Youtube channels recommendation

cameleon222

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2017
50
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Hey guys, I'm having a hard time tryina choose my first metal detector, and I'm aware that every detector is suitable for a specific environment regardless of what reviews sometimes tend to say otherwise. there's no such thing as a real ALL Terrain, i believe it's just marketing. Now to make this short, I'd like some honest replies about channels on YouTube, that you could recommend me, who are not "sold out" so to speak to any of the metal detecting industries, and do provide real life experience and feedbacks on MD machines. I've watched at least a couple hundreds of videos over the past 3 weeks and everytime it gets more confusing to me seeing what a product testing review is really about without subtly adding a bias touch toward one product vs another. Any thoughts/recommendation on that matter plz ? P.S: with all do respect also to the many available channels, i personally don't believe in air tests reviews, that's just a gimmick, ground conditions, coils used, settings, mineralisation, expertise and knowledge of the machine your working with plays a major role.
 

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Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,305
54,466
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
What kind of hunting are you wanting to do? Land or water, fresh or salt, coin and jewelry or relic, what is your budget?
 

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cameleon222

cameleon222

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2017
50
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
What kind of hunting are you wanting to do? Land or water, fresh or salt, coin and jewelry or relic, what is your budget?

Treasure Hunter, honestly my main attraction for the moment will be beaches and salt water, not into diving for the moment, just chest down let's say in the water. Fresh water is a no go as my area is infested with crocodiles, including swamps, rivers and lakes, I've even witnessed crocs in salt water beach around 11pm so ima stay out of this. Now my zone have relatively a good amount of tourists, but from what I've seen so far, they all cheap, never seen someone wearing expensive jeweleries and such, they have a hard time tipping the waitress.... believe me. So unless i go to an area where there's high end hotels and such, I'm not very positive that i will find much, maybe I'm wrong. Never seen a metal detectorist in 3 years that I've been there. So i wanted a machine primarily for beaches and water, and if i have no luck after sweeping for a few months, I'd like to try some mountains or forests, u know soil grounds and see how my luck goes. btw I'm pretty sure my beach areas are infested with pull tabs and bottle caps, every year on Easter for 1 week, beaches are flooded with people partying. that's a quick resume of my surroundings. I've heard that fsb,bbs might be better suitable for my environment, but I have no idea how it will perform on land. a vdi lcd display would be something I like, but until i gain experience and my hearing get used to it, I'm digging all. I'm also willing to MD on a daily basis for a minimum of 6 hours. as for the budget i'd say anything near the 1000$-1400$ more or less, budget is not an issue if the machine can expend along the way with my needs, being flexible. Most important is customer service from a reputable company that will fix things if issues arises along time and take responsibility for their product if something unusual happpen with my unit. I'll be exposed year long to a minimum of 75-80% humidity and temperatures of 26 in winter and 32-40 in summer (celsius), in direct sunlight should be more. Ps: primary objective would be coins and jewlery. BTW also, along my primarily searches, before even reading or knowing anything about MD, i saw a company online called GER DETECT, selling the "Titan 400" for 8500$ usd, i was close to buying it, i was like wow.... they advertising a 4 in 1, long range detector for gold and silver, 2 km wide, 40 meters deep, magnetometer, discrimination 3D imaging, bla bla bla.....turns out it works with your body energy and sh!t....glad I've met this forum before doing any crazy stupid mistake. I'm better off buying a 3D printer, to build 3D printers, and then sell 3D printers..... ;)
 

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Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,410
30,022
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
Tesoro Sand Shark
Whites Dual Field
Minelab Excalibur
Fisher CZ21
Garrett Seahunter
 

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cameleon222

cameleon222

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2017
50
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Tesoro Sand Shark
Whites Dual Field
Minelab Excalibur
Fisher CZ21
Garrett Seahunter

Hi Terry, thanks for the feedback, had a look at your website, pretty straight forward i like it. Cz21 seems more robust, heavier and so far feels all targets sound the same......whereas the excal have a much better difference in the sounds made, I'm gonna see about both specs sheets ane try and decide. Thanks for your help.
 

bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
13,373
8,689
Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There's good reason why the modified Excal is still king of the beach and still in such great demand. If you want to apply it like a deep PI machine you can. If you desire to apply it like a top-shelf discrimination machine, it is. It's reliable, versatile, durable, time tested and proven.

Having said all of the above, if I were to order a new one today I'd order it through KellyCo and tell them not to even ship it until the Mods are completed, or, I'd send it out to get those mods as soon as I got it. Why? Because out of the box it's unbalanced, too much weight forward, too much drag in the water, the coil is hardwired so you can't swap, and it's just too inconvenient. Installing the mods is like night and day and once done it turns and otherwise clumsy and impractical design into a comfortable and lethal king of the beach.
 

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cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,462
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
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
If you can stand the new price, I'd get a Minelab CTX. It's the most versatile machine on the market today. Not great for nugget prospecting, but, works very well on everything else. If you choose to detect inland, it's a much better choice than the dedicated water machines. It's not that other machines won't work at all, it's about the ease of using them with the conditions involved.
 

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cameleon222

cameleon222

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2017
50
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There's good reason why the modified Excal is still king of the beach and still in such great demand. If you want to apply it like a deep PI machine you can. If you desire to apply it like a top-shelf discrimination machine, it is. It's reliable, versatile, durable, time tested and proven.

Having said all of the above, if I were to order a new one today I'd order it through KellyCo and tell them not to even ship it until the Mods are completed, or, I'd send it out to get those mods as soon as I got it. Why? Because out of the box it's unbalanced, too much weight forward, too much drag in the water, the coil is hardwired so you can't swap, and it's just too inconvenient. Installing the mods is like night and day and once done it turns and otherwise clumsy and impractical design into a comfortable and lethal king of the beach.

