing" less ground/targets at a time). As for the bigger-the-coil, the deeper-it-goes, just be aware this comes with a point of diminishing returns. At a certain point (usually around 10" coils, depending on the machine/brand/type) you get to where you no longer get coins any deeper. You start to only get larger targets better. And with really big coils (15" wot, for instance), they get reeeallly fishy trying to isolate targets, pinpointing, etc... so there are pro's and cons. The general rule is, 8 to 10" is the regular multi-purpose size coil, and you may reach for a 5" etc... coil if you're working in under burned down porches which were riddled with nails, or other such junky sites. If you tried to use a 15" wot, under grandstands littered with foil and tabs, it would just be one big "blur" of signal, for instance. That would be a case where you'd reach for a small coil, and see if you can sniff our coins under, through, and around junk, etc...

4) All detectors, to my knowledge, can be broken down, shafts removed from the box, etc....

5) I don't know of any coil mfr. that has a more "durable" coil than anyone else's exterior plastic shell. But if you're in an area where you think it's gonna get knocked around, you can purchase a "coil cover", which is like a skid plate. It'll add a little weight, and tends to attract dirt that gets inside (so it requires occasional removal and cleaning). But, if you're in a place where you expect continual abrasion, it's a good idea. I wore a hole in the bottom of a coil through continual wet beach hunting, which caused salt water to get inside, and ruin a coil. So coil covers can solve that, if you're rough at your hunting

6) If you give a specific "display" to compare to another specific display, so that this question has a "face" on it, then people will give their pro's and con's, likes/dislikes, etc... Some machines don't have a "display", to begin with. No meter, no nothing. You have to rely totally on audio, and have no TID to begin with.

 

[Ism]

Tom answered your questions nicely. DD coils covers more area with each swing and has less difficulty in mineralized soil but generally has a little less depth than a concentric coil.

I don't have any Garrett detectors but the new Garrett AT Pro falls into the catagory you seek. I have been considering one myself but waiting for the bugs to be worked out. Too many complaints about out of the box failure.

 

[Sandman]

Excellent post Tom. I was overwhelmed to try to answer it.