To constantly upgrade a detector or simply buy newer better machine

[49er12]

You no this is important why because hard earned money involved. If you only have so much money then please buy an affordable detector find stuff and learn and decide if the hobby is for you before you start spending hundreds of dollars. Ok for you experienced detectorist, regardless if you have a whites, Garrett etc, would it make more sense to purchase the equinox 800, or xp deus, why because you buy one coil or upgrade on those machines that in itself would get you the better performing machine. Look constant upgrading doesn’t make sense. IF POSSIBLE, get the minelab equinox 800 or xp deus with stock coil, remember these machines have multiple frequencies which determine a lot once you learn. So again unless you have a lot of money to waste and improvements would be minor, purchase one of those machines you will be surprised and have for years with long warranties, thankyou

 

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[Roger Mn.]

Keep your DFX.
Lets say you spend $900.00 on a new metal detector.
Chances are you will never find enough coins and gold items to pay for it.
Good luck

 

[smokeythecat]

It all depends on your SITE. Or sites. If its not there to begin with, you won't find it. I do not like going to parks as lots of folks have been there, done that. And to squeak out 1 coin that is older and newer change isn't for me. I like the history so need a machine that will suck little items out of an iron patch. so that's what I got over 4 years ago and its going strong.

 

[49er12]

You no what thankyou very much I appreciate your information that’s why I ask, I don’t have a slew of machines as you no by my listing. I want to see what this new notka makro has to offer. But yes guys I’m usually a Pennsylvania and Ohio digger, which means scrap iron , lol is much in ground so that being said, and my simplex one frequencie machine does fine but maybe when time comes I might want to get one of the other, one benefit is I can get a military discount on minelab and not do deus which would save me about 150.00, being all that consider would you tell me the same information thanks guys appreciate it and your time.

Oh also I’m a relic hunter so we do go off the grid in the woods, where iron is plenty, I don’t hunt beaches only because I’m to far away on a regular day however Lake Erie is 1 hour 30 minutes away, awesome thanks

 

[49er12]

Smokey xp deus giving you full advantage than otherwise, in your opinion your in Maryland I believe but maybe your close to eastern shore, and the grapevine experts say deus isn’t as good as 800 beaches, hey thanks I keep learning

 

[pescadore]

I think the combo of the DFX and the Simplex would find 99% of desirable targets. I have had well over 30 machines in my almost 50 years of detecting and currently have a simplex. I don’t feel like I am missing any targets because my machine is not good enough. There are so many factors involved in being successful at this hobby and your machine is definitely not first on the list. I learned this fact the hard way and wasted lots of money on detectors trying to own the best. I had 3 XP Deus machines and spent lots of time trying hard to love them because I really liked the weight and speed of the machine. I never could gel with the machine and ended up getting rid of them. I have had several multi frequency machines and I believe they excel at certain areas of detecting especially around salt water. I live in the middle of Texas and I am primarily a coin shooter. The DFX was one of my favorite coin machines that I have owned and often wish I had another one for land use. My detecting time these days are mostly spent in the rivers in my area so a waterproof machine is best for me. I would have probably bought the Nox when I bought my Simplex but have read too many horror stories about them leaking. Depending on what you are trying to achieve in detecting, I doubt seriously that you would be bettering yourself by investing a lot more money in a more expensive machine but that is just my opinion. Good luck with whatever you decide to do and HH.

 

[49er12]

Yes it’s like anything in life hobbies, it’s the user’s ability to adapt, the machine is as only good as the user would that be correct, yeah my point was coils are expensive just to upgrade once, so either get a 800 with military discount or deus, I don’t need the bundle I already have pinpointer etc. so does the minelab still have leaking problems and also the bottom stem comes apart or breaks is that true also, thankyou

 

[xr7ator]

Yes. The EQ series by minelab are prone to issues. Pretty good machines for the money. So, until something "newer/better" comes along....

 

[smokeythecat]

The equinox is a good all around machine. In iron, the XP Deus will eat its lunch. If you have an iron site (sites), that extra $150. Just take it outside and burn it. You will lose that much head to head in digging in iron with the Equinox versus a Deus.

A friend and I went to the eastern shore yesterday on a group dig. He first had his Equinox thinking it would go a little deeper, which it should. I told him to come over to where I was because I was finding 18th century items. (I had been there before and knew where the homestead was.) He came over and in less than 10 minutes said heck with this, put the Equinox down and grabbed his Deus. He then started finding some nice stuff. The Equinox could not pick out the silver and brass among the iron.

End of demonstration.

