My review of the T2

[lafatlife]

Ok I have been out with it a couple of times now. I don't have anything to report on depth because everything that I have found was within 3 or 4 inches. Mostly clad and 1 old butter knife without the handle.

Pros = Great balance on the machine. Even though it weighs as much as the safari, I can swing it for a long time without shoulder pain.

Another pro is the DD coil and pinpointing is right on with it. There is a small spot in the center that looks like it is left over from molding the coil but that is actually the sweet spot.

I like that the headphone jack is on the very back of the battery pack so basically it is on the very end of the machine. The power button is also the volume control so it is not necessary to have inline volume control headphones.

I like the fact that there is a trigger for ground balancing, by pushing forward, and pinpointing by pulling it back to you. The trigger is a neat thing instead of pushing a button. It keeps the face plate clean.

Ok the cons....

You can't notch out things. It is all or nothing. If you want nickles but not pull tabs, you can't choose. If you notch out pull tabs, anything below is also notched out. If notching was available on this, it would absolutely rock in my opinion.
Another con but a very minor one is the volume/power button is on the underside of the battery pack. Not a major big deal because once you turn it on that is all you do with it.

Another con that I would say is a medium one is that it doesn't save your settings after you turn it off. I know it only takes a minute or two to set it up but it would be nice if it saved the settings.

That is about it for now because I really haven't had a chance to use all the settings. I went to the beach on Sunday and tried the 3b tones but wasn't sure that I liked it. That is one of those things that you have to sit and air test a bunch of stuff to get used to the sounds.

The good thing about this machine is that when you hit a coin, you know it is a coin. It has a more solid sound. The iron and garbage sort of sounds raspy.

Unfortunately, this late in the year I am running out of time to give it a true test. It is very similar to my Omega but I do not have the DD coil on the omega. I think if I did, they would probably run neck and neck.

 

[Hightone]

I did not know that the T2 did not have the notch feature (something I like also). I checked and the F70 and F75 are the same way. I have the F5 and it is just fine for me, and it notches the same way as your Omega. I do have the 11" DD coil also, and it does do a little better but not anything to get excited over. It does cover a little more ground on sweeps and has better separation. It's seems a shame to pay almost double for a detector that doesn't have the notch feature, is heavier and gets just a little bit deeper.

Dan

 

[lafatlife]

My Omega does not notch either. It too is an all or nothing thing. I suppose it is not a big deal for those that "beep and dig" but I have a lot of trash where I go and I would just spend all my time on my knees digging. I need to be able to notch out things to avoid a lot of trash.

I thought the F75 had the ability to notch individual items out like the X70 has.

 

[SteveP(NH)]

Another way to look at it, is to use the tone ID and VDI numbers to see what the target might be and then decide yourself whether to dig them or not. Using notches is basically letting the machine make that decision for you.

Personally when using the T2 I usually hunt in the discrimination mode with the discrimination set just high enough to cut out the ground chatter (around 10). This allows all metal through but then I decide whether or not to dig the target based on tone ID first, and then things like how deep the target seems to be, how big its footprint is, and VDI number. If the machine had notches and they were set on you might miss a good target. A case in point is the 1866 IHC I just posted as part of the weekend contest on NEMDF - that at first came in at 46 to 48 which would normally be a pulltab or foil. However it seemed a little deep for a pulltab plus when I circled around it the VDI jumped up in the 60's. If had set the discrim to 50 to block out the lower aluminum then I wouldn't have even heard that target and taken the time to investigate it. When I pulled the plug out the VDI jumped to 76-78 - just right for a crusty copper.

 

[lafatlife]

Steve, do you hunt with 3b tones?

 

[Hightone]

n/t

 

[SteveP(NH)]

When I am relic hunting I use 2+ and if I am in an area with a lot of coins I use 3 or occasionally 4 but since I mostly just relic detect I'd say that 95% of the time its in 2+

 

[T2]

I dont understand all the tones as I just relic hunt and only use 2+. Its either grunt or chirp and I glance at the screen on the chirps to see if I want to dig. Never got into or use to multi tones.

 

[lafatlife]

My omega does notch...I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

The Omega, F70 & F75 all have notching. I'm surprised the T2 doesn't also have notching, but checked the manual and it doesn't. I believe the T2 is more of a relic machine in premise then a coin-shooter, although it's a very capable coin-shooter.

 

[Pops]

I think SteveP hit it right on. The best discriminator you have is on your shoulders. He appears to have a lot of experience with the T2 to know when a beep sounds a little different than it should when compared to the VDI number. Being able to notch definitely has it's place but you still sacrifice some gold targets when you notch pulltabs. I primarily coin shoot and some areas have thousands of pulltabs where you can't effectively hunt with them constantly sounding off. I either set the disc to 62 or pull out the f5 with notch capabilities. With either (or any) machine it still gets down to you deciding to dig or not. The more you use the T2 the easier it will be to recognize when something sounds a little different than what it shows.

 

[lafatlife]

Oh I am already telling the difference between coins and other things. There is a definite difference in the quality of the tone. I really don't know how to put it into words other than to say that on a coin it sounds more solid, perhaps more powerful is a good way to describe it. Sort of like the bark of a dog...you have the solid bark of a big dog and a squeeky bark of a small dog. Both are dogs (id numbers) but the sounds are different.

Odd comparison I know but it sort of gives everyone an idea of what I am talking about. You would stay away from the big dog based on the sound but not the small one. With the coins, you would dig the big sound but not the small one.

Still, I do a lot of parks with a lot of pull tabs and pop tops and the notching feature of the omega is great in those areas especially since the days are getting so short now. I like getting nickles and being able to notch out the pull tabs saves a lot of time and digging.

I am really surprised that the T2 does not have the notch. It really is a great machine and the balance is just awesome.

 

[gmanlight]

I have a F75 and don't use the notch . I hunt mostly for old stuff and would not want to notch out the good stuff.
In a new park i just see were the tabs are hitting and make a mental note .
A ring will tend to move the # less than a tab but thy both can over lap in same range of #s