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"that detector is only a good back-up"

G

GoVidGo

New member
Friend who just got an ACE350 a few months ago was told, by another detectorist who has been hunting for a long time and has some of the tops of the line machine, "YOUR ACE350 IS ONLY A GOOD BACK-UP DETECTOR, THAT IS ALL IT'S WORTH"....

He was actually more concerned than upset, luckily. It kinda made me mad because he is really getting into the hobby, trying to learn his detector, and was very proud of it, cleaning it up all the time, trying different settings, and was so proud of the ACE every time he made a find, even if it was a clad dime.

I asked him this question..."what would win in a 1/4 mile race.... an auto-shift 2012 Ford Focus or a manual-shift 2012 Chevy Corvette ZR1... and neither driver knew how to drive a manual shift or even knew what a clutch was?.?.?.?"

My $money would be on the Ford Focus!....

I have seen so many people with some lower to mid level machines SMOKE people with a brand new shiney Etrac, V3i, DEUS, etc. top of the line machine, and they have no idea what they are doing with all those features or how to set it up.

I use an Etrac and have thought about the CTX3030 upgrade. I just know my Etrac so well, and I have an AT Pro as a rainy day detector and have a great GPS phone app that it negates a few features that I would upgrade to the CTX for. Nothing against the CTX, as I am a huge Minelab fan!

I have a friend I hunt with that has had an AT Pro since the day it came out. He hunts pretty much every day with that thing that it is so scratched up, arm foam gone, coil cover cracked/chipped all over, duct-taped poles, etc. BUT!.... he is a BEAST with that thing! he runs it in Pro-Mode, in all metal, with the Iron Audio = ON, and can hear even the slighest chirp or warble in tones through all the chatter. It's impressive! but it's just from using it hour after hour, day after day, month after month, and almost being PART of that detector....

I told my friend that the "ACE350 is a great detector! It's light, fast response, can notch stuff out, has good depth, and the 8 1/2x11" DD coil is amazing in our PA soil!"

There will always be a bigger-better-faster-more option detector, as well as PC, TV, cell phone, or any other electronic. In my opinion, it comes down to 'how well you know your machine'... plain and simple....

I just thought I would throw this out there for the people who just started detecting and are learning a new entry level machine, or the person who got a mid-level machine because it is what they can afford. TRUST ME!... LEARN YOUR MACHINE AND YOU WILL FIND TREASURE! ! ! ! !

I hope some of the other seasoned detectorists chime in on this one.... agree or disagree with me, because someone out there seems to think he is the judge of 'back-up machines only'......
 
I agree 100%
There is no such thing as a back up detector, unless you have two of the same make and model in the event one lay's down on you in the field.
Each detector has it's own strengths and weakness's. Once you have a command of the detector and it's functions, the operator chooses which to use for each situation.
 
The other detectorist is an azz for trying to burst the bubble of the newbie instead of words of encouragement. :veryangry:
 
I agree that the person with a detector that he knows very well has a bit of an advantage over the guy with all the bells and whistles but no experience. BUT if the guy with the top end machine achieves a similar level of experience he has an edge, in some circumstances. I also have an ETrac and an AT-Pro. Wouldn't want to part with either one! Made good finds with both. Each is particularly good at things the other isn't. I don't look at one as a primary and one as a backup but different tools for different jobs.

Your friends Ace 350 is no slouch at doing what it does. There may be some really deep stuff he might miss but depending on where he hunts that may not even be an issue at all. He's still out there, still hunting, and he should just ignore snobs and idiots. Would I like a CTX, sure but the funds ain't there so I hunt with what I have and keep learning them better.
 
I have found 6 gold rings with my Vaquero, 5 gold rings with my F2, and 2 gold rings and a 14k thin necklace with my Compadre, and lots of other great stuff with all three including silver jewelry finds of all kinds and even coins.
I would venture to say that most would not rate any of these detectors "Top of the line", but they all seem to find the good stuff for me.

I have also read a couple of posts about some hunters finding some very rare and valuable coins with the 350 and 250 aces.
You just need to be in the right place and swing your coil over a good target and dig it.

This "know it all" guy has quite an attitude and in my opinion doesn't know as much as he thinks he does, so just tell your friend to have fun and ignore him.
 
The few times I get to go out and play, I find very old corroded barbed wire pieces, and 1 key at around 8-9 inches with my F5. If I ever find something WORTH finding I will be elated. Maybe I should stop running that old fence line. Good thing I am not in it for the money.
 
It is the man that makes the machine, not the machine that makes the man, when it comes to metal detecting. I have a coin shooter friend with an old White's Eagle Spectrum who will smoke 99.9% of the guys out there, no matter what machine they are using. While they are busy analyzing their target, he has already popped his coin out of the ground with his probe and is moving on to the next one. If there is one thing many of us have to do, it is stop looking down on those with supposedly lesser machines, because the vast majority of us started out with similar type detectors. Mine was a $60 Radio Shack detector and yet I made some nice finds with it. It is time to give encouragement to those just starting out in our great hobby, not belittle them for the machine they are using, For many often that is all they can afford....
 
