Are all detectors pretty much the same?

[USERNAME IS VALID]

I have a Vaquero and have been looking at detectors with target I.D., depth, etc. and all that…….I was was wondering are all detectors pretty much the same? I know some have better depth, different tones and all that and have been watching youtube videos and I very rarely see a detector that actually identifies targets and target depths accurately and watched a few videos where about 20-30 targets were dug and not one other than a quarter was identified correctly by the readout. I've seen them all tested, Fisher, Minelab, Whites, Garrett, Tesoro…….. they always seem to be wrong at identifying targets or give you three options what it might be. Heck, I can do that by the kind of signal I get on the Vaquero.

Do I need one (or want) since I have to dig everything anyway? I have learned the Vaquero and can pretty much guess 95% of the time what the target will be in disc mode, which is pretty much always a coin if the signal isn't broken. Gold and aluminum have to be dug anyway because they're so close to find out for sure which it is and you have to dig pull tabs or you might miss gold. I have found gold and silver and everything else with it. Should I get one or just stay with the light weight Tesoro? Are there any accurate ones and do you even use your display or just listen to tones? If anyone knows of an accurate one I'd like to hear about it.

 

[adamBomb]

A few points to address your comments...

Depth can make a huge difference. Low end detectors may only detect 2-6 inches whereas higher end may detect 2-3x that amount. That right there can be a big difference.

Ground mineralization can make a huge difference. For instance, at the beach in wet sand or highly mineralized ground, you need a multifrequency vlf machine or pi machine otherwise your normal run of the mill detector wont even work there.

Detectors are designed to distinguish two types of metal - iron and non iron. Anything else is a guess. Some units do this better than others. However as detectors get deeper this begins to falter. the idea is that some detectors can tell you if its a bad shallow target and you wont need to dig. And its pretty accurate when its a strong shallow signal.

 

[USERNAME IS VALID]

Are PI machines more accurate? I'd be willing to spend more if they actually worked better at identifying. It seems to me that my $430 Vaquero works well and deep enough and going up to $1,000 detector doesn't give you a whole lot more. Something with two tones might be better to tell the difference between ferrous and non ferrous without having to turn to disc mode so I don't lose depth? I guess the Tesoro would do that if I just kept switching from AM to disc?

 

[BARKER]

Hi; The Whites DFX is the one you want. It has Automatic Ground Balance and goes over EVERYv type of ground you can come across. It works great on Wet Sand, Dry Sand and regular dirt as well. Depth, I find dimes routinely at 10" - 12". Quarters to 14" - 16". The ID system is 4 ways. Tones, VDI#s and Bar Graph and Icons on the screen. It's lightweight and handles real well.
Now about Tone ID: If you pass over a pulltab or aluminum you will hear a scratchy, broken sound. Pass over gold you will hear either a solid tone for chains etc. or a Double Clicking Tone for rings that is very distinct. The kicker is that if you EVER break it they will fix it for FREE for LIFE ok. You can also get a good used one for $400 used. You will have no problem with it ok. Thus it is Accurate, DEEP Seeking, dependable, in your price range and Guaranteed Forv Life. Try to beat that.
I'll put my DFX up against the EXCAL or Deus anytime. I already have and I do just as good as they did ok. There it is for you. Good Luck. PEACE:RONB

 

[USERNAME IS VALID]

Hi; The Whites DFX is the one you want. It has Automatic Ground Balance and goes over EVERYv type of ground you can come across. It works great on Wet Sand, Dry Sand and regular dirt as well. Depth, I find dimes routinely at 10" - 12". Quarters to 14" - 16". The ID system is 4 ways. Tones, VDI#s and Bar Graph and Icons on the screen. It's lightweight and handles real well.
Now about Tone ID: If you pass over a pulltab or aluminum you will hear a scratchy, broken sound. Pass over gold you will hear either a solid tone for chains etc. or a Double Clicking Tone for rings that is very distinct. The kicker is that if you EVER break it they will fix it for FREE for LIFE ok. You can also get a good used one for $400 used. You will have no problem with it ok. Thus it is Accurate, DEEP Seeking, dependable, in your price range and Guaranteed Forv Life. Try to beat that.
I'll put my DFX up against the EXCAL or Deus anytime. I already have and I do just as good as they did ok. There it is for you. Good Luck. PEACE:RONB

