MPX Digital

[dredre7]

I bought the MPX in haste, before reading this forum, was scared, but thought I would give it shot anyways. The review from the shop I bought it from seemed outstanding so I tried to keep an open mind.

First impressions were not good, opened the battery door and it said "MADE IN CHINA", ouch, not a good sign. The same day I received this detector, I also received a used Fortune Hunter (FH), (I think it is a Bounty Hunter) for my son that I bought on Ebay for $44.

The appearance of the detector seemed cheap and the housing seemed very large and bulky. The MPX and FH both took two 9 volts, the connectors for the batteries varied greatly, the FH had high qaulity solid hard plastic, while the MPX connectors were cheap. Took it out to the backyard, and it performed fine, didn't dig up too much trash except for an some bottle caps, aluminum cans, and a saw blade. I discovered it didn't have "notch" discrimination, was kinda upset. Again, I bought this in haste. I noticed the pinpointing was diffulcult to use as it would it either show depth on the bar scale without sound or sound without showing the bar, seemed like the pinpointing needed motion to work.

Tried air testing both machines, the FH had a better depth reading and also has notch discrimination that worked well, I Thought with the larger search coil on the MPX it should've performed better on the air test. The FH would not detect new pennies in notch mode however, there was a discrimination knob. I don't have an instruction manual so it might be something that simple. Anyways, the MPX had no problem with any pennies.

A couple of days later me and my son hit a schoolyard near me just stuck with the sand and didn't want to dig any holes, probably not a fair test for the MPX. Found some dimes and quarters, surprisingly no pennies and I decided to lower the disc to pull tabs just to see if I could find nickels, well I did, while only finding one pull tab that was cut in half. The pinpointing still was shaky, was easier not to use it. I just didn't feel good about the machine and sent it back before it was too late. By the way, I had a hassle-free return process on this machine.

Getting my Ace 250 in the mail soon, I should be happier.

 

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[Michigan Badger]

Good review.

As for the China made machines, most of the components used in our US made machines are imported from China, Taiwan, etc.

The problem lies in greed. US importers (some) are only looking to make a fast easy buck so they order super cheap machines. They tell the manufacturer to make that machine as cheaply as he can. So they cut corners and leave a lot out of the design.

I just purchased a China made machine that was designed to retail for $100. It didn't sell so I got it at the greatly reduced price of $29.99. My guess is the importer probably paid like $18.00 ea. for these.
The detector works great and tunes out iron better than my Minelab. However, it's only good to a depth of about 6 inches. But heck--it was only $30!

The big US made metal detector distributors may enjoy a 100% profit. That is, they may pay $100 for a machine retailing for $200 (buying large quantity). The big China made importer/retailers may enjoy a 500% or greater profit. A machine that cost them $30 to import can be sold (discount price) for maybe as much as $150 on ebay. This makes it possible for them to be very generous with returns.

If you buy a China made machine off ebay, you can figure it cost the supplier as little as 1/5 of what you pay. However, to get that price they had to invest a considerable amount of money and buy many units (100's or 1000's).

What is needed is a more direct contact with more foreign firms with fewer middlemen.
?
I know you will like the Ace 250.

HH

 

[longnempty]

Hello,

I am thinking of buying a MPX or MP3 Pro. Would sure love to see a field test. Thanks,

Mike

 

[Trackerman]

i will be getting one soon ill give you a second opinion on the machine

 

[deepfoot]

I have the MPx and the pin pointing is spot on. It also goes deep.

To get good results you have to have good targets and get the coil over them.

If you take your time and are systematic you will have good results regardless of the machine brand name.

Any and all machines take some getting used to if you are going to get maximum performance out of them.

I prefer the 8inch coil myself and I do find a lot of goodies.

 

[Dakota Dave]

I also have an MPX digital.. get very few false readings .. pinpoint is very accurate..depot find is a penny at about 12" deep in black dirt clay .... seems like a good machine to me

 

[RotZorn]

Got one on the so called "bogo" deal from Kellyco for $80.

It's ok. The search coil is nice and big and I've dug various iron at around 9-10 inches, but the deepest coin at around 5-6 inches. I spent limited time swinging it I must admit, having got an F5 for myself.

This one was meant for my son who's 10. The controls are simple enough for him to understand, but the big 10" coil was heavy for him. Long story short, he and his younger brother now share a 1st Texas Pilot, and they seem happy enough doing that.

I gave the MPX to my buddy who was really interested when I told him that me, the wife, and kids all were getting into the hobby. He seems happy with it-for now. But why wouldn't he be? It was free for him!

The build quality is less than stellar, the stem is 3 piece and doesn't fit together well even when you tighten hell out of the connectors. You can feel it move around some as you swing it. It does work though, and I have found a few coins that it did ID correctly. I did not air test for depth but I would say that it has to be at least decent from the few things I dug with it.

The biggest thing that bugged me about it was the tones were "backwards" - in others words, iron rings out high tones. Nickels, tabs, aluminum, and rings/jewelry gives mid tones and pennys, dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars ring out the low tones. I don't know why that irritates me?!?! Lol

Overall it's an ok detector though- for what I paid. If you can get one for $150 or less, I'd say go for it, especially if you are on a budget. It does have a waterproof coil and a headphone jack, which a lot of the other Chinese machines do not.

Out of 10 I'd give it a 6.5.