Got More Frustrated Yesterday

[TXKajun]

Hi again, everyone.

I went out yesterday with my '65 White's Treasure Master to a local ball field and got more frustrated with the old detector. It seems like it takes about 15 - 30 minutes for it to settle down...I end up tweaking knobs, adjusting frequency, moving it up and down to get it sounding right and adjusted properly, etc. Yes, I know I'm dealing with a dinosaur. LOL Also, trying to do any kind of pinpointing with it is very iffy...sometimes, the target is under the center of the back of the coil, sometimes to the left of that, sometimes to the right, sometimes I have no idea (based on coins tossed on the ground to try and figure out the target/digging area). Trying to get it set up to sound on dimes is very iffy. Quarters, it does pretty well on a regular basis. Nickels and pennies are worse than quarters, at least at first. Dimes are only located after this thing warms up and I fiddle with it a bunch. I don't even need to say anything about lack of depth indicator or total lack of discrimination or any type of modern controls. Needless to say, I didn't find anything yesterday except for a large washer and a couple of tin cans that had been buried so I'm kinda discouraged. Yeah, I know I've only been out with it 4 times and found stuff 3 times before, but it's a struggle each time, and getting to be more of a struggle with the low-tech machine each time. Could it be that it's old and ready for retirement??

OK, so here's what I'm thinking. I spent a whopping $5 for the detector at auction, another $50 for batteries (plus $10 shipping) and another $10 for another battery set-up I jury rigged to get it going. I'm now into it for $75....BUT (notice the big but! lol) I'm having a blast. To replace the batteries will be another $60 (unless I can get them lots cheaper at Radio Shack) each and every time, which will probably be about every 30 days or so the way I've been using it. To help with the pinpointing problem, I could buy a V2 Pinpointer for $50-90. Right?

Well, it seems to me (in my simple, thrifty.....ok, make that CHEAP...thinking LOL) that I'd be a whole bunch better off buying a nice, new Ace 250 for $200 or an Ace 250 Pro for $250.....a little more than the cost of 3 (or 4) replacement sets of batteries....and have a pretty good detector that has a workable pinpoint function built-in and runs off of AA batteries, which are cheap cheap cheap. Right? Or am I totally off the wall?? Being new at this, I don't want to go out and spend $750 -900 or more for a White's MXT right now that'll take me months to get up to speed on, especially with my finances the way they are now. But after doing a bunch of checking around on TH web sites, it seems that the most bang for the buck and the detector that would get me out into the field quickest would be an Ace 250.

Anyone got any thoughts on this??

P.S.
I've just gotten permission to do some MDing at a local house built around 1860 or so as well as found a place within 30 minutes that used to be a former POW camp and had an old hotel/bawdy house that burned down about 10 years ago. I think my '65 Whites would drive me crazy at either of those places! Would an Ace 250 work well at them for coin shooting and relic hunting??

 

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[Nana40]

That sounds like a plan to me!

And...you might consider putting the "antique" detector on e-bay! Ya never know what you might get for it!

Good luck!

Nana

 

[lonewolfe]

Can't go wrong with the 250 for the price!

Just ask Jim (aka Monty)!

HH

Lonewolfe

 

[JakePhelps]

I would go with either the ace 250 or a mid level bounty hunter.

 

[rasrandy]

Go for the ace, youll be happy you did

 

[Monty]

The V2 isn't really a pinpointer, it's more of a probe that helps you find the target once you start digging the hole. Get the ACE and be happy! Monty

 

[bakergeol]

Well you are not alone. We get a number of folks on this forum who buy these dinosaurs on E-bay and come here asking for help. I swear a number of them have gone thru a number of buyers and have just been recycled on E-Bay. They are listed as "vintage" to just the Whites model number with no reference to age. You are lucky yours actually works.

I loved my Whites BFO when I owned it in 1965, however without discrimination, with poor sensitivity and with heavy weight I couldn't imagine using one today.

The real issue here is that it is not really about what you find or what you lay out for this hobby. For 25 Cents you can bend some coat hangers and attempt to dowse for coins too and experience some real frustration. This is a hobby and you are supposed to be having fun. Buy a detector in which you are going to have fun with and not frustrated with. Life is short and your free time is valuable.

George

 

[SugarSand]

If you like detecting then it does sound like an upgrade as you suggest would be a good idea. More economical in the long run, and your finds will improve too, and you're already doing well. My old Coinmaster would have to warm up for 15 minutes or so for the ground balance to stabilize, just old parts, old technology, old everything!

 

[Mirage]

Yes you need a decent machine. It will make it so much more fun - also new machines use less battery power. The ACE 250 seems like you get a good bang for your buck. You can get a White's Classic III(one of the detectors I have) for about $150 on ebay. It doesn't have as many features as the ACE but it is a very good machine. I can go for a couple months on one set of batteries(uses 8 -AA). If you can afford it get the ACE. And put that other stuff up for Auction. Maybe you can recoupe some of the money.

Bob

 

[treasurekidd]

Go for the ACE250, you won;t regret it!!

 

[miester]

I use rechargable batterys in my 250,camera and t.v. tuner, they just keep chuggin along. My 250 screams at me, I muffled it with electrical tape and it's still to loud. It's so loud that it vibrates . The only problem with my 250 is it goes just beserk when near wet sand or water. I'd buy another one, I like it, it could use a lighted panel for nite time use tho.

 

[Slug Hunter]

I bought a digital camera at Hudson's Salvage one day, no book, no box, no adapter, I WANTED A DIGITAL CAMERA. Never got it to work, but I had a hard head. Batteries go FAST with any metal detector, too. When I read your first post, I was shaking my head thinking if it was 50 bucks for a round of batteries, I hope they are rechargeable. You need to stop the bleeding if you want to save the leg. If you have a hot site, let the stuff stay in the ground, it ain't goin nowhere but China. Save your money and get even a low end modern detector and you will be well armed for that 1880 house. If you say you can't afford it, think about how long you will be out of action waiting for 50 dollars to mount up before you can get out again with frsh batteries. I lurked here for about 6 months before I found anything worth talking about, I had a 300 dollar Bounty hunter, and while I hear people talk all the time about how bad they are, I also know the maxim that someone with experience in hunting can swap machines with me and skunk me with my own machine, crap or not. My latest place to hunt let me finally realize that it was not my machine holding me back as much as the targets available. I am doing fine with my POS, although in depth and in dirt, it still really shows it's limits, and it is mentally deficient as far as ridiculous false echoes and the tendency to detect silver when it bumps into roots, lol. I will advise like most of the rest. Even the lamest of the modern machines are better than a decades old machine. Just the passage of time in the technology. If you have a choice site, dream about it at night and go out well-armed later on in the year. My 2 corroded memorial cents.

 

[TXKajun]

WOW!! Thanks for all the replies and the sage advice! See my latest post on how my old White's cost me $269 this morning! WOO HOO!!