Need Purchasing Help Please!

[MHirschmann]

Hi Guys,

I have been thinking about getting my first pulse detector. I have been detecting about 4-5 days a weeks for the past 8 years and have owned a lot of different detectors. Thing is, I have never owned, nor even tried a pulse detector.

To give some info, I hunt primarily for coins and jewelry and I hunt primarily in wide open parks, fields and beaches. I have been thinking about a pulse machine to get some more depth than my CTX 3030 can achieve. My plan is to clean up the top 8-10 inches of an area with the CTX and then go over it again with a pulse detector and get the deep stuff. I have been pointed towards the TDI by several people I know and trust when it comes to pulse detecting.

I can't decide, however, if I should get the TDI Pro or the SL. I like that the SL is lightweight but I like that the Pro is apparently deeper and I like the fine and course adjustments on the Pro.

One thing I can't seem to get a solid answer on is, what exactly are the differences in performance between the two machines? Is the SL very noticeably less capable?

I was told today that the Pro has very noticeable better performance than the SL, but from what I have read about the two, the performance shouldn't be all that different.

If it were your money, which would you get and why? I would really appreciate input with this as I am hoping to make a purchase within the next week and for the life of me can't figure out which one to get.

Thanks in advance for any/all help, Marc

 

[khouse]

Coin and jewelry hunting with a PI on land - I don't think I would attempt that. Why don't you get one of those giant coils for one of your other machines? Something larger than 16 inches. That should get you some more depth with discrimination.

 

[MHirschmann]

Thanks for the reply Kenny. I think part of my decision is the fact that I have never owned nor tried a PI machine and I want to give one a try. I know that PI's are not recommended for what I am planning to do with it, but I have yet to see a larger coil for any detectors that I own that gets as deep as a good PI machine.

The largest coil for the CTX is the 17" and I have yet to meet an owner of that coil that states that it hits deeper than the stock coil. It might get marginally deeper but nowhere near the depths that I have seen PI hunters find targets. Larger coils on my Excals are in the works but I have tested a few Excals with larger coils and I once again assure you that I will get nowhere near the depth of some of these PI machines. This brings me to my last detectors, the Deus. Now the Deus is a fantastic piece of kit, but comparing the depth of the Deus to a PI is useless.

I don't know if I have false hopes of how deep the TDI will get, but I am looking for a detector to take back to spots that I have cleaned out dead silent with my other machines so that I can pick up the deep goodies that I missed.

I have been thinking about getting the large coil for my CTX, as you mentioned, but if you look at the forum, nobody with the large coil is posting depth gains that are worthwhile talking about. It seems the large coil is primarily for better ground coverage, which I don't need. I know there is more in my hunted out spots, but I know that its all too deep for me (and others) to hit on it.

I also go to Florida several times each year and I figured a PI detector would be great for added depth on the beach.

I am open to all pieces of advice/criticism so I hope you don't read this as me disagreeing with you. I respect all opinions and if it turns out that a PI detector won't help me with my needs, I will owe you a $1,600 thank you for saving me "mistake money."

I honestly wouldn't mind at all if more people told me that my idea is a bad one as I am not looking to spend money just because. I don't have "just because" funds sitting around and if my hopes for a TDI are unrealistic, I would rather hear about it now than a week after getting one.

Thanks for your input and I would appreciate anyone else's opinion here. -Marc

 

[khouse]

If you bought any PI and decided you didn't like it. You could probably recoup your money minus what a giant coil would have cost you for one of your other machines.

 

[oneon]

MHirschmann I think you'd give up on a PI in about 15 minutes on land I've tried it and it's annoying in the cleanest of spots. However if its REALLY clean ground and I mean REALLY clean you might want to listen for the slightest variation in the threshold and get yourself a really good shovel. My suggestion is to buy a PI pro off ebay usually about $400 If it doesn't work out put it back on ebay. When I use my PI I rarely dig obvious signals unless they are soft and round sounding.
I'm after and I suspect you'd be too very deep targets and really deep targets most of the time can often be a slight variation in the threshold. Nothing like digging two and a half to three feet to find a bottle-cap, after a few of those and you'll be looking to call it a day. On the reverse side one golden ticket and you'll be digging all day!

If your willing to learn you might want to try a V3I works great on the beach and on land, with Boost on in the right soil and settings I get close to PI depths.
I see you have a 3030 and a deus I cant imagine not getting great depths with one of these machines but I have never used either.
Good Luck.

 

[TNreb]

I just got the TDI myself. I also have the MXT PRO with the 10x12 SEF coil which I love. Now I mainly hunt civil war relics in fields so I can not speak about how it does for coins in parks and such. But it will find bullets and buttons at incredible depths. I also dig everything because you never know what it might be. There is no discriminate on the TDI so if you get in a trashy area it will drive you nuts.

 

[MHirschmann]

Thanks guys for the input. I have decided to hold off on my PI detector idea. Doesn't seem like anyone really though my idea was a good one. This is why I like the forums so much. You can get a solid reply on a question, any question and in cases like this, the input from others can save you a lot of money (and a headache).

As for the V3i oneon, I had one last year and really like dit. I traded it for my Deus but have been playing with the idea of getting another one because I really liked it. I actually really miss that V3i, not because it was "better" than anything else I had, but simply because it was a good and fun machine to use. I might look for a used one next season.

Thanks again for all the input guys, I really appreciate it. Happy Hunting -Marc