The Fisher went swimming. Borrowed a friend's Dr. Otek...

Well, I got one. It showed up today. First impressions are the same as when I used my friend's so far. I'll update this thread when I use it some more.

Let us know how it goes with the new machine

First impressions of the Chinese manufactured Doctor...

Keep in mind that my only detecting experience is with my dead by drowning Fisher F2 (R.I.P.) and an old White's I had when I was a kid almost half a century ago. I am the bottle cap and pull tab champ of the universe! At least I used to be back then if there had been a trophy for it.

The first thing I noticed is that the construction is very snug. My Fisher F2 had a click in the shaft that I could never get rid of. This thing is very sturdy considering how deceptive it is because it's so light. It's almost like you're just swinging your arm around with nothing in your hand. I'm disabled and have mobility issues and the act of digging is more than I can muster some days but carrying this thing adds nothing to the fatigue. I could swing it all day if the lower half of my body cooperated. Some people might want to add a third hole to mount the head unit if they want it closer or farther away from their hand position but it worked fine for me without doing so.

I finally got a window in between rain storms and was able to go out for a few hours on my birthday yesterday. I found a flattened Hot Wheels car and a clad dime and a lot of zinc Lincolns at a park and then my prize of the day... a 1951 Washington quarter. My first silver since 1970 whatever! I never found any silver with the Fisher. That thing didn't like me I guess. It was about 6" deep and the pinpointer function in the detector made it easy to zero in on it. The Kuman/GP pinpointer on the other hand...

I must remember to bring a camera with me so I can document some of my finds now.

The rain returned so I had to call an end to the hunt but I'm just as impressed with this detector as I was with my friend's. I think I actually like it better than the F2. I just have to remember to adjust the sensitivity because when it's up all of the way it can get a bit chatty but my F2 always had a hum to it and the Doctor isn't nearly as annoying. The Kuman/GP pinpointer I like not so much but still better than whatever that black thing was that came in my Fisher F2 kit or having nothing at all. Air test was far more impressive than real life situations. You almost have to touch the find before it registers most of the time. I'm pretty sure I know what a future upgrade is going to be if I can ever afford it. The plastic that the Chinese carrot is made out of smells funny too. It probably gave me cancer now.

For a little over $100 I think this detector is not only great for someone starting out but not too bad of a unit for some of the intermediate users too. I'm still questioning durability though. It's still new and hasn't been dropped yet or used in a sword fight with my friends when trying to claim an area that I want to detect. I'll update this periodically as I beat it, er, I mean put it to good use. It claims to be a Doctor so it should be able to take care of itself. It also doubles as a cane when I get wobbly which happens often after a long day out detecting.

Thanks for the write up. Really interesting to hear that a cheaper detector is doing so well

Trip #2. Oh no! It got wet! (All is good.)

So there I was. Comfortably sitting in the grass on my fat rear end and desperately poking away in a hole with the blind Chinese pinpointer. Dr. Otek sitting on the ground next to me. In all of about 30 seconds the sun went behind some nasty black clouds and then a torrential downpour came that lasted maybe a minute. I don't move fast. By the time I had rounded up everything and headed back to the car the rain had about stopped. Went back to the hole I was poking around in... all of that exercise and taking a second bath this month and a zinc Lincoln was my reward. The Doctor had no ill effects from the shower it took. I will definitely make sure it's dry though before zipping it up in the carrying bag. The rain returned as I was identifying the Lincoln so I packed up again and went back home. It's been raining ever since so I made a good call.

Second hunt results: 3 zinc Lincolns, 1 newer Jefferson, a second bath for the month.

The more I use that Chinese pinpointer the more I want to gouge my eyes out. One of these days I'll be able to afford a good one. At least if I get frustrated and throw it or smash it with a hammer it didn't cost me much. Guess I should at least remember to pull out the 9V battery first. Those are worth their weight in gold. The pinpointer... not worth so much at all.

Another day out. It was beautiful today. 70 degrees and a light wind. Unfortunately I went to the wrong park. They did some upgrades a couple of years ago that apparently involved a lot of fill dirt and unfortunately a lot of gravel and rock. When you find a 1974 Lincoln penny 8 inches down and it takes you 20 minutes to jackhammer through the rock and gravel to get to it you kinda get a bad feeling about your choice of hunting areas. I also found one of those pull tabs that kids these days wouldn't know what it is. With all of the junk on the ground I was actually impressed with the Dr. Otek. I wasn't impressed with the people who littered the park so much. Maybe I missed something good, maybe I didn't, but I didn't have to bend over unnecessarily to dig up trash.

The pinpointer has been a learning experience. I've watched a few video reviews on it since I got it and learned about its quirks and can say that if you're trying to compare it to a Garrett just because it looks like one then stop right there. If you instead think of it as another pinpointer in the vast sea of choices then you actually get a decent device though not the same quality as a more expensive model of course. It does the job OK. If there was a star rating I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. When it's in the sheath no one can tell the difference and they'll think you spent money on a carrot anyway.

