I'm having a really tough time trying to decide which of the above detectors to get. I dig a lot of pull tabs with my Compadre, because I'm after GOLD jewelry. However, sometimes I would like to just shoot for coins, mainly silver ones, because I get wore out digging bucket loads of pull tabs and other trash or the situation dictates that I should not be digging so many holes in all that pretty grass. I want some really good depth in the decimation mode to get to some old silver coins, but still be able to use the detector for gold hunting. I read that the F5 can be set to ring a high tone on a nickle, dime and quarters. Can the the Gamma and Omega include the nickle in the high tone with the dime and quarter as well? Would the F5's thresh hold control make it better on gold? I really like the screen and layout on the Gamma. Should I get the Omega or F5, because they offer something that I might need that the Gamma doesn't offer. Again, I really like the screen layout of the Gamma. I can buy a F5 for less than a Gamma. Which company offers the best accessory coils for a good price? I saw a special where Fisher was offering their 11" DD and 5" DD coils for $75 each. I think I need or want a DD coil for coin shooting. Or do I???????? Are these even good choices for what I want? Are there better choices?
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Omega, Gamma or F5????????
- Thread starter tabman
- Start date
Big Boys Hobbies
Well-known member
Hey Tab!
All those machines your looking at are awesome machines. I can help you with any question you may have.
All offer very good depth.
All of these will hit gold rings and such really well.
The Omega can include a nickle as a high tone.
Any other ? please email me at stoopstroop@cox.net or call. Love to help you!
I have a F5 I can make you a smoking deal on.
All those machines your looking at are awesome machines. I can help you with any question you may have.
All offer very good depth.
All of these will hit gold rings and such really well.
The Omega can include a nickle as a high tone.
Any other ? please email me at stoopstroop@cox.net or call. Love to help you!
I have a F5 I can make you a smoking deal on.
This can always be a problem, but you've narrowed it to three very good models.tabman said:I'm having a really tough time trying to decide which of the above detectors to get.
With the Compadre, or other non-display models, you're forced to either dig everything in a gold jewlery range or not. The three you are considering give you very good Discrimination control, audio Tone ID choices, and both segment type TID and a wide-range of VDI numbers from 1 to 99.tabman said:I dig a lot of pull tabs with my Compadre, because I'm after GOLD jewelry.
I take that as meaning gold jewelry hunting, right? All three will, sound off quite well on gold jewelry, and on coins. Naturally, if you want to ignore pull tabs and other lower-conductive trash that is present at a site by increasing the Discrimination level, that can help you find only coin-type targets. However, keep in mind that if there is a lot of junk you're not going to get great depth due to the target masking the provide (free of charge). In good sites you can achieve a little better depth, but then 'depth' isn't always needed to find silver coins. Again, it will depend up on the location you're hunting. I still get the bulk of my silver coins from surface to 4", but some deeper.tabman said:However, sometimes I would like to just shoot for coins, mainly silver ones, because I get wore out digging bucket loads of pull tabs and other trash or the situation dictates that I should not be digging so many holes in all that pretty grass. I want some really good depth in the decimation mode to get to some old silver coins, but still be able to use the detector for gold hunting.
I haven't used the F5 that much to recall, but I thought it was similar to the Omega and gamma. These two models work almost identically. In the turn-on d3 Tone ID the 5tabman said:I read that the F5 can be set to ring a high tone on a nickle, dime and quarters. Can the the Gamma and Omega include the nickle in the high tone with the dime and quarter as well?
BH_Landstar_
New member
The F5 is a great jewlery hunter, but you will need to master it to find the gold. I've had the F5 since August of last year and have found 4 gold rings with it and over 10 silver rings and 3 or 4 pendants.
Mark Hillis also loves the F5 as it's ideal as a land jewlery hunter.
Mark Hillis also loves the F5 as it's ideal as a land jewlery hunter.
Thanks everyone. Great Info!!
How's does the weight and balance of the Gamma (with a 11" DD coil) compare to the F5 and AT Pro with similar coils? I looked at and held those two detectors today and they seemed a little heavy for all day swinging. I've been swinging a Tesoro Compadre, so anything would be heavy compared to it. A guy 14 feet away from me got a barber quarter (1913?) at 7 to 8 inches. I think he said he had a T2. Five inches of depth is about all my Compadre will do on a coin. If my Compadre could do 8 inches on a coin, I would not be thinking about another detector so soon. I'm getting where I can thumb the discrimination knob and guess as well as the other people can who have ID screens on their detectors. I guess the ground is pretty iron free where I live, but I would like to travel with my detector, so a ground balance is a must. My aunt called today from up around Guntersville Lake in Alabama. She and my uncle want to get into metal detecting also. I told her that they really needed detectors with a ground balance, because of all the red dirt in the area. I read that in a review that some guy did and the detector (I think it was a Gamma) he was reviewing was put through its paces in a park area at Guntersville Lake. Talk about small world.
