Detectors

[m bryan]

What determines a good detector other than depth? Excluding the user factor(not knowing the md)but the machine..........depth seems to be the most popular issue but what are the other things you look for in a md?

 

[Kentucky Kache]

What determines a good detector other than depth? Excluding the user factor(not knowing the md)but the machine..........depth seems to be the most popular issue but what are the other things you look for in a md?

Quality discrimination, especially if you're coin hunting.
For some people, weight is an issue.
For me, ground balance and depth gauge is important. Not all machines have it.

 

[Dano Sverige]

Success!

 

[Coin Digger]

I have gone through a whole slew of detectors and I can tell you the best detector is the one you like and enjoy.
You should ask yourself what kind of person are you and what do you plan to hunt.

Example: I drove myself nuts with a high end menu driven detector just hunting clad. Needless to say it was frustrating for me.
I get the most enjoyment out of my lowly F2 and it can find keepers just like the rest.

 

[Old Town]

For me depth is number 1, but after that stability. This means a quiet machine that does not sound on every tiny thing. A constant background of clicks and pings wears me out mentally. Some makes are better than others in this department.

OT

 

[UncleVinnys]

I agree with Kentucky K,

A good discriminator will help you tell the difference between a pull-tab and a nickel,
between a dime and a penny.

Here's a good video which shows different levels of discrimination.

Enjoy!

 

[m bryan]

The guy in the video says the more expensive the detector the better the disc.....true?

 

[Old Town]

The guy in the video says the more expensive the detector the better the disc.....true?

Not always true. But I'd rather over-spend than under-spend.

That said, my all-time favorite detector is a 340 dollar Tesoro Cibola. Great disc. and frightful depth. More than my E-Trac at one fifth the price.

OT

 

[Deftone]

"But I'd rather over-spend than under-spend."
Its still a hobby but hey spend spend spend!

 

[Old Town]

"But I'd rather over-spend than under-spend."
Its still a hobby but hey spend spend spend!

Deftone, isn't this thing we do crazy? I love my Cibola but cannot resist the lure of all the fancy crap that comes along by the makers. I see something shining in the sun I gotta go drag it back to my nest. I'm like a silly raven or something. In the end I go hunting with my Cibola. MD companies count on idiots like me.

OT

 

[deepskyal]

Depth can be altered on most detectors by larger coils rather than the stock coil that comes with them.

My 2 main requirements are good ground balancing and good target ID.

I don't like wasting my day digging zincolns and pull tabs and I have had occasion to hit areas where I fought to keep a machine ground balanced. Of course, that was my very first detector which was a TR, not a vlf.

The vision has multiple ways to Id a target so I don't dig zinc pennies or that many pull tabs. And it works great under power lines. Never had a machine that didn't sound off once I got near transmission lines. It was like it opened up a whole new area to detecting.

I got out for the first time in over a year last weekend. With that much limited time, I don't want to waste it.

Al