For many often that is all they can afford....
Click to expand...
I couldn't afford to spend a lot. I got an Ace 250, a dd and a super sniper, as well as a Propointer. Initially I thought I got the wrong rig. I wasn't finding anything worthwhile. Then I practiced. And practiced. And practiced some more... I spent time burying specific targets to see how the machine acts. Now it's great. I spend more time pulling coins and less time wondering if I'm doing it right. Have I missed some great finds because the Ace 250 isn't deep enough or able to tell me the conductivity, or because of nearby trash? Definitely. Have I found more than without a detector? You bet.
Originally, one of my stipulations on the new detector I was buying was the depth indicator. I figured that would be incredibly useful. However, after using it for a few months, I stopped looking at that indicator. Finding the target with the propointer makes it easy to locate without knowing the specific depth.

I think if I had coice of any detector out there, I'd pick the deepest no-frills tone machine with decent notching. That's all I'd need. For now, the Ace has definitely paid for itself in enjoyment alone...
 
Hi GoVidGo, shame on that guy for his putdown. Plain to see he is a bit short on class and character. His time will surely come if it hasn't already when he gets his butt smoked bigtime by one of those guys with a machine he is putting down on. Most of us have already learned how that goes. Absolutely correct about your "Beast" of a friend. They are "out there" and we all will meet one sooner or later. LOL, the one in our crew has smoked the rest of us so much when we gather up for a hunt we all "tighten up" and don't spend a lot of time walking in his tracks.And he can afford any hi $$ machine there is. He knows what he is doing with that ole 66 and 65. Lol,Ouch, he is sometimes so painful!! We love him like crazy though and appreciate our time we get to spend together.Our "Beast" is special to me because I first introduced him to detecting. For me that is what detecting is all about. Good friends making for Great times. Finding stuff is great but secondary for me.. When I am with my friends and we are all swapping yarns /lies I would probably be just as happy if I was digging nothing but horseshoes found with a magnet "ductaped" to an old broom handle!.I can see that now,,,,Yeah, hey, fellers, I know this one came off Andy Jackson's horse when they all came down this road. Yeah, that'll work!! HH,Charlie
 
My son, who is now 27, got a Tesoro Silver Umax for Christmas many years ago. He will absolutely smoke anyone with any detector, no matter how long they've used it. I don't know how he gets so much out of an entry level detector, although it is a good one, but he does. I have never ever seen a time when he didn't make the top finds in hot ground, beach, you name it. He just laughs when people make fun of his detector, because they don't know what's coming. And he has the means to buy any detector on the market.
 
I agree 100%. If anyone looked at my line of detectors they might say I owned all back up detectors. What I like the best about what I own is that I did not have to pay a lot for them and I get hours of enjoyment out of them. My Compadre is my favorite detector. It has found me my best stuff and is my least expensive detector. It is not my back up detector, but my go to detector. I have found gold jewelry, silver jewelry. A 1935 d buffalo nickel a 1945 war nickel and a silver dime with it recently. Today I took it out hunting in the snow with the control box covered and found close to $4.00 in clad, including a dollar coin. My point is it is not how expensive your detector is, but how well you learn it as the operator. I saw a guy with a more expensive detector in the park the other day and I had my Compadre. I was digging targets right and left and he had paid about $600 to $700 more for his machine than I had and we were finding the same stuff. Mainly clad that day. I have found some really amazing things with my so called line of back up detectors. Needless to say I will be keeping what I have for a long time. To all of you who have people scoff at your detectors and call them back up detectors. Learn your detectors well and then smile at the ignorant people and enjoy the hobby finding the treasure they may miss. HH
 
I personally think the amount you spend or the type of detector you have doesn't matter.
As long as you are having fun. I'm new to metal detecting. Been doing it for about 6 months now.
Some people have inferiority complexes. They have to feel they have the best and think you should
Be the same way. It all goes back to the old saying one mans trash is another mans treasure.
 
You are right, sir. It is a hobby, enjoy it as such and the rewards will be worthwhile. As stated previously, getting out with friends who share the same passion for the hobby may be more important than the actual finds. Any decent detector will do what these things are called....METAL detect. Sure, if you spend much more money on a top of the line machine, it CAN give you more information....IF you took the time to LEARN it and all it is telling you. But if you have a top of the line machine and didn't learn it or even if you think you did but are only digging the SUPPOSED good indications, someone with a lesser bells and whistles machine can come behind you and dig good targets you missed. How many times have you read...Dug an iffy signal that I almost passed on and glad I did because it was a ring or an old coin partially masked or on edge throwing the VDI off. Look at all the posts on the simple Tesoro Compadre and their finds. GL and HH.
 
My buddy with his top of the line detector he knows well went over a signal at an old house site and said it was a pull tab. My son ran the Silver over it and said that it wasn't a pull tab. My buddy told him to go ahead and dig it then. 1827 gold quarter eagle came to the surface in XF condition-about $9000. Paid for the Silver and then some.
 
That's why I try to dig pull tab signals.....
 
We get too obsessed over brand names and complexity.

Simpler machines work great too, and not every machine excels in every environment.

Lots of good finds are made with every kind of detector.

As I ribbed a friend of mine who had just found a quarter with his E-Trac: "Awesome! Only 5,999 more of those things and the machine will pay for itself!" :rofl:
 
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