Purchasing 2 Detectors

[AndyK]

My father and I are checking into purchasing two detectors one for him and one for myself. We both detected before but it has been a while and are looking for two top notch machines that work great on both beach dry/wet sand and soil also mostly coins and jewelry. We kinda made a decision on one and that is the Quattro. We would like to have the second one to be different but still perform well. I would like to see the opinions of others on what they prefer. Price range would be between 800 and 900 dollars.

 

[Mirage]

Well I started detecting with a White's classic. It's easy to use and gets good depth but no VDI readout. So since I go with my son I purchased a DFX. The first year we used the "stock" programs in the DFX and didn't notice much difference in the finds of the $250 Classic vs the $900 DFX. Then we started adjusting the setting of the DFX and it made a big difference. Now the DFX was doing better than the classic(mostly deeper but better discrimination). So now my son was always using the DFX so I purchased a Quattro. My thinking was to get a "different" machine that would do as good as the DFX. Having enough hours of experience with the Quattro I will tell you this...

They are both great detectors. THe DFX with the stock coil tends to be lighter. This means not as big a back ache at the end of the day. Also the dfx likes a faster sweep speed. Good for quick searches. Also does pretty good in trashy areas. As with the Quattro you have to make adjustments to maximize the depth. I like the tones on the quattro better - not as "noisy" as the DFX. IF I had to choose between one or the other I might take the DFX. But right now I only take the Quattro when I go out. I don't think the Quattro is going to find things that the DFX missed and vice versa.

One final note... when detecting together we have to maintain at least 20 feet apart or the DFX picks up interferance from the quattro.

Hope this helps.

Mirage(Bob)

 

[AndyK]

Thanks for your reply. The DFX actually was the second detector we were pointing at too but makes a hard decision once we took a look at others such as Garretts GTI series and some Fishers but we always seem to be lead back to Minelab and Whites detectors.

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

Hey Bob...are you running your Noise Cancel on the Quattro whenever you use it? I'm sure you've heard that is a vital thing. But it becomes even more so when hunting with somebody else with a different machine. I had the Quattro and saw interference between it and a few different machines, where as you mentioned, they couldn't get close to each other. I can't speak for the DFX, but in EVERY other case the Noise Cancel solved the problem. It's the job of the Noise Cancel to "get a read" on other sources of transmissions or EMI and to adjust the Quattro by shifting the frequencies slightly so as not to conflict with those other sources.

Next time you go out, try this: Fire up the DFX and do the ground balance with it (I used to have a DFX). Now fire up the Quattro within that 20 foot zone...let's make it about 12 to 15 feet. Of course the DFX will go nuts...just let it go. Now run the Noise Cancel on the Quattro. Let it go all the way through it's count from 0 to 100%. My guess is that when it gets to 100% the chatter on the DFX will stop. I may be wrong, but that's the way it worked for me when working around other machines that were having problems with the Quattro. I believe it will work the same with the DFX.

 

[Dave Z]

Just try running your DFX on 3kz or 15 kz only.That solve the problem .

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

...it's possible that 15Khz might work, but the Quattro transmits from 1.5kHz to 100kHz and 3kHz is one of them, though I'm not sure if 15kHz is or not, but I suspect it may be. But the DFX shouldn't have to compromise, because I'm pretty sure the Noise Cancel function on the Quattro would solve that.It would be nice if Bob could give us some feedback on that.