A Rant About Detectors

[Smudge]

Ok, gotta get this off of my chest.

Message to White's, Minelab, and Garrett:

Why are your best machines so blasted HEAVY?

I have been researching my next detector for a couple of months and thought about getting a really good one from one of the above.

Forget it.

It's always the same from users: "I love my Sovereign/E-Trac/Spectrum/DFX/GTI/GTA,etc., BUT... I can only swing it a couple of hours before my arm wears out."

Really? Yeah, that's what I want: rotator cuff issues when I'm in my 50's because I swung your 4.5 lb. detector the last ten years.

Looks like Garrett is trying with their AT PRO (but its not a top end detector).

Fisher/Teknetics/Tesoro seem to have cornered the market on light weight detectors.

Guess I'll have to do my shopping with these guys. Are they as good as the big three? Well, I guess I'll have to find out.

The rest of you manufacturers need to lighten up! Pun intended.

Ok, I feel better now. Thanks.

 

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[gleaner1]

Smudge simply speaking it's too expensive to lighten up. High end machines have big powerful circuitry requiring heavy power sources to get decent battery life. Things always get lighter as technology gets better, its a matter of time. They can do it, but it would be a major cost, all the engineering and tooling and manufacturing costs are easy for the consumer to overlook. Take a machine like the Etrac, it has a huge power sucking processor and just look at all the complex plastic moldings, the battery compartment, all that stuff needed for a sturdy quality unit. It's expensive as it is, all 3.3 lbs of it. It costs huge dollars to engineer lighter parts and to re-tool the molds and boards and chips. And when it's all said and done and they come out with a new magic wand, it will be more expensive, and everyone will complain about how flimsy and crappy it feels, especially for that outrageous price they want. Sorry for the rant!!!

 

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[mrwilburino]

My 2nd detector, bought new, was an early 70's Coinmaster III. Obviously it was heavier than my current Ace 250. That form factor of detector is gone, yet I miss it. I could completely relax my neck, shoulder and elbow . . . just let the detector dangle in my fingers. A little flick of the wrist would send it back and forth over the grass. Choking up on the handle would bring the loop higher, working your fingers down toward the box would bring it down. You just had to adjust the stem to be comfortable. I bet if we had today's tech in lightweight boxes of the old style there would still be a number of people that would prefer them. Call 'em "retro".

I was thinking the same thing when I came across this thread. Those old detectors could be rough on the forearms, especially if you were swinging them in tall grass, but a lot of that had to do with how much those battery-filled monsters weighed back then. They definitely did not put the same kind of stress on the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder like the armrest-equipped detectors that we have nowadays do.

 

[Digger82]

All this ranting about the weight of the top of the line detectors, have you not heard how much the top of the line detector Xp Deus weights.

 

[xasp61]

i really like the F-75, easy to setup and change on the fly, super light and batteries last and last. I like my others too. they just wear you out after three of four hours, not to mention they love to eat batteries.

 

[Westfront]

All this ranting about the weight of the top of the line detectors, have you not heard how much the top of the line detector Xp Deus weights.

So true....Its like nothing in Your hand! But i dont know if there is anyone in the States who buys a foreign detector. I even didnt know if there is a dealer over there for XP. And....lets talk about the price!!! Ok, its three detectors in one but i stay with my GmaxxII. And yes, i think its heavy too!

 

[Digger82]

All this ranting about the weight of the top of the line detectors, have you not heard how much the top of the line detector Xp Deus weights.

So true....Its like nothing in Your hand! But i dont know if there is anyone in the States who buys a foreign detector. I even didnt know if there is a dealer over there for XP. And....lets talk about the price!!! Ok, its three detectors in one but i stay with my GmaxxII. And yes, i think its heavy too!

There a few Xp Deus machines and some Bulgarian made detectors in the states already and there are rumors, that Xp will start to sell their product in the states this year.

 

[Westfront]

Thats good news. Im looking forward to see how they sell over there. These are top class machines.

 

[Born2Dtect]

I am swinging an E-Trac now used to swing an Explorer II. Never had any problems with the weight of either. I am not a muscular fellow either. One way to keep from swinging so much is to find more and dig more!

Treasure_Hunter, What kind of harness are you using? Just curious.

Ed D.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I am swinging an E-Trac now used to swing an Explorer II. Never had any problems with the weight of either. I am not a muscular fellow either. One way to keep from swing so much is to find more and dig more!

Treasure_Hunter, What kind of harness are you using? Just curious.

Ed D.

I bought mine at Kellyco, it is the "S" model, I always carry 2 in my van..... You can find them on this page.....

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/accessories/lejermonharnesses.htm

 

[AUDuke]

I am swinging an E-Trac now used to swing an Explorer II. Never had any problems with the weight of either. I am not a muscular fellow either. One way to keep from swing so much is to find more and dig more!

Treasure_Hunter, What kind of harness are you using? Just curious.

Ed D.

If you never had any problems with the weight, why did you find it necessary buy two (2) harnesses?

I bought mine at Kellyco, it is the "S" model, I always carry 2 in my van..... You can find them on this page.....

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/accessories/lejermonharnesses.htm

I

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I am swinging an E-Trac now used to swing an Explorer II. Never had any problems with the weight of either. I am not a muscular fellow either. One way to keep from swing so much is to find more and dig more!

Treasure_Hunter, What kind of harness are you using? Just curious.

