A true test must not be........

[woodchiphustler]

Throwing targets down holes. Man I am sick of those video's. You test for yourself. On your ground and never go by someone else"s results. Test on hunted sites for relics, wet beach sand not dry and in old trashy parks if your a coin hunter. Check for EMI, balance of the detector, weight on your arm not Popeye. After all he eats his spinach. Like me you might prefer wings and beer. :thumb up: Be sure you have coil options. But it is also important to read what others say and respect their view points. I started in 1969 and have used , and I mean this , just about every detector produced, and I still have not found my perfect detector. I hope you can find your "Excalibur". Regards.

 

[RLOH]

George, I 100% agree. I hunt for coins and jewelery and have owned most all detectors made. Some of the detectors I have found to work well for me are not too highly regarded by some of Findmall veterans. Moral of the story: find what works for you in the area you will be detecting.

 

[garrybk]

I agree 100%. Although I'm 64 I've only been actively detecting about 4 years. I'm still trying to find the right detector. I have tried several. F2, Ace 250, Fisher 1265x, Tesoro outlaw, M6, Tesoro Tejon, and F19. I still have the last three. I don't have detecting shop nearby, so I have to rely on the internet. I have watched a lot of u-tube video. I get frustrated with videos comparing detectors or testing them with targets in pvc pipe. I have two favorite detectors right now, the m6 and the f19. Call it silly but I understand them and they are comfortable. The only true test is what you find.
Let me apologize ahead of time to the gentleman who made the video comparing the F19 to the etrac. considering cost that is like comparing a Jeep wrangler to a suzuki samuri.

Garry

 

[2 Much Trash]

I'm with you Tex. I've grown weary of those videos as well although I sure do enjoy them. But I can't stop searching them out. That's my fault, it's like trying to quit smoking. I've been relic hunting since the early 70's and have owned a total of 6 machines starting with an old Double Eagle and ending with my current T2se. Found a bunch of relics with all of them and now seriously looking at the new f75 or just upgrading the T2. Will I find more relics? Who knows. Just can't stop searching for that perfect machine. Regardless, I believe the closest anyone's gonna get to their perfect detector, regardless of brand or price, is the one they stick with and learn inside and out and know what it's telling you whatever the conditions you're hunting in. It's funny, the biggest fish I ever caught was on a Zebco 202 and a beetle spin and I've owned a ton of better rods and reels since then.
Happy Thanksgiving Pal

 

[woodchiphustler]

The old Double Eagle. Man that could do the trick back in the day. Hell Gary W. still uses his.

 

[togg77]

I have a Suzuki Samuri that I bought new in 1988--still gets 31 mpg and has passed MANY junked jeeps of much later models--just sayin'.

 

[jas415]

I have been detecting for about 22 years now, owned a Whites 6000, then the first model Minelab Excalibur, then in 2009 sold the White's and got an E-trac, then when the waterproof CTX came out sold the Excalibur. Now the new F75 Ltd Se is out, so I traded the E-trac for it. I totally agree with the idea of learning what the machine is telling you so I use a bunch of wooden paint stir sticks, marked off in inches, with all sorts of targets hotglued to the side or bottom of the sticks. I stick them in the sand at a local volleyball place and do my own tests to learn the different tones and number. I took them down to the creek and did the same in the mud. I got the F75 for extremely trashy iron infested demolition lots. Most, if not ALL, of the online tests seems to be fixated on some sort of 'fair' trial in exactly the same depth, same coin flat, same exact dirt or same exact iron nail spaced exactly the same distance from the coin. What I am more interested in is the idea that one hunter uses a CTX/ATPro, whatever, and hunts a straight 10' wide path for whatever length, mark EVERY target as to what it read and depth, then go back and swap machines, hunt the exact same path. What are the results? Did machine #1 get more or less.

 

[Fisher F75 Iowa]

I think most of those video makers mean well. But a persons knowledge is limited to what they have on hand.

 

[Southwind]

I've also been detecting for near 40 years and used just about every major contender made. I do agree I put far more weight in a video of live digs rather than the freshly buried coin or air tests. That being said, I also believe air tests can give you a starting put. If I see an air test of a detector not getting more than 6" I'm not going to bother buying one. I've done enough tests of my own to know the air test does show about the best depth you can expect from a machine. Personally I have NEVER seen a detector go deeper in the ground than it gets in an air test. And a video of a freshly buried coin is just wasted time. Minelab FBS hates freshly buried coins so you'd be sadly mistaken to judge one by the result on a freshly buried coin.

I've done over 60 videos myself and as someone who has done them let me salute the others that have. It takes a lot of time and trouble to do a good video and then there will always be those complainers who don't like your results and comment on how they would have done it better. I like the videos done live while someone is just out hunting, gets a target, and then compares different detectors/settings while the target is still in the ground. Then they recover it.

 

[Sven]

I don't have a test garden, never had. True test is actual hunting.
After 40 years of detecting and looking for the perfect machine or close to it. I quit looking. I found two VLF detectors that do what I need them to. Most of all I enjoy using.