Detector cons

[hoser]

Ok we all have detectors and for the most part they are awesome...........if someone asks. In reality there is something we don't like, or care for in each and every one of the machines we own. And forgive me in advance, but if you say your machine is absolutely perfect, I fear I will have to say you are lying. I have had numerous detectors and not one of them have come under the category of being PERFECT! I have a Minelab E-Trac and it is the closest to the perfect side I have ever had. However, it is not! It is a great machine for finding coins, jewelry, and non-ferrous artifacts. But it is a heavy machine. After a couple hours it is like swinging a manhole cover on a broomstick. Now if the machine you have is perfect, good on you, congrats. I don't want to know how good your detector is, I want to know what bugs you, or what you don't like about the detector YOU DO HAVE. I will start. As I said my unit is heavy. The display needs to be adjustable, or have a sun shield as on a sunny day it's hard to see. Other than that, I like the "E" a lot. Tell me your gripes.

 

[sube]

Well let's start with all of them.
Separation show me a machine that IDS 2 targets under the coil and gives proper ID at depth.
Ground balance if you can set it at 0 and hunt are you ground balanced if you manually ground balance is it ground balanced 5 feet away .
Noise cancel how can you ever noise cancel if it continually changes .
Then there is minelabs commercial for muti-iq the one with the flashlight showing that it is lighting up silver coins gold coins jewelry and so on But fail to show it is not lighting up the foil can slaw pull-tabs aluminum cans and iron lol.
I have many detectors and they all suffer from these (minor overlooked things) as I said these are only minor lol.
sube

 

[Valley Hunter]

Minelab E-Trac ... But it is a heavy machine.
Come on that Manti NOX's XTP The Legend are 3 pds detectors are you really going to tell that extra 1/2 pd
Arm strap or adjust the shaft you can tell the difference it really fells lighter .. not top heavy

The XP's that charging everything gets be a real hassle if you had a option on a coil cable no battery in the coil

 

[mudwhale]

The biggest Con I find with all detectors is that they don't recover the target for you. All this carrying crap like a pin pointer, a shovel and having to dig holes to find the target gets to be a pain.

 

[LovestheShiny!]

Love my AT Pro, only wish it had a selectable back light for the display for hunting after dark.

 

[Bucktrout]

CTX is probably as close to perfect as possible for me. Reliable ID’s, big screen ect. We all know it suffers in iron and can be heavy. I also paid alot for features I never use such as the gps. Thats where the Deus 2 comes in- crazy lightweight, great seperation however I don’t like how in my area dimes can id from 88-92- but I am also still learning the machine. Its great at telling you there is nonferous in a ferous saturated area. Charging everything isn’t that big of a deal and it only takes 3 hours to get a full charge. An hour on charge is enough to get you through a decent half day hunt. No machine is perfect, everyone has to find the machine thats as close to perfect for them in the areas they hunt. Just my 2c.

 

[Dave_e]

I hate how poorly my Minelab Equinox pin points.
I hate the tremendous glare on the screen of my Rutus Atrex.
I hate that when I'm in Di3 mode on my Nokta Impact I have no indication of target depth unless I pinpoint.

However, I love how the strengths of these machines compliment each other so well. Together, with various coil types and sizes, they make a great tool kit for land detecting.

 

[Pastor Bob]

I would like to see a manufacturer put some sort of small LCD clock on the screen so I know when it is time to eat.

 

[VirginiaBikeGirl]

The biggest Con I find with all detectors is that they don't recover the target for you. All this carrying crap like a pin pointer, a shovel and having to dig holes to find the target gets to be a pain.

And sometimes, the weather isn't perfect.

 

[Diga]

All metal detectors detect metal, so I love them all...quirks and all

I only have one major gripe. That is, no ability to distinguish between aluminum trash and gold jewelry

 

[Rattlehead]

I could probably come up with at least a half dozen cons for every detector I've owned, but I'll limit it to the first couple that come to mind.

ATPro: Dated control housing design, no iron volume.

F75: Chatterbox.

V3i: Overly complicated menu.

Etrac: Heavy, screen glare issues, slow recovery.

CTX 3030: Heavy, slow recovery.

Simplex (early unit): Lower shaft too flimsy, not a fan of the audio.

