Garrett

[MyLuckyDay]

Hi all. Absolutely happy I found this site. I need to buy an underwater (ocean) detector for gold and silver. I'm about to pull the trigger on buying a Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II. I've read several reviews, but am curious if anyone has used one on here. Any feedback or alternative suggestions would be a ton of help.

Happy hunting.

 

[Iron Patch]

The first question is.... Are you new to detecting? If so, the next question is if a pulse induction unit is well suited for your intended use. The answer to that is much more important than whether you buy a Garrett, Minelab, Fisher etc.. If my question made you pause and think, you're not ready to buy.

 

[boogeyman]

Perfectly put. Couldn't have said it better

 

[MyLuckyDay]

The first question is.... Are you new to detecting? If so, the next question is if a pulse induction unit is well suited for your intended use. The answer to that is much more important than whether you buy a Garrett, Minelab, Fisher etc.. If my question made you pause and think, you're not ready to buy.

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, I'm new. However, I'm a fast learner. I plan to use this in the Florida Keys and Carribbean on a number of shipwrecks. Gold and silver are the intended targets. I will use it about 90% of the time diving and snorkeling.

From the reviews I've read, they say this unit is fairly easy to manage. I'm not buying it for the name, but rather the positive reviews and bang for the buck. But before I pull the trigger, I wanted some comfort in shelling out the dough!

Why do you think PI would be too advanced for a newbie?

PS - Nice outfit!!

 

[MyLuckyDay]

BTW - I'm hypothetically using this on hypothetical shipwrecks in the Keys and Carribbean.... =)

 

[Iron Patch]

The thing about pulse units is no matter how they're marketed they don't have discrimination. (That is a fact) Now start to imagine the amount of iron around a shipwreck vs the good stuff. That type of detecting is about as far from my experience as it gets, but if I had to guess I'd say the guys who dive (and I do know a few) don't even use a detector where the main concentration is, and outside where there's not quite as much metal they use a unit that has discrimination. There's a basic rule, and I just made it.... if you are looking for "old" a pulse unit usually equals nightmare.

PS... The good reviews you read are probably from people who are probably hunting fairly clean beaches and there's a big difference when you bring junk metal into the picture.

oh yeah.... this has nothing to do with how quick you learn. It's about using the right tool for the job.


...and the suit was borrowed from Google images.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Iron-patch-man spells out good info. I'm not familiar with the amount of iron on Florida shipwrecks. Perhaps after 200+ yrs, the smaller nails have completely dissolved? I dunno. But in general, here's the rub on pulse machines for the beach (or underwater, or wherever):

They are marketed as being great on gold (even dainty fine chains, earing studs, etc...) and silver. And this is true! They will effortlessly find gold and silver to insane depths, in even the nastiest minerals, and some of them (not sure about the Sea Hunter Mark II though) are very easy to learn and operate. So good so far, right? The problem is, they have no ability to disc. out iron. This may not be a problem on certain touristy beaches (d/t nails from burned down wharves, or beach bonfires, etc... aren't as prolific), or places where you intend to "strip-mine" anyhow. But in places where iron abounds, you may pull your hair out.

Put a funny way: "The good news is: they're so sensitive you can find a bobby pin a foot down!! But the bad news is, they're so sensitive you can find a bobby pin a foot down!"

 

[MyLuckyDay]

oh yeah.... this has nothing to do with how quick you learn. It's about using the right tool for the job.

Amen.

For a PI detector, they claim to have great discrimination. I guess that's where my confusion is... I'll be searching in fairly clean areas. Some trash won't get me at all frustrated. Now if you're saying the discrimination claims are a bit exhaggerated and the thing will be screaming in my ear about anything and everything, then that's a legit concern.

Again - Thanks - This insight is great.

 

[Iron Patch]

oh yeah.... this has nothing to do with how quick you learn. It's about using the right tool for the job.

Amen.

For a PI detector, they claim to have great discrimination. I guess that's where my confusion is... I'll be searching in fairly clean areas. Some trash won't get me at all frustrated. Now if you're saying the discrimination claims are a bit exhaggerated and the thing will be screaming in my ear about anything and everything, then that's a legit concern.

Again - Thanks - This insight is great.

Yes... if it's metal a PI will sound off and reviews that state they have great disc., simply lies. If a company could build that detector and sell it for under a grand, you'd see other companies begin to fold do to lack of sales.

