Advice required for Newbie

Are you planning on hunting dirt?

A jump from a Prism to a Quattro is a pretty big jump!

If cash is not a problem, the best would be the White's DFX or the Minelab Explorer II as far as general purpose all around machines. The often touted "huge learning curve" is really overly inflated. Both of these machines will also do well in wet saltwater SAND, but are NOT water machines. They have waterproof coils, but don't get the circuitry wet!!!! They can be "turn on and go" with excellent results while you learn and experiment further to push the envelope.
When I made my decision, it came down to the Quattro, Exp. II. For the couple of hundred difference, it didn't make sense to limit myself since I looked at it as a "long term" investment. I have not looked back since. The Quattro can be a little "quirky" at times, and has a slower recovery speed than the Explorer. This will make a difference in high trash concentrations. I think the DFX has the quickest recovery speed. The Explorer can be fine tuned to perform well in almost any condition you will encounter and will give outstanding depth. Once you understand it you will do very well. I have just purchased a second Explorer to convert to a water machine via aftermarket components. There are a lot of us on this forum that own the DFX. All of them do VERY WELL also. All of your better machines hold a fairly good resale value as well, so you will not lose out when you consider the cost of the "fun factor". Should you want the ultimate weapon, add a Sunray X-1 probe to an Explorer II. This is absolutely the first and best aftermarket component to get.

Hope this helps!!!!!
Bill

PS

I went from a Radio Shack Discovery 1000 to the Explorer II.

I agree with WThesing's message above. I've owned two modern machines - Ace 250 and an EXP II (my present machine) - have 200+ hours on the EXP II and have not regretted the expense or the time. The learning curve can be steep if you make it that way. When I got the it I just turned the puppy on, noise cancelled and took off using the presents and did just fine. As I got used to the machine I tweaked this and that as I understood the different functions. I now have a default program I use most of the time.

The best feature (for me) of the EXP is how good it will locate a desired target that has trash around/below/on top or next to it. Last week I found a silver Rosie that had a girl's 3 inch metal hair clip directly above it. Still got the high pitch silver sound. That's almost unreal.

Have never used a White's DFX but I've read a lot of very positive posts about that model.

Just my opinion - - -

Cliff - - -

Whatever machine you decide, make sure you toss the Whites MXT into the race. Powerful turn on and go machine that will find plenty of goodies.

Oh and btw. Wearing headphones is a pain, I agree. But it's a necessary pain. You must have headphones to hear the faint/deep targets. Also it saves on battery wear.

In any case, gl.

Well I don't know what to say except thank you to everyone who replied.

I am new to this site today and am still finding my way around etc.

I am sort of brainwashed about Minelab being multi frequency (does it actually make much difference?).

Hadn't considered the DFX but will look into that now.

I am not going to use it on beaches or in water as I live smack bang in the middle of the UK. I.e, there are tons of roman sites around here and villages less than 10 mins away that are over 1000 years old. Famous battles and castles are less than 15 mins away so will be going across fields and farmland only. Ihave never seen anybody else detecting around here so should be loads of finds, the roman maps of the area I have show tons of good locations.

I found a coin (approx 200 years old, within 5 mins of searching) with my Prism 3 when I had it and according to Spinks book, it is extremely rare, that's what got me addicted and in the blood etc.

Thanks again, any more advice on the DFX or Explorer 2 would be much appreciated!

Simon

Don't know much about DFX, but I have an MXT and couldn't be happier....

HH as always,

Bri

Hi and welcome. Give me acall and we can discuss the good vs bad points of each.
860-623-1153
TC Metal Detectors

I just upgraded from a Radio Shack detector, to a DFX. Pretty simple to get it up and running right out of the bo I think. Getting to know the programs and settings takes a bit more doing. I've had mine for almost two months and love it.I am just starting to really crack the manual to use the advanced settings. I had the money and it was a spur of the moment buy, since my RS detector was out of action. If my old detector was still working, I would have shopped more, and done a bit more research brfore buying one. I have no regrets though.

28 frequencies make a difference with the Explorer II. Higher frequencies do not penetrate as deeply, but hit on larger objects. Lower frequencies increase the depth, and will hit on smaller objects. Multi frequency FBS is utilizing a full band of frequencies. The Explorer II because of this, is a processor driven detector instead of crystal driven. You can hunt with the threshold turned all of the way down, and it will still react to targets. It also makes it possible to separate trash from good targets. The iron mask feature works very well in high trash areas where there is a lot of ferrous material. I have owned mine for a little over a year, and due to its "open ended" programming, I am still discovering more potential. I would download the manuals of the detectors you choose, and read them in order to get an idea of capability, as well as a sense of what you would like.

I learned a valuable lesson some years back about detectors.

First, you can spend $1200 for a detector and head out to the nearest field and find absolutely nothing. You can also spend $50 for a detector and with some research find a fortune with a little luck. It takes a combination of experience and a good detector to consistently find good stuff.

Second, not all detectors are equal. Yes you can find good stuff with pretty much any detector made, but to do it consistently requires the right stuff. Trying to convince me otherwise is going to be tough for 2 reasons. 1. I have a basic understanding of electronics and how they work. It's like trying to tell me your $100 stereo sounds as good as a $1000 stereo. It might to you and to others but to a audiophile it won't.

Second, I have personally seen just how different even top of the line detectors can vary. And vary drastically. You may remember the story about my old Spectrum and my hunting buddies Tesoro and Garrett. Three top of the line detectors that each on their own had made fantastic finds but when compared side by side, two were simply blown away. It not only opened my eyes, but my buddies as well.

