What is the Best Low-Mid Priced Target ID Detector for a 9 Year Old?

[Privygal]

Greetings, I'm new to the forum, but I've been detecting off and old over 30 years. I've use an old White's Eagle Spectrum and have a Tesoro Laser B2 as a back-up, and I've been lucky to have many excellent finds over the years in the US and UK where I lived for awhile.

So now my 9 year old son is getting into it and I'd appreciate some advice on the newer detectors since I haven't bought one in ages. He's been using the Tesoro, which is an excellent light-weight unit - but he seems me using target ID and really wants to get that capability. And I want it for him so he doesn't keep bugging me to ID his targets (kinda interferes with the concentration ya know?).

I don't want to spoil him, but I learned that you get what you pay for with detectors and they last a long time. I would rather pay a little more now and let him get really good using the same unit. So I was looking at the White's Prizm IV or V, which seems to sell used on ebay for $300-350. But is that the best target ID detector available do you think? He's short and weight is also an issue, so getting a light-weight unit is important too. The Prizms are under 3 pounds.

Any have any advice? It would be most appreciated!

Thanks,
Danielle

 

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[SkiWhiz]

Hi Danielle, although I am partial to Tesoro detectors the Fisher F2 is a great machine for the price, much better than the Garrett Ace 250 in my opinion (I have owned and used both). Steve.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Like Skiwhiz said, the Fisher F2 or the garrett Ace 250 would be a nice machine. HH, Mike

 

[Coin Digger]

I own the Fisher F2 and it's a wonderful machine that's very easy to learn and has a very accurate I.D. read out down to 4".

 

[gary in idaho]

Tesoro Compadre, hands down the best, my 12 year old uses one and constantly beats me and I'm using high end detectors. $152 and a lifetime warranty.

 

[SC_hunter]

For "normal" soil and hunting...I would have to go with the Ace...I also have the Eagle Spectrum, but many times I leave it in the car and pull out the lightweight ACE. I'm not too fond of the Prizm line of Whites but then again..you will have a lot of opinions.

 

[Michigan Badger]

They must of changed the F2 because the first one I had IDed a penny at 3 inches as iron. I hated it.

So, I'm glad they fixed the problem.

If you want a low cost, easy to use meter machine for a child, the F2 or Ace are about your only options.

 

[gary in idaho]

Tesoro Compadre, hands down the best, my 12 year old uses one and constantly beats me and I'm using high end detectors. $152 and a lifetime warranty.

Sorry, I didn't see you were looking for a tid. If you have to have a tid I'd go with the Fisher hands down. The 250 is still using 20 year old technology. The compadre is a great machine with excellent discrimination and very easy to learn and will outperform either the fisher or the garrett and it's 25% less in cost!

 

[bill-USA]

Garrett Ace 250 you can buy used for 150 and up. It's the detector I keep in my car. The White's MXT and Garrett 2500 stay locked up till I have 'special' reasons to pull them out. 250's very easy to use and learn. Pinpointing is the only area that seems to cause problems for folks. Lots of information on how to pinpoint with the ACE in various detecting forums on the net.

 

[Privygal]

Hey everyone, thanks for your helpful posts! I do like the quality and simplicity of the Tesoro line, and the Laser B2, although 15 years old, has been great and it's light for my son.

But he keeps pestering me to tell him what his signals are. So I like the target ID feature. I'll check into the Fisher F2 and ACE 250 since I know they are generally well liked.

Any reason why folks don't like the White's Prizm?

Thanks again,
Danielle

 

[sniffer]

I have a prizm II and a prizm V and a DFX, the II is a nice little machine but no depth gauge, the V has a depth gauge it also has a vco for the pinpoint mode, it also has variables sounds for type of metal found.
I've never used an ace, but I've talked to people that have them, and they seem to like them.

Best advice I could give is to find one that he can handle for a while without getting to tired and tell him to dig everything with a repeatable signal. If you don't you run the risk of missing something really nice

Sniffer

 

[littletwig]

The prizms are great little detectors. They ID very well and are super easy to use. They all have the same engine, you just get more bells and whistles as you go up from the Prizm III to the Prizm V.

