Best Beep, Dig Machine for Relic hunting

[BamaBill]

I'm tired of TID machines lying to me and now I'm going to get as light and deep a beep, dig machine I can get. No F75s, no explorers. Just raw depth. Enlighten me.

Thanks,
Bill

[dazoff]

Nautilus may be the answer for raw depth, the Sov does well too. Only if you want to stay with VLF the other option would be to go to a PI unit.

[Iron Patch]

Don't look at the screen and it won't lie! Use a detector for the guts it has, whether there's a meter or not is irrelevant.

[EddieR]

Tesoro Tejon would be my first choice. However, if you want to go even lighter, check out the Tesoro Vaquero. Just my opinion, but I think ANY Tesoro machine is great for relic hunting. Those machines GO DEEP, are very lightweight, and a lifetime warranty to boot. Kinda hard to beat that combo....

[Diver_Down]

I don't lurk in this forum, but I'll add my 2 cents. I have a MP5 Pro. Sounds generic and all but it is lightweight and has no interface to decipher the signal and display to the user. 2 9 volts and it is super lightweight. Comes with a 10" concentric coil that goes deep. It has outperformed the T2 which brags about it's depth. http://www.kellycodetectors.com/MP3/mp5pro.htm

[kuger]

Tesoro Tejon would be my first choice. However, if you want to go even lighter, check out the Tesoro Vaquero. Just my opinion, but I think ANY Tesoro machine is great for relic hunting. Those machines GO DEEP, are very lightweight, and a lifetime warranty to boot. Kinda hard to beat that combo....

Before yesterday,I would not say this,but a buddy of mine who kicks 3756s uses a Cibola (Tesoro),and let me tell you the depth he was getting was unreal!!!

[dneyedli@res1.mts.net]

Well since the regulars haven't chimed in, I'll be the one to say..............
Fisher 1266X!!!
$200 to $300 on E-bay and you're good to go. Tesoro products kick butt as well. Heard the Naughty is good by a lot of relic hunters. I also agree with I.P. and don't look at the screen!
Lots of choices out there.
Dave.

[wildrider]

Depends on the ground you're in...I'm guessing your Alabama ;-)
Here in central Kentucky, I hunt 95% Nautilus DMC 2b, but Troy Shadow x5 has had good depth as has the Tesoro Tejon.
Some fields the Tejon works alot better than the Nauty, sometime its the other way around.
Keep an ID machine around for old house sites though.

[John (Ma)]

Tejon or Nautilus

[vayank54]

[quote=Rando ]

Don't look at the screen and it won't lie! Use a detector for the guts it has, whether there's a meter or not is irrelevant.

This.
[/quote ]

RIGHT!!!!!!!

[jersey devl]

Tesoro Tejon would be my first choice. However, if you want to go even lighter, check out the Tesoro Vaquero. Just my opinion, but I think ANY Tesoro machine is great for relic hunting. Those machines GO DEEP, are very lightweight, and a lifetime warranty to boot. Kinda hard to beat that combo....

Quoted for truth!

[Sandpit]

I use the Nautilus or Tejon depends on ground conditions.

[Sky Pilot]

Tesoro Tejon would be my first choice. However, if you want to go even lighter, check out the Tesoro Vaquero. Just my opinion, but I think ANY Tesoro machine is great for relic hunting. Those machines GO DEEP, are very lightweight, and a lifetime warranty to boot. Kinda hard to beat that combo....

I have to agree with Eddie! The Tejon is definitely a lightweight, super deep machine, with great separation. The Tejon is basically (please take this comment only as experience to help out, not arrogance) a much more stable version of Fisher's 1266-X with ground balance and not as temperamental as '66's are in minerals and around small trash, while as sensitive to small relics as the user wants to set it for. I REALLY love the dual discriminators, the ability to choose the VCO tone and the eight AA batteries will seem to last forever! All that in a package that weighs just under 3 pounds. The Vaquero is a tail kicker too, but only uses a nine volt battery, so it is somewhat lighter. The only thing that would give them appeal to a greater market, in my opinion, is to offer a different color scheme!!! Now, I'm colorblind and perhaps that is why those colors seem so gaudy to me, but I've been putting off a couple of paint jobs! LOL!!! As for the TID's, about the only thing they can offer above this is a depth reading, and if the signal sounds even partially good, we all know we're gonna dig it anyway. I still have use for the TID's, but like you said Bill, I am also very tired of being lied to. Hope this helps! Heck, if you want to see inside one, holler! Regards, Richard

[BamaBill]

Well, I decided on and purchased a ML Advantage. Now, before you go jumping on me, saying I should have gotten the Tejon, let me explain. I decided that what I needed was a basic beep dig machine with the ability to function well in bad ground (down state Alabma and some iron riddled areas) as well as good and the ability to hip mount, off rod, when I add a large coil for cache hunting (15 inch WOT for the Advantage). The Advantage has a solid reputation as a relic and old coin machine, so that's what I went for. It also has what I would consider an ideal coil for hunting in iron (7.25 actual size DD coil that (I've been told) when run hot can get real good depth). For now, the X-terra 705 I have is for finding sites (hotspots) and I'll be using the Advantage to dig everything until I start to get a feel for the differences in sound. Funny thing is, if the Cibola I started with a few years ago had ground balance I would probably still be using just it and would have saved myself a bunch of money (yeah, right I'd like to think so, but I'm a gear junky and how much fun is life without some variety).

