A simple salute to the "Beep-Dig" machines...

[Skillet]

Been 'tectoring since the mid nineties.
During that time I've owned (and still own) a number of excellent TID machines,
but 'discovered' beep-dig machines in the form of a humble and homely Garrett Freedom Ace plus.

I was immediately impressed by the machine's quiet, unassuming performance capabilities, and its ability to cut a signal through aluminum junk and sniff out those dimes and quarters. Depth was no slouch either, deep test garden targets were no problem, and in stock trim it will bang a quarter 9" out in the air.

I have 3 of these FA+ machines now, each fitted with a different coil for different conditions. Be using one in Nov at a competition hunt in Round Rock.

Anyhow, din't mean to blather, just my take on the humble beep-dig "knobby" machine.

Skillet

 

[Southwind]

A salute to those with the patients to "beep-N-dig"

 

[JEF]

A salute to those with the patience to sort through and try and figure out dozens of menus, settings, options, programs, tones, etc., etc.. Been there and done that, and I prefer simple one tone detectors like my Tesoros. I would rather analyze the target myself, than rely on a display screen, which is often wrong, especially on deeper targets.

 

[Southwind]

I would rather analyze the target myself, than rely on a display screen, which is often wrong, especially on deeper targets.

Well, just as being good at analyzing that single tone is key to success for you, so is having a good target ID detector and knowing how to properly use it is key for use non-beep-N-dig hunters. Both are skills one must learn.

 

[nagant]

I would rather analyze the target myself, than rely on a display screen, which is often wrong, especially on deeper targets.

Well, just as being good at analyzing that single tone is key to success for you, so is having a good target ID detector and knowing how to properly use it is key for use non-beep-N-dig hunters. Both are skills one must learn.

And where would we be without a good strong thumb

 

[dan b]

I started in 1990 with a Garrett Fredom Plus 2. It had the dual discrimination with a trigger. Sound familiar? Great detector. Took 3 9V batteries!

 

[pinenut]

A salute to those with the patience to sort through and try and figure out dozens of menus, settings, options, programs, tones, etc., etc.. Been there and done that, and I prefer simple one tone detectors like my Tesoros. I would rather analyze the target myself, than rely on a display screen, which is often wrong, especially on deeper targets.

I think the same.. I can't imagine a TID machine being any quicker than my Bandido II μMAX is, at letting me know whether I want to dig or not. I guess it's just a matter of how comfortable you are with whatever detector you prefer. Maybe someday I'll play with something more modern.. Sort of doubt I'd find any more though.

 

[JEF]

My good finds actually increased when I started using simpler machines like my Tesoros. I was relying too much on the screen information to decide whether or not to dig, and the screen information was often inaccurate especially on deeper targets. I am really amazed at how accurate the discrimination is on my Tesoros, and by thumbing the discrimination knob I can usually tell pretty accurately what the target might be.

 

[Cameraniac]

And where would we be without a good strong thumb[/quote]

 

[oleterryg]

I've never owned a beep & dig machine, so that leads me to believe you guys are nuts. All I know is TID. From my experience with some of the TID machines I've bought and sold, if those were all that's available, I might could understand.
However!
The Tesoro Deleon is the perfect mix (imho) b&d and TID. Single tone, and very uncomplicated. Don't need no "save the settings".

I've been told by two reps at Tesoro that the DeLeon is their sleeper. One even said , as our conversation was touting the Deleon, "I don't understand why this isn't our best seller".

 

[GroundHug]

Lack of ability to balance for your soil is probably one reason. And as far as target ID goes, a lot of the good stuff reads "95" so you don't really have that good an idea of what the target might be based on that.

Having said that, I had a Cortes, and that was a lot better of a machine than people would think without having a ground balance and an ID like I mentioned above. It would hit hard on deep coins and you knew you had a keeper before you dug a good percent of the time. I probably shouldn't have sold it.

I currently have all machines with TID, but there is a lot to be said for the simplicity of beep dig as well. There are times I just want to cherry pick an area for whatever reason and that's when I prefer TID. But if you want to get all the goodies, beep dig is great. You have to love a company that will stand behind their machine for life.

 

[synthnut]

Tesoro detectors are for those of us who have realized that " Less is More " .... I have pulled better targets on what I have heard , better then any number could tell me .....Give me a good deep seeking machine , with good discrimination , and a ground balance , and I'm good to go .......

 

[Rob in (Ca)]

The number one Rule that;s been around for years in the detecting hobby, even with the high end Target ID Detectors of today .............. If it sounds good .......Dig IT !

 

[Southwind]

One thing to remember. Even a good TID detector works as well as any Beep-N-Dig if you prefer to hunt that way. A good TID just gives you two forms of input, audio & video, doesn't mean you're forced to use just video.

I think some people are under the impression having a display some how forces you to have to use it. It simply gives you two forms of input instead of one. You still get to choose how you use it.

 

[oleterryg]

Well written. Thank you.

 

[Normx2]

Its probably worth remembering that the vast majority of everything ever found with a metal detector over years past was found with B&D machines. I have tried a few TID's but could never get used to the R2D2 sounds nor could I interpret what they meant. Whether TID or beep it's also worth remembering that no one manufacturer has yet found a way to positively separate a gold target from anything else so one would have to assume that no giant leaps as such have actually been made to say that one machine over another has the market cornered.

My machines are Tesoro's to include a Shadow X2 (Tesoro) with a full compliment of coils for all to include my Tejon and LST. I've been relic hunting for 20 years or so and as of yet see no reason to change brands, yes I know, this is indeed a personal opinion but the Tesoro warranty is unmatched anywhere in the world today and they're American made.

This is a great American hobby with some really fine people participating in all aspects of it. Made some lasting friends along the way and plan to make more.

Keep Diggin

NormX2

 

[BootyHunter]

Both have their attributes, but I'll say this, the different tones for the different conductors is the most useful feature of some of the tid machines I own more so than the vid. I can use my at pro in the water submerged at night and know the difference between nickels/gold and zincolns and that is a major p.us to me.

 

[Electricfrontporch]

Both have their attributes, but I'll say this, the different tones for the different conductors is the most useful feature of some of the tid machines I own more so than the vid. I can use my at pro in the water submerged at night and know the difference between nickels/gold and zincolns and that is a major p.us to me.

Except those big class rings that register as zincolns.
Gold is everywhere!

 

[frozen gopher]

n/t

 

[frozen gopher]

Analog and digital machines both do the same job. They give you information about a target. One may be more appealing to one detectorist and not another and thats fine. The only real difference is that analog give you the information unprocessed and therefore there is no loss of data. Digital collapses some information to present it it digital form and loses some information. This processing also takes time and digital machines can be slightly slower because of this. Some think the tradeoff is worth it to get all the added features that a digital machine offers over an analog machine but I prefer an analog machine. This is covered very well in the book "Mastering the Tesoro Tejon and Vaquero. It's a great read and I think all detectorist would benefit from reading it regardless of what you swing. HH. Rob.