Help a gullible newbie out......

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Here's the situation....I'm a newbie to the sport and have already scoped out dozens of "must hunt" spots (most I can confidently say have never been hunted).

Now I just need some gear.

I have the reasonable means to get a White's DFX 300 http://www.kellycodetectors.com/whites/whites-eseries-DFX300.htm and I'd get that accessory kit for $39 as well.

But here's the thing - Is the DFX more hype than practical? Or, more appropriately, are the additional capabilities unnecessary to the average but avid user

Or...what if I ask this way.....For all you owners who currently own mid-priced detectors....How likely would you drop that current detector, without a second thought, if someone offered you a chance to step up to, saaaaaay, a DFX 300

What will I be hunting?.....
I live in country/mountainous area. Tons of 100+ year old farm/homesteads.
Various youth and religious camps/retreats.
Rail was KING from 1850-1950. I know the locations of original train stations that have been gone and overgrown some 60+ years ago.
I also have connections to local history buffs who know the locations of hoppin' hotels that have since been demolished (we're talking 1860's to 1920's-30's)
And though it is now private property....I have access to some of Jay Gould's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Gould various ORIGINAL properties where he had successful bustling industry! (you'd NEVER guess the exact spots just by looking at them now)


I will be mostly coin hunting (I say that now <grin!>)

Based on that.....If I can GET a DFX (I'd be sacrificing another hobby by selling some of that....but I'm OK with it), should I? Or can I do just as well with a Mid Price model?

I've watched the DFX 300 instructional video's on YouTube (1 of 10, 2 of 10, etc...) and the unit seems pretty straight forward and not too complicated. I'd likely NOT use any of the custom programming. Are any of the lesser DFX's identical to the 300 except without the custom program capabilities?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Treasure of Victoria Peak - Grab it through Amazon!

[camperlee]

Hi Gary. I started out with a prism v for a short time but in the back of my mind I was wondering what I might be missing
and had the chance to upgrade to a whites XLT and never regretted it I think it's good to have a less expensive detector for
a back-up but would rather have one good one for my main hunting but reguardless of the quality it's learning what it's trying to
tell you and that takes time and patience hope this helps you. Lee

 

[jeff of pa]

what it comes down to is whatever Detecter you put the most hours into
is going to be the best for you.

Unless you go with something under $400.00

then there is an above average chance you will end up wanting to upgarde at
some point.

Me, I Bought a sovereign back in '99. at that point it was Minelabs top of the line.
of course a few months later it wasn't top of the line anymore.
& I eventually Bought an Explorer.

However I ended up back using the sovereign. and here
we are 10 years After
(Humm Sounds Familiar )

Anyway I don't see me ever upgading from a sovereign.

Get the DFX If that is what you want,
unless your Fickle :P You'll have
it till it dosn't work anymore.

Jeff

 

[RON (PA)]

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you with us.

I cannot comment on the DFX (have never owned a white's detector), but I hear that they make an awesome detector that has some great finds attributed to it.

Make sure that you read the instruction manual carefully, as it will tell you how to get the most out of your detector. I would detect that area with a buddy, for safety's sake, every chance that you get and learn as much as you can about the area (what was where and when was it there).

Hope it helps.
Let us know how you have made out.

PS. I went to college with a girl from Moscow.

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

I would detect that area with a buddy, for safety's sake, every chance that you get and learn as much as you can about the area (what was where and when was it there).

My wife would know where I'm hunting. And I have 4 kids ages 3, 5, 8, & 9. And that 9 year old daughter is a spittin' image of her daddy! She'll be accompanying me on many hunts! Plus we have cell phone etc...
I don't know anyone else close to me that is into MD (yet)

PS. I went to college with a girl from Moscow.

<grin!> I married a girl from Moscow! (Elmhurst, actually)

The area (20 mile radius) is rich with history. And isn’t wrought with too much urbanization.
Much of the history that dates back into the 1800's is either still here, has remnants, or I know where it was and it hasn't been built over.

Many areas are odd.....back in the heyday, they were B-U-S-Y....and then they died. Now, some of those sites are grown over and accessible by 4-wheeler only (My Father will accompany me on those hunts). You'd never know what was unless you KNEW it....or you can barley see foundation remains as you're standing atop it.



