Beginner: Screen vs. No Screen?

[Omni]

I've read through a bunch of posts here with some folks loving screens and some folks that prefer to go with sound only. I'm looking to get a basic MD but I really have no idea the big differences between something with a screen, and without. Do MD's without screens have more power or anything (of a similar price).

Can you give me a quiick reason why you:
1. Love your display screens.
2. Could care less about having a display screen.

Let's talk sub $400 MD's for now.

Background: I'm a geocacher and am looking for another outdoor hobby to go along with it since geocaching often takes me to interesting places (old forts in the middle of nowhere, tot lots that magically appear after hiking for 2 miles, etc). Places probably perfect for MD.

I also live in Minnesota (North Burb of Twin Cities) and could literally put my hand in 10 different lakes in 1 hour, all with public beaches. And since I have kids, I know where all the good tot lots are (which also tend to conveniently be near geocaches).

Thanks in advance!

[vexhold]

Greetings Omni! I too am in MN. Pretty dang close to you too I am guessing.

You will get a lot of good advice here.

My thoughts on the creen or no screen issue is I live my screen, but it is a double edged sword. Yes it is nice to look at and gives a ton of information. But it also can hold you back. When I first started, all I ever did was look at my screen and try to see what was making the sound I was hearing. Well, more often than not, I read the screen and said, hmm, prolly junk and walked past it.

I now realize that I have been walking over alot of good stuff and now have to go back to all my previous locations and re-hunt them properly.

I still use the screen, dont get me wrong, but I use it as a secondary tool instead of the primary decision maker.

I have a buddy I hunt with all the time and he has no screen on his tesoro and we both find great things. In fact, he is a bit luckier than I am so far without his.

All in all, since youre in MN, I will say this, get all the help you can get here, and when your ready to buy a detector, head up the Bloomington/South MPLS and talk to Tom at Metal Detectors of Minneapolis. He is a great guy that wont rip you off and has been detecting for over 40 years.

Tell him Casey and Mike sent you his way.

Also, if you want to get together some time and chat or hunt let me know!

[FelixtheCat]

I have both type of detectors. They each have their pluses and minuses. If you're going to spend $400 I highly recommend getting a Tesoro Deleon. It's like a no screen detector that has a screen (vdi). Tesoro's also have lifetime warranty. Hunting with the Deleon and paying attention to the tones is a joy.

[Omni]

Originally Posted by vexhold

Greetings Omni! I too am in MN. Pretty dang close to you too I am guessing.

Yes we are pretty close, I'm up in Shoreview. See even the name of my town eludes to the numbers of lakes nearby . I'm just starting my research, and with winter coming (snow...where are you?) I probably won't be really getting into MD until summer.

I'll definately check out that shop, I had no idea there was one around.

Felix: I did a ton of research on the Tesoro Cibola, and the Fisher F4. Hence my dilemna! I'll checkout the one you mention.

[vexhold]

Well if your in Shoreview, you will prolly want to check out our local club. You could practically walk to the meetings.

http://www.gsthmn.com/index.html

[joee5]

My 1st choice was the Cibola. No screen. More difficult because your forced to learn the machine. Anyone can look down at the screen and see what lays beneath your coil, takes some knowledge to actually "hear" what your digging up.

[Omni]

Originally Posted by vexhold

Well if your in Shoreview, you will prolly want to check out our local club. You could practically walk to the meetings.

http://www.gsthmn.com/index.html

Oh my...that is 4 miles from my house! I'm so glad you read my post! I had no idea clubs like this existed.

[Damianicus]

Do you want to listen for what it is (and how deep it is by raising your coil off the ground?) Tesoro Compadre
(Although after some YouTube vids I'm surprised the Compadre doesn't have different types of sounds)
Do you want to hear target sounds and glance at a target number and target ID? And see target depth? F2
Do you want to hear 2 sounds in various combinations and look at a screen for target ID? And see target depth? Ace 250

[tater]

If you field hunt it doesnt matter. You dig all signals. If you are hunting yards i would want to be able to program some stuff out but that is just me.

[Gauntlet]

Tone only (no screen) "forces" you to dig more starting-out, and you can always get a 2nd MD later-on, and by then you may decide a screen is no longer an issue. Starting-out with one (screen) is harder to "unlearn" than the other way-around.

I too would suggest a Cibola (about $35 under your budget).

[Damianicus]

After watching this video it's making me wish I'd gotten the Fisher F2 instead of the Garrett Ace 250. I guess because you can get a kit with 2 coils cheaper than the Ace 250, and I'm liking the variance in types of target sounds. With that kind of sound variance, you don't really have to look at the screen if you don't want to.

http://youtu.be/6o-AnUdKuS8

[Dorado]

why I prefer no screens

-less weight and volume on the detector
-Iike to see where I'm walking and not to a screen
-screens look fragile to me
-I'm a bit spartan


my opinion is, you have to try both to see what you like best, I did

[goodmore]

Tone ID is more important to me than a screen. I never look at the screen until I get a good repeatable tone anyways. Today I was in the trash and just went to listening for high tones. Very easy to do. I have a depth meter on the AT Pro and I never look at it. I guess my Sovereign hunting habits are carrying over. The screen on any detector should only be used to confirm what the ears already know. Never to over ride them.

But a new person to the hobby needs to understand the scale of conductivity. It needs to pictured in your mind if not on a screen.