Bang for your buck - metal detectors

[Goldpick]

Just having a bit of a thought about whether your personal detector really provides decent bang for your buck. Does buying a $2000 detector compared to a $300-500 detector give you 4 times the ability to pull good targets out of the ground, would you be happy with just 2 times the ability?

There is always the urge to upgrade, looking for that magical detector that will expose those hidden treasures better than the one before. How do you rate your favourite detector, and why do you think it offers good value for money. Has it delivered the results you expected, or have you found that finds have not necessarily increased dramatically after a hefty purchase.

Why I ask, is that people new to the scene always ask what is the best detector to buy for any given scenario, and I'm opening this to both new and superceded models. Many times we simply recommend the most expensive or what is thought to be the most capable detector available. When in reality it may be the number of hours spent behind the coil of a reasonably priced detector that dictates how well we can locate finds, whether it be coins, jewellery, relics or gold.

Can you honestly say that your detector has or will pay for itself (if looking valuables), or have you come to the realisation that you just have to take what you can get and just enjoy the great outdoors, afterall, not everyone is concerned about paying off their detector with their finds. (also think about all those accessory coils and gear you bought as well).

Were you happy to buy second hand, only to find that there was no real need to sell an arm or a leg to have success, or did you find buying a new model was the only way to become more successful? How long was the learning curve to allow you be a competant operator on your detector?

I think these are more realistic questions that newbies should probably ask, considering many have nil experience on detectors, netherlone know where to detect in the first place, or how recognise good targets. Whilst covering costs from detecting is always nice, it will also depend on many other factors like the immediate areas available for you to detect in, location, fuel used, time available and so on, so it may not be an achievable target for many.

Here's my two bobs worth:

Garrett Ace 250 - initial purchase price second hand was $250 with two coils, control box cover, charger with AA batteries, and headphones. Items of value found over the last year or two, $500+, rings and jewellery value not included.

Extra accessories bought, two coils approx $180.

Learning curve - easy to intermediate, depending on how you use the detector (discriminate mode or in "scan mode")

Main use - coinage and jewellery at parks and beaches.

Advantages - lightweight, excellent battery life, reliable, good discrimination as shallow to med depths, good range of coils, hot on modern coinage, especially in dry sand, cheap to buy second hand.

Disadvantages - slow recovery time, limited depth and discrimination capabilites with stock coils, no ground balance function, no true all metal mode, and dosen't like wet sand or mineralised ground.

Time spent on detector - 80% spent on the Ace, 20% on the Garrett Infinium, average of 3 times a week.

Garrett Infinium - bought for $750 second hand with 3 coils, charger, batteries, external powered speaker and headphones. Items of value found approx $150 in coinage plus unvalued jewellery, mainly silver.

Advantages - excellent depth on the beach, works well on wet/dry/in water, waterproof, reasonably lightweight, runs on 8 AA batteries which last for 2-3 all night hunts, coils reasonably cheap to purchase, works well in areas with EMI.

Disadvantages - PI detector, so you dig everything, including junk, fiddly coil and headphone connections that are prone to damage, relatively high maintenance costs, coils not of the highest quality. Goes nuts when batteries near exhausted.

Extra accessories bought - one coil, plus new headphones, around $200 worth.

Learning curve - med to high, not so bad once you work out the little niggles involved in maintaining this detector properly. Beach is relatively easy, dig everything including faint threshold peaks.

Time spent on detector - 20%, average of once a week or less, owned for two years.

Areas used - mainly beach detecting, probably only 3 times at local goldfields

So at the end of all that, financially I am not on top if you consider both detector purchases and accessories, but still on the way to partly covering my costs, and the initial outlay hasn't been huge. If I had not bought the infinium, I would have been better off financially, but I consider it a good learning experience for my first PI detector. Would I recomend the Ace as a cost effective detector - yes, the Infinium, probably not. But to be fair, my time on the Infinium has be limited in comparison, and with very little time spent on the goldfields.

 

[Goldtarget]

It's an interesting topic GP, I have had similar thoughts myself, especially since taking possession of my last detector, and thinking of getting another. I purchased (near new) a garrett scorpion when I was a younger on the back of the Minelab explosion. My interest was sparked when I was hearing stories of good gold coming out of the ground. I guess pre Internet things were different and once I decided I wanted one I bought it. I payed that machine off in less than 3 months and hunted every Park and location I could find and get to, old house sites railway stops, and conned mates and parents into taking me to other places once I'd exhausted all the options. I don't ever remember hearing or seeing to many coin shooters back then mostly I heard about detecting for gold. I never did have any luck not a single nugget with it. The depth was OK and as a pup it seemed deep. A couple of mates got their machines and as we drifted to further reaches they stayed ddetecting whilst I lost interest. Safe to say girls won out over treasure.

