after reading many reviews want to know what is best non meter detector

thadious

Sr. Member
Jul 13, 2006
270
6
Hemet, Ca
Detector(s) used
Sovereign GT, Garret Ace 250, At Pro
I have read many posts concerning various top line detectors where people recommend ignoring vdi numbers, signographs and anything else on their meters and go with tones if target is more than 6 to 8 inches. Since I locked into the readouts on my humble bh 505 and probably missed a lot of good targets because if it, I am thinking maybe I just need to get a machine with no visual screens and go by sound alone. I hunt beaches, parks an on rare occasion water. I don't know what machines are good for all three and am open to suggestions. Thanks Ted
 

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txkickergirl

Silver Member
Jan 4, 2007
2,782
25
George West, TX
Detector(s) used
SOV, EXCAL, CZ20, & more
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Why don't you look at the tesoro, I am sure you can find one that would suit you. I have never worked with one but hear they are good machines with a lifetime warranty.
 

jonnyrebel00

Hero Member
Nov 9, 2006
545
2
Mobile, Al
Detector(s) used
Garrett GTI 2500, Garrett Master Hunter
If you can ever track down Birdman on here he uses a Tesoro and has pretty darn good luck with it. Him and i do about the same when we go out and i have my GTI 2500. He does find more deep nickels than me though for some reason.
 

rayredditch

Hero Member
May 27, 2006
574
5
Europe
Detector(s) used
Adventis II, GoldMaxx Power, Whites Surf Master PI Pro DD, Fisher 1280X Aquanaut, Fisher 1265X, Minelab Advantage, Hartmann 1023, Viking 6DX2
Either XP´s (Hard to get in the States, but the fastest of all, and almost MineLab deep too...Nr.1 in Europe), or also very good, the Tesoro´s. Can´t go wrong with either.
 

U.K. Brian

Bronze Member
Oct 11, 2005
1,629
153
Detector(s) used
XLT, Whites D.F., Treasure Baron, Deepstar, Goldquest, Beachscan, T.D.I., Sovereign, 2x Nautilus, various Arado's, Ixcus Diver, Altek Quadtone, T2, Beach Hunter I.D, GS 5 pulse, Searchman 2 ,V3i
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
He can. The XP's probably won't work in all the areas that the Troy X3 and X5 didn't work. The Shadows either had "great machine, fantastic depth" reviews or "not deep/overpriced" depending on the soil conditions.
I'm a little suprised that the T2 or F75 didn't get mentioned as a home product. Faster response time than the XP's and more than double the warranty. You can use it in several ways from the ferrous/non ferrous of the XP's and non metered Tesoro's or tie tone to meter readings for park areas where digging to many deep holes could lead to a ban.
 

Keppy

Gold Member
Nov 19, 2006
8,318
2,870
N.E. Ohio on lake Erie
Detector(s) used
** WHAT ONE I FEEL LIKE ON HUNTING DAY *****
Primary Interest:
Other
thadious said:
I have read many posts concerning various top line detectors where people recommend ignoring vdi numbers, signographs and anything else on their meters and go with tones if target is more than 6 to 8 inches. Since I locked into the readouts on my humble bh 505 and probably missed a lot of good targets because if it, I am thinking maybe I just need to get a machine with no visual screens and go by sound alone. I hunt beaches, parks an on rare occasion water. I don't know what machines are good for all three and am open to suggestions. Thanks Ted
...To me the best non meter detector is the ......Minelab Sovereign GT.........it has tone ID and iron mask.............And it is the best beach and park detector and a good surf detector but do not get the box wet the coil yes ...............................==Jim==
 

Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Sovereign GT.

But, after using a non TID machine (Musketeer Advantage - also a good "audio" machine) and switching I am amazed what I was missing; and more importantly the trash I was digging that could easily be avoided. Big time saver in trashy sites like parks but less important for woods/relic hunting. I still dig a lot of iffy hits, that's where the jewelery is, but I'm getting so I guess the trash 95% of the time and, when in a hurry, I can hit the local park at lunchtime and dig only coins.

Good news is you can add the display to the GT later if you wish.

Be sure to get a set of Black Widows or equivalent headphones. It's all about the tones.
 

topknocker

Greenie
Mar 12, 2007
10
1
i had been using id machines for a long time. then i brought a tesoro v. i really like the v but i'm still use to id machines. i had been using a cheap set of headphones for a long time. i just brought my son a some nice killer b's. i was amazed at the different in tones with the quality set of head phones compared to the cheap ones. i am ordering myself a new set of killer bee's and using the cheap ones for back up. everybody was right about the need for quality headphones!!
 

