"Retro" detectors?

greenacarina

Full Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2010
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102
Location
Arlington, WA
Certainly some of you have an old detector sitting in the closet?
Does anyone ever take them out anymore, or with all the new-fangled technology are these ancient machines just for display?
I ended up with an old Garrett VLF Deepseeker machine (cheap garage sale find). I will probably take it out for a spin someday.
How about you???

HH!
Chris
 
I have an old Garrett Master Hunter ADS 4 that works fine but I don't think I'd ever use it for hunting. If I throw a coin on the ground, in the old days you did testing with a coin on the ground not in the air, and compare with any of my detectors it doesn't come close.
 
You may surprise yourself. many of those older detectors from the past are extremely deep and have a nice steady threshold in all metal mode. The depth of many models in all metal mode will rival those of today.

Discrimination may lack in depth but if you know how to use it in conjunction with all metal mode, targets within the first 6" are no problem.

Don't be afraid to go out and use an oldie. Go to a spot you just cleaned out with your new fancy pants machine with that oldie, and see what you had missed.

For all you newbies, you guys may have some problems using a vintage machine if you have never manually tuned a machine or know how to correctly make adjustments.

TR discriminate mode and keeping the search coil at a constant height maybe a noise issue for many. To make things easier, Garrett and a few others had a toggle switch that let you hunt in an auto-tune mode. Normal, slow, fast on a D-tex. It was more or less similar to modern day machines that now require motion to detect a target. So those older detectors where doing a retune to retain constant threshold.

You can see all the cool vintage machines that can be found on the market by searching the catalogs on my website. See my signature.
 

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A lot of the older units are still capable of producing good finds if the coil swings over them. As long as you are not using ancient technology(and sometimes that will work) I think the biggest hurdle is getting your coil over the target for the most part?!
 
My first was a White's 4000 Series 2. Good machine for the day. Next was a White's 5500d Series 3. Great machine, even today if GB is set correctly and hunt in GEB Disc. 30 year old machine will still dive pretty deep. Have to be Charles Atlas to swing all day. New detector technology is wonderful - pin pointer introduction outstanding.
 
Not only do I have veteran metal detectors, but I use one very often at the beach, and that is the "one knob Wonder", aka Fisher 1212-x.

One of the few detectors I had (have) that wo'nt lose too much depth (sub-half inch) when cranking the disc.

Excellent in dry sand coin shooting, and some relic hunting.

I favor it over my Goldbug and ETP, it's just so much fun to use.
 

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My only detector is a Garret Master Hunter ADS III. It's probably older then I am, but it's still got a great nose. I might get a "modern" detector someday, but I just love swingin' this old Garrett!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'll bet there are those people out there who MD with these old detectors just for the idea of finding stuff using old technology, kind of like that guy on PBS' Woodrights Shop that uses all old tools to make furniture.
 
I have my old Garrett Master Hunter 5. It's a tank, but in it's day the Cat's Meow. With the volume set low and steady in the background, they are very sensitive. That's the way I used my other old ones. Like BFO's.
 
Still have my Fisher 1266-x and its working just as well as when I purchased it in 1995. However, I haven't used it much since I purchased the others.
 
Certainly some of you have an old detector sitting in the closet?
Does anyone ever take them out anymore, or with all the new-fangled technology are these ancient machines just for display?
I ended up with an old Garrett VLF Deepseeker machine (cheap garage sale find). I will probably take it out for a spin someday.
How about you???

HH!
Chris
I'm purposely buying em..
I actually just missed one of those locally seller flaked.
While I am just starting my nieces are starting with me.
For me. At pro deal couldn't be beat.
But for low prices here is the list bought and will be live.
Bounty hunter sharp shooter 2
Whites prizm2
Garret treasure ace 200

Just ran the treasure ace on front lawn came up with a small wood file lol..

With affordability older works for sure
 
You may surprise yourself. many of those older detectors from the past are extremely deep and have a nice steady threshold in all metal mode. The depth of many models in all metal mode will rival those of today.

Discrimination may lack in depth but if you know how to use it in conjunction with all metal mode, targets within the first 6" are no problem.

Don't be afraid to go out and use an oldie. Go to a spot you just cleaned out with your new fancy pants machine with that oldie, and see what you had missed.

For all you newbies, you guys may have some problems using a vintage machine if you have never manually tuned a machine or know how to correctly make adjustments.

TR discriminate mode and keeping the search coil at a constant height maybe a noise issue for many. To make things easier, Garrett and a few others had a toggle switch that let you hunt in an auto-tune mode. Normal, slow, fast on a D-tex. It was more or less similar to modern day machines that now require motion to detect a target. So those older detectors where doing a retune to retain constant threshold.

You can see all the cool vintage machines that can be found on the market by searching the catalogs on my website. See my signature.
attachment.jpg

Is the wood on those coils real!? :lol: That's awesome! Reminds me of a vintage car with wood grain. :yes:
 
I have and still use 2 machines from the mid 70's. A White's Coinmaster 5DB and a Wilson/Neuman Chieftan that my wife used. While the 40 year old electronics are fading a bit they still can pound the ground at good depth. I've matched them against my XT705, CZ6, and others and they hold their own. Those analog tones speak to me.
 
I don't know what you consider retro but many 20-25 years old detectors will easily compete with today's higher end models like the Fisher CZ's, and White's XLT's. The improvements in technology have not been as great as I had hoped. I remember thinking back in the 90's that by today we would have detectors that could tell clad from silver and easily detect a dime at 16in. Unfortunately VLF detectors seem to have hit a wall when it comes to depth, and though in some cases target ID has improved, for the most part it's still lacking.
 
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