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Need advice

Aaron04Aaron04 Posts: 135
in Metal Detecting
I was wondering what type of detector is the top of the line model at the moment ? Im looking to buy a nice one and Im willing to spend up to $1,000 .Any recomendations ? I own a house from the 1840's and cant wait to tear the yard apart LOL.I have found numerous old marbles just digging holes for planting flowers so Im kind of excited to metal detect it.

Comments

  • kevinstangkevinstang Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭
    A top line detector will cost slightly more than $1000 today with accessories, you can get a nice one for that money, but if you don't know how to use it properly you would probably be wasting your money right off. Its taken me nearly 10 years to get the hang of detecting- doing it only occassionly the first 8 1/2 years I didn't learn much or find much. The last year or so with more practice and with tips from this forum and other on line sites I have found alot better stuff and learned to weed out the trash. I'm partial to Garrett's, White's are good machines as well-and there are several other very good machines, you should be able to find the company websites online and search their products lines. Good luck!
  • HKnJHKnJ Posts: 415
    I agree with Kevinstang. A top of the line in the market tector could go for over a grand but these normally
    need lot practice. If you don't intend to detect regularly you might need to look at something simple and
    turn-on-and-go type. I have good luck with Minelab but other brands like Whites I'm sure perform just as well.

    Using a top of the line tector does not mean that you will automatically find goodies. If there is a detecting
    club where you are at I suggest you sit in one of their meetings and have a feel of what metal detecting as
    a whole is like and check out their equipments.

    Good luck and I hope this helps.
    image
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,530 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There is no need to spend over a grand for a top-of-the-line machine if you shop around. Not only can you get still-new-in-box deals for less than that, but you can also get good used ones for considerably less.

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  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The White's DFX is an outstanding machine... in that price range. Yes, you need to learn some things to utilize it to the full extent of it's capabilities - but there is a dedicated DFX website and at least two very helpful, easy to use books that make the learning curve very sharp. I would invest in the best... otherwise, unless your interest is transitory, you will just spend the money later. Cheers, RickO
  • millenniummillennium Posts: 3,305
    Shop around like most of the guys here said....you can get a top of the line detector for around 800.00....BUT, if you don't take the time to learn the machine, and use the machine as often as you can, you will be wasting your time. These machines will return in finds what you put in with homework, research and effort.....Anything less, and you will be in the multitudes that gave up because the gold wasn't just popping out of the ground.
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  • sumrtymsumrtym Posts: 394 ✭✭✭
    Honest opinions on machines I'd recommend:

    1. White's DFX - dual frequency, but I find the 3 kHz to be a bit unstable. Typically run it in 15 kHz only mode. Good at picking through trash looking for jewelry. Depth doesn't seem to compare to older Eagle Spectrum (model prior to the XLT), but easily hits 6-7". Signals also don't seem to lock in as well for ID. Does a decent job on salt water beaches in dual-frequency mode. White's ID system I still think is one of the best / easiest on market, and the tone ID is nice on the machine. Fast-sweep machine.

    2. Minelab Explorer SE - Slow-sweep machine. Sounds can be frustrating (think a crazed flute player). Probably the deepest general purpose machine at the moment. Don't be fooled by the "28 frequency" or whatever they are saying now advertisements. The machine only sends 2 at any given moment, just like the DFX. High learning curve to this one. Not as well balanced as a DFX for swinging.

    3. Garrett GTI 2500 - Great depth, and dead-on ID capability. Garrett sometimes gets ignored in the typical White's vs Minelab debates. Very good pinpointing that's dead-on in this machine as well.

    4. White's MXT - Simpler than DFX to operate, better ground tracking circuitry, but if I remember correctly, one of the options you lose is tone ID. Works as a cheap gold nugget detector as well (better than DFX for that, but not as good as a dedicated gold machine). Otherwise, expect same results between DFX and MXT. I even know one person with one of both, and he tends to grab the MXT more often than not.

    I'd call those the top 4 machines for general detecting on the market at the moment.
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