Very excited about my new Omega 8000 but.............

[Ivan]

First ... the rest of the story. Was in a detector shop and yes on a whim I bout the Omega 8000. From the moment I picked it up I loved the ergonomics/the feel and balance of the detector the screen, liked the sounds too. So I bought it... I never do this , but this was my time for an impulse buy!! I thought that I read somewhere that "Monty" said it was an O.K. detector, I think! But a very experienced fellow detectorist has said flat out that the Omega is not good on gold. I like to hunt for rings in ball fields and parks. He told me that I should have bouhgt a detector with a higher 15 KHZ frequency, and that the Omega is basically a coin machine, lousy on gold. I thought those freqencies were for nugget detectors...I don't hunt nuggets. According to him the Omega freqency is too low for gold ring hunting.Is he wrong on this one? So help me out here are Omega users finding gold rings ?How capable is the Omega for ring hunting?Have I picked a poor choice? Any suggestions or techniques I should use with this detector?Thanks for your comments, advice and tips.

 

[Flintstone]

Hi Ivan, I use a 6.59KHz and find gold rings, yours runs at 7.8 i think and it will do just as good. The higher the KHz the smaller the gold it will find, not that it won,t find gold. If you are going to CAL. to find gold nuggets then you need a higher KHz. but to find rings yours is fine. Hope you find alot and tell your friend about them. Good Luck Flintstone

 

[Hightone]

Yep. What Flintsone said. My F5 is the equivelant of the O 8000 only analog and digital rather than full digital. I find gold and rings. My threshold can be in the plus (+) to find small gold as well, just not as ssmall as the higher freq Golkd Bug 2. The khz thing is stretched out too much.

From Dave Johnson Essays
DS: Seems specialized detectorists feel frequency/khz is so important now, claiming a 7khz Coin$trike for example is for coins not relics. Is 13khz great for all-around hunting, & why don’t we see say 25khz units for relic hunters?

"In general, higher frequencies are better for smaller and lower conductivity stuff, and lower frequencies are better for larger and higher conductivity stuff. Relic hunters are generally looking for stuff that is smaller or lower conductivity than US clad, copper, and silver coinage. However, frequency is not critical, and a 7 kHz machine can be good on relics and a 13 kHz machine can be good on coins. Metal detector manufacturers generally avoid the 20-30kHz range because of electrical interference from military communications."- Dave Johnson-Fisher Engineer

 

[jim tn]

Never fear, the Omega finds gold rings down to at least pinky finger size with no problem. Not to long ago I dug a gold band that locked on 62, so one does have to dig non coin numbers often to find gold. And in conjunction, it really does love silver. Enjoy, it is a fun detector. HH jim tn

 

[MarkCZ]

Also, don't think you have to run the sensitivity up to 99 to get good depth! you really don't. Most times with the 11" DD coil I never go above 70. But! that extra range above 70 comes in real nice with the smaller 5" DD coil, which is much more resistant to EMI than the 11" DD. Some people get the high idea that a detector has as a problem if you can't run the sensitivity TO MAX with any coil! that's just not true. I find it really nice that it has a range above what it will run with the Large 11" DD, because with the smaller coils you wouldn't be able to find their max range.
With the 11" DD and a sensitivity setting of 68-70 and in West Virginia soil I'm getting good results down around the 7"-8" range on coin size targets.

And Monte has said lots of good things about the Omega!

Mark

 

[Furious T]

As Jim tn said, the Omega will find gold and sil ver, no trouble at all...I couldn't be happier with tallys in both those metals.

 

[Monte]

Was in a detector shop and yes on a whim I bout the Omega 8000. From the moment I picked it up I loved the ergonomics/the feel and balance of the detector the screen, liked the sounds too. So I bought it... I never do this, but this was my time for an impulse buy!!

One of the better 'impulse buys' you could have made. The Omega, in my opinion, is the best Teknetics model produced today.

I thought that I read somewhere that "Monty" said it was an O.K. detector, I think!

If you mean me, you are correct, with the exception of spelling as mine ends with an 'e' and not a 'y'. It was just four years ago this month that I used my Omega exclusively with only the 5" DD coil. I was on the mend after a fall off a ladder and I really appreciated the light weight, easy of adjustments, ad excellent performance as I started to get back into moving. I was still using my cane as I have since '94, but in September of that year, with only the Omega and 5" DD coil, I nabbed 895 coins, several silver jewelry items and three or four gold rings or pendants.