If you have never metal detected before you have no idea how much misc. metal can be at places you think are fairly clean. I would never use a pulse here, not because it won't find targets, but because it would waste way too much of my time. Some trash won't get you frustrated, but digging 20 pieces (small iron) in a row with no sign of it stopping surely will. If you have the budget for a Minelab excalibur it's probably the closest you can get to a PI with Disc.. The Excal is multi freq., handles the elements (salt & black sand) very well, and gets very good depth. As far as I'm concerned it's what rules for water hunting and what I would buy if I ever made the switch from fields. Pulse units are good but VERY site specific.

 

[NHBandit]

IP as always, gives great advice. I know nothing about underwater detecting but I do have some advice. We have a great "shipwreck" forum right here and if you ask your questions there you will get alot of great advice from people who do this stuff for a living. I'm guessing the answers will be different depending on whether you're poking around a 300 year old wooden wreck or a WWII battleship...

 

[MyLuckyDay]

Yes... if it's metal a PI will sound off and reviews that state they have great disc., simply lies. If a company could build that detector and sell it for under a grand, you'd see other companies begin to fold do to lack of sales.

If you have never metal detected before you have no idea how much misc. metal can be at places you think are fairly clean. I would never use a pulse here, not because it won't find targets, but because it would waste way too much of my time. Some trash won't get you frustrated, but digging 20 pieces (small iron) in a row with no sign of it stopping surely will. If you have the budget for a Minelab excalibur it's probably the closest you can get to a PI with Disc.. The Excal is multi freq., handles the elements (salt & black sand) very well, and gets very good depth. As far as I'm concerned it's what rules for water hunting and what I would buy if I ever made the switch from fields. Pulse units are good but VERY site specific.

Now that is the type of straight talk I appreciate. Thanks IP.

Excal II looks great (like the Infinium LS), but too pricey for now.

You have me thinking and re considering this purchase. It is all about the right tool, and this might give me some issues.

NHBandit - Thanks for the heads up. I will try that section, too. I'm a newbie, so thought General was a good place to get this started.

I've spent hours reading various posts from you all, and I'm sooooo excited to get started.... Just like anything in life, want the best tool for the job.

 

[Iron Patch]

Yes... if it's metal a PI will sound off and reviews that state they have great disc., simply lies. If a company could build that detector and sell it for under a grand, you'd see other companies begin to fold do to lack of sales.

If you have never metal detected before you have no idea how much misc. metal can be at places you think are fairly clean. I would never use a pulse here, not because it won't find targets, but because it would waste way too much of my time. Some trash won't get you frustrated, but digging 20 pieces (small iron) in a row with no sign of it stopping surely will. If you have the budget for a Minelab excalibur it's probably the closest you can get to a PI with Disc.. The Excal is multi freq., handles the elements (salt & black sand) very well, and gets very good depth. As far as I'm concerned it's what rules for water hunting and what I would buy if I ever made the switch from fields. Pulse units are good but VERY site specific.

Now that is the type of straight talk I appreciate. Thanks IP.

Excal II looks great (like the Infinium LS), but too pricey for now.

You have me thinking and re considering this purchase. It is all about the right tool, and this might give me some issues.

NHBandit - Thanks for the heads up. I will try that section, too. I'm a newbie, so thought General was a good place to get this started.

I've spent hours reading various posts from you all, and I'm sooooo excited to get started.... Just like anything in life, want the best tool for the job.

Here's why it's difficult if you don't want to shell out the cash for an Excal, and it's not like anyone can blame you.

The PI units handle the salt and black sand well, but have no disc.. There's a wide selection of VLF water units and they do well in fresh water, but unfortunately suffer bad in those conditions the pulse can handle. So it's really a no win situation, either you have to give up the disc., or fight with a detector that doesn't really like the environment you are detecting. All that being said, that's what makes a multi freq great! It handles the elements, has disc., and goes deep.

CZs are known to do well so maybe you could pick up a used CZ 20 cheap, or heck maybe even an excal. But buying a used water detector, a little risky unless it's a dealer or someone you know you can trust. Any major problem on a used water unit and you'll probably be out the same amount of money had you just bought new in the first place.

Starting detecting in the water, and on a budget, is tough!

An Excal is very different than the Infinium LS, because it's another pulse.

