The unsung heros of metal detectors

maxxkatt

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I used my son's Ace 250 the other day on my test bag of junk and some good targets and it is so much better at calling the correct target with its simple single bar under the penny or dime slot on the Ace's simple indicator than my 800. The ace might not go as deep or find masked targets like the 800 but for just plain fun park cherry picking coin hunting it is way better than my 800.

This is based on my taking it to my favorite river park that is filed almost every square foot around the picnic tables near the river with pull tabs, pop tops, and foil. Turned on the Ace 250 and started hunting for about 30 minutes.

The ace was darn near 100% accurate on every target in terms of it indicating which type of coin or which type of piece of trash. I was quite surprised to say the least. Conventional wisdom would be that the relative expensive and more advanced 800 would clean the Ace 250's clock. Not so and I have hunted that park many hours with the 800 so I am sure of that I am talking about.

I am sure there are other older detectors that still do what they do very well and maybe a discussion (not comparison please! this is not a comparison tread) will help newbies that wish to just stick their toe in the financial waters before they jump to an expensive detector.
 
Xterra 305, a very underrated detector. Ground balance, noise cancel, pinpointer, remembers last settings, big vid numbers, good depth, great tones and choice of number, volume control, notch, choice of coils and frequency, non sparky quiet search, balanced and fairly light. $250..
 
I like to recommend the Whites DFX whenever I get asked what first detector should I buy. I used the DFX for a good 15 years as my #1 and still to this day keep a DFX 300 as my backup. No the DFX is no depth monster or the lightest on the market, but it has what I feel the first time detectorst needs.

We all know the key to become and stay in the metal detecting hobby one must find stuff. If all you find is junk you will give up in a short time. Find a few coins and you tend to stay involved in the hobby longer. The longer you stay looking the better the finds become until like that poor bass you're hooked for life.

I like the DFX because for the beginner it not only can give you a tone ID that says dine, and a VDI number that says dime it also shows you an icon of a dime and says 10¢. I did a test one day when a friend asked if he could try detecting with me. I handed him my DFX and the only thing I did was point to the button to turn it on. I told him just follow the directions. We hunted for roughly an hour and he had found nothing but coins. About 5 if I remember right.

Also the DFX can be as sophisticated as you want to make it. it can do everything from manual ground balance, tone ID, 3 different frequencies that can be run individually or all together. It is built like a tank and can hit even the smallest piece of gold any of the top line detector can today. Handles minerals well as a multi-frequency machine, and best of all a good used one can be bought in the $300-$400 range.
 
indeed! nice post. i ran a fisher f2 for many years and it never, ever failed to impress. at times i enjoy its simplicity more than the f5, which i now swing.
 
Good points MaxxKatt. I had an Ace 250 a few years back as a backup detector and it was a nice machine. I eventually sold it and now have an ace 400 as my backup. I like it even more than I did the 250. It finds the silver at depths you might not expect for a low priced detector. Other than the Ace150 or 200, I think the Ace series is a great detector both "for the money" and for a newbie to use when first becoming involved in this hobby. Sure...the higher priced detectors may do some things the simpler one can't but not everyone is hunting in the same places or looking for the same things. The NOX line has more or less been "anointed" as the greatest thing since sliced bread and I'm sure it's a great detector but not everyone needs it and they can go out and find plenty of good things with a less expensive machine. There's plenty of time to upgrade if they stay involved in detecting.
 
I started with a Teknetics Gamma 6000, graduated to the Teknetics Omega 8000 then the Equinox 800.. I got rid of the Omega 8000 and kept it's little brother the Gamma 6000..

I still LOVE that machine !!
 
The old Whites XLT was a solid machine back in the day. Not the deepest by any means but I found a lot of good stuff with it. You can find them now for a couple hundred bucks or even less.

For newer detectors, I think the Fisher F2/F22 is very good for the $$$. The Simplex sounds very promising as well.

The Garret Ace series is alright I guess. Not a huge fan of those bell tones.
 
I love my 250. I have very good luck with this machine. You are correct that it almost always gives you the correct id. There are times that it will false, and when it says I have a dollar coin at 8 inches I am pretty sure I dont. It does find the coins however and I have found both gold and silver with it. As with any machine you really need to understand what it is telling you. I have several programs I run depending on the location. I am considering updating to the AT Pro but I will always have a fondness for the 250.
 
I love my Ace 400!
Ids pretty much spot on. Turn on the iron audio for the iffy signals.
Run it all metal wide open in the woods. Coin mode for the parks. Jewelry mode with iron audio on the beach.
Would like it to have ground balancing tho even in mild dirt OH.
Bell tone makes me think I have a bright yellow slot machine!

I have been researching the Nokta Makro simplex too.

You don't need to spend alot of money to have a good time!
 
I love my 250. I have very good luck with this machine. You are correct that it almost always gives you the correct id. There are times that it will false, and when it says I have a dollar coin at 8 inches I am pretty sure I dont. It does find the coins however and I have found both gold and silver with it. As with any machine you really need to understand what it is telling you. I have several programs I run depending on the location. I am considering updating to the AT Pro but I will always have a fondness for the 250.

Ok, I am going to get in trouble here. I think the Ace 250 better ID'd the targets than the AT Pro which I owned for 3 years. But without a doubt the AT Pro is a better all around machine.

But then the AT Pro was easier to ID the targets due to the 99 VDI spread than the 40 TID spread of the Equinox.

And some think the Equinox TID may be getting more difficult with the update v2 changing some ID's compared to previous versions. I just dig everything above 19. it is easier than trying to guess what the TID is saying.
 
90% of success is the user, not the machine. Just my opinion.
I know guys who kill with $200 rigs and those who don't do well with top of the line equipment.
 
i agree! a "sleeper" for years! either detech 6+8,or the
5.3 eclipse coils

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
tesoro mojave..outrageous little coin sniper
with the 7" thin concentric coil. $251.10 "out da door!"

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
I started with a BH Quicksilver, still have it, it does fine for hitting clad and pretty accurate as well. Not the deepest by any stretch but it found me my first silvers and gold as well, very light compared to the ATPro but if you're just into a clad stab at a park it does just fine. Still take it out from time to time. I know some people like to knock the little cheap Bounty Hunters but it does well for the price and got me hooked.
 
I like the Delta 4000. For a cheaper costing machine it did a GREAT job. Even found my first silver quarter with it. Teknetics figured something out when they made the lower end machines lol. I love my Nox, and I'll probably never go back to anything else haha but I still keep the delta 4000 around just in case.
 
I like the Delta 4000. For a cheaper costing machine it did a GREAT job. Even found my first silver quarter with it. Teknetics figured something out when they made the lower end machines lol. I love my Nox, and I'll probably never go back to anything else haha but I still keep the delta 4000 around just in case.

Those frat brother machines just crush coins with they're 7.8 kHz frequency..The f5 is also a coin hound with that frequency
 
I started with a BH Quicksilver, still have it, it does fine for hitting clad and pretty accurate as well. Not the deepest by any stretch but it found me my first silvers and gold as well, very light compared to the ATPro but if you're just into a clad stab at a park it does just fine. Still take it out from time to time. I know some people like to knock the little cheap Bounty Hunters but it does well for the price and got me hooked.

if it gets down around 6" or so,it will still find most of the silver

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
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