What every newbie wants to know

[BioProfessor]

I don't want to start a "war" here but I have to ask the ultimate question. You know, the one everybody wants answered but there is no answer. It is that age old - "What is the best detector?" question.

Before everybody yells at me, let me put the question in context. I bought my first detector - Garrett Infinium LS - to hunt the beaches along the coast of Georgia. It was waterproff, can detect way deeper than I want to dig, and is pretty easy to operate. It is a PI machine and works well in salt water soaked sand (Can you say heavily mineralized?). It has the dreaded PI problem of pretty poor discrimination. It is a pretty much "Dig it all." unit. I don't really mind that on the beach. The digging is easy and I am doing it to find stuff. So I find a lot of stuff - bottle caps, tent stakes, fishing sinkers, buried crushed beer cans, pop tops, and enough change to buy a battery or two. No pirate gold yet. Just doing my civic duty of ridding the beach of trash and junk. I like the machine and it works well for what I bought it for.

I am going to Europe this summer for 3 months and have been in contact with several people and we plan to hunt some Roman and Celtic sites. For this, I think I need a VLF machine. I have been looking at the Garrett GTi 2500, the Minelab Explorer XS and SE, and White DFX and Spectrum XLT but I will consider any model. I have asked the people I will be detecting with in Europe about the different ones and the only thing they have in common is to stay away from the Garrett. I can't figure this out. Bench and field tests give the 2500 the highest rating.

So, in your opinion, what would be a ranking of the new imaging VLF units. The prices are about the same.

Anybody willing to wade in and try to answer the unanswerable?

Thanks!!

Daryl

 

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[warsawdaddy]

I really can't answer your question.I know the Explorer and Tejon are favorites in the UK.But,I think if I was you and wanted a TID unit,I would really research the field tests on the XT70 by Minelab and the new F75 by Fisher.They are much lighter weight than the Explorers.And don't rule out the T2,it's a great machine also.All three of these will be deep seekers.

 

[erikk]

Never been to England but if I was going I would take my EX-2 and the other EX-2 for a back up and the DFX just in case. .02

 

[BioProfessor]

Here are the test results I can find:

The bench test (not done by Garrett) shows a good comparison:

DETECTOR MODEL Ø SEARCHCOIL ALL METALS
AIR GROUND

Garrett GTI 2000 91/2 "Super Deepseeking 37 cm 25 cm

White’s SpectrumXLT 91/2" Blue Max 30 cm 21 cm

White’s 6000 Di Pro 91/2" Blue Max 35 cm 22 cm

White’s Quantum XT 91/2" Blue Max 26 cm 20 cm

White’s Classic SL III 91/2" Blue Max 24 cm 15 cm

White’s Classic SL II 8" Blue Max 19 cm 14 cm

Minelab Sovereign XS 8" 24 cm 18 cm

Minelab Sovereign XS-2 10", waterproof 33 cm 22 cm

 

[bakergeol]

Well here are some some air tests for a UK site.( good for checking to see if your machine is working correctly)-I don't want to see any posts that say air tests mean nothing(who doesn't know this). The Nexus probably is the deepest for the UK- but expensive and don't know how well it will handle the mineralization back in the US.

http://www.nexusdetectors.com/Testspage.html

You might want to check around Gary's site

http://www.garysdetecting.co.uk/
Maybe just email him and ask him what he would recommend.


You might want to check out the XP Gold Maxx Power (Not sold over here-also prices high over there- good on coke). Probable issues would be contaminated soil over there. I notice that their Tejon model is a special model for UK contaminated sites.

I have no comment on the Garrett except to say it would be my last choice.

Have fun
George

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Here are the test results I can find:

The bench test (not done by Garrett) shows a good comparison:

DETECTOR MODEL Ø SEARCHCOIL ALL METALS
AIR GROUND

Garrett GTI 2000 91/2 "Super Deepseeking 37 cm 25 cm

White’s SpectrumXLT 91/2" Blue Max 30 cm 21 cm

White’s 6000 Di Pro 91/2" Blue Max 35 cm 22 cm

White’s Quantum XT 91/2" Blue Max 26 cm 20 cm

White’s Classic SL III 91/2" Blue Max 24 cm 15 cm

White’s Classic SL II 8" Blue Max 19 cm 14 cm

Minelab Sovereign XS 8" 24 cm 18 cm

Minelab Sovereign XS-2 10", waterproof 33 cm 22 cm

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Just remember: air tests only help you detect flying coins. The iron/mineral masks, discriminator circuits and ground balance have nothing to do in an air test. That's where the race is, so to speak.

If I was doing a once-in-a-lifetime hunt I'd buy myself an Exlporer SE. And as far ahead as possible so I could learn how to use it well. You'd do better with a close-and-play unit like a White's M6 if there was no time to practice with it ahead of time.

That said, I'm currently saving up for a Sovereign GT with a meter because I can't justify the extra $$$ an Explorer takes and I need a good iron mask for my hunting spots. I also believe the GT is an advancement over the XS and XS-2 as mentioned in those tests.

