Teknetics Delta Review

[Mark in NC]

Teknetics Delta Review

Mark Ellington



*Review based on early version...subject to change!*


The Teknetics T2 has developed quite a cult-like following since its release! With good reason

 

[AndyNM]

.....and i agree with you 100%. Especially the depth of the All Metal Mode is scary for a detector that uses only an 8 inch coil. Easy to use out of the box power with a weight of just about 2 pounds.

Andy

 

[Mark in NC]

I've had a ton of fun using the Delta. I was extremely surprised by the power in a unit at this price point...it even competes with some of the machines that cost quite a bit more...and I've used a bunch of 'em! (too many!) What's amazing me about First Texas is the ability to rapidly evolve the machines and platforms for constant improvement... a lot of companies release stuff every couple of years or so (if that often). The Engineers at FT have managed to do what would probably be deemed impossible by most...turn out a ton of different models in a very short time... I'll bet they'll be the first to admit there were some "growing pains" in trying to do this, but I have to admire the daylights out of Dave Johnson, John Gardiner, Jorge Saad, Mark Krieger (and probably more unsung heroes). They had the guts to attempt what would normally be seen as impossible! We, the end users, are the winners. The competition motivates the other Companies to get busy...and keep innovating.

I was as big of an detector "snob" as anyone when I first read that FT was buying Fisher... I looked down my nose at Bounty Hunter brand as something "beneath" me... I like the "high dollar" stuff... 'cause, if it costs more it's gotta be better! However, when I heard that First Texas had hired Dave Johnson (THE man behind the CZ's and a ton of other detectors including the MXT, DFX, Lobo ST, Shadow X5 and a ton of other high performance detectors.) I thought "Woah! First Texas is SERIOUS about getting into the high end detector market!"...and I was right. The Tek T2 broke the mold for innovation... and subsequent machines have offered unique "usable" features that actually bring something to the hobby. The result of all this new stuff going on at First Texas with Dave Johnson on staff is a trickle down effect... cool new, innovative and efficient ways of building and designing things has begun working its way into the Bounty Hunter line...and the ones I've used are great! My "snobbery" is officially gone! For the buck, they just can't be beat...and they will find "stuff" with any machine on the market... My favorite all-time detector is still the F75... but I would NOT turn my nose up at any of the new Teknetics machines... so far, they are looking to be outstanding machines!

I've had the honor of getting to field test several First Texas built detectors and am very appreciative for the opportunity...however, no one asked me to post this...it's all my opinion...and mine alone. I understand we can't all agree on things, but I've had nothing but good experiences with the Folks at First Texas...



Mark

 

[cj/from/pa]

Hello, I am new to metal detecting,my wife had gotten me the delta 4000 for xmas, and everyone was poking fun at me for having that on my wish list.. so I cant disappoint them by not finding the treasures buried beneath.
I have never really used a detector before and with spring approaching I was hoping to be able to understand the different tones ,and understand if it is a false signal, with the help of this forum I would like to learn and collect as much information that I can . So if anyone is interested in giving some pointers with some experience,would love to hear from you.Thanks and happy hunting!

 

[BuckeyeBrad]

There's two facets to learning this hobby. The first is the obvious and most of that is covered in your owners manual. The second is the not so obvious and a lot of that has to be learned by hunting, digging about everything and then making a zillion mental notes to build on and recall from later. As you go through this second level and you really get one of those "head scratchers" or something you can't figure why it happened, bring that up to the forum and I'm sure you'll get all the help you need. Be patient, observe, and most of all have fun as you learn about a great hobby!!

 

[Merf]

[

 

[BuckeyeBrad]

the serious and the not-so-serious. I hope you didn't edit your post on my account.

 

[Merf]

the serious and the not-so-serious. I hope you didn't edit your post on my account.

Yes I did----I started to make a post mimicking your goofy post on the air test thread
but after some thought I decided that clowning is a waste of time .

 

[Steve from Iowa]

CJ, I have a Delta 4000 and I'm learning it bit by bit. What helps me is to go out with an experienced detectorist who can comment on your signals after checking with his own machine.

 

[BuckeyeBrad]

Jackpine and I have done that little play around with the characterizations of the movie "Grumpy Old Men" several times during the winter months over the last couple years. Probably didn't make much sense if you weren't aware of that. So, do you ride a V-Rod?

 

[jeeper]

I apologise but I have a question, not a review to add. I have been looking very hard at this detector, looks great and at the price my wife can handle at the moment. How is this unit with jewlery hunting in wet sand? I live inland california, we are in the middle of drought year, but the sand is still damp and apparently that is the excact condition my current detector dispises. I have no plans on entering the water, and I will probably not see sea water for several years with my detector. Thank you guys for your input. I am a newbie and this is the only forum I have found with a deticated thread for the Delta.
Jeeper

 

[Mark in NC]

Jeeper,

I haven't used the Delta at the beach, but a friend of mine has. He said it seems to hit hard on targets in the dry and damp sand. The really wet salty sand (waters edge) can be tough for a single frequency detector...for some beaches, you can begin moving the discriminator up the scale, and somewhere around "foil" it will take negate the chattering. The Delta seems to be very sensitive to jewelry. I've found a few rings since using it..and one was very small.

Hope this helps,

Mark

 

[cj/from/pa]

Ok.... I have been in the backyard digging hole after hole,still confused on the target id numbers. just say it says ( zinc) and then the next time i scan it . It says dime in the same hole.. am i doing something wrong? Could someone maybe narrow list down ,like where does a gold ring or watch buzz in at and under what metal. what sounds should i ignore?
I did find a Jefferson war nickel,but it had a hole drilled thru the center of it. Is a quarter a quarter, and a dime a dime. I know this is asking some ridiculous questions but a response would be great.

 

[BarnacleBill]

Firstly I don't own the detector that you have but I have been at this hobby for about +28 years. It looks to me that you are new to the hobby and still on training wheels. No shame in that, everyone begins at the beginning.

What you are experiencing is known as falsing, and can have several causes which through experience you learn to recognize and deal with.

First off it is a possible ground balance problem. But since your detector has no control for that then reducing sensitivity is the only way to deal with falsing caused by that.

Second it is possible it is an electrical interference problem. But since it looks like your detector has no frequency offset control, then the only way to deal with it is to reduce sensitivity or move to an area without the interference.

Third is the possibility that your yard has a lot of trash/iron targets. Once again reduce sensitivity, shorten your sweep, and make smooth consistent sweeps.

Find an area with no targets, lay out some coins about 2ft apart and practice swinging the coil and getting used to how the detector reacts.

HH
BarnacleBill

 

[Steve from Iowa]

What do you dig up when these shifts occur? My experience is that when the target jumps about in terms of its reading, it is usually iron. When I get this event, I slowly raise the coil as I swing and if the signal is still coming after the coil rises a foot off the ground, it is usually large iron. I learned to pay less attention to the visual readouts and pay more attention to the "feel" of the sound. When it is a clear sound and you get the same clear sound after swinging again at a 90 degree angle to the first swings, it is usually a good target. Try reading some forum posts which give advice on "tips" for detecting. They helped me out.