Infinium
Darren:
If anyone suggests the Infinium, I would suggest against it. It is a serious tool, but if you didn't like the Excalibur, you'll absolutely hate the Infinium, since it will reach deeper, and give even more targets to try and pinpoint (and there's a definate trick to that with this detector).
The straight scoop (from the site) on the Infinium:
1. The Infinium is good -- period. The box itself (electronics) does exactly what it says it will do. The later units have updates so they can use more coils, the earlier units can be upgraded -- contact Garrett for guidance.
2. The Infinium is powerful -- very -- and therin is the crux of most problems with newbies who buy the unit for their first detector. It operates on the ragged edge of it's power band, and as such, you'll have to understand how to tune and tone the unit (reduce power) to either quiet it down or keep it on the edge and go to the max depths possible.
3. Is it comparable to the Minelab Nuggetshooter (SD & 3000) Series: No. The Minelabs have been on the market much longer than the Infinium and there are many more coils available for them and it takes a large battery to power those coils effectively (they are extremely large -- car tire diameter). The Infinium won't compete with 8 alkaline batteries, but on the otherhand, the Infinium will still be hunting when those large coils drain that big battery and the Minelab owner is seeking shade -- exhausted from lugging it around. The Infinium will also be hunting in all weather conditions, even underwater.
4. Is it comparable to the VLF nuggetshooters: No. It goes much deeper than VLF and ignores mineralization effectively. Solid iron masses will give a low/high tone -- it will be very effective in the meteorite fields (worth more than nuggets).
5. Is the Infinium comparable to VLF relic machines: No. It will detect much deeper than any of them -- BUT -- will give no indication of composition of material other than a low/high or a high/low tone. You won't see on a screen: "buckle" or "bullet" for instance, or an indication of how deep the target is. You can flip the coil on it's side and if you don't hear a tone -- it's deep . . . so in this respect we're going back to the old days of metal detecting with a pure metal detector. This unit won't baby anyone, it uses 100% of it's battery power to achieve depth (good).
6. Is the Infinium comparable to coin machines: No. If you're after coins (other than silver) you should look to a dedicated coin machine. Silver: can be hunted exclusively by tareting everything that gives a low/high tone. You'll dig up some iron too -- but won't miss any silver coins.
7. What's the deal with the headphones: the headphones are good, but you can't swap them for any other land unit, since the Infinium is waterproof so needs a waterproof headphone jack. There are two sets of phones: audio boosted underwater, and regular adjustable volume phones. If you're in the desert, relic hunting, etc., you only need the land phones (they come standard).
8. What's the deal with the shafts: this is where Garrett falls down (on their whole line). In an effort to be different, they use pins (as in the Infinium), spring catches, and just about every other connector known except the knurled knob that all the others mfg's use that has worked flawlessly for years. Garrett: get a clue -- no need to constantly re-invent the wheel when it works fine.
9. What's the deal with the Sea Hunter: the Sea Hunter is essentially an Infinium without the high/low tone system but with an effective motion discriminator system that works a lot like a Minelab to take out surface trash. For $600 less than an Infinium, that's an extremely powerful detector if you're willing to dig all the targets.
10. Are there others out there: yes -- you have Eric Foster's designs (designed the original Sea Hunter for Garrett), Whites, and more to choose from. You'll have to decide with them what features you want -- for now, the Infinium seems to have the most features for the least money (waterproof/high low/waterproof phones/swapable coils/diving & land shafts included/ car & home chargers included/ recharge & alkaline battery packs included).
Good luck out there!
Matt Mattson
http://www.treasuresites.com