 

[boogeyman]

Yes... if it's metal a PI will sound off and reviews that state they have great disc., simply lies. If a company could build that detector and sell it for under a grand, you'd see other companies begin to fold do to lack of sales.

If you have never metal detected before you have no idea how much misc. metal can be at places you think are fairly clean. I would never use a pulse here, not because it won't find targets, but because it would waste way too much of my time. Some trash won't get you frustrated, but digging 20 pieces (small iron) in a row with no sign of it stopping surely will. If you have the budget for a Minelab excalibur it's probably the closest you can get to a PI with Disc.. The Excal is multi freq., handles the elements (salt & black sand) very well, and gets very good depth. As far as I'm concerned it's what rules for water hunting and what I would buy if I ever made the switch from fields. Pulse units are good but VERY site specific.
[/quote]
True! My general rule of thumb is...... Subtract 60% of the claims of the manufacturer. Reviews I take as, If a manfacturer hands me a $1500 detector, and askes me to do a write up on it, am I going to say anything negative or really point out the machines short falls? Don't think so.

If you can find a local (even a not so local dealer is worth the trip) dealer that will let you use the machine, even in a test bed you're going to be miles & $ ahead.

 

[Iron Patch]

Yes... if it's metal a PI will sound off and reviews that state they have great disc., simply lies. If a company could build that detector and sell it for under a grand, you'd see other companies begin to fold do to lack of sales.

If you have never metal detected before you have no idea how much misc. metal can be at places you think are fairly clean. I would never use a pulse here, not because it won't find targets, but because it would waste way too much of my time. Some trash won't get you frustrated, but digging 20 pieces (small iron) in a row with no sign of it stopping surely will. If you have the budget for a Minelab excalibur it's probably the closest you can get to a PI with Disc.. The Excal is multi freq., handles the elements (salt & black sand) very well, and gets very good depth. As far as I'm concerned it's what rules for water hunting and what I would buy if I ever made the switch from fields. Pulse units are good but VERY site specific.

True! My general rule of thumb is...... Subtract 60% of the claims of the manufacturer. Reviews I take as, If a manfacturer hands me a $1500 detector, and askes me to do a write up on it, am I going to say anything negative or really point out the machines short falls? Don't think so.

If you can find a local (even a not so local dealer is worth the trip) dealer that will let you use the machine, even in a test bed you're going to be miles & $ ahead.
[/quote]


How about a pulse in your front yard for 20 minutes?

 

[boogeyman]

Yes... if it's metal a PI will sound off and reviews that state they have great disc., simply lies. If a company could build that detector and sell it for under a grand, you'd see other companies begin to fold do to lack of sales.

If you have never metal detected before you have no idea how much misc. metal can be at places you think are fairly clean. I would never use a pulse here, not because it won't find targets, but because it would waste way too much of my time. Some trash won't get you frustrated, but digging 20 pieces (small iron) in a row with no sign of it stopping surely will. If you have the budget for a Minelab excalibur it's probably the closest you can get to a PI with Disc.. The Excal is multi freq., handles the elements (salt & black sand) very well, and gets very good depth. As far as I'm concerned it's what rules for water hunting and what I would buy if I ever made the switch from fields. Pulse units are good but VERY site specific.

True! My general rule of thumb is...... Subtract 60% of the claims of the manufacturer. Reviews I take as, If a manfacturer hands me a $1500 detector, and askes me to do a write up on it, am I going to say anything negative or really point out the machines short falls? Don't think so.

If you can find a local (even a not so local dealer is worth the trip) dealer that will let you use the machine, even in a test bed you're going to be miles & $ ahead.

How about a pulse in your front yard for 20 minutes?
[/quote]Absolutely! Nothing beats having it in your hands, even if you don't know the machine or have a wealth of experience. Well....... it helps if you have a reputable dealer

 

[rockhound]

I agree with what has been said. A pulse detector is a deep machine, but is too sensitive if iron is present. A multi frequency machine can almost get the depth of a PI, but they have discrimination. Fisher and Mnelab,both make nice multi frequency detectors that will find gold and silver, and get rid of the small iron. No detector can get rid of large iron objects. The Garrett infinium is a good deep detector, but it also has problems getting rid of iron,although it will do better than most PI's.Tesoro also makes a great PI, but with the same iron problems. Like they said, if you can find a local dealer, you will learn so much more than can be said here. Good Luck. rockhound