what machine is better?

mrguby

whites or a minelab? and can i get a decent machine from radio shack.

BentFork

I have a White's and a Minelab. Both make very good machines. What type of hunting are you planning on doing? From your profile I assume you're thinking about beach hunting. IMO, if it's salt water and beaches you want to hunt then buy a Minelab Excalibur. Machines that are turf oriented don't work well in salt water - in dry sand they will do okay though.

G Man

speer34

I've never used either one of those detectors. I do know this--the detector is only as good as the person holding it!!!!!! Some detectors do have more "umph" to them than others, but I believe that all middle line detectors compared against one another will be equally impressive. This also holds true with top line detectors. A lot of it depends on how well you know your machine. A person who has spent 10 years on a machine (with normal to great use) will normally out perform someone who is brand new to that machine. It takes time to learn what it is telling you, but you can always learn something each and every time you go out. I've been at it for a little over three years now and I can honestly say, I normally learn something new about what my detector is telling me at least each week or so. I tend to be a slow learner so maybe that's the problem

While I say that the middle and top line detectors are all equally impressive (others will strongly disagree with me) I'm not so convinced on the lower end detectors. Some are cheaply made and can't find a coke can under the grass. I would recommend you stay away from any Chinese/Korean made cheapo detectors. It's just not worth your time or your money, no matter how cheap they are.

Good Luck!!!

BentFork

Speer is correct in that a detector is as only good as the person who uses it. Many people wonder why they never make good finds. Or they are always having problems because they don't know what the machine is telling them. Some even suspect the machine is defective. First of all, read, read, read the manual once you've got your detector. And rather than just blindly digging a target, try to figure out what the target is first. Trash or treasure it doesn't matter. Even if you know it's trash - just dig it! If you're not correct in your assessment then ponder for a moment before you go on. But, a lot of trash sounding or reading target could be gold!

Also I tend to agree with Speer's opinion on detectors. The low end machines do not perform as well. And usually what happens is you find yourself almost immediately upgrading to a higher priced/ more capable machine if you intend on being a serious hobbiest.

G Man

ricko

Speer and Bentfork give excellent advice. Research is the key before buying (analyze WHAT you will be doing and match it to the machine, go to MD shops, try some etc). Then it is practice, practice, practice.... which, translates to usage and having fun with your machine and hobby. Cheers, RickO

Johnp

I also have a white DFX and a Minelab Excalibur for water hunting.

I would say that White DFX is a great and easy machine to use. The Minelab competition is the SE its a little harder to use but really good and I think its deeper than the White machine

SILVERSMYTH

Have a Whites Spectrum XLT that I bought a year or 2 after they first came out .(199?)
Only detector i have ever owned and I LOVE IT!!!!!
Havn't had much time to get out last 3 or 4 years.
HOPE to get hunting a little bit again when spring gets here.