 

[49er12]

Wow, I understand no machine is perfect xp deus is that certain no confusion, I’m sure there’s time when deus gives up trash thinking it was something of the good, right. I don’t no of any machine that’s perfect defining trash and coins and relics. Maybe deus isn’t perfect but your saying it’s close, very interesting

 

[smokeythecat]

Some aluminum will fool any machine, like those blasted screw on aluminum caps...

 

[49er12]

Aluminum foil and another thing hot rocks sucks what to do about them Smokey

 

[Jeff H]

Certainly no one machine will exceed in every category. I don't know about the Simplex, but I will say upgrading from a DFX to a Deus or Equinox is a lot like going from a VW Beetle to a BMW....you will notice a big difference in performance. I loved my DFX and found a lot of great things with it, but it just isn't in the same league as my Deus. Not even close.

 

[smokeythecat]

I can always tell the thin aluminum when digging by the VDI. HUGE wads of aluminum foil are a different thing. No machine will outsmart those.

 

[bigscoop]

It's really more about "hunting style & personal pursuit" and selecting a machine that fills those needs. Even older machines like the Minelab Sovereign are still killing it with exceptional depth and discrimination capabilities. You can even put digital VDI meters on them. I have the Equinox 800 and while it is a nice and capable machine it isn't without its drawbacks despite what you might be hearing. Point is, once you enter a certain class of machines you really need to know your needs first before you go buy one. So what are your needs?

 

[49er12]

Big scoop if I may ask, what are the drawbacks of the equinox 800 in conditions of your awareness

 

[Tahts-a-dats-ago]

Frequently buying newer and more expensive machines with the belief that the machine will automatically equate to more/better finds is likely futile at best. That said, I've probably bought close to 20 machines over the past 20 years and the direction taken (up, down, sideways) in machine abilities is likely going to be a matter of disagreement between any two people.

Many consider the CTX 3030 to be one of the best machines ever offered to the public. I did not like it. In fact I preferred every other machine I've owned (including the Compadre) to the CTX 3030. To be fair about it, I didn't really learn the machine. In my defense, it is fairly difficult to truly learn a machine that one just doesn't like.

I suspect the Whites MX5 wasn't a big seller (Whites didn't offer it for long) but it was one of my favorite machines I've ever used. I absolutely loved my V3i - putting me at odds with most people.

For me metal detecting is all about the thrill of the hunt, not the target once found. I like finding silver because I like how it sounds, how it looks when dug out of the dirt, but once it is in my hand my interest is generally lackluster and I'm thinking about what I can find next. I like the history, thinking about who lost the item, what their life was like, etc...

I'm kind of the same way about metal detectors. I have (or have had) certain machines that I really liked a lot. I've had machines that I just didn't gel with. There are machines that I'd like to try, and there are machines that don't interest me in the least.

I'm in it for the thrill of the hunt. Sometimes that 'thrill of the hunt' mentality includes the thrill of hunting for a new machine experience.

 

[bigscoop]

Big scoop if I may ask, what are the drawbacks of the equinox 800 in conditions of your awareness

Let's go all the way back to the introduction of the Sovereign Series of machines because it is this base technology, the truly last big advancement, that everything else we see today was built upon. BUT, and here's the nudge, most of these improvements come at a cost in performance somewhere else. Per example, if we create faster recovery speeds we have to do it at the cost of depth and additional target information that slower recovery speeds provide. This is true with the Equinox and XP and other multi-frequency machines that utilize faster recovery speeds. Five frequencies? The Sovereign series of machines had 17 so more information could be gathered and processed at those slower Sov. Series recovery speeds. Can't do that with faster recovery speeds. Sure, you can still hunt the super trashy areas efficiently and effectively with with those slower recovery speeds but, well, you just have to hunt slower, and yes, you still had the same general unmasking abilities once you really understood how the machine worked, and why. My point here is simply this, from that base multi-frequency technology everything else is pretty much the robbing of Peter to Paul, improve performance in one area and you lose it somewhere else. The Excal, as another example, is stable in salt water, so why all of the instability problems associated with some of these newer multi-frequency machines? Here again, it's due to the robbing of Peter to pay Paul.

 

[Hunter1805]

I have paid for every detector I have ever had including one on the first day with an 1805 bust dime.... Buy and enjoy ,,,, Worst case is $150.00 in new money per year ...

 

[smokeythecat]

I spend more on gas than any machine. With the Deus, a hot rock will "ring" and you never have to dig them. Rocks with gold in them will read mid range, I picked one up the other day, smashed a sample and sent it off for a scanning electronic microscope analysis. I should have the results back in about 15 days.

Now after you've dug enough whole smashed aluminum cans and some Civil War buckles, you CAN tell the difference with the Deus. But it takes practice, and its always best to dig them all. The aluminum has a somewhat more "shallow" or "hollow" sound. The belt plates hit "harder", for a better way to phrase it.