Hey thanks, I'll start reading about it.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Are all cars the same? You can get from NY to LA in a vega, but why not go in an Escalade? I started with an El Cheapo, but it did have 3 tones (my vega). I moved up to an F4, (my Impala) bigger coil, VDI display, and had manual GB. Now a swing the F75 LTD SE upgraded (my Escalade).

 

[USERNAME IS VALID]

Are all cars the same? You can get from NY to LA in a vega, but why not go in an Escalade? I started with an El Cheapo, but it did have 3 tones (my vega). I moved up to an F4, (my Impala) bigger coil, VDI display, and had manual GB. Now a swing the F75 LTD SE upgraded (my Escalade).

True, but I'm finding some detectors are like Porsches and Ferraris, they're expensive, break down a lot and are unreliable. Maybe I should just keep riding my bike. I just keep watching videos on YouTube and the IDs never seem to be right, whereas I've learned my tone on the Vaq and don't have to wait for numbers to jumble around to know if something is good or bad. I dunno, I've always used tones with my others too, seems easier. It seems there's not a lot of difference between a $400 detector and a $1,500 one besides a readout and more weight. I'm cheap, what can I say.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Yes, but my $8,000 '72 Road Runner could keep up with the $60,000 Corvettes I used to race, so cost means jack squat. It's the skill of the driver (or the detectorist) that will trump wads of cash every time.

 

[Loco-Digger]

True, but I'm finding some detectors are like Porsches and Ferraris, they're expensive, break down a lot and are unreliable. Maybe I should just keep riding my bike. I just keep watching videos on YouTube and the IDs never seem to be right, whereas I've learned my tone on the Vaq and don't have to wait for numbers to jumble around to know if something is good or bad. I dunno, I've always used tones with my others too, seems easier. It seems there's not a lot of difference between a $400 detector and a $1,500 one besides a readout and more weight. I'm cheap, what can I say.

I'm pretty frugal myself. I normally buy used. Why buy new, when used will do?

 

[USERNAME IS VALID]

I dunno, scared of getting something that doesn't work from someone who abused it. With cars I can fix them, electronic boards not so much.

 

[Loco-Digger]

I dunno, scared of getting something that doesn't work from someone who abused it. With cars I can fix them, electronic boards not so much.

What like about buying used (locally) is you can inspect it, try it out, and get a crash course before you decide to hand over the cash.

 

[kcm]

I like Tesoro for 2 main reasons: I like the power per unit cost, but also I've always had a good ear for sounds. Other people are tone deaf. Maybe that's why there are many folks who swear that Tesoros don't work - because they physically may not be able to notice the subtle differences. ...Besides, I hate all the digital crap out there! But, that's just a personal preference.

 

[adamBomb]

Are PI machines more accurate? I'd be willing to spend more if they actually worked better at identifying. It seems to me that my $430 Vaquero works well and deep enough and going up to $1,000 detector doesn't give you a whole lot more. Something with two tones might be better to tell the difference between ferrous and non ferrous without having to turn to disc mode so I don't lose depth? I guess the Tesoro would do that if I just kept switching from AM to disc?

PI Machines are usually deeper, especially is mineralized soil. They do not discriminate at all, so you cannot identify with a PI machine. You need to worry less about trying to identify a target. As long as your VLF machine can tell if its iron vs not iron that should be enough. Dig all non iron targets and all deep targets. Learning to do that is a matter of learning your machine. If you have a low end machine that cannot tell you if you have a deep vs shallow target then that is a problem. If you are ok with a low end machine then do not get a higher end one. I dont think higher end ones are worth it if you are just buying for bells and whistles but sometimes they are higher end because they are actually much better machines. For example, depth isnt a bell and whistle, multi frequency isnt a bell and whistle, waterproof isnt a bell and whistle, etc. A computer screen is a bell and whistle.

