Merry Christmas to me (first time out update)

[The Beep Goes On]

OK, so I splurged. I got a hefty bonus this year and, since I'm a single dad with no wife to convince I decided to treat myself.

I ordered an Explorer SE, a Sunray X-1 probe (with upper rod attached) and a pair of Sunray Pro Gold headphones. They'll be here this week, but I'm going to snow country next week so I'll have to sweat it out until I get back.

I have a DFX with a Sunray DX-1 and I love it. I believe the Explorer will be a better machine in trashy sites and at the beach. The DFX is hard to beat in terms of speed with sites like sports fields, but for old parks, etc. I think the SE may have the upper hand. I am a Whites fan, but after reading everything out there I'm pretty sure the Minelab has the edge concerning depth. I guess I'll find out.

Thanks for listening...I had to tell somebody. :P

HH!
TBGO

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Lucky Duck,

nice.

Again, Lucky Duck

have a good un..................

 

[dahut]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Very Good! Hey, it's your money, bro - do what you want with it. Tis'nt anyone around here gonna argue!
And indeed, it must've been chewy, sink your teeth in deep sort of bonus!

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Merry Christmas is right! Now wrap it and put it under the tree and no peeking until Christmas Morning!

 

[ronald99]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

well I'm happy for,you!!.Wait one second,why am i happy for you,when i also just ordered mine from Kelly detectors 2 day,i know what u fill like right now,i cant wait till ups pulls up in the driveway Thursday afternoon,ha ha?sure it's not cheap,but look how fast life goes buy,why not enjoy the things that make us smile an looking 4ward to the next day every day!! what extras are you getting free with your's,look at Kelly detectors website,the sale was this weekend,this will be my first top of the line detector,an i can't wait till i hit the Florida beaches this coming year,merry Christmas every one.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Yeah, I used KCo too...hard to beat with all the extras. Then I ordered the Sunray stuff. I just finished reading the online manual...I can't wait. It will be very interesting comparing it to the DFX. Congrats on your new detector ronald!

HH!
TBGO

 

[ronald99]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

thanks I'm still new at this what is the sunray stuff u refer to,yea Kelly really does have a great promotion going,the free pinpointer was a great gift,hope it works okay

 

[Sandman]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

I'm glad you got a SE to play with. It's not so much the extra depth the SE has as it's ability to find gold and silver under the iron and the more accurate dicrimination ID.

Myself, I bought another firearm, Ya can't have to many of them either.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Very nice Sandman...got 7 of them myself. And your right...looking forward to using the iron mask, etc. and checking out its capabilities. I think some test bed work is in order.

The Sunray products are great. They have pinpointers that work off the detectors circuitry that save a lot of time and effort in recovery and the headphones aren't bad either...heard great things about them. Here's a couple of links (look at the Sunray X-1 for the SE and the headphones):

http://www.sunraydetector.com/
http://www.detectordepot.com/sunray_accessories.htm#x1se

HH!
TBGO

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Merry Christmas is right! Now wrap it and put it under the tree and no peeking until Christmas Morning!

I should, but I know it's impossible...I think I'm goiong to take Friday off and take it for a long spin.

HH!
TBGO

 

[kestrel0222]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

NICE!!!!

 

[Farmercal]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Congrats TBGO! You deserved it. I have one piece of advice for you...slow down when hunting with the SE. I love my EXII but have to constantly remind myself to go slow. Great machines.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Yeah, they say 4 seconds per sweep...pretty slow. I think Whites says 2 seconds. That's why I think I can utilize both machines depending on the site.

BTW - It arrived about an hour ago...WOOT! 8)

HH!
TBGO

 

[Mona Lisa]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

Mona Lisa<----------------Jealous! :P

I use a White's DFX......someday I'm going to do the same as you, Beep. You'll have to keep us informed on how it's working for you!

 

[Schrecky]

Re: Merry Christmas to me...

I would be real interested to hear an un-biased evaluation/comparison of your two detectors. Keep us posted.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

I took it out for a while last night. It is WAY different than the DFX, of course, and it will take some getting used to.

After a few months I will write something up. First impressions pretty much matched my assumptions...DFX for speed when conditions permit and SE for difficult ground/trash/salt. The DFX can do difficult ground/trash/salt too, but each machine has its own limitations and one may be better for certain environments.

I think the learning curve associated with the SE is not about the interface (at least not for me...DFX has many more options) but has to do with learning the subtleties of the tones and understanding the nuances of setting the machine up correctly for different sites. The same could be said of the DFX. The ES tones are pretty cool...sounds like some sci-fi alien spaceship.

I am very glad they added pinpointing to the ES...digging small holes is a good thing. The DFX pinpoints more accurately, but that's because I use a concentric coil...when I use a DD coil it's the same as the ES.

Weather permitting, I am going to take the ES to the beach or Memorial Park on Friday. The beach would be good because, when using the DFX in the wet sand, you pretty much have to be directly over a not-too-deep target to get a signal...and there is some falsing in moving salt water. Hopefully, the ES will be more stable and deeper. Memorial is old and has multiple layers of trash. The DFX has difficulties seeing through that stuff (all machines do...depending on the coil used)...maybe the ES can do better with a deep and slow approach.

There is one benefit of learning a new machine. It forces you to learn a different way of looking at target characteristics, allows you to explore the effects of new settings and increases your understanding of metal detecting in general.

HH!
TBGO

 

[dahut]

Looking forward to hearing about your ongoing experiences.