How does one ever decide what to buy??!!!???

[Clev]

I have been doing research for about 6 months or so on different detectors and still don't have a clue of what I want, need, or could figure out how to use...LOL... People talk about coils, the soil, gold, silver, relics, etc... I am confused as hell. Would you guys PLEASE HELP ME???
I know allot about computers / electronics so the newer type displays are fine. I use a Predator bought from kellyco 10 years ago. Not that great. But , I don't really know how to use it. If it makes a noise, I will dig it, lol... Let me tell you about how my new detector will be used,
I want to search for coins, and relics in the mountains of NC. (Polk County). Searching old plantations and old home sites. I am a newbie. Don't know the lingo.
Really leaning towards Mine lab products right now. E-trac, Explorer, X705, etc, but I just cant figure out the pros and cons of each machine. Also, I don't really know what the word RELIC includes.. Does it include glass bottles, pottery, etc.. lol... Please help me out alittle...

 

[Elton]

Cleve:
You need to visit a local dealer. Sounds like you will have to decide after seeing some different models which one you like best.

Metal detectors do not directly find bottles but leads to research and where you do find them. Most detectorist refer to relics as Civil War items, though
other metal relic items are found. Such as old farm relics etc...

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hi clev. a relic is basically any recovered old non - coin item. like el said, a good starting point is going to your local metal detector dealership. he'll get you started off in the right direction. also check out metaldetectorreviews.com - it contains many reviews on just about every machine made by real people just like us. the reviews aren't clouded by hype or pushed by a selling line, which is a nice break in itself. there's plenty of old stuff to be dug up in them thar old mountains of nc. good luck, and let us know how it goes for you.

 

[silversmith]

Well if you're on your own, quit researching, forget the dealer (he'll sell you his profit margin). Start with a very basic detector (an Ace 250, or a Tesoro Compadre) and get yourself out of the "if-then" loop. You can decide later what you need for your particular application. 500 people will tell you 500 different detectors to buy. Reach in your pocket and pick out a 2-bit coin to help you decide between the above excellent units. Go detecting!

 

[lafatlife]

Silversmith gave good advice. Start out small until you really get the hang of it and then move up. If you are a beep and dig kind of person, go with Tesoro detectors. If you like the visual clues you get from the screen try an Ace 250 or Xterra 305/505 or any of the intro machines.

Once you are into it and doing well you can always move up. If you decide you don't want to detect anymore or for some reason do not have the time, you are not out a lot of money.

 

[Mike Hillis]

Clev,
Let me give you some good free advice.

All you need to look for in a first or second unit is a metal detector that looks like it would be fun to learn and use. That is all you look for. Forget all the rest of the stuff. They will all find metal. They all, without exception, every single model and make, have folks that love them. THEY love them. What you need to do is focus on the ones that are attractive to YOU.

So....

You have a budget. Stick to your budget. Look at all the units available within your budget and pick out the one or two that looks like it will be the most fun to learn and use. It is a hobby, not a job and the fun aspect is important. If you like the way it looks, if the feature set is attractive to you, then it will be fun to learn and use. Narrow it down to two or three units and just focus on those, read the manuals so you get a grasp of their feature sets and then just pick the one that draws you to it the most.

Performance is totally ground dependant. Asking people how deep it will go only gets a response that applies to them in their ground and site conditions. You could well be totally diffferent. Don't focus on that. Don't focus on anything but which unit looks like it is going to be the most fun for you to learn and use that is within your budget.

Good luck and quit sweating it,
Mike

 

[jhettel]

Don't go to a local dealer. He will definitely try to sell you whatever he carries in stock and has dealership rights with. You will also probably pay much more than the detector is selling for on Ebay. You can go to Ebay and type in the name of the detector you are wanting to buy and there you will see the lowest prices. That does not mean you need to buy from Ebay, but it does mean that a local dealer is going to try to sell you a detector for as much profit as he can make, but if you know the going low price he will meet that price on most occasions. You can also buy off Ebay as many dealers advertise there. On Ebay you will save on sales tax unless you live in the State where the dealer lives.

As for a good relic detector I would always recommend the Tesoro Tejon. It is very deep on relics, I have dug minnies at twelve inches, but you have to learn the machine first. Most high end machines are basic coin hunting machines and some are very hard to learn, not really meant for relic hunting. The Tejon is great on relics, but a bit noisy in trashy areas and for coin hunting. However, with the Tejon you must understand the principles of ground balance and dual discriminator detecting. Once learned, the machine is very easy to use and has lightning fast circuitry.

I also use a Minelab 705. I don't think it can stand up to the Tejon on relics, but it is a very nice machine and not to complicated. Both machines are on Ebay for bottom prices and it is just up to you to decide on which dealer to deal with. Some dealers will well you a 705 for about $700 and that is all you get. Others will sell you a 705 and include headphones, digging tool, covers carrying bags etc. for the same price. Do your homework on dealers when you finally decide.