-

 

[Philvis]

Metal Detectors are like cars...some have special purposes and everyone has their favorites. If you are forking out a couple hundred dollars, you can easily learn from the choice you make. However, if you are going to be putting out the cost of a DFX, I would seriously go to a dealer or three and check out other options in the same price range. That is a big choice to make when you are spending that much money. You may love the DFX or decide after testing others that you like a Garrett or Minelab. There are plenty of brands, so being new to it, you really should test the major ones out to see what works best for you. You really won't know til you actually pick it up and test it. Good luck!

 

[rmptr]

It would be difficult to beat the capability of a DFX once you learned how to use it.

Sounds like that is what you are set out to get.

From what I've seen, many folks are defeated by it's complexity.

I use Tesoro machines. Simple, straight forward, and effective.

The TabDog does very well coinshooting, recovering gold jewelry from parks, and he is now
doing very well with relics. He uses a number of Tesoro machines, Compadre is frequently the first one out!

And that's $151 brand new with a lifetime warranty!

Their Silver uMax has interchangeable coils, and their Vaquero has manual ground balance if needed.
You can't get better machines for 90% of what is found. and they are reasonably priced.

Best
rmptr

 

[BuckleBoy]

Their Silver uMax has interchangeable coils, and their Vaquero has manual ground balance if needed.
You can't get better machines for 90% of what is found. and they are reasonably priced.

Best
rmptr

Agreed. The compadre's coil is tiny and won't go very deep. Plus it is Not interchangeable--so the unit can Only use that one coil--forever. So I'm not much on the Compadre, but the rest of the Tesoro line I love.

Affordable, light, easy to use, and Serious machines--all of them.


-Buckleboy

 

[jeff of pa]

also remember you are in Coal country

& May need something like the DFX to
handle the Iron Ore and Hot rocks in the ground

 

[CWnut]

what you don't want to do is get discouraged after the umpteenth aluminum can or pulltab. Not familiar with the dfx300 so can't comment on what kind of learning curve it has, but don't get something so complicated that you get frustrated before you learn it's 'language'. And dig everything at first and you will learn to recognize good targets from junk targets by sound alone. It takes time. It's not something you will learn with just one or two outings....by the way, tnet forum is a great place to help you through the llearning process.......

 

[BuckleBoy]

also remember you are in Coal country

& May need something like the DFX to
handle the Iron Ore and Hot rocks in the ground

True--or at least a machine with Manual Ground Balance: White's XLT, DFX, or MXT, Fisher F75, Tesoro Tejon or Vaquero.

 

[davidtn]

I had a DFX - good machine and made some good finds with it. Then went with another brand because of the "grass is greener" syndrome. Didn't like it, sold it, and went back to Whites. This time I went with the MXT and I actually like it better than the DFX. Easier to use and just as powerful IMHO.

Good luck in whatever decision you make. It sounds like you're going about it the right way.

 

[Ga Rebel]

I use a MXT and my daughter use the M6. I really enjoy both. The MXT is like 3 detectors in one. Something to think about is to get the MXT with the 9.5 in coil and take the money you save over the DFX 300 and get an ACE 250 for your wife or children to use.

Bud

 

[littletwig]

For out in out power and simplicity of operation you should try out a Whites MXT. Three modes: coin and jewelery, relic and prospecting. There is a wide range of coil options available which make this machine very versatile. I use the M6 which has the same engine and power as the MXT but it only has one mode that is kinda in between the coin and jewelery and the prospecting modes of the MXT. The M6 also has a 7 tone ID which is the best thing since sliced bread. You don't constantly have to look at the monitor. I use the M6 because of the fact that I'm not going top do much prospecting and I love the 7 tone ID. Hope this info helps.

 

[deepskyal]

I've had 4 White's machines.

I bought a DFX and used it for a year, didnt really see any significant change in finds from my 6000Di Pro, so I sold the DFX and went back to the pro. It's analog, versus digital, manual ground balance versus auto trak..

