Which Detector Do You Use and Why?

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G

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Thought i might start this thread for an educational
Purpose for myself and anyone else who may be
interested.

The 3 questions are simple.

1. Which machine do you use?
2. Why do you use this particular machine?
(Your answer should not be because you like
This brand or your a fan of it Because This helps
No one).

Some reasons why you may like using your detector
Could be the Digital screen, depth the weight of your
machine and so on.

3. Anything you don't like about your detector?

Looking forward to reading your replies.
 
For me one is the my old serial 1021 fisher cz3d which
Was made in the old Fisher plant and tuned to find a
Dime at just under 12".

I love the way deep targets are detected either by a faint
Signal or crackle. The other thing i love about it is the
Discriminator which signal gets cut out but no loss of
Depth is lost due to the discriminator when being used.
Its also multi frequency and can be used on wet sandy
Beaches.

Would be awesome if it was a bit lighter.
 
GPX5000 why ? because ITS SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST. I liked my 4000 better
X-Terra 705 see above post from digger Dan ( its the bosses'.)
 
1. Minelab Explorer SE Pro

2. Ticks most boxes as a competant wet sand and park detector, goes deep, decent amount if options and controls for future proofing. Great design ergonomics. Share coils, lower & upper shaft sections with Etrac and Safari. Pricing was also a major reason for purchase, great run-out deal.

3. Weight can be an issue with larger coils, even with the platypus style coil. Slower swing speed is not for some. Coil cable can be a pain to fed through lower shaft ( hence now have separate lower shafts for each coil). :)
 
2 detectors for two purposes and value for money (the ATGold has paid itself off in 8 months!)

Garrett AT Gold:
Pros- light weight, user friendly-fast start up, good versatility, discrimination and pinpointing in trashy areas.
Cons- No good in salty conditions, should have more customisable settings.

Garrett ATX:
Pros- Great depth at the beach, ruggedness, waterproofed, collapsable, pinpointing, fast startup.
Cons- Heavy bugger(but I'm used to it now), shoulder strap works but a bit uncomfortable.
 
I have a GP3000 which I haven't used very much...so far only managed a 2.4 grammer with it..

Also a xterra 305 which I find to be a great little coin machine...it has payed itself off so far on about 8 trips...
I like the visual display on it (big numbers) compared to my sons Ace 250...having said that the Ace is also a mighty machine
the exterra has great discriminating capabilities in areas where you don't want to dig everything..like footy grounds or parks...I only pop things with a screwdriver so most finds are shallow...I set my sensitivity low so I don't go too deep in these areas... The ground balance is very good too I find..
I haven't tried it on a beach so can't say how it would perform there..
 
Hi Wolf, currently have 3 machines.

1. GPX5000
2. Because atm it is the best machine available for detecting gold in hot ground, where i detect.
3. A big learning curve to get the most out of the machine. FP is ok, but so much better when you ring it's neck.
which is all good, it is not easy or cheap to detect gold, nor should it be. There is no cheap solution.

1. SD2200D
2. It was the best available when I got it. The discriminator is still invaluable. Punches hard and deep.
3. There is nothing I don't like about this machine, so easy to use.

1. Garrett ADS Groundhog
2. Can't bear to part with it, has pulled up some beautiful gold in it's years.
3. Now, everything. It is loud and unpredictable, screams when you don't want it to.
 
1. Gpx 5000 for gold
2. Xterra 70 for playgrounds , it's light n easy to use.
3. Fisher older model waterproof detector for beach No longer used only a spare.
4. Whites surf pro used in salt water.
5. CTX used on beach, rivers, parks etc. But found it to be to sensitive in playgrounds & cant get close enough to a lot of play equipment, Especially the aluminium poles.
I use it in water but haven't been game to go any deeper than control box at present.
I have also found it great on goldfields in high rubbish area's & was amazed at size of gold it can detect & how well it handles mineralized ground.
Much harder to learn than xterra & still don't feel like it is part of me like I do when using Xterra.
 
Garrett AT Pro

Waterproof to 10ft (3m). Ideal for use in both fresh and saltwater, AT Pro International will ground balance to saltwater.

Highly Recommended for: COIN Hunting, Jewelry Hunting, Relic Hunting, Cache Hunting, Prospecting, Competition Events, Beach/Fresh Water Hunting

This all-terrain detector offers new and exclusive Garrett technology that makes it ideal for hunting coins, relics, caches, jewelry, and even GOLD NUGGETS. Select from either Standard or Professional search modes with enhanced audio features.