[Iron Patch]

Tesoro Tejon would be my first choice. However, if you want to go even lighter, check out the Tesoro Vaquero. Just my opinion, but I think ANY Tesoro machine is great for relic hunting. Those machines GO DEEP, are very lightweight, and a lifetime warranty to boot. Kinda hard to beat that combo....

As for the TID's, about the only thing they can offer above this is a depth reading, and if the signal sounds even partially good, we all know we're gonna dig it anyway.

hmmm.... So if that's all they offer it means all detector electronics are equal? That sounds like all the people that say a non-metered detector is for relics, and metered is for coins, and they just don't understand it's the electronics that make it good at one or the other!

[Sky Pilot]

Quote from BamaBill " (yeah, right I'd like to think so, but I'm a gear junky and how much fun is life without some variety)."

LOL!! I hear you, Bill!! I too, am a gear junky. I wish you well with your new machine, Bill! As for me, I have nothing against Minelab machines and know because of your attitude and knowledge/common sense, that while it makes a difference to some extent what you may use, you'll always endeavor to persevere to overcome and make great finds all the same! Warmest Regards, Richard

[Sky Pilot]

Quote from Iron Patch: " hmmm.... So if that's all they offer it means all detector electronics are equal? That sounds like all the people that say a non-metered detector is for relics, and metered is for coins, and they just don't understand it's the electronics that make it good at one or the other!

Wwweeelllll, not exactly. I didn't say "that's ALL they offer." I try not to generalize when I communicate, but if that's how it came across, it wasn't meant that way. As for the electronics, I don't know a whole lot about them, but I AM fairly well versed in the use and operation of a myriad of detectors. Including the Fisher 1266, (or any other model in the X series for that matter), any model CZ (except the underwater models), name your poison in the F series, CoinStrike, GoldBug, Gemini, ID.

Then there are the Tesoros: ANY Saber (MicroMax or not), pick any current model including the Cortes, and I believe we've been through the Tejon and Vaquero.
Let's not forget the Garrett's! Ole Charlie has some pretty good machines out there as well!

I know these things (I could keep it up but won't, as that would be arrogant, as I tried to convey in my original post!), simply because I've have been blessed to own whatever machine I've desired, and like I wrote to Bill earlier, I'm a gear junky. You cannot know which detector is suited to your specific need(s), unless you have a chance to USE them. I've been at this hobby since the mid '70's, and since that time I've owned and operated nearly every major detector to come out with any advances. This includes White's, Minelab, RadioShack, Nautilus, Garrett, Fisher and Tesoro, Teknetiks, Compass, Troy and some I've forgotten. Ssssooooo, I have a FAIR idea about the difference between a TID and Audio detector, but if you take your own advice

Don't look at the screen and it won't lie! Use a detector for the guts it has, whether there's a meter or not is irrelevant.

the screen has nothing (according to your quote, you ignore it anyway, right?) to offer anyway, so why have one?
Besides, Bill has made his mind up already, and he went with the Advantage, so the question/debate is moot now, since he started this thread. Best Regards, Richard

[Treasure_Hunter]

One of the best there is, is the Minelab Sovereign GT..........It goes deep, if your hunting in fields add the Coiltec WOT coil, if area is trashy, dont use the WOT that day. I have dug targets at the beach over 15" deep with my Sov GT with WOT, the signal was faint, but no doubt it was there and it gave a good signal in all directions.

Good luck and good hunting..............

[Iron Patch]

Quote from Iron Patch: " hmmm.... So if that's all they offer it means all detector electronics are equal? That sounds like all the people that say a non-metered detector is for relics, and metered is for coins, and they just don't understand it's the electronics that make it good at one or the other!

Wwweeelllll, not exactly. I didn't say "that's ALL they offer." I try not to generalize when I communicate, but if that's how it came across, it wasn't meant that way. As for the electronics, I don't know a whole lot about them, but I AM fairly well versed in the use and operation of a myriad of detectors. Including the Fisher 1266, (or any other model in the X series for that matter), any model CZ (except the underwater models), name your poison in the F series, CoinStrike, GoldBug, Gemini, ID.

Then there are the Tesoros: ANY Saber (MicroMax or not), pick any current model including the Cortes, and I believe we've been through the Tejon and Vaquero.
Let's not forget the Garrett's! Ole Charlie has some pretty good machines out there as well!

I know these things (I could keep it up but won't, as that would be arrogant, as I tried to convey in my original post!), simply because I've have been blessed to own whatever machine I've desired, and like I wrote to Bill earlier, I'm a gear junky. You cannot know which detector is suited to your specific need(s), unless you have a chance to USE them. I've been at this hobby since the mid '70's, and since that time I've owned and operated nearly every major detector to come out with any advances. This includes White's, Minelab, RadioShack, Nautilus, Garrett, Fisher and Tesoro, Teknetiks, Compass, Troy and some I've forgotten. Ssssooooo, I have a FAIR idea about the difference between a TID and Audio detector, but if you take your own advice

Don't look at the screen and it won't lie! Use a detector for the guts it has, whether there's a meter or not is irrelevant.

the screen has nothing (according to your quote, you ignore it anyway, right?) to offer anyway, so why have one?
Besides, Bill has made his mind up already, and he went with the Advantage, so the question/debate is moot now, since he started this thread. Best Regards, Richard

I don't think you really get what I'm saying and guess it doesn't matter if the poster deciding on a unit ends the thread.

[Sky Pilot]

Hello, Iron Patch! If I missed the boat on that one, I apologize! Warmest Regards, Richard