Minelab Go Find 66 - advice

[BrettCo124]

Hi everyone,

I realized I posted in the wrong section of the forum asking for advice:

I would like to buy the new Minelab go find 66. I realize this unit is not a ctx3030

What I am looking to do is have a “decent” backpack detector for when I travel to the islands. I hear it’s great on the wet sand. I’m wondering everyone’s thoughts.

Lastly, I cannot find out what the difference is between the new 66 and the older 60. Is there anything better about it? How about the feel? Did they fix the cheap feel to it where people said it feels like it will eventually break?

Thank you all for your help.

BrettCo

 

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[River Rat]

I was gifted a GO Find 60 by a dear friend just 2 months before the Great Flood of Aug '16. Very compact, light weight, had it all folder & fitted into the bag laying on top of my desk. I used it like 4 times, did find some things in my yard that my other detectors missed. Needless to say, with 4' of water in the house, & staying under water for 3 days, the whole thing drown. I spoke with MineLab and they asked to send pics of it to them...it was under warranty at that time. They didn't receive the photos, others things were more important on trying to rebuild my life & home. Not sure MineLab will still honor my loss or not.

 

[cudamark]

Get an Equinox instead......assuming it's within your budget. Single frequency VLF's don't do well in the wet salt water sand or ocean.

 

[nagant]

I had a 60 only because Cabela's was selling it for $100. I read somewhere they made the 66 work deeper but other then that and pretty stickers for the shaft they are the same. I used the 60 for an hour maybe in a sand volley ball court. It did pretty good but is rickety and a battery eating light show. those red/green arrows are like playing a slot machine.

 

[BrettCo124]

$100? That’s an incredible find. Wow. Well I did end up purchasing the 66. I just wanted something foldable/packable for a beach. I know all detectors are, but I still wanted to give this a shot. I heard it’s actually impressive in the wet sand too. I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

I did inquire about the changes through minelab from the 60 to the 66. It’s better depth, software and locking mechanisms.

Hoping it won’t disappoint in wet sand if I turn sensitivity down and aim for things 4-6” deep. I’m not trying to dig much deeper.

 

[nagant]

Good to hear about the locking mech, needed to be stronger.

 

[cudamark]

$100? That’s an incredible find. Wow. Well I did end up purchasing the 66. I just wanted something foldable/packable for a beach. I know all detectors are, but I still wanted to give this a shot. I heard it’s actually impressive in the wet sand too. I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

I did inquire about the changes through minelab from the 60 to the 66. It’s better depth, software and locking mechanisms.

Hoping it won’t disappoint in wet sand if I turn sensitivity down and aim for things 4-6” deep. I’m not trying to dig much deeper.

To me, only 4-6 inches of depth WOULD be disappointing, but, if that's all you need, have fun!

 

[BrettCo124]

To me, only 4-6 inches of depth WOULD be disappointing, but, if that's all you need, have fun!

Bringing my sand shark on vacation isn’t really a problem, however I hate traveling with something that looks so suspicious when broken down lol. Also, I stay on the beach for a long time and go fishing, walking, etc so when I’m not at my chair, I don’t want to worry about my machine being stolen. Now it could easily be packed in my backpack. And it’s minelab, and I love that company lol.

 

[BrettCo124]

Wanted to bump this thread to give a quick update: the machine is decent. Bluetooth works great, and connects instantly. I’m good to go in less than 10 seconds. It does not feel flimsy to me, and the plastic seems very durable.

It’s not very tall, so if you are a tall person, I’d highly suggest you look at height fully extended before purchasing.

Pinpointing is the only thing that bothers me. It’s not that it’s bad, but you have to keep moving the coil back and forth when pinpointing, and it just doesn’t feel as accurate as what we are used to on other machines.

Target ID works well when you have shallow change, but inaccurate when it’s a deep coin. Therefore I do not recommend using the sounds and ID for choosing when to dig.

My intention was having a quick and easy machine that folds up in seconds, and just use it as a beep and dig. This works perfectly for that. Since I am searching for shallow targets that could be fresh drops, this machine works for me. I’m not wanting to dig deep targets in the sand, so this does the trick.

 

[cudamark]

Target ID works well when you have shallow change, but inaccurate when it’s a deep coin. Therefore I do not recommend using the sounds and ID for choosing when to dig.

What else would you use to decide?

 

[BrettCo124]

I’d just dig regardless of sound or target ID. It’s a beep and dig machine, to me. You start getting iron signals after a certain depth even when it’s a coin, so I’d prefer to just dig all in case I miss coins or jewelry.

 

[cudamark]

But you have to get something to begin with or how would you know there's a target in the ground? So, maybe you mean to say, to not depend on the quality of the sound or the actual number on the screen as they may be misleading in your decision to dig or not?

 

[BrettCo124]

Correct. I hear a beep, I dig it. I don’t worry about the sound (iron or decent target signal) or the light show it produces (red being iron and green being a solid signal to dig). I’m not relying on what the machine tells me is there. I’m just digging the beeps, like my Tesoro sand shark.

 

[Squirrel322]

Hey Brett, I just purchased a 66 but have not yet received it. I purchased it for a lot of the same considerations you did. The main question I have is about the coil. What kind of coil is that? I understand a how a concentric coil works and am well familiar with double D coils. But the Go-Find coil doesn't appear to be either of those. Any information about the functioning of the Go-Find coil would be great. Thanks -

 

[BrettCo124]

Hey there. Unfortunately I am still new to learning the technology behind detectors. I have done the hobby for years, but never learned the technology. All I know about the coil is it is a rectangular 10” inch 7.8 kHz Waterproof Coil. It does not have the option to be changed out for another coil.

It’s a really cool machine, and will do the trick for you if you want it for the same reasons. Minelab priced it right, and it’s pretty neat for what it offers as far as display and Bluetooth. Can’t really beat it.

 

[cudamark]

It has a non-interchangeable mono coil. Concentric for all intents and purposes.

 

[Flipperfla]

Being a Nubee, I also just bought the 66 for the same reasons mentioned in above posts. Folds and fits perfect in my backpack or boat bag. There have been too many places in our travels where we get to and look at each other and say “this is where a MD would be the ticket” Perfect for our application. Probably drop a few hints to the wife for a Garrett pointer for my b-day!