At the very least I no longer have the desire to gouge my eyes out when using the pinpointer.

Final review for now unless there's a malfunction.

After a couple of weeks swinging this thing I can say that it works better than my Fisher F2 did. I know that's hard to believe but I've gone back to places where I used the Fisher before and found more items that were deeper that what the Fisher could apparently see, some as deep as 10 inches. The discrimination feature works well but it's a bit chatty if the sensitivity is up too high so I run it in the fourth position out of five. It sucks batteries. Maybe it's because I'm using rechargeables? I didn't use a headphone either until the last few days and I think battery drain has been a little less with them but I wasn't really monitoring it since I have a pocket full of rechargeable 9 volt batteries for the detector and pinpointer. The detector is very light. I saw a post elsewhere where someone was asking what model is a light detector. This one fits that description for sure. I've dropped it, I've gotten it wet, I've left it in the back seat of my car in the heat of the afternoon. It just works. Definitely a good detector for the beginner and even the intermediate detectorist. If you're one of us po' folk this detector is a good one for getting your feet wet with. It is from China though so did I get lucky? I haven't seen many reviews on it yet to know but the few that are out there give it praise.

That Kuman pinpointer though... the more I use it the more I realize that maybe it wasn't that great of an investment. Now it's doing weird things and I have to turn it off and on again a lot for it to work. I need to find a better pinpointer that won't break the bank. Something for under $100 preferably.

Still using the good doctor. Using it with headphones definitely extends the battery life over using the built-in speaker. I got better rechargeable batteries too and I get about 12-15 hours out of them. I quit totaling up my finds. It's probably several dollars now with some silver and a very slick flying eagle cent for the grand prize so far.

After several months swinging this thing I've become used to its quirks and I still rate it very highly for the beginner or intermediate detectorist who has a limited wallet such as myself. I still haven't replaced the pinpointer yet. Sometimes it works great. Other times I want to throw it in the ocean and watch it sink or swim. Now if the rain would just stop for a few days. I'm getting antsy and want to go dig some holes.

All it takes is one really special find on the beach, and you could upgrade to many different detectors. Most would have quit by now, keep up the good work, it will pay off eventually, I promise!

It's been about a year and a half since I got the Dr. Otek and it's still working fine even though the poor thing looks like it's been in a war. I will admit that I have not been nice to this machine. The control head has been wet a few times from rain but it suffered no ill effects other than the speaker not sounding quite the same as it did when new but since I use headphones most of the time now it's not an issue. All of the buttons and functions still work as they did when it was new. Dirt hasn't damaged it at all other than a lot of scratches. The shaft is still nice and tight with no wobble at all. The coil looks terrible now from scraping it across the ground but it isn't bad enough to make it non waterproof anymore. Dr. Otek claims that a smaller coil is in the works but that statement was made almost two years ago and I'm still waiting but not holding my breath. Upgrading to a name brand of rechargeable batteries and using headphones almost doubled the battery life that I had before. The most impressive feature is the pinpoint function which is more accurate than any of the other "cheap" machines that I've tried and recovery speed isn't too shabby either. I still would like to upgrade to a better detector eventually when I can afford to but this detector keeps me busy enough for now.

As for the Chinese pinpointer it's probably now in a landfill somewhere. That thing was a worthless piece of garbage. It was hard justifying buying a Garrett carrot for more than what I paid for the Dr. Otek but it sure has made hunting more enjoyable.

Do I recommend this detector? Yes but don't expect Minelab quality. Even though the coil is huge it doesn't detect as deep as one would expect from a quality machine but for an old guy like me it gives me something to do and gets me out of the house so I can enjoy what the day has to give. Hopefully it gives me a huge gold nugget!

Thanks for your continuing updates. Sounds like the Doctor would be a good choice for getting into MDing.

I had a scare the other day. I went out detecting with a friend for the first time in a few months and when we packed up to go home guess where the good Doctor was? On top of my friend's SUV. It held on for a mile or so before taking a dive but it survived! Yea it's scratched up. Yea there's a tiny crack now on the display that isn't hurting anything. But it still works! It's still a champ at finding bottle caps and pull tabs which are obviously my area of expertise. I leave the valuables for you all to find.

It has recently been joined by a Nokta Pointer. After trying out a couple of the cheaper no-name Chinese models I thought I'd give the Nokta a try because many people are comparing it to the carrot and it's $45 cheaper. It's been one of the best investments for this hobby that I have made. Maybe in another year or so it will be as beat up as the good Doctor is and they will look like a matched set though I'm hoping by that time I can afford a new detector and pass the good Doctor off to someone starting out in the hobby. I'm ready now but my wallet isn't yet and the good Doctor will hold me over until I can afford a new one. Rumor has it that Dr. Otek is considering making a new detector that's better than this one. If the quality is the same I would be willing to try one out. If they have nothing new by the time my wallet is ready those Simplex detectors look pretty sweet.

This was a good thread. Thanks for taking the time to write updates on a machine that doesn't have much info available for it. Cool to see it worked so well for you.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

The Doctor is sick.

