Best cheap detector?

[GibH]

Larry,
I don't know where you are getting the 1.5 lbs. from, but I weighed mine on my postal scale and it is 2.5lbs. It weighs about the same as a Tesoro Silver umax.

 

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[LuckyLarry]

GibH that's because yours is not the same one as mine, it just looks a lot like it, but the one I own is (seriously) lightweight. Mine really does weigh 1.5 pounds and it was advertized as such too, and as I said above, "this is a clone of the Chinese one", but I didn't say "which" Chinese one. In fact I have seen 4 different ones made by 4 different Chinese firms that are clones in appearance but not "clones" internally. If I remember correctly, Michigan Badger bought one the same in appearance, a clone in appearance, but wasn't exactly the same inside. Gold Century makes one that looks like it, so does American Hawks (the original?), and so does Bounty Hunter (Discovery), and I think it's the heaviest. One other company makes a similar one too, called MS......

Here is mine and it's weight is listed at "Product Features" at 1.5 lbs: And it really does get 8" on a quarter too, count on it. In fact, it's a very good little detector, but the search pole is a bit short and needs to be extended if you are 6' and over.

www.amazon.com/American-Hawks-Water...1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1331997936&sr=1-1

As for China, it is really startling for people to accept this, but China makes lots of parts for our metal detectors, and has done so for some time now. They don't always print "made in China" on thyristors, resistors, diodes, small transformers, etc, and China doesn't sell USA automobiles to us either, we sell them to China, plus earth moving machines, trucks, and medical equipment too. Yes, there is a trade deficit, but without Chinese clothes we would go stark naked, because we have no more factories to make our clothes. The truth is, that we wouldn't be able to make them cheap enough either, and that would suck, and we would be paying for already over-paid union members who average $76 per hour instead of Chinese clothes made at $2 per hour. That would make us pay more than $300 for a $10 shirt, and that wouldn't make sense at all. I wish this wasn't true because I'm strongly nationalistic, but it is.

It's overall customer review rating is 4 out of 5. That's as good as a Whites Spectra V3 or V3i, funny, but true:

www.metaldetectorreviews.net/whites.htm

You all have a good today, I will too.

LL

 

[GibH]

Ok Larry, that makes more sense. That model is different than the md1023, that one is sold also by Gold Century as the GC-1016a. I agree with you on the China thing, while detectors may be assembled here people need to realize that the Chinese are able clone stuff so easily because the components were out sourced to them in the first place.

 

[FLauthor]

I bought a Ace 350 and found that the Bell tone rang on anything either coin or junk. It became annoying and wished I could have turned it off. Since there was no way to do so, I sold the machine on eBay and got most of my money back and purchased a Fisher F2 along with the 3 inch Sniper Coil. I typed up the list of the numbers to the targets, laminated it and taped it to the top of the machine so I merely have to look to know what my target is. Great machine for such a low cost.

 

[Smudge]

Ok, I'm gonna step up for the Compadre.

First off, I hunt in Florida, where our ground mineralization is near zero. I have heard nightmare stories about Oregon soil and the challenges detectorists out there face.

I have used owned or used most units under the $250 price range and I can tell you that from my own personal experience (and that's all I've got to go on), I personally felt the Compadre absolutely smoked the competition. Yes, I owned the Ace 250 but didn't care for it. Does that make it a bad detector? Nope. Check the forums to see all the great finds people make with theirs. It just wasn't right for me. I did not care for the construction, the detector took too long to recover IMO, and you had to reverse the coil just to be able to effectively pinpoint. And forget relying on the screen. That thing was wrong about 50% of the time for me. That was my experience. Other people love theirs and swear by them.

And that's the thing. There are some 250 users out there right now that think I'm nuts and can't understand why I'd prefer the Compadre.

But to me, the Compadre is the best coin and jewelry hunter in its class. I have found plenty of both including two fantastic gold rings. Would other detectors have found them? I don't know. But I just set me discrimination and hunt all day, digging all my solid signals. I love it.

And for all the comparisons out there and all the opinions, including mine, it all just boils down to which machine works best for you and in your location. Some people think the Compadre is sub-par and next to "toy" status. Fine by me. Hope you find one that works for you!

BTW, I think we can all agree on one thing: getting people in this hobby to agree about any detector is like trying to herd cats.

 

[LuckyLarry]

Well Smudge, that's a pretty good assessment, but I haven't told anyone that the cheap Chinese detector I speak about.....and some people won't like this.... has nearly identical circuitry to the Tesoro Compadre. I don't think anybody is looking for a detector to buy here in this post, it's just a discussion about different cheaper detectors, and their pro's and cons.

The Chinese one had to get some minor changes of course; PC board layout, different pots and connectors, etc, so that they do not infringe on the patent rights of Tesoro. They had to opt for a different operating frequency too, 6.5 Khz instead of the Compadre's 12 Khz, plus alter Tesoro's tank circuit a bit, and use a smaller search coil winding, which is why it outshines the Compadre for finding smallish brass, copper, and clad coins), especially old copper pennies. This is why the depth is a match between the two detectors. Here is a pic of the Compadre circuit board, showing pots with red lines around them for readjusting the internal GB, sensitivity, and discrimination parameters.

Can the Compadre be made to go deeper? Yes.

Can the Chinese cheapie be made to go deeper? Yes.

Metal detector companies have been borrowing each other's ideas ever since the early 60's, and when I worked in the industry it was common place. It still is.

LL

 

[Smudge]

I absolutely believe you Larry. I think I remember a couple of years back you were talking about how surprised you were by the performance of a Chinese detector. I forget which it was. You had a lot of good things to say about it.

 

[LuckyLarry]

Hey Smudge,

I remember that one. What I remember the most is that my cz couldn't find the old pennies in a certain area and neither could my Sovereign. My Compass could, but I expected that, it's a dedicated nugget hunter. However, the Chinese one actually kept up with the Compass for cherry-picking, but of course, not for depth.

I think the G2 or GB Pro might match my Compasses, but some say that the Compass gets a bit more depth than those other two. The light weight though, is pulling me toward one of the FT ones.

Thanks for the response,

Larry

 

[GibH]

I took the MD1023 to the beach this morning and it ain't a depth demon, but it works. Tones sound like a BH Tracker IV, disc works fine. Took it down to the wet and it was stable, no chatting at all. Granted we don't have the same problems beaches elsewhere have, but it handles salt just fine. Now to see if I increase the depth on it.

Things I would change:
Get rid of the meter
Use a toggle switch for the modes
Use an open coil design
Swap the 1/8" jack for a 1/4"

Other than that, if you don't need more than 6" of depth, it works great for a cheap detector. My finds totaled $.87, a junk ring, 2 Bic lighters, and a sterling ring that weighed .57 ozt. Two more days like this and it's paid for


My next beach hunt will still be with my Sovereign though.

 

[LuckyLarry]

Yep, good post GibH.

Everything has it's limitations. A Sov. works well on (salt only) beaches, so other than a not being a depth demon the little cheapie one will find 80%-90% of stuff inland anyway. It's ability to cherry-pick though gives it an edge in trashy parks, etc.

LL