 

[UK Brian]

Its easy for you in one way....your not suggesting it must have good beach performance.

This means most machines would do and you can stick to single frequency. The drawback of twin or multifrequency is it puts you in a high price bracket, they are often of above average weight/poorly balanced or both and in most cases a slow sweep speed is required. Its better to have a detector that you can use for several hours without the risk of tennis elbow or similar and the sweep speed advantage of most single frequency machines means more ground covered in a set time and hopefully more finds.

I would find out what tends to be used by others in your area. If there's a local club you should be able to try a few different detectors and compare. If you have any hearing problems you could go for a machine with adjustable tone audio or just pick the audio that suits you.
A VDI is not necessary but I do like to have a ground balance on a detector. It helps deal with both varying ground minerals and allows you to make the best use of other coil sizes. Without one detectors do really need to be calibrated to the new coil. As most brands have the choice of no ground balance (often called "auto" but really means fixed) or the same machine with G.B. for a little more you should go for the G.B. model.

Get something your going to enjoy using. Poor audio/weight/lack of balance or even controls that are to complicated can really affect how much your going to enjoy the next stage in this hobby.

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

humm now i understand why ones confused.....
ok heres my take on this,being a newbie myself for over a year now..i own an ace 250 and a minlab excalibur 3 which i use both on the beach and off here in fla, i do have a home in nc too, ive used both machines there and had no problems..i am looking into another machine and have also leaned toward the etrac for its ease of operation and the fact ive already have one of there machines and its worked very very well for me..ive read allot and asked allot and found the best price from a dealer thats on this forum as a sponser,ill be buying it from him..i dont need all the hype stuff you get for free with others..its what your gonna be happy with and whats gonna make things easy for you when your out swinging..youll want to dig good targets not junk all the time..jmo..
hope this helps..
hh

 

[marcomo]

I'm kind of surprised by the number of people here who said don't go to your local dealer.

If you are fortunate enough to have a multi-line detector dealership near you I would suggest patronizing it for several reasons.

First of all, most brick and mortar dealers will match the prices on new detectors that you see at auction. Most will sell a new detector to you for MAP just like an online dealer - which is the lowest price an authorized dealer is allowed to sell a detector. Whatever new unit you decide to buy, look on ebay and you'll see the prices are pretty much all the same. Now if your local dealer gives you a song and dance about why he can't sell you a detector for that price, then you walk. But most local dealers will.

Auction sellers have overhead just like a physical store. The overhead with auction dealers is fees when they sell a detector and listing fees for every detector they put up whether they sell or not. The vast majority of new detector listings do not sell, but listing fees are still paid on them.

Your local dealer also has a vested interest in you doing well and sticking with the hobby. If you do, that can mean a lot of return business for him. And that dealer knows what units customers in your area with your ground conditions have liked and done well with. Most dealers are good customer-service oriented people who got into the business because they love detectors and the hobby. Most detect themselves.

Now all this advice is conditional on having a multi-line dealer close to you. I'm not talking about a big box retailer or a local hobby shop that only carries one or two manufacturers.

The only other advice I'd give is to start with an easy-to-use entry level detector. You want a detector with a short learning curve. Bill Revis aka Uncle Willy, is a very knowledgable old-time dirt fisher and moderator of the Garrett forum who says the biggest mistake he sees newbies make is buying an expensive harder-to-learn detector to start out with. Then they get frustrated and give up the hobby.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

 

[silversmith]

I wish I could agree with you marcomo. I've never been able to buy nuttin' from my local dealers. I use to buy all my ham junk through ham magazines, now all everything through the 'net. The locals ALWAYS want more than I can buy out of state including shipping (the bucks you save on sales tax, offsets the shipping). I'm glad it works for you though. Just remember when dealing on E-bay, you're dealing with A.s.s.h.o.l.e.s with no souls, and act accordingly. Remember, "if your smart, you'll watch your back" well spoken from the original GOOD space game, Privateer! Thanks Origin.......

