Metal detector Technology?

[Oldbuttplate]

I'm just getting back in so I'm not familiar with every detector out there but from the ones I've seen first hand and from reading about others it seems to be that other then a lot of bells and whistles, performance in depth his not been improved a Great extent, discrimination may have been and improved a bit but not much compared to the top line detectors of the 70's. Price like every thing has gone out the roof, but after all this time I was thinking the Technology would be further then what I see. I was just wondering why.
Just my thoughts on this.

 

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[Smudge]

I think the main reason is that VLF metal detector technology has pushed the envelope nearly as far as it will go. As long as the conductivity of metal is the basis of your technology, there is only so far you can go with it. I don't imagine things are going to change too much (except maybe that detectors will continue to get smaller and lighter and perhaps the target ID gets a little tighter) until a new type of imaging system is developed that goes beyond conductivity.


Maybe in my lifetime we will see a detector that will provide you with an actual image of the item in the ground. But then again, maybe not.

 

[Oldbuttplate]

It would be nice in a way to see what it is before we dig, but that may take some of the fun out out. I think you are right, VLF is as best it will get till something new or a new way of using some other Technology comes along.

 

[XL-PRO PRO]

I've been told several times by folks watching me detect(with my XL PRO,no less)that there are newer detectors that actually tell you what your target is before you dig.I've owned some of the newer machines and really wasn't all that impressed,just more confused.I used to take time to explain that these machines just show an icon of what might be in the ground and not the actual target,but finally started telling them I couldn't afford one,to create a short answer.I currently own three detectors and use all three on a regular basis for different applications.In addition to the PRO(with tone mod) I also use an old Eagle II and a Sovereign XS(which has no depth indicator,but will find non ferrus metals next to iron and works great in open fields).I don't feel like I miss much with my out-dated arsenal!

 

[Smudge]

Agreed. A TID screen does not say "this is in the ground." The best it can say is "I think this is what is in the ground."

 

[Tom_in_CA]

reply

haha, hey XL-pro, I've had people say that to me too. Apparently they watched the late night Whites commercial, saying the machine "tells you what's in the ground", haha. Or they observed someone air-testing a machine, wave a quarter, see the "quarter icon" pop up on the screen, and assume it's "telling you what's there". However, as you know, a car key will give the same icon, an entire aluminum can might say "half dollar". A tab or foil glob might say "nickel" or "ring", etc....

Old-butt-plate, you're right: Since about the mid 1980s, we haven't seen the lightening fast leaps of improvement, that we saw in the decade or two that preceded it. I remember from the mid 1970s, to the mid 1980s, you had literally had a dinasour if your machine was more than a few years old. Your friends would kick your b*tt if you dilly-dallied around with the older machines too long (BFO, all-metal TR, TR disc, etc....). But then starting about the mid 1980s, the jumps in depth increase were only subtle and slight. And improvements in TID were very slight (there, but slight). I firmly believe the explorers were a little bump up in depth and TID. But not on the order of the mega-jumps in performance that we saw every few years in the late '70s and early '80s.

 

[Ronzie]

I think having a detector telling you what's there would take the fun out of it, at least for me.

 

[Oldbuttplate]

I think having a detector telling you what's there would take the fun out of it, at least for me.

I was thinking that after I started this post, after all that is a big part of why we do this. Hmm, maybe better off that tec has not made big jumps! Just think, if we had something like google earth that would detect! I need to stop thinking about the whys and just enjoy what we have.

 

[cudamark]

I still wouldn't trade my current detector for anything made before the 1990's.....and not many after that!

 

[roaddust66]

I just got back in myself. I bought a machine which operates like machines I have had in the past. I bought a Tesoro Tejon because it operates like what I'm used to. However... I bought my wife ...wink..a Fisher F 2 which has the new standard four tone beeps... a low beep for iron ...and 3 others going higher in tone which I find interesting. I may end up with a Garrett AT Pro but the last Garrett I had was a Deep Seeker and I bought a Fisher 553 D and a 555D which kicked the Garrett's butt so I am real gun shy about buying a Garrett ..but the AT Pro seems to be the most popular right now. It is a four tone machine and gives you a bunch of fancy numbers

 

[Jason in Enid]

If you can afford a CTX, you won't think there hasn't been a change in technology. Although it does have it's share of bells, it's the best TID on the market.

 

[Qball]

Minelab e-trac multi tone conductive and two tone ferrous coupled with their numeric discriminator and masking may not go any deeper than say an AT pro but the information you receive from that machine helps you find more goodies.

 

[Oldbuttplate]

I think the one word is, helps, you still have to dig and see what it is... But that's part of the fun.
I'm thinking some of the older detectors had more power for going deep. This may be from the older components and BIG battery packs of the time. Or it could have been just the conditions at the time.

 

[Pointman]

I agree that the basis of the VLF technology is pretty static in the way of improving, but all the extras such as multi-tones and the ergonomics have been improving over the years.

This thread reminds reminds me when I was a kid I remember my dad buying a "top of the line" detector at the time. It was a Garrett Groundhog. I remember my mother buying it from the local drugstore and paying $130. I remember thinking how expensive it was and that I would never have that kind of money in my life to afford one. Now, the pinpointers costs that much and I have two of them and another $3k+ invested just in detectors. Amazing.