I found that a $5 detector beat my $250 one???

[d|b]

for fun I bought a $5 detector from the local supermarket. I was amazed to find that it picked up my heater from about 1 1/2 feet away! and it can get a blip of sound on a quarter at 8" where mine only blips at 6" I was quite shocked. The thing weighs like a half pound, and even has a waterproof coil, I think ill go back and pick up a few more for the kids. Lastly whats the best detector I can afford at under $299? thanks, db

 

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[hollowpointred]

air tests can be a bit decieving because in the soil the machine will have to contend with minerilization. while it may have tested good in air (which it sounds like it did!! really good!!) it may have different results in the dirt. try burying a coin in the soil and try it again. in my opinion the best all around detector for coin shooting under $300 is a garrett ace 250 ($200).

 

[Gypsy Heart]

I know I have said this before...but I think we get so wrapped up in the bells and whistles on our expensive machines that we get lazy...I really believe that your machine is only as good as you are..that it becomes an extension of yourself ....I will and have taken my Bounty Hunter over the more expensive...because its simple and easy and if it beeps ,I dig...I think that if you are hunting homesteads,cellar holes, settlements ...that alot of your finds come from instinct and the research you have done prior to hunting......if its blinking "pulltab" at a 6 inch depth, at a homestead where you know that no one has been for 50 yrs..would you not dig Of course you would. But when it beeps pulltab on the beach...I sometimes keep moving......I bought my daughters a really cheap machine for Christmas...and it is hitting things that I missed....I always tell them its because they are closer to the ground .........but they tell me ....its because they dig everything that beeps.....The only place that has remained diggable enough for us to hunt this winter is the sand hill next to the lake., and they are still finding things ,even tho I have hunted it continually to keep from having cabin fever......or maybe they are just way better than I am at detecting !

 

[d|b]

thats it im buying the rest of them... I think there were six left at $5, best $30 ever spent. I buried some stuff at like 6 8 and 12 inches bam that little squeaky led piece-o-shoot picked up the silver dollar at a foot where my bounty hunter sharpshooter II couldnt even get a pip, even on all metal. I assume my soil is maybe not full of mineralization but the other thing was I found a couple of blue rocks? that only my $5 detector could pick up underground, where the bh II had to almost touch it on all metal to get a beep. this sport never ceases to amaze me. oh one more thing when a coin was on its side, the cheapo md would beep only in one direction and it would double beep just to the left and right of the coin in the other direction, prett kool actually, because once again it trumps the bhII that beeped in both directions just a different sound and from coin to trash. it should make a great pinpointer too. i gotta get out there right now all this talk about hunting, and i uh umm

 

[hollowpointred]

I know I have said this before...but I think we get so wrapped up in the bells and whistles on our expensive machines that we get lazy...I really believe that your machine is only as good as you are..that it becomes an extension of yourself ....I will and have taken my Bounty Hunter over the more expensive...because its simple and easy and if it beeps ,I dig...I think that if you are hunting homesteads,cellar holes, settlements ...that alot of your finds come from instinct and the research you have done prior to hunting......if its blinking "pulltab" at a 6 inch depth, at a homestead where you know that no one has been for 50 yrs..would you not dig Of course you would. But when it beeps pulltab on the beach...I sometimes keep moving......I bought my daughters a really cheap machine for Christmas...and it is hitting things that I missed....I always tell them its because they are closer to the ground .........but they tell me ....its because they dig everything that beeps.....The only place that has remained diggable enough for us to hunt this winter is the sand hill next to the lake., and they are still finding things ,even tho I have hunted it continually to keep from having cabin fever......or maybe they are just way better than I am at detecting !

sometimes you get fooled into thinking that your detectors tone and target id are telling the truth, when in reality, its only right part of the time. how much of the time is the question. target ids are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. i guess the best thing to do is ,time permitting, dig everything. its just that its not always practical to do so.there definitely is an advantage to digging it all though.i almost dont want to know what im passing over!

 

[d|b]

holy carp, I just air tested a hubcap at 23" I hope I never dig a hole that deep and find a hubcap, what kind of cheapo md hits a hubcap at almost 2feet? thats right folk you too can get this beauty for only $19.99 hehe just kidding. no seriously would it be an hlf or whatever? it has a high to low sound like one of those handheld security detectors. I bet on some soil this thing will be worthless, oh well I know they will make great christmas or birthday presents.

lastly I totally agree with dig it all because sometimes I look past the digital and digitall and find something exactly not what it says. I do wish I had one of those 1-99 numbered ones that hit right on most of the time, I suppose I will slow down my hunt and dig more when the area calls for it. HH I gotta get out there

 

[sweet home alabama]

yea i bought an ace 250 pro and it will pick up a barber dime at 9 inches deep and the detector was only 279.00 not bad price for a machine that picks up that deep.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

sometimes you get fooled into thinking that your detectors tone and target id are telling the truth, when in reality, its only right part of the time. how much of the time is the question. target ids are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. i guess the best thing to do is ,time permitting, dig everything. its just that its not always practical to do so.there definitely is an advantage to digging it all though.i almost dont want to know what im passing over!
[/quote]

Heres the deal....get yourself a kid with a cheap detector....LOL...and they will follow behind and let you know loud and clear what you missed.....little girls especially have a high pitched squeal that is hard to miss .......