But a very experienced fellow detectorist has said flat out that the Omega is not good on gold.

I'd say he's not all that "experienced," at least enough with an Omega or other quality detectors in the lower popular frequency range, such as 6.59 kHz with White's and 7.8 kHz with the Teknetics and compatible Fisher models.

I like to hunt for rings in ball fields and parks.

Good places to find coins and jewelry, to be sure.

He told me that I should have bouhgt a detector with a higher 15 KHZ frequency, and that the Omega is basically a coin machine, lousy on gold.

Well, he's wrong, unless he specifically isolated his remarks to tiny gold pickers and dinky gold nuggets. I have found more lower-conductive US 5¢ coins and gold jewelry of all shapes and sizes and types with Tesoro's of ± 10 kHz, White's models at 6.59 kHz, and the Teknetics Omega and Delta at 7.8 kHz.

I thought those freqencies were for nugget detectors...I don't hunt nuggets.

I have found most of my gold nuggets using detectors that operated at 13.77 kHz to 15 kHz, but there are three current models that operate at ±14 kHz [size=small](White's MX5, M6 and MXT All-Pro)[/size] that are really promoted mainly for Coin & Jewelry Hunting and Relic Hunting. Only the MXT All-Pro has more control in the All Metal mode for gold nugget hunting. Today too many models operate at even higher frequencies and are promoted more for gold nugget hunting, yet some makers seem to want to try and make us believe they are great for Relic Hunting and Coin Hunting as well.

According to him the Omega freqency is too low for gold ring hunting. Is he wrong on this one?

Yes, he is wrong. I have found a lot of gold jewelry with an Omega using the stock 5½x9¾ Concentric coil, 8" Concentric coil, and sub-5" DD coil.

So help me out here are Omega users finding gold rings?

Yes!

How capable is the Omega for ring hunting?

Very!

Have I picked a poor choice?

Definitely not!

Any suggestions or techniques I should use with this detector? Thanks for your comments, advice and tips.

Don't sweep too quickly, especially in higher mineralized ground.

Run the Sensitivity as high as possible w/o EMI chatter.

Use the least Discrimination level you can. I prefer '1', but no more than '16' to '17' to just barely reject iron nails.

My Tone ID preferences are either the 2-Tone audio [size=small](my favorite)[/size] or 4-Tone ID audio [size=small](I like for tot-lots and other shallower flash money sites)[/size].

Be sure to use the Ground Grab automated circuitry to GB before hunting, and update as necessary if ground conditions change.

Enjoy your time afield and best of success to you with a very good detector.

Monte

 

[Ivan]

Thanks to all of you guys... doubt has been removed. And yes Monte... I was reffering to you sorry about the incorrect spelling of your name.

 

[Hank68]

Congrats on your machine!!!!!!

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

One of the better 'impulse buys' you could have made. The Omega,in my opinion, is the best Teknetics model produced today.

Monte:

Why do you think it's the best Teknetics produced today?

What does it do better than the others?

Thank you.

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

Any insight you may have on the Omega compared to other Teks would be greatly appreciated. I'm kooking at getting another detector soon.

 

[MarkCZ]

One of the better 'impulse buys' you could have made. The Omega,in my opinion, is the best Teknetics model produced today.

Monte:

Why do you think it's the best Teknetics produced today?

What does it do better than the others?

Thank you.

I know I can't speak for Monte, but it the past while reading his post about the Omega I'm thinking in his reference to the Omega he's saying that the features, easy setup, ease of use, overall performance, weight and handling, and price makes it one of the better values (or one of the best values) in the Teknetics lineup.

Mark

 

[Ivan]

I find that when Monte rates a detector highly it is usually for good reasons. A very experienced detectorist..................who is not prone to B.S. !! Tells it like it is...thanks Monte.

 

[goldman55]

Remember their is a different in Gold Nugget's and Gold Rings Gold Rings has other metals in them like Nickel 10k= 42% gold 14k= 58% rest is alloy metal that is mostly nickel. That's why they tell you to test on a Nickel if you have no Gold ring to test because a Nugget is about 99% pure Gold. A coin machine will hit Gold rings all day long if the coil goes over it. Good Luck Hunting

Bill

 

[Monte]

n/t

 

[Monte]

I know I can't speak for Monte, but it the past while reading his post about the Omega I'm thinking in his reference to the Omega he's saying that the features, easy setup, ease of use, overall performance, weight and handling, and price makes it one of the better values (or one of the best values) in the Teknetics lineup.

