WarEagle1
New Member
I've been researching MD's for about 2 months now (note that I've wanted one for about 25 years), and after many hours of research had pretty much decided on a Fisher F4. It was actually more than I'd originally planned on spending, but I learned that the ability to ground balance is a pretty big deal here where I live in Central Alabama due to the region having a wide variety of iron content in the soil. Then I ran across a used White's XLT, and learned that probable fair street value was anywhere between $300-$500 (still in my general price range for the attributes I'm interested in). My question is not which is the better detector, as I feel both will work fine for what I need. It would be nice to know some of the following aspects of both machines, and feel free to add any other attributes of significance. I plan to be primarily coin shooting and relic hunting, with the occasional trip to the beach.
1) What's the battery life like? To me 2x9V is easier to deal with than 8xAA, but give me your thoughts.
2) Any issues logistically for someone about 6 feet tall?
3) Is automatic ground balance worth the extra $$$, or is the manual process in the F4 so simple as to negate the need for it?
4) Weight - It looks like the F4 is a little over a pound lighter...will that be a big deal for someone in good health in mid-30's?
5) Stored Programs - I know that the F4 can't store programs, but most of the reviews I've read say that it's not that big of a deal because it only requires changing a couple of settings. My question for F4 users would be...does that sound right to you?, and my question to XLT users would be...how often do you use the custom programs (ie., is it essential to your regular MD'ing routinge)?
6) How easy is the pinpointing feature, and how well does it work?
7) TID segments...190 vs. 95, How much of a difference will this make for me? My thought is that it won't matter at all to start with, but after a few years of experience with it, I might wish I had the increased separation.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for all of your comments and suggestions!
1) What's the battery life like? To me 2x9V is easier to deal with than 8xAA, but give me your thoughts.
2) Any issues logistically for someone about 6 feet tall?
3) Is automatic ground balance worth the extra $$$, or is the manual process in the F4 so simple as to negate the need for it?
4) Weight - It looks like the F4 is a little over a pound lighter...will that be a big deal for someone in good health in mid-30's?
5) Stored Programs - I know that the F4 can't store programs, but most of the reviews I've read say that it's not that big of a deal because it only requires changing a couple of settings. My question for F4 users would be...does that sound right to you?, and my question to XLT users would be...how often do you use the custom programs (ie., is it essential to your regular MD'ing routinge)?
6) How easy is the pinpointing feature, and how well does it work?
7) TID segments...190 vs. 95, How much of a difference will this make for me? My thought is that it won't matter at all to start with, but after a few years of experience with it, I might wish I had the increased separation.
Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for all of your comments and suggestions!