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Don't do what I did !!

pescadore

Elite Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
6,954
Location
Schertz, TX
I am posting this information mainly for Newbies and others that are considering buying a new machine. I have been detecting on an off a few times since the Early 70's. My father got me involved in detecting because he was hoarding silver coins and wanted me to use the detector to find more silver for him. He bought me a Whites (i think it was a coinmaster) detector and I was pretty much hooked after that. I would read articles about metal detecting and see ads for the newest best thing and started my search for the ultimate detector and maybe even the perfect detector. I bought, sold, and traded for a lot of detectors over the years and have finally at 61 years of age realized that the perfect detector does not exist and never will. I have seen guys with Bounty Hunter detectors find more stuff at hunts than the other guys with much more expensive machines because they knew what their machine was telling them. I have heard this spill before about the guy that knows his machine is better than a new user of a top end machine but never really bought into that theory until now. I will admit that I can be pretty hard headed at times. I have come to the conclusion after years of experience that the machine is a very small part of whether you will be sucessful in this hobby. You are much better off finding a machine that has the features that you will use (not too much fluff) and learning all the nuances of the signal whether audible, visual, or both and combining that with research (and of course luck). If you are getting frustrated learning a complex machine and you are not enjoying this hobby then don't be ashamed to downgrade to a simpler machine that you enjoy because you will find more stuff by being proficient than by having the best of the best. I did that very thing recently and my good finds have improved and in April have already surpassed the number of silver coins I found all of last year as well as finding my oldest US Coin. I spent years cycling through menus and settings trying to find the perfect combination only to get frustrated and disappointed when my $1000 machine did not improve my finds. I know for some of you really techy guys out there, you enjoy adjusting and fine tuning but for me, give me a simple machine that fits my style and finds stuff. Just my honest opinion and philosophy of detecting but it is working for me. Here is a list of my past detectors. If there is number beside it, that's how many of them I have had. I wish I had all the money back that I have wasted.

Past Detectors Used :
1st Detector was a Whites TR machine that my Dad bought me when I was in High School (graduated in 1972 if that helps)

Others By Brand name:

Bounty Hunter
Time Ranger

Garrett
Treasure Ace 100
GTI 1500
Ace 250 (2)
Used a friends AT Pro for a little while

Fisher
CZ-5 (2)
Coinstrike (2)
ID Excel
F5

Minelab
Xterra 50
Xterra 505
Xterra 705 (2)
Etrac
Excalibur

Technetics
Eurotek Pro

Tesoro
Toltec 2
Golden Umax
El Dorado
Deleon

Troy
Shadow X2 (2)
Shadow X3 (2)

XP
Deus (3)

Whites
Eagle Spectrum
XLT
DFX (2)
Prizm 5
Prizm 6T (2)
M6 (Current Machine)
MXT (Current Machine)
 
Agree 100%! Great post! I've had only 4 different detectors and it stopped with my AT Pro. I like its functional and gets the job done. Thanks for posting.
 
I can't agree more. I will go against anyone that doesn't know their machine if I am using my old eagle spectrum. I know it well and can kill with it. Unfortunately, I have to put my spectrum down to learn my new etrac. So I am learning all over again. :roll:
 
Been there done that.

Great post, Pescadore. Reading your detector-index makes me asking you:
Don't you miss a CZ a bit? And yes, I agree. Wasted money and time.
It's more the time fiddling this detector to it's best performance (you think) what is annoying. lOl IMHO

:goodpost:
 
You will like the Etrac for most hunting situations. It's a great deep silver machine but a little slow in iron for my taste. Two tone ferrous helps. Good luck with your new machine. It will find lots of good stuff for you if you put the time in it to learn it as well as you have the Eagle Spectrum. By the way, in the right hands the Eagle Spectrum is awesome. I love the quarter tone on that machine !!
 
3 XP Deus....hmmm.

I have my like new Whites MX5 sitting in the den because I feel it won't find what the Deus will in ballparks, etc. I'm a coin shooter for the most part.

Maybe I need to do some testing in real time to see if I'm really missing anything by using a machine that what half as much money. I really do love the light weight and wireless features of the Deus.

Would love your thoughts.

Joe
 
Great post , and very true . I thought you were talking about me there for a minute . So I have decided to quit buying new detectors and try to learn the one's I have . I'm not a real techy guy , so I have enough to keep me busy for quite a while . So , to you new guy's , Take heed to these words , they could not have been put out any better .
 
So you end this with the 500 dollar Whites MXT? It looks like you never bought the 'ONE'... sooooooooo close, but not quit there yet

Many drift back to the MXT after other machines but the software can be duplicated on the V3i and even comes with a factory pre-installed program called MXT
 

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3 XP Deus....hmmm.