First you said you want a turn and go detector, the Explorer and DFX are not. Second you have to remember most of us are prejudiced about the detector we own. The Explorer versus DFX fight goes on.

The best way to pick a detector is to use one or talk to a multi detector seller. Tony will give you good advise. I use a MXT and like it but if I could a used more detectors I might be swinging a different one. Rob

First you said you want a turn and go detector, the Explorer and DFX are not.

Click to expand...

If my post was taken that way then my bad. I have never used the Explorer but the DFX is definitely a turn-on-and-go detector in my books. The point I was trying to make was rumor has it these high-end detectors are complicated, and they can be, but my experience with the DFX is I've used it for the last 3 months as a turn-on-and-go detector and not only did it do it just as well as others, but I was able to find targets missed by many other machines. Even in the turn-on-and-go modes.

One example that comes to mind I posted awhile back with a subject of I am impressed. I took the DFX to the local park and to an area very very heavily hunted. This small area just screams "Come hunt me." I've gone over it many times myself with a fine toothed comb. I know targets can be missed, but if ever there was an area I'd label cleaned out, it would be this 20'x30' area.

I got a good signal that jumped between 21 and the 70's. One sweep would give me a penny(70's) another would read nickle(low 20's) but it sounded good. It turned out to be a buffalo nickle at 7 1/2". Pretty impressive in my books. I have no doubts I found this target because my DFX had just a bit more poop in it's pants than past detectors. Even with turn-on-and-go settings.

In short. I think the DXF, and probably many others such as the Exp II, are very good turn-on-and-go detectors they just also happen to have all the bells & whistles when conditions demand it.

One thing I might add, now that I'm playing more with my adjustments, is I'm finding one of my "bells & whistles" to be extremely valuable, and that the save feature. As I make an adjustment that works well I can save it so that next time I can start where I left off. Over time I will end up with a custom program optimized to my hunting environment. This alone can be a great advantage.

I'm just going to say that the Explorer and DFX have a learning curve. I have never heard either called a turn and go detector. When someone claims one or the other is not deep it is because they are using the factory programs or presets,which can't compare to what an experienced detector operator can do. My MXT is turn on and go. What can you adjust? What can be adjusted on a DFX, there isn't room in one post. Will these adjustments make a difference you bet. Rob

1st off, I consider the DFX a fine machine, otherwise I would not have reccomended it. I do not own one. I do own now 2 Explorer II's. With all of the higher end machines comes capabilities that the others do not have. One of the pluses is being able to program the machines for almost unlimited VARIATION in hunting conditions. The Explorer II is definitely a turn on and go machine. The "Quickstart" mode is the factory preset program for coins, with limited ability to change the program. Minelab suggests that you spend at least 30 hours in this mode to familiarize yourself with sounds (28 variations) along with other basic operation. It will be an outstanding machine in this mode, and you will be finding other items besides the coins. I found a large gold ring in a ballfield two minutes after 1st turning on the machine for my 1st hunt with it. WHEN YOU are able to venture into the advanced mode it opens up a whole other realm. You can save the programs in six memory cells, as well as four user A / user B banks. Once you store a program, it is a turn on and go machine from its last used settings or recall of anything stored. You can also recall a stored program and tweak it for current conditions without saving, or re-save if you like what you have done. I myself have a few stored programs for the various types of hunting I do. If I am changing, it takes about 30 seconds to load another set of parameters, otherwise I leave it alone, and just turn it on and hunt. There are also MANY programs listed on internet forums and websites to get you started, and then some. I think there is room for improvement of the machine, but if we are honest, I think all of them can be improved. I would not even consider using the Ace 250 that I bought for my wife in some of the trash filled areas that I have hunted, or in areas where the good coins are a foot down. Any of you who have read my many post in this or the old forum know that I do not put other machines down unless they are the ones that are made just to fleece the public. I realize that we pay for what we get, and some machines are just more capable than others by design. The operator also has to develop proper technique, and have patience and perserverance in order to be successfull. I researched my purchase for 4 month before making the final decision. I am hoping that I have given you what I know in order to help you make the best decision for YOU.

Please don't take my posts as degrading any other detectors I firmly believe they all have their place. But, by the same token it's not correct to believe some people just like paying more money for their detector, and all detectors are the same.

Just because you don't place any value on "bells & whistles" doesn't make it worthless to someone else. If you have no need or want for complicated adjustments and you're just looking for a turn-on-and-go then why spend a lot of money? But again, for those who want some added advantage along with a turn-on-and-go option, and yes these detectors are as much turn-on-and-go as any other, then they and you should expect to spend premium dollars.

Simply put, for me having the ability to fine tune for optimal performance in all conditions was important enough to justify spending the extra money.

In fact I wouldn't be a bit surprised, for example, to find that Whites mid to high-end detectors all share the same electronics and turn-on-and-go programs. Although from what I've read the MXT is a bit hotter than others. The only real difference is the DFX allows for adjusting of controls that are preset on others. No big deal, but to think these added feature don't give you an advantage is just wrong.

In the end it's all about fun. Personally I could have as much fun with $100 detector as with a $1200 detector, but in my case I had the money and needed the extra advantage.

You are so fortunate to be living in an area with so much history. I was fortunate enough to be able to detect in Poland and Bulgaria. Used a Whites XLT and did great. You may want to check with the dealers in England since there are restrictions on what can be shipped into the UK especially with Whites, Minelab, and Fishers. I will be happy to send you the addresses I have for Minelab and Whites if you need them. Both of these companies are great as everyone that has answered you indicated. Good luck!!