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Explorer vs Quattro

M

MajaPalra

New member
Greetings -- newbie here, turned 50 last week and have decided
to boogie-board a little less and take up something
that won't make my back muscles so sore. (I know, trading
sore back muscles for worn out knees.) I'm patient and tenacious
and think MD'ing will be fun. I've done a lot of reading
and am leaning toward buying either new/slightly used Quattro
or perhaps a used Explorer (XS/II).

My thinking is that I can find a used Explorer XS for less than
a new Quattro. I've read where the Explorer has a longer learning curve
and differing opinions whether the Explorer is a better model.

If you used both, I'd enjoy hearing your opinion as to which one
you prefer.

Thanks!
 
Hello,

I went down the same road as you, but I was older! I read everything I could get my "eyes on" and made the decision to go with a new Quattro. I love it. It has exceeded my expectations. If I had to purchase a "replacement" detector today, it would be the Quattro. I believe that iF I purchase a "second" detector it would be an Excalibur, since 99% of my hunting is on the beach and one day I may want to "get my legs wet.

The Quattro "goes" DEEP on the beach. Some say deeper than the Explorer. I have dug targets over 18" deep on many occasions!

I will say, after being involved with the hobby, that if I were younger and if I hunted "ashore", I would consider an Explorer.

 
I wish we could get Mike in on this one. Mike, come back, come back, wherever you are. We need your guidence here. I own the Quatro and I really like it a lot, but I always wondered after doing a lot of reading and research like you guys, should I go into hock up to my eyeballs and go ahead and get the Explorer II.??? That was my big question mainly because the Explorer has to numeric readouts, one for ferrous and one for conductivity, pluse it has the Iron Mask feature, but for me it seems, the extra readout might give you a little more info as to whether to dig the target or not. If I'm not mistaken Mike say's the Quatro may go a little deeper on the beach and the Explorer a little deeper in the parks. Check his post on that to be sure, but just last night I started noising around the Explorer XP sites and I'm darn curious about that machine. That might be a great second or even first detector to buy used at a reasonable price. I also "think" that it "might" have two nemeric readouts, but I'm not sure. Love to get some responses on this. Marc Trainor.:)
 
Ok, I'm "in on this one". :)

I hunted with the Quattro on land and at the beach and found it to be an excelelent machine. It got me some silver coins, bullets, and buttons at several sites I had pounded with my other machines, so it proved it's worth. I took it to the beach and dug the deeoest targets I've ever dug and got both gold and silver rings with it. I believe it's the deepest wet sand machine there is but I can confirm it's deeper that a DFX, a CZ, A Sovereign Elite, or my Excalibur. That said, I do use the Excal for the beach since dropping the Quattro or the Explorer II in the water would kill them.

So when I got rid of the Quattro and got the Explorer II I did the same things, soing to my old sites, going to the beach. And my results were the same...I got a few targets I had missed with the others, including the Quattro. But VERY few. And as Beachguy said, I believe the QUattro has a little depth on the Explorer at the beach and the Explorer II has a little depth on the Quattro on the land. A little. Both are great at doing either. The Quattro is easier to learn and use right off the bat, HOWEVER...the Explorer II is NOT hard to learn and use quickly. What's a LITTLE hard is to MASTER it. But that too is quite "do-able" between all the great help on thse forums and several KILLER web sites.

Which is right for you? Well, if you're set on one or the other I would say the Quattro if you will do more beach hunting or hunting in woods or open fields and relatively "clean" areas and the Explorer if you will be wanting to work more in trashy areas or tough ground. The Explorer does better in the presence of multiple targets, in my opinion. The recovery speed on the Quattro between targets is slower. Both machines excel in their elements and both are true multi-purpose machines. These are my opinions, relative to use. Others may not agree. It should also be noted that I run both machines "hot", choosing Manual sensitivity over "Auto" and cranking things up.

As Marc said, the Explorer II has a dual-digital readout mode in addition to the "Smartfind" mode. On the left of the screen (In digital) is the "Ferrous" number and on the right is the "Conductive". And the scale is 0 to 31. So a rusty nail might have a reading of 31-00 and a silver quarter maybe 00-29. So if you had a tone that was telling you coin and the number was 00-29 you would be digging. But if it sounded maybe good but the reading was 31-00 you would probably move on. I like that. It works. For a land hunter and for somebody that likes to TWEAK and have lots of control the Explorer II might be the better choice. But for the beach hunter or woods hunter that wants to turn it on, crank it up, and forget about it...the Quattro is a winner too.