 

[dirtdigr]

My 8-year old son is using a White's Prizm and loves it!
The Tesoro Compadre is also a great detector for kids
HH
Mike

 

[EasyMoney]

The Prisms are partial to linear scrap (wires, wire nails). They are supposed to be, and yes I own one.

The Ace 250 likes hot rocks to the nth degree and has a lot of trouble with highly ironized soil. The F-2 does not, but the Prisms do have some troubles with both.

Both the Prisms and F-2's go a bit deeper than the Aces in any soil - unless they have something wrong with them coming out of the factory - or have been bumped or damaged somehow. You can't tell how they (or any other detector for that matter) will operate in the real world by doing any "test garden" or "soil filled pot" tests with them either.

The F-2 and Prisms can distinguish between most nickels and most pulltabs, but the Ace 250, 150, Ace 100, 300, or 500 cannot.

The F-2 has two coils standard equipment, the other two do not.

The Ace requires a stronger grip because of it's handle placement configuration. The F-2 is a bit top-heavy. the Prisms are coil-heavy.

The Ace 250 really sucks on salt beaches and high iron soil, neither the Prism or the F-2's have any serious troubles with either.

*See Garretts own charts to discover that Aces are not recommended for beach hunting. The other two are though.

The Compadre is not a TID detector. But it is a real honey and well worth the money.

The $59 Chinese (Explorer) detector found on Amazon.com is basically a watered-down version of the Tesoro Compadre (almost identical circuitry), and it performs very well in many instances, especially in parking lots and tot lots. It weighs only 1 1/2 pound. It loves silver and copper due to it's super-low search frequency.

The Compadre weighs 2.5 pounds and the F-2 2.7 lbs, and the Ace about the same as the F-2.

The Compadre is the most "rented out" detector in the USA. Guess why?

PS: All three of my daughters and all my grandchildren (nine of them) prefer the Amazon "Explorer" detector over all the detectors I own - and all the above too, and that comes to more than 30 detectors at the present time, including my lightweight Bounty Hunters too. My one daughter just uses the Ace I gave her as a door stop - when she opens the pantry door.

Time for some real good coffee and maybe a cookie or two.

EZMoney

 

[lms7652]

I would have to say a fisher F2. The only thing with the ace 250 is the pinpointing. Some adults can not even get the hang of it.

 

[Cr4zyH0rs3]

The Whites Xlt is a great learning machine for any age hands down, you can look for a used one for pennies on the dollar.

 

[EasyMoney]

I never did have any trouble with the Aces in pinpointing, but that's because I realize that they have an extremely long phase-shift time duration and the search pattern has to be shortened. This means that they have a delayed response that is much slower than the more modern circuitry found in the Tesoros, White's, Fishers, and some of the the cheap Chinese detectors. The way to deal with that problem with the Aces is to little-by-little shorten the search width, until it gets as short as 2-3 inches. Then dig the hole in between the short 2-3" area. It's just an annoying process and an even more obtrusively annoying sound to put up with, that's all.

Bong, bong BONG!

The excessive delay-shift with that ancient circuitry type found in the Aces is typical of the original BH Red Baron, White's 6db, 6000d, Teknetics, etc. circuitry - but it's not 1980, it's 2008, so we shouldn't have to tolerate that old style of stuff any more, or should we?

*Remember that a 9 year old child will likely weigh a fraction of what an adult weighs. I weigh 210 and a 4 pound detector is not exactly what I would call a lightweight detector. With that in mind, consider that a 50 pound child toting a 4 pound detector is about like a 210 pound man toting an enormous 16 pound detector, not fun at all. No wonder most kids don't like metal detecting.

The 1.5 pound Chinese one is still about the same weight-to-load ratio as if me, an adult, were to be packing a 6 pound detector instead of a lighter one. Some kids have to go through a whole lot of he$$ just to please their parents, don't they? Piano lessons would be a whole lot more fun than carrying an equivalent 16 pound detector for a couple of hours, especially in the hot sun.

EZ$$$