But the DFX does have a steep learning curve if you get away from the presets.

If you're not into the custom programs, get the MXT or something similar. No sense spending money on things you aren't going to use...and the DFX has plenty of options that from what you are saying, you'll never use.
Depth wise...I don't think there will be a lick of difference.

If you do decide on the DFX...you'll want to invest in the books that help understand it better. The owners manual is okay...but there are 2 books that are written in our language...easy to understand.

Al

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

The M6 also has a 7 tone ID which is the best thing since sliced bread. You don't constantly have to look at the monitor. I use the M6 because of the fact that I'm not going top do much prospecting and I love the 7 tone ID. Hope this info helps.

Neat! Now THAT would be handy. Granted, the DFX does have a display….but if it also had a 7 tone ID, I would be able to learn those sounds over time so that I wouldn’t be so much a slave to the display.
I remember reading that there are 200+ some-odd tone settings….but I thought that it was to change the sound of the SINGLE tone (low to mid to high)

What I liked about the DFX when I watched the YouTube videos was the Signagraph display and the depth indicator. I really liked that Signagraph…….I can see what is likely in the ground – With the factory settings.

 

[Mainedigger]

Gary...the DFX is a fantastic detector without a doubt, there is a large learning curve on the machine however and there are MANY programs you can run on it as well. Which for some is the ultimate, myself however I prefer something that I am not always tweaking or questioning if I am in the correct program. The DFX does have a turn on and go mode, but with all the various programs I know I would have to play with them constantly and somethimes that may not be for the better. Myself I have a White's M6 and LOVE it....it is pretty much turn on and go, has great depth, has the VDI display, tone i.d and is about half the price of the DFX. If you are able to, try a few machines before you spend the money on something you may not like. I also had a Prizm III for my first machine and that was a good detector as well. I would highly recommend the M6 however.

 

[thompy]

you have recieved some good advise, whites m-6,mxt, minelab xt 70, fisher f-70,75 teknetics t-2. these all are mid upper end machines that perform well, just remember the DFX has a steeper learning curve, and tons of adjustments, you may be wondering if your settings are helping or hurting. these other machines are all power houses and easy to set up, more time hunting less time programing, not to mention money saved

 

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

you have recieved some good advise, whites m-6,mxt, minelab xt 70, fisher f-70,75 teknetics t-2. these all are mid upper end machines that perform well, just remember the DFX has a steeper learning curve, and tons of adjustments, you may be wondering if your settings are helping or hurting. these other machines are all power houses and easy to set up, more time hunting less time programing, not to mention money saved

I'm gonna look hard at the MXT.
Looks like it has depth indicator and a number value reading instead of the Signagraph.

 

[DKinPA]

Hey Gary,

Welcome to TNet! I couldn't help but want to reply to your topic after reading all the DFX comments. I started detecting about three years ago (maybe four, I'm too old to remember), and I started out using a White's classic ID. I bought the Classic ID from Keith Zorger at Treasure Outfitters in Harrisburg, Pa and I still have it.......BUT......it only took one season of detecting (in addition to picking Jeff's brain and studying TNet) to understand that there was so much more available information that I could get from a "better" machine, i.e. more tones, target depth and more fine tuned discrimination. I purchased the DFX and went solo on learning it's capabilities, well not really solo, I bought the Jeff Foster book "Digging Deeper with the DFX" and also a copy of Jimmy Sierra's DFX manual.
Long story short, I never felt intimidated or out of place with the DFX in my hand from day one. I've always known it is capable of more than I have mastered (thus far) but every trip in the field teaches me something.

As Jeff will attest, I have been kicking around picking up another detector for the last two summers but I always come back to asking myself "Why?" I'm almost certain I would be lost the first time I had to go back to a single or dual tones after have 196 in the DFX and I keep telling myself I could live without a display until I pick up another machine and find myself staring blankly at the box after that single tone beeps.......LOL!

Sorry for the length of this post......my final statement........Don't be afraid!! If you can afford a DFX you will not regret knowing that all those adjustments are there if you ever want them, but, you can turn it on and let it set to the default "coin mode" and never feel overwhelmed!!

Dave