Skippy SH13
Forum Supporter
+1 on the Harbor Freight 9 Function. It also has a pinpoint button & volume adjust as well as a headphone jack. It runs on 6 Double A's (AA) and detects coins at around 7''-8'' deep.
My brother (Torpedo) uses a Bounty Hunter Pioneer 101 (aka Tracker IV) which is also a great detector (under $100). It runs on 2 9-volts and detects coins at about 8'' as well. Also has a headphone jack.
MINUS 1 on the Harbor Freight...
That thing is NOT worth investing in. The technology in it, makes it a kids toy. SURE, you can definitely find stuff with it, but you really cannot tell what it is, until you dig it up. Heaven help you if you decide not to discriminate out gold (you'll hit every piece of iron out there). It's not well made, either.
The Tesoro Compadre is very well regarded (and not too pricey!), and it's a tank, but aircraft lightweight... Built to last, VERY good machine, but lacks some of the tricks/display fun that you get with other entry machines.
I started with the ACE350, and found it to be a HIGHLY capable machine. The extra data on the display made it a lot more fun, too. I used the Harbor Freight for 3 weeks (close to 40 hours), and while I found $15 in change with it, I spent most of my time digging up complete garbage. When I switched to the ACE, I immediately jumped to about $1 an hour in change. Better machines pay for themselves in time/efficiency gains. That, and it's a lot more fun to be digging good stuff (or targeting things like "only quarters!").
Skippy