I have my like new Whites MX5 sitting in the den because I feel it won't find what the Deus will in ballparks, etc. I'm a coin shooter for the most part.

Maybe I need to do some testing in real time to see if I'm really missing anything by using a machine that what half as much money. I really do love the light weight and wireless features of the Deus.

Would love your thoughts.

Joe

I sold my 1st Deus when I was really needing the money for more important things. I really didn't give it a chance so I bought another one. I tried really hard to like it but just never bonded with it. I had a few other detectors in between but I really wanted to like the Deus because I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and it is so light. I hated the stock headphones, got the WS5's and they fell off my head, got the adapter but seemed like a pain. Because the Deus is so fast, I had a really tendency to fly around and never settle down to hunt thoroughly. I didn't like the ID of the Deus at depth and to avoid digging bottlecaps all the time, you had to check the signal in different frequencies and that was time consuming. I also hated the tones and never could get used to them. Now for the good part. It is lightening fast and in iron will single out targets better than any other detector I have used. It is deep but you have to be a predominate tone hunter to get the best out of it because the ID past six inches or so was hit or miss. I found some really good finds with the Deus and would never not recommend it as a great detector but it just wasn't for me. I have spoken with others that felt the same way. I have never used the MX5 but have the MXT and I don't think I would ever miss anything with the MXT that I could find with the Deus. But because of the Excellent ID of the MXT and the best tracking system I have used, Im not sure I could say the same about the Deus. It is all about personal preference and if you like the Deus, I can't see any real benefit to going back to the MX5 other than the versatility of having 100,000 coils available for it. Okay that may be an exageration !!
 
Great thread ! I think VDI will make you over think a target and walk away
from it when you should just go a head and dig it. That is why I switched to
Tesoro such fun simple detectors to use, beep and dig.
 
So you end this with the 500 dollar Whites MXT? It looks like you never bought the 'ONE'... sooooooooo close, but not quit there yet

Many drift back to the MXT after other machines but the software can be duplicated on the V3i and even comes with a factory pre-installed program called MXT


I am sure the V3i is a great machine in the right hands and it's definitely the most technically advanced machine out there IMHO. I have played with one for a short time because my friend uses one. I think the balance and weight of the machine is a little much for me due to my RA especially with the stock coil. I also feel that I would probably over analyze and miss good targets with it. My friend complains that his doesn't get the depth he wants but I have heard others that say they are deeper than anything they have used. Another friend had a VX3 and his was very inconsistant and was picky on the amount of charge his battery had in it. For these reasons I have stayed clear of the V machines. I love the color display with the 3 freq bar graph. I can't see any advantage to it that would warrant me spending the extra money but that's probably just the poor person syndrome coming out in me. When I am seriously hunting for good targets, I look for reasons to dig it not to pass it up. I turn my machine on, set the gain and disc and take off. When I get a good target, I dig it without a lot of flipping through screens and put it in my apron. That's what works for me.
 
I learned about the MXT program residing in my V3i just today. I loaded it. It ain't a full program at all. You still run 3 frequencies, none of which is the MXT frequency. I personally find that MXT program nothong more than a fluff MXT emulator.

I also agree that the V3i is inconsistent. I'll still use my V3i, yet keep the right to criticize and complain about it after 4 years of owning it. My backup M6 machine will smoke the v3i in coin shooting. The 6 is quick response like the Mxt. My V3i and I have had about 4 stellar days where I kept up with friends machines. That ain't much considering the cost and the enormous time I've swung the thing.

As my old billiard buddy/mentor used to say about shot selections, "Keep it simple Stupid!" Detectors relate. martin
 
Excellent words of wisdom!

I dabbled for a few years with the Tesoro Tejon we have had for a long time, and found a few things with it, but never really liked it. It's just too complex for me and I'm very lazy about electronic type stuff.

Things changed when I got the Fisher F2 (which technically was a big downgrade from the Tejon) and really started dedicating myself to learning it, frontwards & backwards. I'm still learning, and aside from not being weatherproof I can't find a thing wrong with it, even though it has not got the "bells & whistles" of more high dollar units.

Just to test myself I took the old Tejon out for a few spins this spring, and yeah, I still don't dig that machine. The cheap little F2 has me spoiled.
 
That post hits a little too close to home. 6 detectors in less than a year may be a little overkill, but that's the path I took.
 
I have owned quite a few machines myself. I went back to White's for one simple reason, there is no growing list of unsupported detectors. They support what they build and what they built, even detectors from years ago. I am just looking for simplicity and fun and I think I have found that in my MXT Pro.
Obviously everyone has their preferences and reasons for what detector they swing and I totally respect that. The only perfect detector is the one you enjoy and have learned the best.:D
 
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