1983 Metal Detector Special! This week only.

[Gimmie The Loot]

I forgot to mention when I was cleaning out the old house last weekend, I also found a sweet 1983 Service Merchandise catalog. I was flipping through it laughing at the 100lb 19 inch TVs and then found these vintage metal detectors! I love how it advertises "Detects penny 4-6" deep". Classic! Sad thing is I bet some of you guys have used these back in the day

 

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[Dirt fishing Wolf]

Bought my first NEW detector in 1982, a Whites.

 

[marinedad]

i'm not old enough to have used one of those

 

[Lowbatts]

Mark, you're old enough to have BUILT those!

Just think, you're looking at the ETrac of it's day!

Well not quite, these were rather bad actors and those meters bounced whether you hit a target or not.

 

[soupie]

Nice vintage ad Gimme....man am I glad I had something better to cut my teeth on,,the old eagle II...I sure miss that rig somedays....

Soup

 

[Gimmie The Loot]

The ad forgot to mention the ergonomic handle.

 

[p2c]

Just think, you're looking at the ETrac of it's day!

Wow, I might take that trade if I could have the value of the US dollar of that day! If you are saying $159 was a top end detector (and generally electronics have become less expensive to manufacture) ... CPI only suggests that 1983 $1.00 is equivalent to $2.29 today and not the 10X ration that your back in the day etrac suggests...

 

[Lowbatts]

Just think, you're looking at the ETrac of it's day!

Wow, I might take that trade if I could have the value of the US dollar of that day! If you are saying $159 was a top end detector (and generally electronics have become less expensive to manufacture) ... CPI only suggests that 1983 $1.00 is equivalent to $2.29 today and not the 10X ration that your back in the day etrac suggests...

CPI factors in consumables and durables with heavier weighting than a lot of other market variables such as what was then niche marketing on an even smaller scale than it is today. Higher end machines of the day in '83 were in the 300+ dollar range though there were a few very high priced gadgets back then as well. I was using literary license to convey a technological theme, not being anal, bro!

 

[scrounger d detector collector]

hmmpf.... them are modern machines that comes

assembled . i built my 1st machine from a kit.

when i was only 6 yrs old. 1966.

almost all BFO'S back then TR was just gettin started

and of course ABSOLUTELY NO DISCRIMINATION.

talkin about signals that bounce. yipes

 

[bugs]

A lot of silver was taken with machines like this. There was more silver and not deep.

 

[Mayo South Elgin]

I don't know what model I had, but when I was a teenager I did have a Brinkman detector.
It got me hooked on the hobby even though I mostly found junk. I don't remember finding silver coins with it but then again, if I did, I wouldn't have cared back then because silver was more common and not thought of as much more valuable than other pocket change of the day.
I have kind of the same pattern (of finding junk) to this day with my Etrac.
The main difference now is I can find junk at much greater depths.

Case in point is the last time out when I spent about an hour or more digging a hole to about elbow depth.
The signal was great and had me convinced it was a silver quarter or possibly a half.
Halfway down, at approx. 8 inches, the presence of white glass from a mason jar and part of the lid kept me at it.
Another 6 to 8 inches down I got this cool and unusual punishment...

 

[Gimmie The Loot]

I don't know what model I had, but when I was a teenager I did have a Brinkman detector.
It got me hooked on the hobby even though I mostly found junk. I don't remember finding silver coins with it but then again, if I did, I wouldn't have cared back then because silver was more common and not thought of as much more valuable than other pocket change of the day.
I have kind of the same pattern (of finding junk) to this day with my Etrac.
The main difference now is I can find junk at much greater depths.

Case in point is the last time out when I spent about an hour or more digging a hole to about elbow depth.
The signal was great and had me convinced it was a silver quarter or possibly a half.
Halfway down, at approx. 8 inches, the presence of white glass from a mason jar and part of the lid kept me at it.
Another 6 to 8 inches down I got this cool and unusual punishment...

LOL what is it?