Features:
- Pro Mode Audio: Proportional Audio and Tone Roll Audio features allow the user to hear characteristics of a target as they would in a True All-Metal Mode.
- High-Res Iron Discrimination: Use touchpads to set iron discrimination in
one of 40 levels for precise ability to separate good targets from trash.
- Digital Target ID: 0 to 99 Target ID scale offers increased ability to distinguish
one target's conductivity from another.
- Iron Audio: Allows the user to hear discriminated iron and to alter the detector's mid-tone signal's range
- Fast Recovery Speed: Allows greater ability to pick out good targets amongst trash
- All Terrain Versatility: Weatherproof HOUSING DESIGNED for dusty, humid or wet
environments; unit can be submerged to a maximum 10-foot depth.
- 15 kHz frequency: improved detection of small targets, GOLD NUGGETS, jewelry
- Ground Balance: automatic and manually adjustable for improved
performance
- Graphic Target Analyzer (GTA): identifies target's conductivity
- CONTINUOUS Coin Depth Indicator: to determine target depth
- Battery Condition Indicator: shows battery life continually
- Search Modes (Discrimination Patterns): 6 plus electronic pinpointing
- Select from Custom, Zero or COINS in Standard Mode or in Professional Mode
 
Forgot to mention my other detectors:

Whites GMT - barely used yet, so no real info except it was a lot lighter than I thought.

Garrett Ace 250

Pros: very lightweight, you can swing it all day. Excellent at coin shooting on dry sand, grass and playgrounds. The bell tones are great on the goldies, and it excels at working close to playground equipment with the sniper coil. Very reliable, not much goes wrong with them, and very economical - lasts for ages on 4 AA batteries. Lots of aftermarket coils available for the Ace.
Overall, a very fun detector to own, and more capable than people give it credit for.

Cons: Lacks depth for accurate discrimination and tones on stock coils, not particularly good on wet sand, really needs a true all-metal mode for seeking deeper coins. Doesn't like mineralised ground with preset ground balance. Pricey to buy new vs some other more feature packed detectors.

Garrett Infinium LS

Pros: goes very deep, particularly on the beach. Reasonably light weight, auto ground balancing, frequency shift for reducing EMI, waterproof, multi use detector. Coils are a hell of a lot cheaper than on the current ATX. Reasonably good detecting time on 8 AA batteries

Cons: not as good on small gold as the current crop of pi detectors, you dig a lot of junk on the beach - did someone mention bobby pins and sparklers? Terribly fiddly coil and heaphone connectors that are prone to pin and shielding damage. Can be temperamental at times, not really a good detector for a newbie.

Teknetics G2 (aka Goldbug Pro)

Pros: Almost as lightweight as the Ace 250, with a very comfortable shaft setup = less fatigue. Large easy to read display, easy ground balancing with ground grab button, or manual method if preferred. You don't need a science degree to setup and start detecting, very easy to use. Excellent recovery time over nulled targets and iron, very effective discrimination - probably the best I've used, along with the Tesoro Vaquero. Very good at picking out targets masked by iron and other junk, and doesn't lose much depth in discrimination mode, unlike sone other detectors. Balances all the way to salt, making it very usable on wet sand. Cheaper than the Goldbug Pro, plus can use any of the goldbug coils on the G2. You also still get VCO tones on high conductor targets in discrimination mode vs a straight beep or grunt. Has small and large headphone sockets, negating the need for adapters.

Can't comment re gold detecting, yet to use it for that purpose.

Overall, although primarily marketed as a gold detector, it is really seems to be a jack of all trades detector, that is pleasingly effective in environments that it wasn't really intended for. Never thought I'd say that, but there you go.

Cons: Needs a backlit screen (F19), control box mount a bit flimsy, buttons can be hard to find at night, especially with weather resistant cover fitted or when wearing gloves. Could do with an optional mid tone for less conductive targets vs just high tones and grunts. No selective notching like on the F19, no volume control. Headphone sockets are on the left side of the control box, making it a pain for left handers (like me). Still likes aluminium bottle caps. :D
 
