Especially For Newbies - Which Detector?

[detector99]

We hear the arguments all the time about which is the best metal detector.

"My detector is better than your detector."

"My detector goes deeper."

"My detector has more software built into it."

It’s nonsense. Actually, it’s childish to argue about which metal detector is better.

The reality is this, the best detector is any, good, reputable model that finds stuff. Ya, it really is that simple. And, it does not have to be an expensive metal detector either.

I found a 225 year old buckle while using a metal detector with a retail price of less than $300. I have been metal detecting and treasure hunting for more than thirty-five years, and I have been in every type of climate, soil condition, and trash. I’ve used many metal detectors on the market, in all kinds of conditions, and I have learned that all of them locate stuff.

Sometimes too much information is not a good thing. The more you read and hear from others regarding what is the best metal detector to buy, you become confused. Most often what happens is that you end up buying the most expensive detector, thinking that if it costs a lot of money then it must be good. And if your thinking this way, beware, because you may end up tossing your detector in the closet never to be seen again. Remember this:

It is not the detector alone that located the goodies, but in fact, it’s the skill of the user. The person who knows his or her detector, and understands how it best performs, will always find stuff.

Give an expensive metal detector to someone who has no clue how to get the best performance form that detector, and they will find very few goodies. However, give an inexpensive detector from another manufacturer to a person who is knowledgeable on how that particular detector operates, and that person will out perform the other every time.

If you learn how to properly use your metal detector, and you use it often, the amount of good finds will increase. Do not get caught up in the arguments about depth, and all of the bells and whistles many new detectors have. You don’t need to dig to China to locate goodies, and you don’t need a detector that can launch a Titan Missile with it’s software.

Learn your detector, use it often, and you will do as well as anyone with a top end model.

The best metal detector can be an inexpensive model.

Frank Pandozzi
Executive Producer
Exploring History’s Treasures

http//www.exploringhistorystreasures.com
http//www.metal-detecting-ghost-towns-of-the-east.com

 

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[ticm]

We hear the arguments all the time about which is the best metal detector.

"My detector is better than your detector."

"My detector goes deeper."

"My detector has more software built into it."

It’s nonsense. Actually, it’s childish to argue about which metal detector is better.

The reality is this, the best detector is any, good, reputable model that finds stuff. Ya, it really is that simple. And, it does not have to be an expensive metal detector either.

I found a 225 year old buckle while using a metal detector with a retail price of less than $300. I have been metal detecting and treasure hunting for more than thirty-five years, and I have been in every type of climate, soil condition, and trash. I’ve used many metal detectors on the market, in all kinds of conditions, and I have learned that all of them locate stuff.

Sometimes too much information is not a good thing. The more you read and hear from others regarding what is the best metal detector to buy, you become confused. Most often what happens is that you end up buying the most expensive detector, thinking that if it costs a lot of money then it must be good. And if your thinking this way, beware, because you may end up tossing your detector in the closet never to be seen again. Remember this:

It is not the detector alone that located the goodies, but in fact, it’s the skill of the user. The person who knows his or her detector, and understands how it best performs, will always find stuff.

Give an expensive metal detector to someone who has no clue how to get the best performance form that detector, and they will find very few goodies. However, give an inexpensive detector from another manufacturer to a person who is knowledgeable on how that particular detector operates, and that person will out perform the other every time.

If you learn how to properly use your metal detector, and you use it often, the amount of good finds will increase. Do not get caught up in the arguments about depth, and all of the bells and whistles many new detectors have. You don’t need to dig to China to locate goodies, and you don’t need a detector that can launch a Titan Missile with it’s software.

Learn your detector, use it often, and you will do as well as anyone with a top end model.

The best metal detector can be an inexpensive model.

Frank Pandozzi
Executive Producer
Exploring History’s Treasures

http//www.exploringhistorystreasures.com
http//www.metal-detecting-ghost-towns-of-the-east.com

Well now how do you argue with that.