 

[shootist]

I have done tons of research trying to figure out which detector is the very best one before I bought one at least for hunting land. The conclusion I came too is that Nautilus makes the best detector on the market. I however didnt and still dont feel that I am a good enough detectorist to use one yet so I opted for number 2,HH...Shoot

 

[thompy]

ive read the GP is hot over there, also the T-2 has a good following, havent heard to much on the F-75 yet, but should do as well if not better than the T-2, these are light dectors to swing and have great depth

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Test results? Well what good are they? Real field detecting is all that counts, making the adjustments to get that extra depth. My results are in my numbers!

 

[BioProfessor]

I think test results tell you how close certain machines are to each other. Not which is necessarily better. I also think they may give you some indication as to value. If a machine that has numbers as good as a machine costing 2-3 times as much. It might bear looking at. I agree with you that the person behind the machine is more important most of the time than the machine. Bit to give you a personal example. I bought the Garrett Infinium LS as my salt water machine. Test results for this machine against other non-PI machines told me right away, buying another detector was a better option that trying to deal with the LS when I was hunting in a non-saltwater area or area where mineralization isn't a problem. A new GFX is in the mail as we "speak." Did I choose it for the test results, not as much as I did because of the ability to use the machine in a true VLF mode. Did the test results show this? Yes they did but they didn't make me buy the machine or say it was the best machine. I typically look at test results to see what is bad not so much as what is best. Just me I guess.

 

[AgileMJOLNIR]

I never look at bench tests for detectors. Air tests really do not show much. Once those same targets are integrated into a soil and mineralization matrix the results drastically change. Look at alot of detector ads, they will claim that such and such detector will get coins at 20in and guess what? They will but only in an air test or a clean test garden. Air tests don't compensate for Iron, mineralization, trash etc.

If I were you I would go for the Explorer SE or PERHAPS the F75 even though that detector hasn't quite proven itself yet. Still too early in the game to tell.

Also like you said, the user really is half the equation. Detecting with all of it's tones etc is alot like being able to tell the difference between musical notes. Some people have it and some people don't but hearing the differences between targets is definitely a strength that not all will have.

 

[AgileMJOLNIR]

Just remember: air tests only help you detect flying coins. The iron/mineral masks, discriminator circuits and ground balance have nothing to do in an air test. That's where the race is, so to speak.

If I was doing a once-in-a-lifetime hunt I'd buy myself an Exlporer SE. And as far ahead as possible so I could learn how to use it well. You'd do better with a close-and-play unit like a White's M6 if there was no time to practice with it ahead of time.

That said, I'm currently saving up for a Sovereign GT with a meter because I can't justify the extra $$$ an Explorer takes and I need a good iron mask for my hunting spots. I also believe the GT is an advancement over the XS and XS-2 as mentioned in those tests.

Yeah the SE is the way to IMO.
I hunted with a Sovereign on land and it will find you some deep coins but I'll tell you right now from experience that it does not ID at depth like an explorer and the Explorer still goes a bit deeper. The Sovereign is a sweet machine though but it's true home is on the beach.

Again just my opinion but I would skip the meter and buy another coil. The meter is a little too jumpy for my taste when the targets start getting deep.

 

[BioProfessor]

I just ordered the White DFX E-Series detector. It was the only one I could find with VLF and "Regular" frequency that could be used either separately or together. I got it with the Super 12" search coil, the 8"x14" Eclipse Deepscan DD1400 coil, and the Eclipse Shooter DD 4"x6" coil.

Thanks for all the advice.

Wish me luck with the junk the Romans left behind or better yet, buried.

 

[AgileMJOLNIR]

I just ordered the White DFX E-Series detector. It was the only one I could find with VLF and "Regular" frequency that could be used either separately or together. I got it with the Super 12" search coil, the 8"x14" Eclipse Deepscan DD1400 coil, and the Eclipse Shooter DD 4"x6" coil.

Thanks for all the advice.

Wish me luck with the junk the Romans left behind or better yet, buried.

DFX is a good detector. The hardest thing to learn about it is all of the possible tuning combinations you can do.
I recommend buying Jeff Fosters "Digging Deeper with the DFX" for starters. Have fun on your trip!

 

[BioProfessor]

Thanks! I'll see if they have it on Amazon.

I'll post anything of interest I find.

I hear there is some cool stuff in Europe. Hope to find some.

 

[DFX-SE Gregg]

Good luck with your dfx. I will tell you one thing once you learn tone id on it you should not be missing to many signals. There are turn and go programs to get you started don't worry. Depth is a little concern with the dfx but once you learn your machine start out with some basic adjustments to ac sensitivity and pre amp gain.

 

[Sandman]

Hope you have a nice trip. The DFX is maybe the easiest to learn in such a short time. With DD coils, remember they pinpoint easiest just off the tip or heel of the coil.

Hope you don't find any unexploded shells or landmines.

Good Luck,
Sandman

 

[BioProfessor]

Or find them before I step on them. Really messes up your day.

Iron filter on or off

 

[gold fish]

Tesoro Cortez,......see, that was simple.