Ed D.

I bought mine at Kellyco, it is the "S" model, I always carry 2 in my van..... You can find them on this page.....

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/accessories/lejermonharnesses.htm

If you never had any problems with the weight, why did you find it necessary buy two (2) harnesses?

I think your mixing up 2 different posts.

I use the harness because it makes detecting so much easier just like a pinpointer, when I hunt land I don't need a pinpointer, but I use one because it speeds up recoveries.... With the harness I can physically let go of my detector in the water if I want or need and it will hang right by my side, controls at the top.

The reason I have 2 harnesses is in case I lose one. I carry 2 of everything at a minimum. I take 3 detectors, two scoops, 2 harnesses, 2 set of boots and I have a large "detector" tool box made from a large tacklebox.

In my detector tool box is virtually everything I would need to do an on the spot repair. Box contains spare teardrop washers, coil bolts and nuts, at least 16 AA, 8 AAA, and 3 or 4 9 volt batteries, silicone lube, SF 50 sunscreen, 6 to 8 d-links, heat shrink, soldering iron, solder, spare knobs, SS set screws, lacing cord, electrical tape, spare harness and I am sure I am not listing a bunch more.....

 

[dale68]

I use a cz5 I bought about 1993, the control box slides off the pole (i hang it around my neck with a strap) the pole and spyder coil are very light. It's also good in shallow water.

 

[Elbandido]

Body mounts, swing things, Arm straps,Harnesses, Realy?
Can make a lap top or Tv a inch thick !
Take the Minelab Gpx line for example the Detector=6 pounds+Battery pack 2 pounds= 8 pounds.
I dont want anything around my neck or body while i am out in the brush Relic hunting.

 

[Corben]

THANK YOU !!! From a Explorer2 to a µMax Bandido2 for that very reason!
Loved the depth of that Minelab buy my arm and shoulder hated it!

 

[kai_gold]

I think they make them heavy to make you think you are getting your money's worth.......

Bingo. They could go to smaller components and not affect the cost much. But, despite how well some of the lighter metal detectors hold up, people say they feel like toys or that they are going to break the machine. Keeping it heavy is based on user psychology.

Happens all the time in other industries. Take board games. Depending on the cost of a game, there is certain weight the manufacturers target so that when a customer picks up the box, they think hey this is heavy and subconsciously associate it with value.

 

[Ism]

Much of the weight in my TDI is from the LiIon battery required to power it.

 

[Smudge]

Smudge simply speaking it's too expensive to lighten up. High end machines have big powerful circuitry requiring heavy power sources to get decent battery life. Things always get lighter as technology gets better, its a matter of time. They can do it, but it would be a major cost, all the engineering and tooling and manufacturing costs are easy for the consumer to overlook. Take a machine like the Etrac, it has a huge power sucking processor and just look at all the complex plastic moldings, the battery compartment, all that stuff needed for a sturdy quality unit. It's expensive as it is, all 3.3 lbs of it. It costs huge dollars to engineer lighter parts and to re-tool the molds and boards and chips. And when it's all said and done and they come out with a new magic wand, it will be more expensive, and everyone will complain about how flimsy and crappy it feels, especially for that outrageous price they want. Sorry for the rant!!!

Not at all. What you say makes sense. I have a feeling though that now that several lighter weight machines are coming out, the heavy manufacturers are going to be compelled to do likewise if they don't want to lose market share.

There are always those who will be willing to swing heavy detectors, but manufacturers know that most would choose the lighter over the heavier, even if the heavier had more features.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Smudge simply speaking it's too expensive to lighten up. High end machines have big powerful circuitry requiring heavy power sources to get decent battery life. Things always get lighter as technology gets better, its a matter of time. They can do it, but it would be a major cost, all the engineering and tooling and manufacturing costs are easy for the consumer to overlook. Take a machine like the Etrac, it has a huge power sucking processor and just look at all the complex plastic moldings, the battery compartment, all that stuff needed for a sturdy quality unit. It's expensive as it is, all 3.3 lbs of it. It costs huge dollars to engineer lighter parts and to re-tool the molds and boards and chips. And when it's all said and done and they come out with a new magic wand, it will be more expensive, and everyone will complain about how flimsy and crappy it feels, especially for that outrageous price they want. Sorry for the rant!!!

Not at all. What you say makes sense. I have a feeling though that now that several lighter weight machines are coming out, the heavy manufacturers are going to be compelled to do likewise if they don't want to lose market share.

There are always those who will be willing to swing heavy detectors, but manufacturers know that most would choose the lighter over the heavier, even if the heavier had more features.

I don't know, Tesoros been around for years, they have always been lighter and haven't seem to made a difference.....

 

[Daedalus]

There is one that is made in France coming out , and I will have to look it up again but it does not have any wires , the coil and headphones are wireless and from what I have read it is a very good machine. Taking the wires off has dropped the weight quite a bit.
You might do a search on this one and see but I remember when I read about it I said was that is light for a detector . But I do not remember what it was lol.
I will see if I can find it again and you can do a search also. And I think it was going to be sold here in the U.S .

 

[Jason in Enid]

I call BS. The weight of the wiring is almost nothing. If you remove the wires, you still have to transfer the signals, so you are replacing them with radio circuits which have thier own weight. You also have to have power, so no wires means you have to have seperate battery packs for the headphones and the coil.