 

[spartacus53]

You just may be preaching to the choir I say that all the time, or if they like 2 different machines and have researched them both, I say flip a coin and learn it

When I first saw you sign the bottom, I was thinking Frank Rizzo

 

[Hawgwild]

Enjoyed the article Frank. I'm new to this but am having a blast with my Ace 250. I'm finding plenty of things including rings, other cheap jewelry, and plenty of coins. It's a blast. And along with that I'm learning more about the history of my area in northwest Louisiana when researching places to visit with my MD. Google Earth has been a great resource also..

Nice sites but check the links in your above post. You've left out the "colon" after the http so the links don't work as posted.

 

[wayne91101]

Thank you for this post!! I am so new to this I have not purchased a detector as of yet. I have been looking at the GARRETT AT PRO and like some of it's features and it looks like it is a good one to use as a beginner. I live in a rural area with lots of old farm's and old homested's there's lots of creeks and a river. I am looking to find what ever I find and I know gold has been found in my area. There's a lot of historical sites, old buildings, old stores, farm houses that I can go to. I am looking forward to going out and taking my kids out with me to look for lost treasures and make treasurable memories that will NOT be lost!! We have lots of ground to cover and I will be getting them a detector to because as you know if DAD is doing it they want to. But dont tell them there's will be cheaper than mine Again thank you for this post it was very helpfull and told me just what i needed, to make my final decesion. So GARRETT AT PRO will be on it's way very soon right along with the one's for the kids.

 

[gerryk]

We hear the arguments all the time about which is the best metal detector.

"My detector is better than your detector."

"My detector goes deeper."

"My detector has more software built into it."

It’s nonsense. Actually, it’s childish to argue about which metal detector is better.

The reality is this, the best detector is any, good, reputable model that finds stuff. Ya, it really is that simple. And, it does not have to be an expensive metal detector either.

I found a 225 year old buckle while using a metal detector with a retail price of less than $300. I have been metal detecting and treasure hunting for more than thirty-five years, and I have been in every type of climate, soil condition, and trash. I’ve used many metal detectors on the market, in all kinds of conditions, and I have learned that all of them locate stuff.

Sometimes too much information is not a good thing. The more you read and hear from others regarding what is the best metal detector to buy, you become confused. Most often what happens is that you end up buying the most expensive detector, thinking that if it costs a lot of money then it must be good. And if your thinking this way, beware, because you may end up tossing your detector in the closet never to be seen again. Remember this:

It is not the detector alone that located the goodies, but in fact, it’s the skill of the user. The person who knows his or her detector, and understands how it best performs, will always find stuff.

Give an expensive metal detector to someone who has no clue how to get the best performance form that detector, and they will find very few goodies. However, give an inexpensive detector from another manufacturer to a person who is knowledgeable on how that particular detector operates, and that person will out perform the other every time.

If you learn how to properly use your metal detector, and you use it often, the amount of good finds will increase. Do not get caught up in the arguments about depth, and all of the bells and whistles many new detectors have. You don’t need to dig to China to locate goodies, and you don’t need a detector that can launch a Titan Missile with it’s software.

Learn your detector, use it often, and you will do as well as anyone with a top end model.

The best metal detector can be an inexpensive model.

Frank Pandozzi
Executive Producer
Exploring History’s Treasures

http//www.exploringhistorystreasures.com
http//www.metal-detecting-ghost-towns-of-the-east.com

Before i purchased one i talked to a gentleman who is about 30 years my senior. He said to me to narrow down the list pf detectors i was interested in to a few. He helped me get that list down by pros and cons i had written down by others, next he asked me out of those, which was most comfortable in my hand and most comfortable to swing. When i answered he said get that one. He said the detector itself is only half the job, the other half is the operator. I was tood to use and learn my detector and not use multiple detectors. He said the detector is a tool, an extension of me.
I do have an old md that worked but i rarely used as it was uncomfortable in my hand. So i lost about 18 years of mding becuase i had a machine that wasnt comfortable to me.