Equinox 800: Build quality.

Manticore: Too many moving parts on the shaft. Should have been keyed.

Deus 1: Up-averaging issues, unsteady ID.

Deus 2: Awkward rear mounted coil, tiny useless stand, charging method needs improvement (all apply to the D1 as well).

Not going to include all the older detectors I've owned, as they're no longer relevant.

 

[Martin_V3i]

I could probably come up with at least a half dozen cons for every detector I've owned, but I'll limit it to the first couple that come to mind.

ATPro: Dated control housing design, no iron volume.

F75: Chatterbox.

V3i: Overly complicated menu.

Etrac: Heavy, screen glare issues, slow recovery.

CTX 3030: Heavy, slow recovery.

Simplex (early unit): Lower shaft too flimsy, not a fan of the audio.

Equinox 800: Build quality.

Manticore: Too many moving parts on the shaft. Should have been keyed.

Deus 1: Up-averaging issues, unsteady ID.

Deus 2: Awkward rear mounted coil, tiny useless stand, charging method needs improvement (all apply to the D1 as well).

Not going to include all the older detectors I've owned, as they're no longer relevant.

"Manticore: Too many moving parts on the shaft. Should have been keyed"

I never stressed about this at all.

 

[Rattlehead]

"Manticore: Too many moving parts on the shaft. Should have been keyed"

I never stressed about this at all.

Some people don't mind the weight of the 3030, the menu of the V3i or the awkward coil mount location of the Deus. Those are just things that irritate me. YMMV.

 

[John Madill]

I would like to see a manufacturer put some sort of small LCD clock on the screen so I know when it is time to eat.

The Legend has a clock.

 

[Dflan83]

I love my CTX but a for a machine that expensive I cannot see the screen in the sunlight.

 

[hoser]

Thank you all for your posts. I really believe it will help not only seasoned detectorists, but a real plus for the new folks looking to get into the hobby and give them an idea what to expect when buying their first detector. Some of the things that most of us, by virtue of our experience and knowledge, we can overlook or ignore. To a new person, that can be nerve racking.

 

[Tinhorn3]

Simplex: I'd say it's about 65% right on the numbers of stuff. One is off on old, rusty caps of Pepsi soda bottles, they say it's a coin, like a quarter I think most of my dirt around here is bad & the detector can only see about 6" deep [ my SP24 coil ]
I usually gripe all the time about stuff but I guess I'll shut up for now LOL

 

[metaladdict]

I have no complaints on my equinox.

 

[oldkoot]

I thought I had found the perfect detector for me until the last update then it was not so perfect any longer, and that was the Legend, although my issues are now worked out there for a bit I was ready to smash and bash the Legend with a sledge hammer, as far as the Simplex Plus is concerned I really like the Simplex Plus but those dying duck tones I absolutely cannot stand, my biggest complaint of my favorite detector of all I use and own which is the Xterra 705, I always hated the fact that you had to change coils to change the frequency you were detecting in, which Mine Lab has now came out with the Xterra pro which is what I always felt the Xterra 705 could have and should have been, instead of having to change coils, never tried one of the coils that were out by a aftermarket coil manufacture on the 705 where you could change frequencies in the 705 by powering it off and back on because Mine lab always cautioned against doing so

As @hoser stated there are no perfect detectors, and as @Digalicious stated the day a detector is produced that can tell you exactly what it is seeing under the coil is the day the perfect detector will exist and even then someone will find something to complain about, until then they will all have their quirks and different things that someone will find fault over and will not like about them, in some way or another. it is just human nature to find a fault in things no matter how good or great a detector seems to be someone will find a fault that could be made better.

 

[diggin4clad]

I love my AT Pro and AT Max but they both have the same screen face and it's a nightmare trying to see the readout in sunny weather. I have to change direction when pinpointing. Other than that, I have no complaints. Before I got the Garretts, I was using a White's M6. It was too heavy to be comfortable and also because it had dials rather than push pads there were many times when I was sliding my arm out of the "strap" I would move the settings without realizing it and then wondering why the detector was sounding off on every piece of metal, only to later realize that I had moved the disc setting. Also, I wasn't crazy about the loud whiny sound it made when pinpointing.