Your very first Metal Detector!

My first detector was a kit that I purchased from Edmund Scientific in 1984 (no longer in buisness) . During that time, I was working on my industrial electronics degree, so I had fun constructing my new toy. I had plenty of fun with it and still have it as a reminder of "how it all started". My first love is fishing, but "dirt fishing" comes in second!

dane I remember my first detector 1973 it was a bounty hunter III bfo machine.. that was a long time ago and probably 10 machines ago. I still look at ebay at times to see if one shows up. good luck with your new machine
hh
dave+bobbie

My wife (at the time) bought me a cheap Radio Shack detector in 1990. It wasn't much good but I did find a couple of things. Her uncle came down to visit from Welland Ontario and he brought his Fisher (I don't recall the model). He was finding so much stuff that I knew I needed to upgrade. I bought the Garrett Freedom 2 with the dual discriminator (just like Tesoro has on the Tejon). What a great detector that was. It took 3 9-volts to power it up, but it was worth it. I went to my old public school and found a WW1 medal, a RAF badge from WW2, a gold ring and lots and lots of coins. I hit an old park and found some nice old pennies from the 20's and 30's. (I was hunting there tonight with the kids, but I was pretty thorough back then and I cleaned it out pretty good.)

After a couple years of success with the Freedom 2 I decided that it was time to upgrade, so I bought a Garrett GTA1000. It was pretty slick, but I never did repeat the success I had with the Freedom 2. I did take it to an old school in Elora Ontario (built in 1844) and I found a victory nickel and an 1859 penny with Queen Victoria on the face. That was with the GTA. It wasn't a bad detector, but I found the display inaccurate for ID'ing coins in Canada. I found myself preferring the Freedom 2 when I would go metal detecting (no display). In 1995 I traded in the GTA for a White's submersible detector. I had big plans to go on lots of trips to lakes and beaches, but it never panned out. I used it once when I first bought it, but then I got into mountain biking and let the detecting fall to the wayside.

Fast forward to 2005 when a buddy of mine was having a yard sale and I decided that it was time to sell the detectors. With a new wife and 2 small children (and another on the way) there was no time for metal detecting biking or anything. So I sold both detectors.

Fast forward a little more to 2007 and I have been missing metal detecting a lot. My oldest boy is 5 now, my daughter is 3 and they are both more than ready and willing to come detecting with me. I was setting money aside for a Garrett GTP 1350 when I started to read reviews to make sure I was saving for the right one. The Ace 250 was everywhere. You cannot mention detecting without the Ace 250 popping up. The fact that it was 1/3 the price of the GTP 1350 helped make up my mind. So last month, I picked up where I left off and have been heading out every night after supper with the kids and my new Ace 250.

For what it's worth, the Ace 250 reminds me a lot of the GTA1000. The target ID is still wrong for Canadian coins and the tones are the same. I still think that the Freedom 2 had better discrimination. The sounds were opposite. The Freedom 2 had a belltone for junk and a solid beep for coins. I'm not saying the Ace 250 is a poor machine, because it's not. The pinpointing was dead on with the Freedom 2, and with practice it's not too bad with the Ace. I was hunting in Jewellry (yes, that's 2 L's in Canada ) mode tonight and got a lot of practice pinpointing pull tabs and bottlecaps. The Ace250 was picking up pull tabs 8" deep, which is disappointing on one level yet impressive on another. How do pull tabs work there way down that deep anyway? I did bag about 5 lbs of junk tonight which we hauled out of the park, so we did accomplish something good. Total haul tonight: 2 pennies! :spin:

Next year, I think the Ace will go to my boy, and I will upgrade to a Tesoro. I think the Tejon with the dual discriminator will be like going home again.

Anyway, that's my story.

Dan

I bought a cheapo BH at Walmart about 10 years ago to help me find some buried utilities (copper A/C refrigerant line). I was planting some stuff and I didnt want to ruin the lines. Then it sat around for about 8-9 years and one day I decided to play with it in the yard. Read the manual and taped some coins under cardboard that I put on the grass and tested it out. Went to the beach a couple of times with my son and found some stuff and had a great time! Led me to the BHD 3300 that I bought last year. I love this hobby! I'm going to be looking into a water machine since I'm so close to Key Biscayne & South Beach.

Here is my dream machine. It was a birthday gift from my wife.