 

[jorge del norte]

where do i get this 5 dollar detector, my kid needs one. Whats it called, or a pic.........please.

g

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

djb, What store? I would also like to know. I would like to experiment with those. What brand name? Address? Is there any papers that came with it?

 

[Roadquest]

Come on djb, Tell us where we can get one of those $5.00 detectors.
Clayton

 

[Smartin]

Clayton,
I've got a prospector 150 that works really well. It cost $99, but probably could be found for $39.99. It detects ferrous items great, it loses alot of depth on non-ferrous.My quattro will find very small objects at 12" depths and better depending on size and position in the ground.If you want to dig all, then the $5 detector will be fun. I believe the higher end machines do work much better. The difference starts to become less noticeable in "dollars to performance ratio" as the price goes up.Gypsyheart hit it on the head,the detectors are no better than the person that uses them. My quote is "You have to be smarter than the equipment that you use".
Smartin

 

[Roadquest]

Smartin, I was kidding about the $5 dollar detector, I think we are getting our leg pulled with that, I was just going alone with that. But I will have to check out the prospector 150 sounds like something I could use, and sounds like a real price. Far as being smarter than my detector, for a while there I though my new Whites Spectrum XLT was going to get the best of me, I finally gave in and read the instraction book. Turns out it's one of the best detectors I have used for coin hunting, and also works well for relic hunting. I yet like the 1266 X Fisher best for relic hunting, they just don't make em anymore, I think I have a used one lined up, will find out Friday.
HH Clayton....Roadquest

 

[d|b]

well ive been out diggin for days and forgot to check this post. when I bought the original one there was 7 more left, when I went back there where only 3 more. I now have 4. and yes they are actually $5. The only problem I have found so far is the stupid pole isnt long enough. perfect for a kid but too small for an adult, your back would be killing you trying to swing this thing bent over a bit. I tell you what it found plenty in my yard that I thought was finally empty of any metal, and of course it was a bit deeper than my other detector could go. I have some land with an old 20's-50's swim hole on it, i will be passing these out the next time we visit there. and yes this little cheapo detector will surely find something of value that my $350 md missed, I am sure of it, it picks up the fridge at almost 3 feet! If there were 10 left I would have bought all 10. probably will use it as a pinpointer/backup for people that want to go, and atleast one will be modified shortly to go completely underwater. When I get its first good find I will take a picture of the detector and the find to post. Oh and the store where I bought these is the local grocery store called schnucks. its like a safeway, or bashas, or whatever you have around there.

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Harbor Freight Tools has cheapos from 19.95 -39.95, if that helps anyone out......dlb, ask the manager of that brand store if any other stores are carrying those and then let us know.

 

[d|b]

http://tinyurl.com/hufb7 this is the exact same one except mine are all black despite having blue ones on some of the boxs. the only thing that would describe who made these or what company was the letters gc-1002 on the voltage sticker, which is how I found this picture of it. db

I have no idea what a pp3 battery is this one takes a 9volt.

 

[Southcacalaky]

Great job, Great for someone who does not want to spend the money or know for sure if they would even like this great hobby. My hat's off to you, HH Art...

 

[Gypsy Heart]

and for those of you who order from there....you might need this like I did......currency converter http://www.xe.com/ucc/

 

[The Seeker]

I would go to E-Bay and bid on a machine that other Detectorists are using and having success with.....For 300.00 Bucks you should be able to pick up a nice machine...... 8)

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

During the Florida hurricanes of 2004, my waterproof white's MD leaked and died from a wave on a Treasure Coast beach. In a pinch, I bought a $39.00 unit from Harbor Freight and went back to the ravaged beach. It is a piece of crap. It will probably detect a hubcap flat at 23", but I was looking for gold and silver. It will detect a quarter at 4" air test. I returned it. But what did I expect? I thought it might be near as good as my early 1980's whites Amphibian. It's not. It would be worth $5, and it would be OK for a child. Just my opinion.
BTW it did come with a full schematic for experimenting.