anyone try those chinese knockoff garrett ace detectors

flgliderpilot

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2015
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pgfhgs

Sr. Member
Dec 23, 2014
255
141
Sedona AZ
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Whites V3i, AT Pro, Ace 250, Tesoro, Teknetics, Bounty Hunter EQ 800
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JUNK!!!!! did I say JUNK!!!!!
 

flgliderpilot

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2015
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It might be an exact clone, but you can bet that every piece it's made of is the cheapest available. I am trying to think of a scenario where I might buy one and I can't think of anything. Perhaps if it was an exact clone of a XP Deus or some other machine that normally costs thousands of dollars, I may consider it, but an Ace 250 is only $200 and comes with warranty, made in the USA good parts and usually you even get freebies thrown in... This knock off is not a good buy.

Agreed for me the knockoff would need to be around $100, for say, an Ace 350 clone, or $200 for something better similar to the Pro.

Some chinese products are actually made quite well. Remember much of our own products were made in China... I would not be surprised at all if these are parts WERE Garrett parts made in China for Garrett, but being sold from the "back door" to a "business partner". This is exactly what happened to me when my business tried to have some parts made in China.

The poorly made stuff from China that you see in the dollar stores is the worst of the worst. LED bulbs that will actually kill you because the case is shielded from mains voltage by a piece of paper, iPhone chargers that have the mains voltage traces a hair away from the USB connector.. so one day it gets damp, you plug in your phone send mains voltage into your phone (or body). I've seen Chinese products built with chips so badly corroded they looked like they pulled from from a sunken submarine. They source all of these parts used from the local market, and build boards, and hide them in a shiny new injection molded case.

This detector actually looks great compared to the usual products.
 

cudamark

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And you want to support a country that allows that to go on?? Come on folks, we're committing economic suicide!
 

yodi

Full Member
Mar 24, 2015
172
93
NE Washington
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Whites Coin Master / Garret Ace 250
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I wouldn't give you a nickel for a truck load of those things
 

flgliderpilot

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2015
1,504
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Saint Augustine, FL
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And you want to support a country that allows that to go on?? Come on folks, we're committing economic suicide!

I totally agree, but the problem is much bigger than choosing not to buy this detector. We could start with the computers we are using to access this forum... and I'm willing to be most of us have been in Harbor Freight.
 

Last edited:

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,223
14,551
San Diego
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XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Not everything in Harbor Freight is from China. Granted, most things are, especially the give-aways and super bargain stuff, but, if you look hard enough, you can even find things made in the USA there.....or at least the free world. I don't mean to suggest that it's easy to find some items made here, but, at least give it a try.
 

bowwinkles

Bronze Member
Nov 3, 2012
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No, but I did however get the impression that there may be a Chinese product shill scanning this forum.
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,466
54,917
Florida
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
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I don't care if a manufacturer makes or has parts made in China but I will not buy or support buying counterfeit detectors.....A rip off is a rip off....
 

flgliderpilot

Bronze Member
Apr 28, 2015
1,504
1,427
Saint Augustine, FL
Detector(s) used
CZ-21, Minelab Equinox, Garrett AT Pro
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
The detectors may be assembled in the USA but I would be surprised if the circuit boards and injected parts were manufactured in the USA. This would explain why China has a different coil, but the same main unit.
 

oneton

Jr. Member
Jul 24, 2006
35
3
LOUISIANA
I was under the impression that fisher only did repair work and had new detectors built in other countries like china. They are not going to tell us if they did because fear of losing bussiness,i can believe this.
 

JoeB_OH

Sr. Member
Dec 19, 2012
290
491
Cleveland , Ohio
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Fisher F44, Bounty Hunter Pioneer 505, Bounty Hunter Tracker 4.
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I bought one last year, tried it a few times & it didn't work well at all! I sent it back so, NO - Don't waste your time or money.
 

Rick K

Hero Member
Jan 3, 2007
756
716
Gold Canyon AZ
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ML SDC-2300, Fisher F-75, XP Deus,
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Oneton -

you are totally wrong. The actual facts are as follows.

first Texas Products in El Paso Texas (FT) builds all Fisher, Teknetics and Bounty Hunter detectors in El Paso. Electronic components are sourced from US suppliers (who sell products made all over the world. FT owns a plant over the border in Mexico which makes circuit boards. All design, assembly and test is done in El Paso in their facility which creates hundreds of US jobs.

there is one exception, the Bounty Hunter Jr. Is made both in EP and in China. The boxes they are shipped in clearly indicate which place the individual unit was made.
 

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