TomNWMI

Full Member
Feb 5, 2006
201
103
NWMI
Detector(s) used
X-Terra 705, Equinox 800, Musketeer, Tek G2, Omega and a Fisher ID Edge
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I agree with UKBrian

Go with the T2 or F75. That way you have all the bases covered. Used in single tone mode at low disc they will hit on the partially masked coins and relics others miss in the iron and you have the availability to switch to tones and meter when needed in parks. Very accurate ID's on US coins in the tone mode to 8"+.

The best of both worlds!

Tom
 

Michigan Badger

Gold Member
Oct 12, 2005
6,797
148
Northern, Michigan
Detector(s) used
willow stick
Primary Interest:
Other
jonnyrebel00 said:
If you can ever track down Birdman on here he uses a Tesoro and has pretty darn good luck with it. Him and i do about the same when we go out and i have my GTI 2500. He does find more deep nickels than me though for some reason.

I've never used the 2500 but all machines will find nickels if set properily. I have an imported tone detector that will give a low iron sound on nickels. When using that machine I have to hunt in discrimination mode and set it to accept nickels or I'll never find any.

But some types of detectors are better than others on nickels. Tesoros are good and I think the Minelab Sovereign GT is the very best at finding them. If I hunt an old park 30% of my coin finds will be old nickels. Lots of people miss them.
 

JOE(USA)

Hero Member
Dec 3, 2006
668
5
New Milford,CT.
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Cortes/Tiger Shark,Whites,B.H./ Teknetics,3DElectronics/ Two Box, Minelab XS,Excal.
thadious,

There is no right detector. Whether it be brand name (stick with major brands) or what features it has. Pay particular attention to field tests,comments,etc. that are about the type of hunting you want to do. When you ask about beach or water hunting be sure to specify fresh or salt water. Do your research,take your time and when you are sure you understand what's going on, buy what appeals to YOU. Beware of the suggestions that the best detector is the one that some guy or girl says THEY use. Whether it's a ID machine or not the answer will come to you after you have done the research. Joe
 

EasyMoney

Sr. Member
Sep 15, 2007
476
7
Sweet Home, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Primarily my Fisher cz-70 and Compass Relic & Coin, plus many others
Joe is right, there is no "right detector", but, there is a "right type detector".

You live in the iron belt. We have lots of iron dust left from when the meteors hit the earth some 10,000 years ago. People back east mostly don't even have a clue as to how much this bad soil can affect a detector. Lots of people will give advice on here regarding what they experience, but are unable to correctly recommend the right one for this area.

I would try out a few of them before I buy, but Joe is the man to buy it from, he is reliable, friendly, and knowledgeable. I have done business with Joe and I am MORE than satisfied in dealing with him. Thanks again Joe for the AH Pro, I really like it.

As far as Tesoros go, I like the Silver uMax, the Cibola, and the Compadre for use on the West Coast, and in that order.

I also like the cz Fishers too, but the Tesoros are a lot easier to use and lighter too. The Minelabs suck in much of our soil here and so do most Garretts. Most White's are not really designed for use here, but some can do ok, however, they have to be tweaked a lot, just like Minelabs do here. Older Compasses are very pleasant to use and hard to find, but again, the above Tesoros are the most pleasant and easiest to operate. With a larger coil they get some really impressive depth too.

I have found more coins and jewelry on Oregon, Washington, and California beaches with an old Silver Saber than with any other detector I've ever had in my hands. Mine still works and I still use it too. It or the Silver uMax would work very well in the mining areas up in the Sierra Madres in Eastern Cal and north of you. It would also do well out in the desert ghostowning, count on it. It would be superb there.
 

OkieMike

Jr. Member
Dec 19, 2007
25
0
Moore,Oklahoma
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Silver Sabre and Cibola.
I would suggest either the Tesoro Silver uMax,or the Cibola.Real easy to use,lite as a feather.You can swing 'em all day long,plus lifetime warrenty.
 

Charlie P. (NY)

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2006
13,003
17,106
South Central Upstate NY in the foothills of the h
Detector(s) used
Minelab Musketeer Advantage Pro w/8" & 10" DD coils/Fisher F75se(Upgraded to LTD2) w/11" DD, 6.5" concentric & 9.5" NEL Sharpshooter DD coils/Sunray FX-1 Probe & F-Point/Black Widows/Rattler headphone
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
EasyMoney said:
Joe is right, there is no "right detector", but, there is a "right type detector".