I use Tesoro vaquero as my pick up and go detector i know it back the front and 90 percent of the time i can tell what is about to come out of the ground
I use Tesoro Tejon for all my deep targets on clean ground as it is a bit sensitive in trashy areas
I use my Tesoro Cortes purely for coins in good ground
I use my Tesoro Lobo on the goldfields and in trashy areas as i have worked out the discrimination fairly well but will get a minelab 4500 for gold soon
I use My Tesoro sand shark at the beach along with the Vaquero but the vaquero doesn't like wet mineralised sand great in dry sand with the 18 inch coil
I have a 18 inch by 3 coil for shallow coins when i want to cover a lot of ground after an event, . 1 Nel 12 inch dd, one original 12 dd, a spare concentric, a 4 inch for real heavy trash and a 6 inch dd also for trashy areas and a 14 inch dd but don't use it much upsets the balance and sometimes too deep for parks
 
1. I use the new Garrett ATX and I enjoy it greatly.

2. I use the ATX because I wanted to buy something that was a little better than the Garrett Scorpian I had, but I couldn't afford to buy the top of the range Minelab that was over $6000. I guess my purchase was funds based but I am really happy with my choice.
I find the ability of the detector to work under High tension power lines to be a great plus. This translates to the ability of the machine to work effectively in built-up areas and it not be affected by power lines and all the interference we live with on a day to day basis. All I have to do scan for the best working mode and the machine itself, picks the mode in which to work. GREAT. I was out only last week and realized I was directly under a power line when the ATX started to "warble". I rescanned and 35 seconds later the issue was fixed. Back to detecting.
Second, the machine has a IRON CHECK which means as I check for iron, I can determine whether to dig a target or not. It cuts down the amount of unnecessary digging I have to do on stuff that is only junk.

3. The one thing I don't like about my ATX is the length of cable for the headphones. [Or maybe its just the way I use the machine with the headphones attached.]
The other thing that peeves my greatly is the cost of the add-on elements for the ATX. $829 for the 20" coil and about $600 for the 8" coil seems enormous when a new coil company can do coils for a total of about $300. Seems we might be getting screwed.
 
PI

1. I use the Minelab GPX 4500. Here is a link to the manual in case you are interested. https://www.minelab.com/__files/f/3965/4901-0063-1.1 Instruction Manual GPX-4500_screen.pdf

Please don't pay $20 plus for the manual on ebay. :mad:

2. Why do I use it? I am certainly no Minelab apologist or promoter, but I will give them credit where credit is due - the GPX series with SETA technology are very good detectors;at the price, one would hope so but I guess we are paying the R&D costs etc. For the mineralised grounds here in Victoria, a PI is a must and a good PI (the 4500) fits the bill for me. An added bonus is that most DD and mono coils are inter-changeable on these detectors reducing costs on upgrades etc. The ability to run monos somewhat quietly is of course one of the greatest assets these detectors posses. The advertising of the capabilities and attributes is pretty spot-on so no need to re-gash these points here (four detectors in one etc). The negatives - as a reasonably experienced operator, I have a very good understanding of soil timings, search modes, configurations etc etc HOWEVER, for a brand new user to these detectors, the 4500 can be a daunting machine to understand. Front end cap/rear end cap and so-on. My advice, read and reread the manual, possibly try and get a copy of JP's DVD and test, test and test the machine on targets. Hint: find a nice secluded spot in the bush and set-up a test area TELL NO_ONE, otherwise it will be inundated with mates of mates and eventually some tool will throw metal rubbish across the site.

VLF

1. I use an XTerra 70.

2. Why do I use it? I have used a lot of VLFs in ye olde days and know their capabilities on the goldfields. I saw a need for a small clean up coil (the 10 x 5 DD) that was also very good on quartz species and clear mullock. It is a deadly little bugger. Also, I spend a lot of time following up reef leads and the XTerra 70 has a wonderful pinpointing capability. It is also excellent on checking throw-outs from when digging in quartz and works well on conglomerate as well. They are by all accounts, good on beaches and parks (of which I do neither) and nice and light weight for kids to use on the goldfields. The coils, although Minelab, are not interchangeable on the PIs. Why? VLF versus PI.
 
I have had so many detectors i lost count. :) So i will start with the one i wont sell and still own.

Old faithful- Minelab x-terra 705

Strengths
1- Light weight
2- multiple coil options
3- cheap on batteries
4- user friendly
5- coin & relic mode
6- prospecting mode
7- auto ground tracking with GB off set.
9- Good discrimination
10- beginner/child friendly

Weakness
1- wet salt sand and water. :)
 
5000. Love the Enhance and Fine Gold modes. Best machine iv owned.
Don't like the fact that its still basically the same design from donkeys back, control box, shaft, handle. Bit lazy of Mlab I reckon.
But, an awesome detector all the same.
 

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