I wonder how much more depth the 11" DD coil would get over the standard coils that come on the Gamma or Omega? I know the DD coil sweeps the ground better.
BTW, Monte is 100% correct about the number readout on the AT Pro being a little on the small side. Maybe it was designed for the younger folks who still have good eye sight.
How's does the weight and balance of the Gamma (with a 11" DD coil) compare to the F5 and AT Pro with similar coils? I looked at and held those two detectors today and they seemed a little heavy for all day swinging. I've been swinging a Tesoro Compadre, so anything would be heavy compared to it. A guy 14 feet away from me got a barber quarter (1913?) at 7 to 8 inches. I think he said he had a T2. Five inches of depth is about all my Compadre will do on a coin. If my Compadre could do 8 inches on a coin, I would not be thinking about another detector so soon. I'm getting where I can thumb the discrimination knob and guess as well as the other people can who have ID screens on their detectors. I guess the ground is pretty iron free where I live, but I would like to travel with my detector, so a ground balance is a must. My aunt called today from up around Guntersville Lake in Alabama. She and my uncle want to get into metal detecting also. I told her that they really needed detectors with a ground balance, because of all the red dirt in the area. I read that in a review that some guy did and the detector (I think it was a Gamma) he was reviewing was put through its paces in a park area at Guntersville Lake. Talk about small world.
I wonder how much more depth the 11" DD coil would get over the standard coils that come on the Gamma or Omega? I know the DD coil sweeps the ground better.
BTW, Monte is 100% correct about the number readout on the AT Pro being a little on the small side. Maybe it was designed for the younger folks who still have good eye sight.
Capt that's good information. Thanks
I just read that the Gamma weighs a mere 2.3 lbs with its standard 8 inch coil. I wonder how much it would weigh using the 11" DD and 5" DD coils?
The Tesoro Compadre weighing in at 2.2 lbs has me spoiled. I can and do swing it all day long.
I'm not one of those hunters who head for home after a couple of hours of hunting, because they're tired of swinging.
Should I be looking at the Omega instead of the Gamma?
I just read that the Gamma weighs a mere 2.3 lbs with its standard 8 inch coil. I wonder how much it would weigh using the 11" DD and 5" DD coils?
The Tesoro Compadre weighing in at 2.2 lbs has me spoiled. I can and do swing it all day long.
I'm not one of those hunters who head for home after a couple of hours of hunting, because they're tired of swinging.
Should I be looking at the Omega instead of the Gamma?
I also hunt for extended periods (all day) and I have no trouble swinging my Gamma, or my pioneer 505 for that matter, for that period of time. The 11inch DD coil really does not add much noticeable weight to the detector and the 5 inch is not much difference either. If you are an all day guy any of these will work for you. Which one to get is up to you. You won't lose any performance and may even pick up a little more depth with the Gamma, but the Omega has a little more info on the screen and a few more user adjustable options. I can tell you that I am very happy with the Gamma and do not feel like I am missing out because I didn't get an Omega. They are both excellent machines for the money and I am certain you will be satisfied with either one once you commit and spend time with it. Good luck with whatever you decide.
capt.
capt.
I've had all three of these detectors, The Omega with the stock coil will blow you away over the Compadre, I didn't get much depth with the F5, however a DD coil will give it lot more punch.
The DD is a little heaver to swing but not that much, but you will notice it if you been swing a Compadre.
if you don't already know Any DD on any detector loves steel bottle caps but there away around most of it, once you learn your detector.
Personally I've gone back to the stock coil, I dig way to much trash with the DD for just coin shooting, but if I need to cover a lot of ground or relic hunt the DD goes back on.
I am very happy with the depth with the stock coil, I can run the sensitivity wide open and get just about as much depth as the DD, The DD will have a little better separation on targets.
I think Omega and Gamma is the best detector you can buy right now for the money except maybe the AT Pro that is water proof.
JMO
The DD is a little heaver to swing but not that much, but you will notice it if you been swing a Compadre.
if you don't already know Any DD on any detector loves steel bottle caps but there away around most of it, once you learn your detector.
Personally I've gone back to the stock coil, I dig way to much trash with the DD for just coin shooting, but if I need to cover a lot of ground or relic hunt the DD goes back on.
