Looking for a cheap detector for Hawaii

saltyy · May 16, 2011

Hey guys, I'm new to the forums and the hobby and looking to purchase my first metal detector. I had one as a kid and remembering all the good times I had made me want to get another!

Anyway I'm in Hawaii for 4.5 months a year and want to find a cheap detector for beach hunts. My budget is around (I wish) $100, but I can go up to maybe $200 if absolutely necessary.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Aloha

EDIT: I also read that wet sand isn't very successful to search with cheap detectors so.. I can settle for dry sand for now

Bobmc1968 · May 16, 2011

Hi and welcome! I swing a Garrett Ace 150 and the more I use it, the better I get with it. I paid about $150.00 for it. I should've spent the $60 more and gotten an Ace 250 because it has better functionality but for my money, the Ace 150 is a good starter machine.

saltyy · May 16, 2011

Bobmc1968 said:
Hi and welcome! I swing a Garrett Ace 150 and the more I use it, the better I get with it. I paid about $150.00 for it. I should've spent the $60 more and gotten an Ace 250 because it has better functionality but for my money, the Ace 150 is a good starter machine.

Thanks! I've actually been looking at both models but they both seem a little steep. What features make the 250 so much better?

Bobmc1968 · May 16, 2011

The 250 has adjustable discrimination, sensitivity and also target id, wheras the 150 is more bare bones i.e. preset discrimination, limited sensitivity settings, target id is limited to iron,nickel,pull tab,gold, and coin. The 250 has coin id, 1¢, 5¢,10¢,25¢ etc.

Dustyloins · May 16, 2011

A Tesoro Compadre gets you a LIFETIME warranty and a quality built machine made of mostly metal, not plastic. All for $160. A hard deal to beat.

Dusty

saltyy · May 16, 2011

Dustyloins said:
A Tesoro Compadre gets you a LIFETIME warranty and a quality built machine made of mostly metal, not plastic. All for $160. A hard deal to beat.

Dusty

That sounds like a pretty sweet deal.. I'm reading that it has trouble with the minerals in sand though?

needler420 · May 17, 2011

I'm in you're position TC with the same budget. Cept you're probably going to need to be closer to that $200 budget in my opinion no detector under 100 is worth buying not at retail prices. Excluding deals,used gear.

So far what ive come up with is

Ace 250

The comparade and a silver u max.

All i know so far is that the ace250 has the lcd screen and the other 2 are dependent on hearing more so. I haven't researched it too much yet. I'm really still debating whether or not to take up the hobby. I'm thinking if ill get its use out of it or if ill use it a few times and let it rot in the garage. :lol:

The only thing telling me yes so far is because of my location in FL.

DetectorOCD · May 17, 2011

I agree, get the Compadre! It's perfect for picking gold out of the dry sand!

Miser · May 17, 2011

I'm concerned about this one.

Those beaches in Hawaii are made of volcanic sand that will play havoc with most VLF detectors. I have heard from other users who complain that even the Minelab Excalibur, the best of the beach detectors, does not perform well in that environment.

I am going to suggest you get a pulse induction (PI) detector for use in Hawaii. They are unaffected by that sand and they get fantastic depth. The downside (isn't there always a downside?) they offer no discrimination, so you will dig every piece of metal at the beach. In the dry sand, it could get a bit frustrating if the beach is really trashy. But there should be much less in the wet sand/surf (which is where you find more jewlery anyway).

The Tesoro Sand Shark and Detectropro Pulse are both good and you might be able to find a used one in $200-$300 price range.

Good luck to you and happy hunting!

KellycoChick · May 17, 2011

saltyy said:
Hey guys, I'm new to the forums and the hobby and looking to purchase my first metal detector. I had one as a kid and remembering all the good times I had made me want to get another!

Anyway I'm in Hawaii for 4.5 months a year and want to find a cheap detector for beach hunts. My budget is around (I wish) $100, but I can go up to maybe $200 if absolutely necessary.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Aloha

EDIT: I also read that wet sand isn't very successful to search with cheap detectors so.. I can settle for dry sand for now

Ping me when you are ready I can discount most of them for you

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Looking for a cheap detector for Hawaii

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