Whats the best detector?

[jgodfrey1]

I want to buy my first metal detector and i want the best.I plan on looking for gold coins on remote Beach's only accessable by boat so i need a professional detector for the best results also depth is important to me .Any suggestions? Thanks James

 

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[tallpaul]

you might want to check out the minelab excalibur 1000,, you can dive at 200 ft with this, it poerates on 1.5 khz - 25.5 khz so you'll find all the gold thats around like the very small elusive bits too,, its quite deep,, uses a 8 inch coil,, supposedly one of the high rankers, and being a minelab i wouldent doubt it,, HH paul.

 

[Michigan Badger]

I want to buy my first metal detector and i want the best.I plan on looking for gold coins on remote Beach's only accessable by boat so i need a professional detector for the best results also depth is important to me .Any suggestions? Thanks James

Being new you'd best seek some one-on-one council. You could start by writing to major detector distributors to seek their advice. Then come back here and share what they told you.

Here are some factors to consider:

1. How much money do you have to spend?
2. Do you plan to dive with it?
3. Do you need a waterproof machine due to wetland hunting conditions?
4. Is discrimination important?
5. Do you plan to hunt in salt water?

There are so many options and variables. This is why you need to communicate with some pros.

If you don't need a water proof machine---actuate pinpointing of the target is not of great importance---and coin depth to 13 -15 inches is what you need, you could try one of those higher grade China made machines being sold on ebay. Some selling for about $150 - $200 with 8 to 10 inch coils do surprisingly well. Check the depth claim and make sure the seller offers 100% money back if not satisfied.

Some of those low cost imports can match the depth of even a Minelab.

HH

 

[bakergeol]

Actually this question should have been posted on the beach forum. There the Sandman would have joined in with some good advise.

As Zeb as already pointed out a lot depends on your beach, your attitudes about beach hunting and your pocketbook.

High end Vlfs such as the Excalibur or CZ20 offer iron discrimination which a lot of users prefer on iron infested beaches. If you are detecting Black sand beaches some VLFs may have problems.

For maximun depth PIs are preferred. High end PIs are more expensive and lack iron discrimination so tiny pieces of iron will be dug at great depths. I own an Eric Foster Goldscan 5 with a magnetometer modification(iron ID) that cost me $3000. Probably the deepest detector for the beach(or anywhere) for small metal objects is Minelab's GP3500. However at $3300 a detector you will not find very many at the beach. They were designed for serious nugget hunting in areas with little iron and high mineralization.

No I don't believe the cheaper Chinese PIs are comparable to the high end PIs mentioned above. Probably Monty would have a few words to say about this issue.

If I had a project such as yours where depth is the primary focus, iron discrimination is not needed , you are not going to get the unit wet, and cost is an issue I would think" outside the box". I would buy a used Minelab SD or GP series PI. Just go to EBay and type in Minelab. With the introduction of the GP3500 the older units have dropped in value. I have seen older SD2100 units sell for less than $1000. Believe me any older Minelab SD series PI will simply blow away all current high end VLFs in the depth department. Because of their high cost these high end PIs are not normally used by beach hunters.

Just my 2 cents
George

 

[neilo]

I wouldnt recommend SDs or the Gp series you will have problems with tiny pieces of junk metal plus then you will have to be very selective as to the types of coils used wether a double d or mono or salt coil which are very expensive. I use the SD machines myself in the gold feilds where they are the best suited. On the beach you are always at risk of water damage and corrosion and these machines are not waterproof at all. You are far better off using a minelab Excalibur or Sovereign both machines are technically the same the Excalibur being the underwater version.Read detector reviews by owners for more information.
Good luck in your hunting seeya Neilo

 

[jeff of pa]

MINELAB

Excalibur, IF you plan on Diving or Water Hunting.

Sovereign, IF you plan on staying where there is no Risk of DUNKING it.