Mark

In a nut shell, you DID speak for me. I have owned every Teknetics model [size=small](current FTP Tek. versions)[/size], including 2 T2's and 4 Omega's, 2 Gammas, 2 Euro-Tek Pros and some comparable Fisher models, like the new F19.

I like the Omega because it uses the excellent feeling handle like the T2.

I like the Omega because it has mode display information than any other Tek. model and most competitors.

I like the Omega because I like 'simple,' and the Omega is simple to get in action and make any changes needed on-the-fly.

I like the Omega because it will give a tighter, more accurate VDI read-out on targets than the T2, and better readings on mid-depth and deeper than the T2 and other Tek. models.

I like the Omega because it handles well, and with the right search coils I made a lot of very good finds with it.

I like the Omega because the visual display is clear and easy-to-read, and display information is larger, bolder, and easily viewed.


There's no such thing as a 'perfect' detector, so I ought to note the negatives I had/have as well.

1.. The Omegas I have had were some of the worst EMI models of any detector I have ever owned or used. Now, that's not an 'always' thing and most often I ran the Sensitivity at '99', but there were times when in an urban environment I was too close to annoying power sources that called for a lower setting, down in the low '70s' or even lower to about '50' to '54.' I ran them at '99' or as high as possible most of the time because that's how I am, but .... I also understand how they work.

2.. The Omega's I've had, regardless of the coil mounted or the 'version' number, seem to be designed with a little more Sensitivity/Gain than they could have been. Yes, they might have EMI problems partly due to weaker search coil designs that could be better shielded, and maybe the electronics design and packaging could have been a bit 'tighter' and less prone to electrical interference, but the Omega works fine at a setting close to ±'70,' which just happens to be close the an audible Threshold in the All Metal mode.

I know many people think I it is set too far below the maximum setting number of '99' that it is a serious loss of Sensitivity, but I feel that running it anywhere above about '70' is really working at an enhanced level. Some makes use a factory 'preset' marker. such as White's with their Classics, M6, MXT series and others, or Tesoro with an orange-colored range in the upper adjustment that they call "Max Boost". If FTP used a similar suggestion, such as saying the Omega's default or suggested preset operation setting was '70,' then we'd know to lower if from there if it was noisy, or increase the Sensitivity if it was operating smoothly.

3.. The control housing/mounting design leaves a bit to be desired, especially if someone is not cautious in how they treat their detector. Some I had feel very rigid and pressing on the outside positioned touchpads didn't seem to nudge the housing much from its position. Others, however, were quite flexible when pressing on the outer portion of the housing. Very flexible to the point of annoying and causing concerns about breakage.

4.. I like how some of my favorite detectors have rod snap-locks with 2 buttons instead of 1 snap button, and the rod-locks snug up very tightly and the rods stay aligned well and the search coils is on a nice alignment with the control housing. All of the Teknetics, Fisher and Bounty Hunter models I have used, with one exception, have been looser even with the rod-lock was tight. The two new Fisher F19's I bought lock up more rigidly and lack the loose wobbly feel.

5.. I often like to search lower-target areas, such as fields or the woods, in the Discriminate mode without using any rejection. That is, I like to hunt at a true Zero Disc. setting. That's not with a setting that is labeled '0' like some Teknetics and other models, but a true, non-discrimination setting. The T2 is the ONLY Teknetics models that adjusts to accept ALL ferrous and non-ferrous targets in a very ground mineral challenged site such as pea gravel or the very iron mineralized fresh-water beach sands we have in many areas. The Omega doesn't adjust to a true 'Zero Disc.' setting.

Overall, I still feel the Omega is a very good coin hunting model in the Teknetics line-up, and can be a pretty decent relic hunting detector as well. We've seen some newer version models in the Bounty Hunter brand, and the Fisher brand, so I think it will be interesting to see what future Teknetics models will come out. A personal wish would be to see a smaller diameter, round-shaped Concentric search coil be introduced.

Still, for the dollar, the Omega is a very good Teknetics selection.

Monte

 

[John in Nawth Carolina]

n/t