Detector Depth do you have to Pay for it?

[undertaker]

My brother and I have ace 250s which we picked up new for around $200.00 each. We have found alot of clad coins, tokens and some silver also musketballs, buttons and tons of junk. My brother is talking about upgrading to a whites so he can get more depth. We have hit some very old sites where we have been skunked and we walk away with the feeling what have we missed? Are the coins there and are detectors arn't reaching them. Will a $800.00 whites detect deeper that a $200.00 ace? I know they will discriminate better.

 

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[Yellow Hammer]

All I use are minelab PI's. Don't waste your money on a PI if your not looking for gold a PI will start at 1700.00 to 4800.00. But I would buy a minelab no matter what. the minelab PI will hit a 22 casing at 24" with the right coil. Ask pegleglooker he was out in the field thursday with me and he knows how deep it will go.

 

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[Gettintoknowsomethin]

I guess I will sell my minelab Safari and get a Bounty hunter and put some of the money I spent back into the bank!. I am brand new to this hobby and I guess I over spent a little. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Gettintoknowsomethin]

I guess your right. My neighbor has offerd me $350.00 for the Safari I guess I can use that to get the BH. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Digger]

Depth is relative to conditions, user skill AND the detector.

Most detectors, regardless of the price, can get very good depth in the hands of a skilled user, but only limited by ground conditions and the detectors limits.

In good conditions even a less experienced user can get good depth regardless of price, but limited by the detectors ability.

A better than average detector, usually costing more but not always, can get good depth in the hands of an inexperienced user even in less than good ground conditions.

A very good detector in the hands of an experienced user even in poor ground conditions can get excellent depth.

 

[metalmolly]

I have owned and still do own a variety of detectors. I just bought a Minelab Safari to use almost exclusively as a relic detector. Why? Because of the reputation and articles I have read regarding the depth of Minelab equipment. Right now I am busy learning how to use it and I am finding that I am digging a couple of inches deeper with it than I do with say.....my ACE 250. But for 90% of my hunting I probably would do just fine with the ACE. I also have a Tesoro SilverUmax that gets great depth and it really surprised me for a less expensive detector. So, I don't think more expensive always means better. A lot more has to do with what you want to do with your detector and how well you learn to use it. Monty

Opinions are all over the map on this one but I think Monty says it pretty well. He bought a Minelab Safari which I believe is close to being a four figure detector. He says it gets a couple more inches depth than the 250 and I'm sure it's better in other respects too. Logic tells me that manufacturers are going to make their more expensive detectors better detectors, but when Monty says the 250 would be fine for 90% of his hunting he's right. The Ace 250 is a great detector for the money. But to expect it to perform as well as a detector costing four times as much is not realistic. I think a good low end detector like the 250 will probably find a majority, but not all, of the good targets that a good high end detector will assuming the user is equally proficient with both.

 

[jocap]

I gotta throw in a couple of cents worth here. True, you get what you pay for, but at the same time, do you REALLY need all you are paying for? Yep, the high dollar detectors can be adjusted eleventy-leven different ways...but is it necessary to make those adjustments in order to find deep targets? Nope. I've got a good friend that has made some incredible finds over the years. He has been detecting for years and has used a lot of different machines. He is currently using a Minelab Explorer (high dollar) but is looking to get a Bounty Hunter because mine will consistently pick up any target the Minelab will. As in one of the posts above, he thought Bounty Hunters were toys until he saw me pull a seated liberty dime at nearly 9 inches (before anyone says the coin fell deeper into the hole, that is what my Bounty Hunter and the Explorer depth readout showed BEFORE digging). So no, its not necessary to go high dollar. BUT, remember, you get what you pay for. If you get a 49.99 detector, its gonna act like a 49.99 detector. In order to get decent depth, stability while hunting, and a quality machine, you can't just buy the cheapest one out there.It's just not necessary to buy the most expensive one. As for me, I use a variety. I have Bounty Hunter, Tesoro, Whites, and Fisher. They all work well.

EXACTLY! I have been detecting for about 13 years now. I owned many Tesoro units and a Whites. I recently bought a Bounty Hunter Time Ranger that is loaded with features and finding coins in the 10" area is to be expected. I bought it brand new never opened with two coils for $300 shipped. Great detector!

The fact that certain BH units are sold through Radio Shack and Wally World and do the very low cost of some of their units, has many of the "old school,brand name loving, big mouths" trashing the BH name.