The Doctor hasn't been feeling well lately. I think all of the times it's been dropped and gotten wet have finally taken its toll. I'll be swinging it and all of a sudden it makes a tone and keeps on doing it until I turn it off and back on again. Sometimes I can get about an hour out of it before the issue starts. Other times it happens within minutes of turning on the machine.

For what it is it's been a great machine though. I don't know if there's other $100 machines as good as this one but it got me out dirt fishing again which was my goal when I got it. I wasn't sure that I even wanted to join the hobby again so for $100 it was a good and cheap way of finding out.

After purchasing the Dr. Otek I found their Facebook group where they have been very helpful and I learned a few tricks on using it. They do have a new model they hope to release soon. They already have it in the hands of testers and so far it appears to be a great machine and it will have different coil options too but unfortunately their original release date in June won't be met because the company is in China and they're currently under lockdown again over there. I doubt I will wait that long for it but it will be something to keep an eye out for in the future. They hope to price it around $159 and said when it's released if there's any stock left of the MT-XR it will probably go on sale for under $100 until the inventory is gone. Currently it's hard to find a MT-XR for under $149 and I don't recommend paying that much for one. It's a $100 detector all day regardless of pandemic pricing.

Now my goal is to get a Simplex. I've noticed though that the prices have gone up since they were released and many places don't even have them in stock. I guess that's a normal issue due to how the world is working today. I also can't afford one at the moment but the piggy bank has been started so hopefully I can afford one soon! In the meantime I'll wear out the power button on the Dr. Otek turning it on and off all the time to reset it because I'm a glutton for punishment.

bmh said:

The Doctor hasn't been feeling well lately. I think all of the times it's been dropped and gotten wet have finally taken its toll. I'll be swinging it and all of a sudden it makes a tone and keeps on doing it until I turn it off and back on again. Sometimes I can get about an hour out of it before the issue starts. Other times it happens within minutes of turning on the machine.

For what it is it's been a great machine though. I don't know if there's other $100 machines as good as this one but it got me out dirt fishing again which was my goal when I got it. I wasn't sure that I even wanted to join the hobby again so for $100 it was a good and cheap way of finding out.

After purchasing the Dr. Otek I found their Facebook group where they have been very helpful and I learned a few tricks on using it. They do have a new model they hope to release soon. They already have it in the hands of testers and so far it appears to be a great machine and it will have different coil options too but unfortunately their original release date in June won't be met because the company is in China and they're currently under lockdown again over there. I doubt I will wait that long for it but it will be something to keep an eye out for in the future. They hope to price it around $159 and said when it's released if there's any stock left of the MT-XR it will probably go on sale for under $100 until the inventory is gone. Currently it's hard to find a MT-XR for under $149 and I don't recommend paying that much for one. It's a $100 detector all day regardless of pandemic pricing.

Now my goal is to get a Simplex. I've noticed though that the prices have gone up since they were released and many places don't even have them in stock. I guess that's a normal issue due to how the world is working today. I also can't afford one at the moment but the piggy bank has been started so hopefully I can afford one soon! In the meantime I'll wear out the power button on the Dr. Otek turning it on and off all the time to reset it because I'm a glutton for punishment.

Click to expand...

You are talking about hunting fresh water... you can take batteries out and dry your detector and it should fire back up... we do this hunting in saltwater we flush out the salt with fresh water then dry it and sometimes will still work.. yes you will have to expose the inner workings but it should be ok...

Cfmct said:

You are talking about hunting fresh water... you can take batteries out and dry your detector and it should fire back up... we do this hunting in saltwater we flush out the salt with fresh water then dry it and sometimes will still work.. yes you will have to expose the inner workings but it should be ok...

Click to expand...

It's definitely not the batteries or because it's wet anymore. I didn't use it for a couple of months and it still acted the same way when I turned it back on with a brand new battery. It wasn't submerged or used for any kind of water hunting. It just got wet from Pacific Northwest rain that rarely ever stops and I'm sure that the crack in the housing that it got after taking a ride on top of a SUV and falling off hasn't helped.

After almost three years of owning this $100 detector it's done very well for the abuse I've done to it and it's pretty beat up now. I'm disabled and have mobility issues and was very hard on this thing. It often doubled as a cane while I walked around with it. As you can probably guess it's hard to detect with a cane in one hand and the detector in the other. This is something that I need to figure out before I spend the money on a good detector which is why in the meantime I'll continue to struggle with this one while it still sometimes works.

Slightly off topic but I purchased a Dr. Otek pin pointer, different than most for sure, but it works like a champ...

Reminds me what my sail boat dealer told me once. You don't have to have the biggest sailboat on the lake to have fun.

Dr. Otek is coming out with a new model. The pandemic has delayed the release date but they sent out several to beta testers and have been refining it based on their observations. It sounds like they are trying to keep it under $200 and there will be at least one alternative coil option. They're hoping that they show up on Amazon before the end of July.

Too late for me though. I ordered a Simplex the other day and it should be here tomorrow!