 

[LuckyThirteen08]

One of the best MD` testimonials ever,This should be the answer on auto for all the "What Detector Should I Buy" questions,Absolute truth right here,A man with a 3k machine and 1 week experience will get eaten alive by the guy with a 250 dollar machine if he has some swing time behind the handle! Thanks for posting!

HH,John

 

[dimedigger]

excellent article. i purchased my first one this month, what some would consider a kids model i suppose. i have found things everytime i have used it starting within the 1st 10 minutes, actually if i had dug every signal i'd still be out digging

 

[Longhair]

Personally, I think that your argument would be more honest/accurate if you compare experienced users on both types, and novices on both types.
The the truth would be that experienced users might find more with a higher end machine, whereas novices may very well be overwhelmed by them and do much better with less to begin with.

Both are reasons for newbs to crawl before they try to run. They may find that they are satisfied with what they buy first and get comfortable with.

JMO

 

[norbyx]

One thing is for sure, the best detector is the one that finds the good stuff... I bet that any of us would love to find a $1000 diamond ring with a Ace250 and say that the detector paied off with that hunt alone and still you have money to spend in a vacation.
The fact is that in expert hands a more advanced detector can tell you more information of the targhet than a more basic detector. Now wich is better, it's a matter of opinions, sometimes people with fancy metal detectors decide if it's worth digging a targhet based on the detector readings and another user with a beep and dig detector, digs everything up, ends up finding more good stuff and swears that his detector is better than the top of line one.

The truth is that the top of line detector IS better than the cheaper one, but in the hands of someone that actually knows what's he doing. My personal experience was like this:
I started with a mid range detector, and I started thinking that the top range detectors could give me a better immage of what was down there, I believed that If I went out and spent $1500 on a detector I couldn't go wrong, I would have one of the best detectors in the world, and if that couldn't find me the good stuff than there was nothing in the ground to find.
This was true to a certain level. I did have the best (in my opinion) metal detector, but I was never sure if I was detecting in the correct setting. Sometimes I was out hunting and got frustrated in having to change settings during the hunt and sometimes spending as much as 20 min in the programming of the detector instead of detecting.
My conclusion was that the detector was too complicated for my personal taste and I would have been better off with a more simple unit. I remembered when detecting with the mid range detector and not having any problems or doubts.
I ended up selling the top of line detector and now I am in the wait for a Mid range detector to be delivered to my house. I am quite sure that I will be happyer with the cheaper detector.

 

[kc817]

I have a $150 base model detector (bought from CostCo) that I've used probably 20 times in 5 years. I find a ton of stuff with it every time I go. I'm so successful with it because I dig EVERYTHING I hit on. It has about zero discrimination, and I can't really tell a nail from a quarter from a house key from a manhole cover. If I ever started getting serious about detecting I would want to know the difference between all of these so I could skip the junk...so if you are like me, you'll be happy with a cheap one, but you'll be digging five times the holes as a pro that's put in the time on a better quality machine, who's pulling only the good stuff out of the ground. That, and learn a good technique - keep the coil low, move it slow, don't leave an inch uncovered.

 

[Fabbr]

I own a garrett at pro, and while it may be touted as easy for beginners keep in mind in beginner mode(std mode)the beltone will have you digging some trash targets, as you get to know it and pro mode, iron audio etc the trash targets that gave a nice beltone will now be broken up and bettter recognized as such, great machine, easy to use in std mode and its a good way to learn just know that youl dig a lot of random stuff, get to know pro mode, fyi in pro coins mode it will still hit nickels and rings nice, dig the repeatable clean tight signals
My 2cents.

 

[kshollywood]

Buy a whites.

 

[Terry Soloman]

That is one of the best marketing articles I ever saw! You must have generated at least a couple-a-hundred hits to your site with this post - Brilliant!

 

[olfacere]

I'll add in a couple more cents. I'm a computer programmer, field technician, and web developer. I actually am one of those guys who can deal with thousands of lines of code, complex interfaces, and anticipating how a machine will function in various conditions, and I bought a Tesoro MicroMax Silver (a detector with two knobs and no visual output). Analog dials are just more efficient than software menus in terms of operator-machine interaction. I don't have to navigate anything, just grab and turn.