I am very happy with the depth with the stock coil, I can run the sensitivity wide open and get just about as much depth as the DD, The DD will have a little better separation on targets.
I think Omega and Gamma is the best detector you can buy right now for the money except maybe the AT Pro that is water proof.
JMO
Mike Hillis
Well-known member
Most VLF detectors, especially in the Discrimination mode, require a high sensitivity setting to detect small/tiny low conductors well, regardless of operating frequency. When EMI or ground mineralization requires one to decrease sensitivity settings, performance is lost. With the F5
No, not a change in all of my reply below, but just adding some things to consider. I am posting a slightly cut-up assemblage of your initial post to keep things brief.
Reasons why you limited your detector choice to only these three models?tabman said:I'm having a ... tough time trying to decide which ... detector to get.
Pull-tab recovery is a 'must-do' if you're after gold jewelry. No way around it, and that includes TID and VDI read-outs as well as audio Tone ID. As I mentioned earlier, "good depth" doesn't mean you'll find old silver coins. The #1 ingredient is site location. The #2 need is patience and determination. The rest fall under #3, such as decent detector, proper search coil for the site, control settings, ground balance setting, and effective techniques, such as over-lapping AND listening for a potentially good target. If you want a 'deeper' old coin, just remember that 'deep' stuff often does not Visual ID or Tone ID accurately.tabman said:I dig a lot of pull tabs ... because I'm after GOLD jewelry. ... sometimes I would like to just shoot for coins, mainly silver ones. I want ... good depth in the decimation mode to get ... old silver coins.
There are some benefits to having a 5tabman said:Can the the Gamma and Omega include the nickle in the high tone? Would the F5's thresh hold control make it better on gold?
Monte said:Reasons why you limited your detector choice to only these three models?
I'm not. Now I'm thinking about the Omega and Garrett AT Pro. I would like to stay at or below $500 for a detector, but I also don't want to find out down the road that I should have spent a little more money and got the detector that suits my needs better to begin with. I don't want to spend twice the amount of money to get a detector that might not be as good as the lower priced one or at best just marginally better.
It gets very expensive to change your mind after you have already bought one, so I take my time to begin with in deciding what to purchase.
Omega - Great reviews, light weight with a super nice screen layout, but I read somewhere that it likes screw caps.
AT Pro - New, good reviews so far, seems a little heavy to me, I like the fact it's waterproof, screen layout is difficult to read, but they claim they have the answer to screw caps.
Monte thanks for your input, it's really appreciated.
BH_Landstar_
New member
Well, if your going to look at those, throw the Gold Bug Pro in the mix too, you can get them for $499.00 plus tax new, but you will need to look around to find the store that sells them at that price.
Just want to throw a couple of more things out about the AT Pro you might not have considered and thats that you won't be able to use any of your current headphones and from some of the reviews I've read the balance is really off and ppl are having to buy an adapter to move the arm cuff back a bit to make it swing better. Not sure about the Omega liking screw caps since I've only hunted the one time with it, but the ring I found Sat rang in as a screw cap so even tho it wasn't gold or silver if I had just gone by the readout and tone and not dug a good repeatable signal I'd have missed out on the ring. On the other hand I did have one more target that showed it being a screw cap and it was but I'd have never known that it wasn't another ring if I hadn't dug it up.
digginLa said:Just want to throw a couple of more things out about the AT Pro you might not have considered and thats that you won't be able to use any of your current headphones and from some of the reviews I've read the balance is really off and ppl are having to buy an adapter to move the arm cuff back a bit to make it swing better. Not sure about the Omega liking screw caps since I've only hunted the one time with it, but the ring I found Sat rang in as a screw cap so even tho it wasn't gold or silver if I had just gone by the readout and tone and not dug a good repeatable signal I'd have missed out on the ring. On the other hand I did have one more target that showed it being a screw cap and it was but I'd have never known that it wasn't another ring if I hadn't dug it up.
Yeah, when people start adding stuff to make them swing better, you know something might be wrong with them right out of the box as far as comfort goes. If I recall correctly, they were talking about a Omega with the 11" DD coil liking screw caps.
Like I said before, I need a comfortable light detector, because I will swing one all day long.
digginLa said:I only have the stock coil with mine but its light and easy to swing, I hunted around 4 1/2 hrs with it sat with no problems at all.
I got to go light, because I screwed up my elbow about year ago lifting something that I shouldn't have lifted.
Does your Omega pinpoint well by x-ing? My Compadre, even in the discrimination mode, will locate the target almost dead center every time by x-ing.
I see you have a Tesoro. Is your Omega's response time as fast?