Bounty Hunter Quick Silver Metal Detector
http://www.metaldetectors.com/metal...tors/bountyhunterquicksilvermetaldetector.cfm

I gave it to my father who now enjoys using it. It lasted me a whole month before I knew i was hooked and needed more power. I remember assembling it and going into the back yard. By the end of the day my yard looked like an artillery range and I was 34 cents richer. Little did my wife know she had created a monster.

Keep Swing'in
Jack

FelixtheCat said:

Led me to the BHD 3300 that I bought last year.

Click to expand...

Felix,
I bought a BH 3300 next. I loved that machine. I sold it last month to a friend. within 2 weeks she found her first Gold Ring! :tumble: The 3300 lasted me 3 months then I got my DFX.

Keep Swing'in
Jack

Sears (White's) Coinmaster

Back in '82(or so) I bought a "Sear's Best" which was the equivalent of 6000. It was a very good machine. Wish I could remember who I sold it to, because i'd like to buy it back for old time sake.

Jack I love my 3300 for what I mainly do - park tot lots. My 2nd detector (hopefuilly in the next couple of months) will be water capable, a Tiger or CZ-20 since I am near to so many beaches!

My first was a Radio Shack VLF, I got it for a gift, I must have been about 11 or 12. I later found out my Dad got it for me so that I could clean nails out of the driveway, which I did happily for years. He kept it for me and when I would go visit on the weekends I would use it all weekend, he lived next to a few schools so I had a lot of area to hunt. When I got older I would carry it back and forth with me so I could hunt during the week at my moms. I used that little detector for the next 10 years until I bought a Cibola. Now at the age of 25 I have moved far away from my parents, but I still spend my weekends digging up garbage and nails along drive ways.

Ah... my first was a Fisher 1265-X... that ol' girl sniffed out more silver coins than I knew was possible... I used her until she fell apart on me - ended up having to hold the battery case together with rubber bands...

My first detector was Relco's lowest-end unit that couldn't find a dime I put on the sidewalk.

My second detector was Relco's next-to-lowest-end unit that worked, but was headphones-only, and the headphones were hard and uncomfortable. It was a BFO type, and soon outdated.

My third detector, which I still have, is a Whites 2500/D, which works.

My latest detector is the Tesoro Vaquero, which works nicely, deeply, and is feather-light.

If I get another detector, it will have beach-hunting capability.

-- Tom

1980 got a White's 5000 D, had to tune it every time I lifted it off the ground. Since then I have gone strictly with Fisher machines.
I started with the idea "hey, free money " !! But what a history lesson it has been, steve in so az

WOW! Nobody had a Jetco Mustang?

Best ever, second only to divining rods.........................Yeah, right!

My first was Drum roll!!!!! The Treasure hawk, 35 years ago. I've had good bad & ugly ones My latest is my dear DXF she took over for my 6000 Di
Tim

first metal detector

my first was a gag gift from my wife four years ago dont recall the name it was more like a toy i found some coins with it and got hooked i bought a prism11 while on vacation on cape cod ,it paid for itself in no timeso i upgraded to a idx pro and been pretty happy ever since i won an ace 150 on this forum thanks to tony,TC METAL DETECTORS and his gracious contest now that machine is a hoot to use with all the different tones and it finds stuff too. it isa great hobby and thats the truth

My first detector was my dads used 1975 Whites goldmaster. I still have and dont plan to ever get rid of it. Now i prefer to swing a MXT. HH

whites coin master{cant recall the model} then for christmas one year my dad gave me a whites quantum 2.

Those good old days

Well my first MD was a whites 4000 coinmaster and it hooked me and the hunger grew for more power.

My second was a white 5000 DI and it proved to be my most productive and heavily swang machine.

My third was a technetics and the word more power had a new meaning. it could easly pick targets at 10 inches or more. It was hard to believe when the meter read over 6 inches. Why you say, well the whites was great at 3 to 6 inches and i just got used to that. I never really believed a machine could produce the power of the technetics.

The whites, all the stuff I found and all my baseball cards were stolen, and it just broke my heart. They for some reason over looked the box for the technetics, which i still have to this day. Yep, 20 years has come and gone, and oh how i wish i could get it fixed. If any of you can help with this please let me know.

Yes, i have a new machine now, whites classic ID and it fun and great exersice for me. It will only that a small spark to kick start me into a new joy to fill the space from the lost i suffered a long time ago.