With Either one You can go From wet to Dry Sand & BLACK SAND dosn't effect them the same as conventional Land Detectors

 

[Willy]

Take a serious look at the Garrett Infinium. It's a PI diving detector which has a form of iron disc. and, in heavily mineralized soil, will go deeper than any VLF. I used one this past winter hunting an iron infested & highly mineralized fresh water beach. I also had an Excalibur (WOT, 10", 8" coils), Sovereign XS pro (WOT, 10", 8"), GTI 1500 (9.5", 12.5"), Cobra II (modified & with 5",8") and the Infinium blew them all away.. no contest. I'm talking at least double the depth and about the same ratio of iron to good targets. One thing that I'll point out is that the Minelab PI's are not very sensitive to small gold. I have a number of nuggets that are used for testing purposes & it couldn't see a number of them which the other detectors picked up. ..Willy.

 

[Sandman]

Zeb and bakergeol answers are on the ball.

There is no best detector for all hunts. For salt water use a PI machine by any of the major manufactures will work well. As for recommendations, I suggest Tesoro's Sand Shark. It has a lifetime warranty, changable coils from 7", 8", and a 101/2" inch. Two Modesfor hunting, not just one. Also Fisher's PI and Minelab's Excalibur are very good machines. You can't go wrong using either of these three. All can be used for diving and will find small gold which I have done many times. The Garrett Infinium is a good detector, but has no lifetime warranty or changable coils.

You must really use different detectors for different area's or for different types of detecting. It's the only sure way not to waste your time.

Thanks for the vote of confidence George/bakergeol

HH,
Sandman

 

[tallpaul]

gotta agree there sandman,,, ,,

ive said this before and in another thread ive just said the tecnology exists,, for an all in one top machine ,, they just dont let us have it yet they feed us bit by bit slowly,,, in this day and age we should be alot further on with the detectors tecnology,, forget the bells and whistles and pie in the sky,, its spot on target id, and target depth, and the bests of the best on certain machines comeing together,,, they can bring it all together,, but while they can come up with this and that to keep us buying they will,, its all about makeing money but make it steady, keep it going,, it will eventually come to a head and its any ones guess who will let the flavour flood,, i have my notion, as ive spoke to a certain person about this,, i cant put it up here, as they watch the site,, but a certain machine was actually called for and named and thought out several years ago,, we are kept way behind the times on the detector scene,, now any one can say iam wrong but i know iam right here,, ive had this debate with many it allways crops up and you only have to look at what certain manufacturers keep bringing out with very little changes actually made,, its all about making money keep it going,, the great detector we all want which will do all we want without the need for a 2nd and 3rd machine exists,, its just not for sale yet,...

 

[Willy]

Actually, the Infinium has 5 coils made by Garrett. How do I know?... I have all 5, and they're definitely interchangeable. The smallest coil is 3x7" & the largest is 10x14" (mono or DD). There are also some other coils available (for the Infinium) in Australia. Both the Excalibur & Fisher have non-removeable coils (the cord has to be cut & an adapter fitted like on the Excalibur I had). Neither the Sandshark nor the Impulse ground track or balance. It's a myth that PI detectors are unaffected by ground mineralization & I could point you towards some forums where this subject is discussed by people who actually build/develop/ and sell these units. One thing the Infinium has that the Sandshark & Impulse dont, is a form of iron ID that works at depth. The only other detector (PI) that shares this feature, and is available in N. America, is Eric Foster's Goldscan 5. The Minelab PI units have a more limited form of ID that works on shallow targets. I'll have to take another look, but I don't think that the Fisher or Tesoro units have a pulse delay adjustment, which can be used to knock out some trash. The Infinium and (I think) Goldscan 5 & Minelab PI's possess this ability, also the Seahunter MK2 (which also has a notch but no ID or GB) . In regards to ground handling, Steve Herschbach (hope I spelled his name correctly) has tested at least one non-GB'ing PI detector (the Impulse) and the ground up there gave it fits.

 

[bakergeol]

Hi Willy

Actually the Minelab PIs do not have an adjustable pulse delay so reverse discrimination is not possible. As you mentioned iron ID is not reliable. However, from the following link some do better than others.
http://www.nuggetshooter.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=4567&hl=
The advantage Minelab PIs have is pure depth.

