Confessions of an old hunter ( at age 40 ! )

[Selecter]

Hi all. New to the forum but not new to th'ing. Got my first machine at 10 years old ( a C & G Tomcat ) in 1973 and went right up to about 1999 before I gave it up. I owned roughly 35 different machines during those years everything from a garrett BFO all purpose to a bounty hunter red baron. I dont know much about the newer detectors tho since Ive been away so long. Whats the best coin hunter out there for less than 500 typical on ebay? I see no reason to buy new since so many buy new detectors and dont use them then throw them on the bay. I dont want a digital menu machine, I want analog and if target ID I want a meter not a LCD.

I wonder if any of you there are thinking about collecting detectors? I now can buy those machines I lusted after when I was a kid; the Whites Goldmaster, the Compass 77B and so on. I am also interested in off beat machines like Gardiner and Relco even tho some of those off brands are real junk ( have yet to see a relco anything hold tune ) so if you know of any of those machines let me know please. Thanks you all for your recommendations. I would also love talking shop with any old timers out there who got their start in the hobby in the late 70's as I did.

 

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[Carl-NC]

LCD target ID gives a lot more info than an analog meter, although knob-less machines are a pain to program, when you have to wade through menus. It's a trade-off. I think the best all-around detector is the XLT, and often can be had for a bargain. The Golden uMax is a good no-meter detector, and very light. Analog meter machines are just about extinct, but the White's XL Pro (6000 series) is still a great detector.

Yup, a number of us collect vintage detectors. I've got over 60, including old & new. Early White's, Garrett, Fisher, Relco, Gardiner, Detectron, D-Tex, Bounty Hunter, and a bunch more. It's fun to see the progress made in detectors over the years, slow as it's been.

- Carl