Those that needed service ( for what ever reason), say the service/repair department at First Texas is great to deal with. "First Texas" the maker of BH, Fisher and Teknetics is a first class outfit. Ignore the haters!

 

[Bridge End Farm]

My brother and I have ace 250s which we picked up new for around $200.00 each. We have found alot of clad coins, tokens and some silver also musketballs, buttons and tons of junk. My brother is talking about upgrading to a whites so he can get more depth. We have hit some very old sites where we have been skunked and we walk away with the feeling what have we missed? Are the coins there and are detectors arn't reaching them. Will a $800.00 whites detect deeper that a $200.00 ace? I know they will discriminate better.

I think you will do fine with a larger coil for the 250.

Many factors go into consideration when you talk depth increase

I own a few machines, some high dollar and some not
To honestly know whats under the ground you need to dig it up in my opinion.
Many times I have found something I thought was nothing but dug it anyway

The more you practise/use it the better you will get. If you don't have a head set get one and use it. You need to listen for those faint little differences in your head set. Those are the deeper targets/items usually.

Lastly this is a game of inches to me, your swing is very important in locating targets. I have seen many times items recovered after being swung on prior even with same machines. If you missed it most likely you didn't get your coil over it. So be sure of your swing, walking pattern/grids, etc. You can never hunt to slow am area but you can hunt to fast.

Sure you get more bells and whistles when you spend more money usually. I still would take my 20 + year old analog machine with a 12 in coil against anything today that is in my MD Case.

 

[Digger]

jocap old habits are hard to break. Most old timers remember the BH as a toy. I'll admit I felt the same way because it used to be the case. Not any more. My brother bought a Quickdraw II and my first thought was oh did he screw up. After seeing it run I Was very impressed. I no longer look down at the BH name.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

I'll throw in my two Indian Head cents.

I currently have a $500 Minelab Musketeer Advantage II (which was $250 used) and a $1,000 Fisher F75. The F75 squeeks the Musky in my test garden over the same objects when run side-by-side, but not by more than 10 or 15%. The difference is the F75 gives me a good target ID and when in a park where I don't know what I'm over the F75 eliminates a LOT of what I would have otherwise dug. It also snipes in among surface trash where the Musky is useless; like when can-slaw and foil are plentiful and like throwing chaff in front of a radar homing missile. The Musky has great depth for the price, is a relic broom, but loves bottle and crown caps every bit as much as half-dollar pieces and quarters.

When I'm in the woods or an old home site I dig all the odd hits anyway, so the difference is much less noticable.

I never thought I'd get as attached to the visual ID as I am. For the first year I dug most everything until I got to the point where I learned it is pretty darned good. I still am suspicious, as jewelry and off-demomination old coins or early copper alloys read in the junk zones. When it pays for itself is in spots where there s a lot of one or two kinds of trash and you just ignore those VDI zones and dig what is a good target. Of course, some days it pays to dig everything, but it is great to have the choice on the days you want to find some goodies (like the day after a fair or field day before the competition arrives).

You don't necessarily have to buy depth, but time is money and a higher dollar detector can save you time if you learn it well, so more time = more recoveries.

 

[Digger]

Not even the top of the line high priced MDs can accurately ID targets deeper than 6 inches.Since a cheapie machine with a eight inch coil will almost all go 6 inches deep then where is the incentive to buy high priced machines.

True but! It's been my experience that the lower priced machines don't ID as well/as deep as the higher end. Not always the case, but for the most part. Here in Kansas at least 90% of what I find is 6" or less, so being very accurate to 6" is very important since I don't have the time to "dig it all" any more.

 

[Digger]

Lets look at it from another view.

Depth is relative to conditions. That is to say, in bad ground conditions, you may only be able to 4" on coins due to wet salt or high trash. Dual frequency gets better depth in wet salt conditions, and a sniper coil gets better depth in high trash conditions. In these cases the higher priced detectors will get better depth. Having the right coil for the right conditions will also get you better depth. Most of the lower priced detectors have limited coil selection, while the high priced detectors tend to have a better coil selection.

Generally being able to adjust/fine tune a detector to better handle conditions will equal better depth. Detectors that can give the user more information on a target, both audio and visual, give better odds/depth on accurately ID'ing a target which can mean better depth. Those "bells and whistles" if used correctly can get more usable depth out of a detector.