But you are getting too hung up on this identification thing. Its iron vs non iron. Thats it. Ignore the identification features beyond that. Do not buy a machine for identification features. Buy a machine because its lighter, its deeper, its pick up faint tones, its waterproof, its multifrequency, etc. - whatever your needs are.

 

[Fletch88]

I mainly hunt by tone and glance at the screen. One very good machine you can buy in the 4-450 range is the MX-5 and Whites warranty is transferable. Another is the Minelab Safari.

 

[BARKER]

Hi; Like I said. The DFX has 4 different ways to ID. Take your choice. ME, I want to "know" the ID ok. I find the DFX about 90% accurate. That's my take. Also you do NOT have to worry about Ground Mineralization ok. And it is in your price range. Simple. PEACE:RONB

 

[USERNAME IS VALID]

PI Machines are usually deeper, especially is mineralized soil. They do not discriminate at all, so you cannot identify with a PI machine. You need to worry less about trying to identify a target. As long as your VLF machine can tell if its iron vs not iron that should be enough. Dig all non iron targets and all deep targets. Learning to do that is a matter of learning your machine. If you have a low end machine that cannot tell you if you have a deep vs shallow target then that is a problem. If you are ok with a low end machine then do not get a higher end one. I dont think higher end ones are worth it if you are just buying for bells and whistles but sometimes they are higher end because they are actually much better machines. For example, depth isnt a bell and whistle, multi frequency isnt a bell and whistle, waterproof isnt a bell and whistle, etc. A computer screen is a bell and whistle.

But you are getting too hung up on this identification thing. Its iron vs non iron. Thats it. Ignore the identification features beyond that. Do not buy a machine for identification features. Buy a machine because its lighter, its deeper, its pick up faint tones, its waterproof, its multifrequency, etc. - whatever your needs are.

Thanks, great explanation. That's mainly what I was looking for, depth, iron vs non iron and lightweight waterproof I could go either way. Thanks everyone.

 

[CTwoods]

I have two old machines from a company that is gone now. One does have Icons to show the so called ID of the item, but it is a single tone only. The other is no visual ID, but has two tones, so you can move the hi-low tone break to see roughly what range the target metal is.

I really like both. I like the single tone sometimes, as it can't get a split tone that might make a target sound like junk. In other words it makes a solid single tone that I can't miss if I am not on my game that day.

I like the non-ID one sometimes, as it more familiar to me because I had used it a lot more.

Every time I think I would like to try a new one, I listen to the ones on videos, and I mostly don't like the sounds...if that makes any sense. I guess I like my old ones because I am very familiar with what they sound like over various targets. Both of them have an iron-reject which works so accurate. I may get a broken tone on some iron, but I dig those as they maybe be relics....and they are always iron

I do woods and old fields, so I want to dig every non ferrous, so knowing if it is showing dime or tab is not important. If I did nice private lawns, maybe I'd need to rely on ID more. If you really know a machine well, don't sell it, even if you buy a new model

 

[dirtscratcher]

Find a used explorer, they can be had for 5 or 6 hundred sometimes less. Fbs takes accuracy to a whole new level.

 

[Escape]

Satisfy your curiosity. Get one and find out for yourself.

 

[GA_Boy]

Are all cars the same? You can get from NY to LA in a vega, but why not go in an Escalade? I started with an El Cheapo, but it did have 3 tones (my vega). I moved up to an F4, (my Impala) bigger coil, VDI display, and had manual GB. Now a swing the F75 LTD SE upgraded (my Escalade).

I'll keep my YUGO (Fisher 1265X) for a while.
Marvin