You live in the iron belt. We have lots of iron dust left from when the meteors hit the earth some 10,000 years ago. People back east mostly don't even have a clue as to how much this bad soil can affect a detector. Lots of people will give advice on here regarding what they experience, but are unable to correctly recommend the right one for this area.

I would try out a few of them before I buy . .

Excellent observation. Actually, in eons past the east had just as many meteor strikes as the west. No part of the planet is more prone than another. It's just we had glaciation every 10,000 years or so and the soil was scoured clean and re-deposited, lighter organic stuff on top and minerals below.

Anyway, most of us have a narrow band of experience and can only meaningfully comment on our portion.

IMHO any detector that flashes and image or highlights a word like "Ring!" or "1¢" is worth tossing. The ones that display a numeric and allow you to interpret what may be in that range, and at a certain depth even, are much more trustworthy.

The Musketeer Advantage, by the way, doesn't give up much as far as an audio only detector. With a good set of phones and some practice you can differentiate between trash and coins maybe 75% of the time (dig the round sounds and vowels and pass on the clicks, chirps and consonant sounds - or even better dig everything). If you're looking for jewelry dig everything in the pulltab ranges anyway.

That's the only big advantage I see to a TID detector. In trashy sites it allows you to leave the discrimination low or off and hear everything, but "see" the relative conductivity of the targets. If you're hitting a gozillion pulltabs, foil and bottlecaps maybe you DO want to pass up the hits in those ranges on that day. Or notch them out and know specifically what ranges are notched instead of hoping based on an approximate twist dial setting.

Regarding nickels: I find a LOT more with my F-75 tham with my Musky. I thing the higher frequency of the F-75 favors the less conductive targets and I'm pretty sure the other detectorists pass them up in my park as they notch or discriminate too much out. I dig cents and nickels and I get the feeling many just pass on those coins. Uppity. ;-)
 

Russ in Ohio

Greenie
Mar 14, 2006
13
0
I can't vouch for all non-metered machines but the one in my collection I use fairly regularly is a Wilson Coin Select. It runs smooth and with only 2 knobs it is very easy to use. It goes deep and hits as hard on those deep targets as shallow ones. To pinpoint you just sort of quiver the coil over the signal and its dead center! It is rather heavy and old fashioned looking but it brings a smile to me every time I use it. It seems to be hard to find much information on them but I really like mine. Another advantage of the Wilson is, according to the manual, it has true automatic ground balance as opposed to pre-set. I can't confirm this as, like I said, info is scant on these, but thats how the rather quaintly written manual reads. While not my primary machine it does get its share of use and as I say, I have no complaints. If indeed the GB is automatic it should be able to handle multiple applications. Hope this helps, Russ
 

EasyMoney

Sr. Member
Sep 15, 2007
476
7
Sweet Home, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Primarily my Fisher cz-70 and Compass Relic & Coin, plus many others
Lots of good points there Charlie..

As for me, when hunting salt beaches I use all-metal most of the time, and nothing else. One exception, that being with the cz. It gets better depth running all items notched in, including all iron, although they do all make different tones. In this regard it goes the deepest on ocean beaches of all detectors I've ever used. In low foil discrimination though, the Compass Relic & Coin gets the best depth and is also the best of two discriminators and earring finders. It, and my older Tesoro Silver Saber or Golden Saber.

The Compass has both numericals and analog readings running simultaneously in both modes, but mostly I just listen to the sounds anyway. I don't much care for bells and whistles at all, they are mostly just there for a small guideline anyway.
 

BuckleBoy

Gold Member
Jun 12, 2006
18,123
9,688
Moonlight and Magnolias
🥇 Banner finds
4
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Fisher F75, Whites DualField PI, Fisher 1266-X and Tesoro Silver uMax
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Non-meter is the only way I roll.


-Buckleboy
 

kindafoundabuckle

Hero Member
Dec 9, 2006
803
12
In bed at the moment
Detector(s) used
Dowsing rods
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
BuckleBoy said:
Non-meter is the only way I roll.


-Buckleboy

This is to easy so Im going to leave it alone. :D His non meter machine does have the ability to pick up little red berrys that hang in trees. ;D

KFB
 

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