I think the more correct statement would be the lower end detectors, under the right conditions, can get just as deep as the higher end detectors, but to think the ACE 250, for example, will perform just as good as the DFX or Minelab SE is wrong.

A little common sense goes a long way. I feel comfortable in saying the majority of veteran detectorist use higher end detectors. Now you can choose to believe these experienced people just like spending a lot of money on a detector, or that perhaps they know the advantage to having a higher end detector. I don't know any veteran people that use the ACE 250 as their primary detector. And I'm not picking on the ACE 250. I use it just as an example because it's probably the most widely chosen first detector and backup detector.

 

[Digger]

Ernest, I believe a lot has to do with the conditions you hunt in. Here in southwest Kansas, we have pretty mild ground. I have used the ACE 250 and believe its a great detector for the price, but it could not even get close to the depth of my DFX. But then I was getting 8-10" on my DFX from day one with factory programs. It believe some people have gotten bad results from the DFX because they may be in conditions that need radical adjusting to get good depth. I can't explain why you would get better depth from the ACE 250 or even comprehend it. There is just so much difference between my DFX and the ACE 250 in depth it's incomprehensible.

 

[Kentucky Kache]

It seems to me that many here are praising detectors because they are the closest thing to a PI. If the PI is the absolute best, then why not skip the hybrid and go for the best.

 

[Willy]

Maybe 'cause PI's, while getting excellent depth, have pretty lame ID/Disc. when compared to VLF detectors, and are mucho pricey. ..Willy.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Not even the top of the line high priced MDs can accurately ID targets deeper than 6 inches.Since a cheapie machine with a eight inch coil will almost all go 6 inches deep then where is the incentive to buy high priced machines.[(?) All machines cheap or expensive will ID good targets as Iron when deeper then 6 inches. My standard rule is to ignore Iron signals that are shallow but if I'm feeling energetic I'll dig a few deeper Iron signals, but even then only if they are sized right. I don't wanna go six feet deep to find uncle Leroys old Chevy Caprice.

I think you're wrong about the ID depth. I know better from my experience. But my soil isn't your soil.

Features, versatility in varying soil conditions, ease of use (especially ground balancing), soil mineralization handling, adaptability to hunt location (choice of tones, waterproofness, backlighting, weight, battery life), trash elimination, notching flexibility, quality, durability.

 

[Mick93]

Yes , in a round about way you pay for depth ,,,,,,,MXT solid 8 inches on depth and VDI with stock or 6x10 DD coils and 10 inches on the good iffy whispers that I love to hear but no VDI,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,of course its in KS with mild soil.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Will a $400 driver drive a golf ball farther and more accurately then a $29.99 driver? Is a $1000 bow better then a $49.99 bow for deer hunting? Will a $100 baseball glove work better then a $19.99 Walmart glove? You get what you pay for..........But if your a terrible golfer, hunter or ball player they want make much of a difference.

If your happy with your Ace 250 stick with it, if you feel your missing something and you want to try a higher end model, but you can't afford a brand new detector, look for a good use detector from a respected member of one of the boards. Do you need a $1000 detector, that is up to you. Decide what you can comfortably afford, add a little extra to it and buy that........ One thing some people seem to forget, the upper end machines hold their value a lot longer then the lower end machines.............. Does buying a $1000 +/- detector guarantee you will get more finds, not necessarily, it is as much the user as the machine. But the odds are in your favor if you learn your machine...........

I am down to 6 detectors now, I have bought 2 new and 8 used over the last 3 years and every one of the used detectors came from one of the boards and all arrived working just like they should have........

Just the opinion of a 3 year newbie, there are members here with a lot more time who are more qualified to reply...........

Good luck and good hunting...


Tourist season is almost here......YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

 

[Michigan Badger]

Is this thread still going?

The question is: "Detector Depth do you have to Pay for it?" and the answer is still YES--that is unless someone gives you a detector free. See what I mean?

To have any depth (other than if you're into dowsing) one needs some sort of detector and detectors usually cost money.

Badger

 

[gregl01]

WTG badger I knew you'd come up with the answer I don't know if its the right answer though.... well at least it is an answer.


Greg

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Is this thread still going?

The question is: "Detector Depth do you have to Pay for it?" and the answer is still YES--that is unless someone gives you a detector free. See what I mean?

To have any depth (other than if you're into dowsing) one needs some sort of detector and detectors usually cost money.

Badger

Heck no! You get better depth and get there faster with a shovel. The detector just saves a little excess digging. ;-)