Note also that I did not find a need for more than two knobs (discrimination and sensitivity). If you want to geek-out with your detector, then you'll want one that has manual ground balance and threshold controls. That way, you can give the machine a good expectation of the ground. Those features are totally unnecessary, however, for the first 8" in depth. I can hit almost anything that I'm willing to dig. The point is, once again, that I can deal with those extra features, but I would much rather have a plain-faced, audio-only machine with just two analog dials.

P.S. I would never trust a detector's computerised, visual display because I'm a programmer. I know what that thing can't tell you and the designers only embarass themselves by building machines that lie instead of holding back conservatively.

 

[TreasurePirate69]

This is a nice sentiment, but comparing a seasoned veteran with a cheap detector to a newbie with an expensive detector they don't understand is a bit of a stretch don't you think? A more fitting comparison is the same exact person hunting the same exact sites with two detectors that they know equally well how to operate.

Will the cheap detector really be as good as the expensive detector? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how that person likes to hunt, what that person is hunting for, and what the site is like. A $500 Tesoro Vaquero could easily out hunt a $1500 Minelab ETrac on certain sites. Then again, that Etrac might be just the ticket in a hunted out park where the target of choice is small silver coins.

Can you find good stuff with any detector? Sure, if you look long and hard enough you can even find stuff with a magnet tied to the end of of string (which is probably the cheapest "detector" you could make/buy). But that doesn't mean someone should forgo buying a better detector just because they have a magnet and string handy.

The point of your article is well taken. Getting out and learning your particular detector is one of the best things you can do to improve your finds (both in frequency and in value). It is also more important for someone new to the hobby to get something they will enjoy using and can easily handle.

 

[Fabbr]

I personally purchased the at pro for its all around capabilities and the option to water hunt/hunt in the rain, I could have done without the digital display though this can help shorten the learning curve in clean ground especially. The best thing is to listen carefully to the tone and remember the subtle cues in it once you retrieve the target, at pro in pro mode only, or any analog or comparable machines, a belltone sound will not educate one to his/her machine past a certain point. I have a tesoro on the way and im anxious to hear what it has to say. I am impressed with my at pro/5x8 DD coil and im sure the tesoro and I will get along well.?

 

[Pulltab Parson]

I Have used a few different models of Whites and Tesoros, I currently own a couple of each. My most recent detector is the Vaquero, which I have used with both the stock coil and the 5.75 conc. The machine acts differently with both coils, but how the machine runs is the same, in many cases as the Tejon (but much less chatty). I have found that running an analog machine has allowed me the opportunity to hunt with my ears and not my eyes. For me, I would be happier without a screen than with one, it cuts down on the distractions and once you know your machine, it's the tones that will tell you what's in the ground, not the digital algorithms. But You have to know your machine, that is one uncompromisable doctrine of metal detecting. Sure, even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally, But for the most part it's the skilled squirrel that fills the tree with nuts!

just my 2cents

HH
PTP

 

[kshollywood]

Tesoros are AWESOME machines, probably the deepest , lifetime warranty, well made, WHITES machines are deep, made well and made in the USA. FISHERS are deep, well made, GARRETT'S, I wouldn't buy, noisy, made cheep, not deep, MINELABs are deep, made well. I know GARRETT users will get mad at me but it's just an opinion.

 

[1graeman]

The first post is very informative. I would also like to add that everyone knows a cheaper deal than the next guy. If you are happy with your purchase then that should be the only thing that matters. I hate seeing the dealer bashing that goes on on the various forums.
I bought a BH Pioneer 505 because of the price and features that it offers. It's made in the US and carries a 5 year warranty, which are great reasons alone to buy one. Most of the posts on the forums that I look at tend to not speak highly of the Bounty Hunter if at all, because you can buy one at Walmart, Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop. I hope to prove otherwise with my future findings - starting this weekend, my first weekend out in the hunt for buried treasures.
Just my .02 cents