I'll contact Kellyco just to have an idea on how much these mods might cost.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
 

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cameleon222

cameleon222

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2017
50
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I'll contact Kellyco just to have an idea on how much these mods might cost.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
do you know of any email to contact them plz ? I don't really need someone to install mods, i can do pretty much any mechanical or electronic stuffs myself, I would just purchase them. I need to know if they do deliver to my location (Mexico) and how much would shipping and handling costs.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
 

bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
13,373
8,689
Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
do you know of any email to contact them plz ? I don't really need someone to install mods, i can do pretty much any mechanical or electronic stuffs myself, I would just purchase them. I need to know if they do deliver to my location (Mexico) and how much would shipping and handling costs.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

Actually, just PM Treasure Hunter here on these forums and he can probably dial you in on some of that Kellyco info. I'm not too up to date on exactly who else is doing now but I do know that there are several.
 

Welgund

Sr. Member
Aug 27, 2014
355
478
Colorado
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, CTX 3030, CZ-6a, CZ 5, Tesoro Vaquero, Mojave, Fisher F75 Ltd2, MXT Pro, Makro Multi Kruzer, Deeptech VGG
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
You can probably pick up a used CTX for around 1500 that has never been in the water. Maybe still have warranty on it also. It works great inland and at the beach.
 

pearson

Full Member
May 7, 2014
126
149
Gastonia, NC
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030. Minelab 705, Garrett Ace 350
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I would call and speak with these distributors.
They can Taylor your needs and price range with a detector that will best suit your needs.

I did when I first started out and their recommendations were on point.

Www.kellyco.com
https://www.bigboyshobbies.net. (Bart)

Are two big named distributors that stand behind their products and will take the time to help you.

Good luck
 

DeepseekerADS

Gold Member
Mar 3, 2013
14,880
21,725
SW, VA - Bull Mountain
Detector(s) used
CTX, Excal II, EQ800, Fisher 1260X, Tesoro Royal Sabre, Tejon, Garrett ADSIII, Carrot, Stealth 920iX, Keene A52
Primary Interest:
Other
As for land hunting, the Excal does very well there once you get used to what the sounds are telling you.
 

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cameleon222

cameleon222

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2017
50
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
As for land hunting, the Excal does very well there once you get used to what the sounds are telling you.
Do you know how much the shaft and coil weight if i use a waist mount ?

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
 

bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
13,373
8,689
Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Do you know how much the shaft and coil weight if i use a waist mount ?

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

Not much at all, however, a waist mount or chest mount will put more strain and risk on the cables and strain reliefs. This is why a lot of Excal users simply go for the "long shaft" because it creates a pendulum effect in the balance of the the machine, the weight divided pretty evenly both above and below the elbow, which allows for effortless swinging even in the water, all of the cables secure around the shaft. This is something you can't do with some of the other excellent beach and water machines, the CTX coming quickly to mind due to its design, this making the CTX something of a baseball bat in the water, its design creating a lot of additional drag because it is bulkier and all of that bulk is below the elbow. This is why most CTX owners still own and use an Excal for a great deal of their water hunting, especially when encountering currents, surf, etc. So not only is the Excal a super beach and water machine but its design also lends itself to so much customization and personalized fit. But like I said before, its balance sucks right out of the box.
 

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cameleon222

cameleon222

Jr. Member
Jul 2, 2017
50
14
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Not much at all, however, a waist mount or chest mount will put more strain and risk on the cables and strain reliefs. This is why a lot of Excal users simply go for the "long shaft" because it creates a pendulum effect in the balance of the the machine, the weight divided pretty evenly both above and below the elbow, which allows for effortless swinging even in the water, all of the cables secure around the shaft. This is something you can't do with some of the other excellent beach and water machines, the CTX coming quickly to mind due to its design, this making the CTX something of a baseball bat in the water, its design creating a lot of additional drag because it is bulkier and all of that bulk is below the elbow. This is why most CTX owners still own and use an Excal for a great deal of their water hunting, especially when encountering currents, surf, etc. So not only is the Excal a super beach and water machine but its design also lends itself to so much customization and personalized fit. But like I said before, its balance sucks right out of the box.
i see..... that's a good point, so we typically speaking about the long Anderson shaft ? anything else available?
BTW, just a news info from Minelab,

Effective 9/2017, Minelab will be inaugurating service centers in Uruacu, Brazil and Monterrey, Mexico.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
 

bigscoop

Gold Member
Jun 4, 2010
13,373
8,689
Wherever there be treasure!
Detector(s) used
Older blue Excal with full mods, Equinox 800.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
i see..... that's a good point, so we typically speaking about the long Anderson shaft ? anything else available?
BTW, just a news info from Minelab,

Effective 9/2017, Minelab will be inaugurating service centers in Uruacu, Brazil and Monterrey, Mexico.

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

I really couldn't tell you these days as Mike and I make our own shafts, arm cuffs, handles, etc. But I'm sure others on here will be glad to help answer that question.
 

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,410
30,022
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
Just remember, everything here is Personal Opinion - Nothing More. For instance, I HATE straight shafts. They are a pain in the butt. Why buy a $1,500.00 machine that is "unbalanced out of the box," and needs "mods?" My $580.00 pulse induction Sand Shark, paid for itself its third time out in the water, and my $254.00 Silver uMax with its 11" x 8" widescan coil is a Killer on the dry sand! Both have lifetime warranties, are light (the Sand Shark can be belt or chest mounted), and I can fly round trip to Florida TWICE with the money I saved not buying a Modded Minelab Excalibur. Now who is "The King of the Beach?" :skullflag:
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,173
14,462
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
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
Some areas just have too much iron junk to use a PI detector.
 

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