So that's it...my two "Large Cents". I will leave you with links to a couple of sites I am fond of and a couple pictures I took in the field.

http://www.bdomineau.com/index.html

http://groups.msn.com/MinelabExplorerXSusers/digitalchart1.msnw

http://usetheminelabexplorerlikeapro.blogspot.com/

http://www.frontiernet.net/~jvokes/detecting.htm

 
Ok, I'm "in on this one". :)

I hunted with the Quattro on land and at the beach and found it to be an excellent machine. It got me some silver coins, bullets, and buttons at several sites I had pounded with my other machines, so it proved it's worth. I took it to the beach and dug the deepest targets I've ever dug and got both gold and silver rings with it. I believe it's the deepest wet sand machine there is but I can confirm it's deeper that a DFX, a CZ, A Sovereign Elite, or my Excalibur. That said, I do use the Excal for the beach since dropping the Quattro or the Explorer II in the water would kill them.

So when I got rid of the Quattro and got the Explorer II I did the same things, going to my old sites, going to the beach. And my results were the same...I got a few targets I had missed with the others, including the Quattro. But VERY few. And as Beachguy said, I believe the QUattro has a little depth on the Explorer at the beach and the Explorer II has a little depth on the Quattro on the land. A little. Both are great at doing either. The Quattro is easier to learn and use right off the bat, HOWEVER...the Explorer II is NOT hard to learn and use quickly. What's a LITTLE hard is to MASTER it. But that too is quite "do-able" between all the great help on these forums and several KILLER web sites.

Which is right for you? Well, if you're set on one or the other I would say the Quattro if you will do more beach hunting or hunting in woods or open fields and relatively "clean" areas and the Explorer if you will be wanting to work more in trashy areas or tough ground. The Explorer does better in the presence of multiple targets, in my opinion. The recovery speed on the Quattro between targets is slower. Both machines excel in their elements and both are true multi-purpose machines. These are my opinions, relative to use. Others may not agree. It should also be noted that I run both machines "hot", choosing Manual sensitivity over "Auto" and cranking things up.

As Marc said, the Explorer II has a dual-digital readout mode in addition to the "Smartfind" mode. On the left of the screen (In digital) is the "Ferrous" number and on the right is the "Conductive". And the scale is 0 to 31. So a rusty nail might have a reading of 31-00 and a silver quarter maybe 00-29. So if you had a tone that was telling you coin and the number was 00-29 you would be digging. But if it sounded maybe good but the reading was 31-00 you would probably move on. I like that. It works. For a land hunter and for somebody that likes to TWEAK and have lots of control the Explorer II might be the better choice. But for the beach hunter or woods hunter that wants to turn it on, crank it up, and forget about it...the Quattro is a winner too.

So that's it...my two "Large Cents". I will leave you with links to a couple of sites I am fond of and a couple pictures I took in the field.

http://www.frontiernet.net/~jvokes/detecting.htm

http://usetheminelabexplorerlikeapro.blogspot.com/

http://mikesweather.metsite.com/detectin/html/explorer_xs___explorer_ii.html


 
Mike, thankyou so much for responding on all that. I appreciate you taking your time to do it and, by the way, I'm not kidding, you're a terriffic photographer. That's one of my hot buttons too. I've been into photography since day one, almost, and now I'm into the digital video thing. I have a nice computer editor and I'd love to do something on metal detectors, maybe the Quatro, except I guess they already have a video on the Explorer II. I may just send for it, I'm so curious. I'm sure the other guys will enjoy your post here. TAlk at you later. Marc:)
 
Hey Mike. I'll take it a step further and say that you should do a video for the Quattro! You definetly have the skills and knowledge for it. I would definetly pay whatever price to have you demonstrate, on video, some tips and tricks-of-the-trade using the quattro. Also, some of the most common problems people seem to have with using the quattro, (i.e...what "ghost" signals are, how to distinguish between a "good" target and a "bad" target, etc...). Just a thought. Thank's again Mike for your helpful info. Sincerely, Randy
 
You know what Mike, I think Randy's right. Since Andy already wrote the book, maybe you should do the video on the Quatro. Man, I wish I could help shoot it for you, but at any rate, I'm serious, maybe you and Andy, and or Minelab could colaborate on it. I think that would be so exciting and informative, because you COULD show a lot of tips and tricks, besides the nuts and bolts of it all. I hope you give it some thought. Beach guy, (wanna be video guy) Marc Trainor.:)
 
P.S. I'll give you a little hint. Throw some humor in with the serious stuff and it'll be a sure sell. I still think one of the scenes should be you walking down the beach with two detectors at the same time and a wild, crazed look on your face. If that doesn't suit you, how about you and some friends standing on a hill holding your detectors with that stalworth look on your faces with the title: WE CAME, WE CONQUERED THE BEACH, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO DENNYS TO GET A GOOD CUP OF COFFEE AND SOME APPLE PIE. You know I'm just talkin' crazy here with you, but just tryin to throw in a few wild ideas. Happy hunting.
 
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