I recently brought an F75 from a mate who practically gifted it to me and went back to coin shooting. I can tell you these new machines leave the old ones for dead and are much more intuitive to learn, but perhaps this is due to the learning curve I originally had for comparison. The depth is incredible, discrimination in tone and id, lightweight, insanely fast recovery, and available just about anywhere now. It's incredible just how far things have progressed in general, for a very reasonable price you can get some fantastic tech. I've gone back over my old haunts and pulled some hidden treasures that have given it a special place in my mind. I haven't assessed the cost recovered ratio but the outlay was quite small for the ability to recover these hidden items. My true regret is I may have effectively hunted out my favorite spots. I would guess that I've gotten maybe 250 signals I hadn't before of which about half have yielded some item of note, and even in modern times with all the detecting that goes on that machine well and truly bested my greatest day with my old 15kz scorpion.

To be short I think any machine with enough time spent on it searching coins and relics is good value in the modern offering. You raise the point well about cost vs ability is a tricky one to quantify. I guess my thoughts are you get what you pay for, and only when starting from the lower end does it seem to be a ever increasing cost to upgrade. To clarify most machines at say $1000+ should for the most part pick up more targets at greater depth and ina wider range of environments and conditions that those at half that price can, but I understand that point is very debatable. Operator proficiency also has a huge bearing, especially in relation to the use and understanding and the machines capabilities and limitations. For example I wouldn't put a top fueller down the drag strip, only time and education would allow me to do it proficiently. I look forward to yours and others thoughts on thread and thank you for making a excellent contribution.

 

[Dutchy]

Here is something I posted on another forum last week similar to this. A person asked which is the best detector for coins/relics. By the way I've paid for all my detectors a few times over with the below methods.

Just don't get sucked in by the marketing crap that this detector is the "best and you will find everything with it with little to no experience" . The one you have is fine (the person had a Minelab 705). The key is getting a decent one (you already have) and learning everything about it. Your should become an expert with that detector and know what its telling you. At the end of the day the main thing is research and putting a decent detector in a target rich environment. The 'best' detector in the world will not find anything if no targets are there. Human nature is to always look for the easiest way to do things and buying a 'best' marketed detector is a way of just picking up a detector with little to no experience and finding heaps. Afraid in the real world good consistent finds comes with time on the machine and research.

Once you have 'mastered' your detector and you might think about upgrading. Saves you money and if you plan to spend a bit of time in the hobby then invest in the big machines.

Just like using the most expensive fishing gear in the world and fishing in a barren lake.
Good luck.

 

[loamer]

Sadly I see many folk turning up in the goldfields with the latest and greatest machines, usually a retirement present and little or no idea as to how to use these machines. A couple of issues seem to blind these folk to the reality of gold prospecting (and that is what I know and do so I won't labour on talking about beach and park detecting).

Firstly, as pointed out, the commercial advertising. I use the older Gold gem and Treasure magazines as a rich source of information. (The new ones are tripe in my opinion). In front of me I have the GGT 1981 yearbook (the one with Premier Dick hamer on the cover with the Hand of Faith.) It is full of advertising blurbs - Bounty Hunter - The one that gets the gold. CScope - G Max Super depth. Compass Magnum 2 Auto - Finds More. etc etc. Minelabs/Whites/Garretts advertising is just the latest in a long line. BUT -very persuasive to a punter. Added to this we find the 'independent' reviews and the large finds associated with these machines. The recent big find at Ballarat with a 5000 being the latest. (Never forget the hand of faith was found with a very early Garrett). So, put good advertising, reviews (including this forum) and the hope of a big find together - the thought process begins."I must have the best to find gold". Not true, as pointed out above.

Secondly, the lure of the retired/semi-retired or the fortune hunter that gold is just waiting below the surface. This is factually correct and good and consistent finds do occur -myself included (more of why later). In the case of a GPX5000, it is a very expensive start up piece of kit. I and others advise to start with a more user friendly and cheaper earlier model. Sometimes this is met with acceptance, other times not. The reason not? Because I and others don't want modern competition on the goldfields. Because we have 'secret'spots full of gold we don't want discovered. If I had a secret spot full of gold-let me tell you I would have emptied it long ago.

Thirdly. False expectations. This is the sum of point one and point two. The viewpoint becomes clouded with the false premise - I want gold, Brand XYZ says it finds gold, I see all the reports on gold, therefore, I will pay the big $ and get my $ back quickly. To be blunt -no you won't and the % that do is comparable with the old time diggers -about 5% success rate.

Yes, a few of us find consistent good gold BUT a lot of us have been in this caper for many years. Most started out as panners, the long banned dredgers, moved to early VLFs then onto PIs etc. It was a long and hard apprenticeship. We have built up years of corporate knowledge, research material, maps, contacts, etc. Some went on as dealers, trainers, professionals etc. Some were happy to just ping some nice gold and have an enjoyable hobby.