The Goldscan 5 does have adjustable pulse delay so reverse discrimination can be employed. The GS5 is first and foremost a beach machine as it is hip mounted with excellent waterproofing(No it can't be dunked). It is geared toward small gold with a pulse delay of 10 with a narrow high tone range for low conductors. The amount of low conductors versus high conductors detected is reversed compared to the Infinium. As it can use Nuggetfinder and Coiltex Minelab coils so employing trash can lid sized coils for incredible depth is possible.

Actually iron ID is less of an issue for me as I run a magnetometer sensor inside my GS5 coil.? I run them together and if I receive a hit on my GS5 which? lights up the mags LED lights on my shaft it is an obvious iron target. It has some limitations but it does save me a lot of time with iron.

Usually when we have treads like this the original poster becomes more confused. Excuse us as we all are opinionated. All of the? detectors mentioned above and in earlier posts have their pros and cons. We? all have our favorites and no one is incorrect on their recommendations. You just need to find your favorite.

George

 

[Visionquest]

I have an Infinium now and have had a Tesoro Sand Shark so I will put my .02 in as well. The Sand Shark is a great detector for the money, I really enjoyed using it and would buy another one in a second. The Infinium is a much better machine overall however and it won't be one I sell any time soon. It has great depth capabilitys, handles mineralized soil very well and does fine on small gold. For those reasons and many others, I believe it would be the better choice given your desires to go deep. Cost per depth, it has to be one of the better choices.

 

[Willy]

I suppose that I've got into the habit of thinking ML PI's have got everything.. bad Willy, bad. In regards to different machines for different situations.. I fully agree. For the kind of prospecting I do, the ML units are rather unsuitable. Chest deep in a mountain stream is Infinium country. The Garrett, like the ML's, require a lot of detecting time to become even moderately proficient at using. One thing I like is that the disc. can be advanced to a point where some desireable high conductors (silver dimes) give off a low conductor signal. Some really small trash & iron will also be ignored. One thing I'd like to see on it is a pushbutton (or toggle) that momentarily puts it in maximum disc. This would act somewhat like the coincheck switch on an X5. Regarding sensitivity, I've got a nugget (about 3 grains) that the Infinium will signal on, though not with the big DD. One caveat, a few hours of hi/low/low/hi and my brain feels like a particularly anappetizing bowl of porridge. ...Willy.

 

[jgodfrey1]

Thanks all....anyway what I'm looking for is a chest about 6 to 10 ft deep on sandy beach i have a large area to cover and i need a pro detector not just for coins in the surf , so if i need two detectors ill get em .whats the best for gold/silver detecting for 5 to 20 ft deep?

 

[tallpaul]

lol,,, what you need is a hoard hunter

 

[bakergeol]

Kind of funny when you think of it. All of that input and debate from all those experienced detectorists for nothing. Just a 2 Box needed.

George

 

[jgodfrey1]

George what do you recommend ? Is the two box made by fisher okay? And do you have any experience with a two box?

 

[bakergeol]

I am sorry but I have no experience with a 2 box unit. So I am clueless. You need to talk with some cache hunters. However, I will give you a couple of links for you to look at
Discussion on best 2 box detector

http://jb-ms.com/Carlsforum/Aug28-2005/23689.html
Be sure to read all replies

Other links

TF-900
http://www.detection.com/Discovery/Tf900.html
Discussion on TF-900
http://jb-ms.com/Carlsforum/Aug28-2005/24092.html

On the second link click on the other posters on the bottom. They will give you pros and cons with a Fisher comparison. Tells you what problems you may have. Not going to be easy.
George

 

[U.K. Brian]

I've only tried to use a two box or rather two loop (C-Scope 9000, similar to the Whites) on the beach once and it just didn't cope with the salt/black sand. If you can afford it I would look at the Pulse Star/Lorenz/Deeptech which have the depth in feet that you need and large iron discrimination if required. Or there's the Deepers 8 which I have yet to try though the Deepers 6 worked fine.
Thing is would the coins be in a wood or metal chest ? And don't forget that on flatter beaches if you dig down several feet at the top you end up with wet and sallty conditions.

 

[tallpaul]

the spannish gold would be inland,, the only people who buried treasure at the beach were the pirates,, they had to be in and out quick,, they hid there bounty just inland to beaches,, but you never know,,, (never say never),,.