Need an opinion

[dela iernut]

I'm a beginner treasure hunter.Does anyone know if those $50 metal detectors from Walmart are any good at all?
Thanks!

 

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[hollowpointred]

nope. if you buy a 50$ special you will get frustrated. spend a little more and get a whites prism 2, or a garrett ace 150 (or my personal recommendation) a garrett ace 250. any one of these machines will do circles around the 50$ detector and they are both reputable , respected manufacturers. you will thank yourself later.

 

[Mighty AP]

I just picked up an Ace 250 as a backup (new with factory guarantee) for $180.........spend a little more money on a good machine & it'll pay off!

 

[Sandman]

Don't waste your money on the Wal-Mart or Radio Shack detectors. All the major manufactures make great starter machines that don't cost and arm an a leg. Well, maybe part of an arm. But they have warrantys that are like iron. Some even have Lifetime Warrantys, like Tesoro and Fisher. The Garrett Ace 250 has a lot of happy hunters out there.

 

[Land HO]

I borrowed a radio shack detector and it didn't work well at all. I put a quarter about 4 inchs down and it didn't pick it up. Since then I got an ACE 250 and have had it for a week now. I'm finding alot of junk in my yard mostly but have found a couple of pennys. Went over the same area with the radio shack and picked up nothing at all. I'm still learning the machine but I feel very confident in it's performance so far. Definetly worth spending a little more money remember you get what you pay for! Good luck and HH

 

[cwe]

Been looking and wanting to buy a ace250...how can the prices
be so differant for the same detector.

Any advice to what is the fair price ?

cwe

 

[omnicognic]

I have recommended the Garrett Ace 250 for a while now and have not had ANY bad feedback from it. It is a solid detector with lots of bang for the buck and much of the same power as some of the $800 models!

I also recommend Kellyco for their service and prices
http://www.kellycodetectors.com/garrett/garrett-ace250.htm

 

[wmas1960]

I won't get into the stuff about talking down the Walmart or Radio Shack detectors in general. Some people get confused because they are name brands. Bounty Hunter, I think. That has already been said by some, in other similar threads and, I don't think is really the point on the subject. Other than the customer service that you can expect from mass retailers like that. What is really the issue is the level of quality and features that the $50 machine would have. Very basic. These are machines that are made by brand name manufacturers, specifically for mass markets and are designed as such.

Go to a place like Walmart where they sell everything from jars of peanuts to Furniture and Blue Jeans... and what can you expect someone to know about Metal Detectors. Have a problem with your detector and are you going to be comfortable that someone will know how to resolve your issue or will they just say, Oh, we can exchange it but we are out of stock. It will take 3 weeks before we have more.

On the other hand, go to a place where they sell nothing but metal detectors and associated supplies and what kind of service do you think you will get. For that reason in itself, I would start by looking at a regular detector dealer.

From there, I would also recommend spending a little more for a machine that has better features. You aren't talking an issue of a quality detector, not because it is Walmart or Radio Shack but, I think because of the fact that it is $50. How much can you expect, feature wise for $50. If you were buying this for a young child who just wants a toy and might not be mature enough or dedicated enough to warrant a more expensive machine, that might be an option. I would consider these $50 machines as TOYS not serious detectors. Like I said, not because of who sells them but just the basic level of the machine.

That said, I would recommend, as others have, going with something more advanced. Depending on how much you have to spend and how serious you are, you can probably get a reasonable detector for around $150. Actually, I would start more around $200 and get something like the Ace 250. I am not familar with that myself but I have read many recommendations on that model. I thought of one myself, as a second machine. However, I personally own a White's XLT. It is a much more expensive machine that while is good, I don't know that I would recommend. Reason being the dramatic difference from what you were saying about $50 and the cost of over $800. Big difference. Keeping more in line with what you might be looking for, I would go with a White's Prizm detector. There are several models that range from around the $200 range up to about $500. One that I saw and liked a lot was a Prizm IV which was quoted to me for $360. Being that I am already a White's user, I was leaning more toward that for a second machine than the Garrets Ace 250. Look at www.whiteselectronics.com and check out the Prizms. Note the features that are available on the models and start by familiarizing yourself with what they will do for you. Then, determine what you would want and what would be helpful for you. From there, you could look at the line from Prizm I and Prizm II to a Prizm V of that would fit for you. Add in the Garretts 150? and 250 and see how those match.

Those are some of the machines that I have heard good stuff about. I really think you would be better off setting yourself a little higher and making a bigger investment innitially. Like was mentioned, it is a strong possibility that you will go out and spend $50 on the lesser machine, then about another $100 on sand scoops and digging tools and such then find, in a few weeks or couple months that you want something more and will find yourself spending the $250 or so anyway.

 

[angeltrash1]

most of the time no matter what you use - be it a 50 dollar machine or a 1000. dollar machine if you do not have the patience or desire you will not find anything.

 

[michinkae]

I will say this, I have owned these fifty dollar detectors before. if you ever get sporatic beeps, don't panic, the micro processors on these detectors are pretty cheesy. Otherwise, happy hunting.

 

[Michigan Badger]

There is one detector you can get for about half as much as an Ace 250 and it's almost twice the depth of the Ace. The problem with it though is the warrantee. You get zip...none...nothing.

I bought one several years ago and can't kill it. My grandson has beaten it every which way and he has also dug many nice Indian cents with it including a Barber quarter.

I'll get stoned here for this but it's a Chinese made unit. This particular model is good. Many others made in China are not good.

I paid $60 for this machine off ebay and it's tuff as iron and beats my Tesoro for depth. It also matched my Minelab Excalibur in my coin garden. My Tesoro is just easier to use.

Watch for it on ebay. Dealers in Europe carry it but they ask far too much for it.

This detector is harder to learn (more like the Minelabs) if you want to hunt in trashy areas.

Here's the model number but the machine is sold under many names.

It's a: MD-3009. You can get this machine with a meter for about $100. Like I mentioned already, it gets about twice the depth of the Ace.

And too, you must hunt slowly with this machine (just like with Minelabs).

But remember there's no warrantee!