And therein lies the secret - an enjoyable hobby. What are you prepared to spend on this hobby and remember, most hobbies don't pay. (example - $5,000 golf clubs -you will never win the Australian Open but have a lot of fun). I reckon after all these years I am about even and the good finds are outweighed by the very long and lean periods. Even with good knowledge of techniques, detectors, ground reading ability, we so called 'old hands' still have duffer days/weeks and months.

So to summarise 'bang for buck', if I were just starting out I would do a meticulous set of sums to determine what I am prepared to spend on this hobby, and spend also includes time and lots of it. I would consider my health (if older) considerations. Am I prepared to put up with 95% of the time NOT being ideal detecting weather, then the digging, walking, bending, load carrying etc. Am I prepared to do a cost analysis (if recovering costs or making a profit are key motives). Example: "I found 2 ounces in WA." But how much did it cost. If cost is not a consideration - good luck. Am I prepared to attend training (and pay for it), am I prepared to invest in good maps and navigational tools, am I prepared for the ancillary costs -tyres, licence fees, fuel, wear and tear etc AND this is before I even think about a detector, picks, shovels, rakes, clothing, accommodation etc etc.

There are numerous posts on our great forum giving advise on detectors and their capabilities. There are also some very good prospectors but few make a living from this. It will cost $1000s no matter what you do. Just driving to a goldfield ( and some of us live smack bang in the middle) costs $$. Before starting out, set moderate and realistic goals, determine what you are prepared to lose (if you give it up early, your new detector is now just a second-hand one with a hefty drop in value.) In the end, its personal choice, but do not have rose coloured glasses. The goldfields to this day are littered with broken dreams, all based on finding the elusive yellow. She is a hard and unforgiving mistress.

 

[Guest]

Bang for your buck = [(wants/needs x hopes/desires) + (best detector x available funds) enjoyment] x (required return % (between 0-100%) ancillary costs)

It's a complex formula but at the end of the day you really need to understand what it is you want to do. I.e. its no good spending $200 on a detector then expecting to get any bang for your buck or even enjoyment swinging it in highly mineralised ground or wet beach sand. Whatever you get needs to be fit for purpose & sometimes that will mean extra $$$'s.

 

[KarlS]

OK, this is my point of view on this subject based on my circumstances. Being retired and living on pension this activity have to be costs neutral or turn some profit. By having some past mining experience ( opals) and trade electronic background it is bit easier to achieve. For some 20 years in had Tandy analog detector that I used occasionally and found quite few of coins and some jewelry. As I was still working I did not care much about the costs. I guess the detector has paid for itself many times over. After I stopped working I had to give up my principal hobby that was Astronomy as it was too expensive. I also needed some exercise ( I gave up hunting after new stupid gun laws come to force). I started to go out in the mornings with old detector and found some coins and lots of junk. After some research I purchased X-TERRA 305. I could not believe how much easier it was to find coins with this new machine. The pinpointer and 6" coil brought the cost to $700 and I have recovered it in bit over two months. The decision to upgrade to X-terra 705 come mosty because I start my detecting around 5.30 in the morning when it is still dark and 705 have illuminated screen and it could be used in prospecting mode to search for gold. I bought X-terra 705 gold pack second hand for $700. I found new machine to do in urban area everything I needed and I don't think I will look for other detector for long time. I also took 705 to the bush and come back with two pennies and thre pence for 7 hours of detecting. Not too good. My total coins found with those two detectors is now bit over $1800 and some jewelry. But, and this is big but, I do detect two and half hours a day, almost every day ( weather and circumstances permitting). So it is possible to make this hobby cost neutral,. Jumping from one machine to the one that supposed be better will not achieve it, it will only cost you money. Basically, once you have reasonable machine, you have to understand it and spend time using it.
Gold detecting outside of towns and cities is little bit different in the way that you don't have fenced areas like parks and sports ovals there where gold is. You have to research and find places where gold may be. Then you have expenses like fuel costs. If you're living in Sydney, to come even, you need to find about 2 grams of gold every trip . I recently bought White's SPP detector for $1200. So far I have done 8 hours detecting with it and three trips out to bush for no gold. I doubt very much that if I was using $6500 machine I would do any better. I simply did not walk over detectable piece of gold. On positive side, the wandering with SPP lead me to the spot where I panned half a gram of gold.
I think it will take me long time to recover costs of SPP . Meanwhile my coin detecting in city will pay for my search for gold in bush. Do I think about getting some better, faster, deeper detector - no, no way. I got two good VLF and PI detectors. Now I have learn more about the land where I'm searching.
Karl