 

[Nauti]

I think Mike has given you the best advice.....choose a detector that sparks your enthusiasm.Like Mike says,most of todays detectors from the bigger names will do a good job of finding coins and relics.....at the end of the day it's down to your personel choice.You will get a lot of enjoyment from using a detector that you yourself have chosen....just take the time to learn it properly and you won't go far wrong.Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[Furious T]

You have been given lots of advice....some of it is good...ALL of it is well meaning! However, there have been conflicting suggestions and you are probably as confused as you were before you asked the question....this is not uncommon, on any subject, not just detecting or detectors. I'll just add a little bit, and hope that it ties in with what you want to do.
My advice is: Dont start off with a "top end" detector. If you do stick with detecting, it will take you a long while to appreciate and master all the features of such a machine, and in the meantime you may become frustrated and downright angry about detecting (because all the guys on the forums are finding good stuff and you are not). I think simplicity is the best way to go: learn the basics, and having a simple detector in your hand is worth much more than all the advice you will get from magazines, dealers and (dare I say it) people on the forums. We can only relay what we have learnt from our own experiences, and ours may not be the same as yours. If you have a simple "lower end of the range" machine you will have a better chance of actually learning the art of detecting, rather and bumbling around relying on your "top end" machine to do the work for you. All manufacturers have a range of detectors, so in choosing one, I would say go for simplicity and comfort. You will also have more money left in your pocket to put towards your 2nd, 3rd and 4th machines (LOL). If you buy a reputable brand, you wont make a mistake, and you will find out which detector or tyupe of detector you wish to buy next. HH

 

[kydigger]

I'm also new. I did all my research on line. There is no detector store near me. When I started looking after Christmass, I knew nothing. I used Ebay and reviews to educate myself. When I came across a detector in my price range, about $200 or so,and I don't mind at all buying used. I'd copy the name then paste in in another window. That would lead me to detector cos. like Kellyco and to reviews. I read everything from specs to manuals to reviews. After many hours, I narrowed my search to The Ace 250, Bounty Hunter 505 , White's Prism IV and the Teknetics Delta 400. As was said earlier, they all get good reviews. However, the Teknetics had the most toys while still being easy to use.
I was ready to start shopping for the Teknetics but also decided to guve a few local pawn shops a call.
I came across a detector I hadn't seen. The pawnshop was asking $95 for it. It was a Discovery 3300. It had a lot of nice features, visual ID, numeric Id, 4 toner ID, no motion pinpoint ect I went home, did the research thing again. I learned that it sells for about $200 to $250 and gets good reviews. I've also seen it sell on Ebay for the low to mid 100s.
After a little wheeling and dealing, I now have my first detector for $90 and its not a toy. LOL. I figure that when I'm sure I will stick with my new hobby and want to upgrade, I can sell my Discovery for about what I paid for it.

Good luck on your search for your first detector. Yes, it can be frustrating at first but also very educational. It part of the fun of getting into a new hobby.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Clev,the good news is just about any intro detector you get will work better than your Predator.I strongly disagree that all metal detectors work about the same.You get a bigger bang for your dollar buying used but greater the risk.Too many in this hobby start out with bad equipment and never progress.Spend as much money as you can afford on a name brand used or new unit.If your new metal detector doesn't work out the resale will recover most of your investment.Good Luck

 

[GRAY GHOST]

hi silversmith. well put, i must say! i, like marcomo, are fortunate to have a good local dealer. i know, theyr'e not often encountered. but, you are right about some of them soulless wolves on ebay! amen!

 

[Nauti]

A lot of people try to put beginners off buying a high end machine because they are too compliced and beginners may get bored.Here is a couple of points
1.Most high end detectors have "quick start" settings to get beginners detecting quickly.These may include settings such as "coin" or "jewellry".Press one button and off you go.These settings will allow a beginner to basically switch on and go,forget about settings and just get used to the feel of swinging their new detector.These settings on higher end machines will do a good job at finding coins and relics.....good enough when first starting out.
2.Relates to point one....when the beginner is used to the basic settings they then have access to the more advanced options which they can start using in their own time.....when confidence grows.If they buy a basic detector and enjoy the hobby they will have to purchase another detector to further advance.
3.Using a higher end detector can instill enthusiasm and confidence in a beginner because they know they are using a really good machine.
4.You do not have to spend thousands on a machine that will fit the above description.....there are plenty of high end machines out there at fairly reasonable prices.
5.High end machines generally have higher performance in the field....even on basic settings.....so a beginner has more of a chance of starting to find some good stuff.
My advice(if money is not to tight) is don't be put off buying a higher end detector.....in some ways it can make more sense.

 

[Clev]

This is GREAT info guys. thanks for taking time and posting it.

 

[Nauti]

Hi Clev,i forgot to mention in my above post that i started out with a minelab quattro(which is now the safari)......a detector that i chose myself after a lot of research.This detector has 4 preset modes and full manual control.I found a lot of stuff with this detector straight away and it was very easy for a beginner to use.I know you are looking at minelab detectors....it may be worth looking at the safari,not only is it easy to use,it has brilliant performance on land and on the beach in the wet sand and is less expensive than the explorer or e-trac.Another cracking high performance machine is the whites matrix M6.This is as easy to use as any "beginners" detector with far more performance than a detector such as an ace 250.Good luck on any future hunts......let us know what you decide on.Regards,Neil.

 

[Clev]

Neil,,, thanks buddy....
I am going crazy bro... LOL...

I am about to just give up. lol