A little (or a lot of?) guidance needed

[JHrusky]

Hi. I am in the process of just beginning to decide what metal detectors to purchase for myself and my wife. We have a very cheap small little detector that can find small items a couple inches in the ground but looking for something to do more.

Our primary usage will be near our home, in woods, parks, etc. I’d like to take to Arizona for some desert hunting when we go there each winter. Using it on the beach would also be nice to do.

Can anyone suggest where I should begin? Are the coils detachable and such so one can have different coils depending on what you are looking for? How deep should I be concerned with searching! Is a foot reasonable?

I guess I just need a starting point. I don’t know if I should consider units that run about $250 or $500 or perhaps more. Any help is very appreciated.

Thank you.

 

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[mts]

The answer to your question is... it depends. Some great options are given below.

1. Nokta/Makro Simplex+
Pros: Great value for the money (get the wireless headphones version, you won't be disappointed). There is frankly no other detector on the market that beats it in value. Totally waterproof. Rugged. Deep. Easy to use. Great all around detector.
Cons: Single frequency. This means it won't perform quite as well in salt water and wet sand at the beach. It will be fine in dry sand at the beach and even has a special beach mode that can do some basic salt water hunting. But it is not as good in salty conditions as a multi frequency machine.

2. Minelab Vanquish
Pros: Great value for the money for what you get. But you will pay more for a headphone version than you do for the Simplex. It is multi frequency which means it will work great in pretty much all conditions, even salty wet sand at the beach. Good depth (on par with the Simplex). The multi frequency also helps in mineralized ground conditions and provides more stable target ID.
Cons: Not waterproof so you would not want to take it into a lake or in the surf at the beach. For some people this is not a deal breaker. For all the other cases you mentioned you should be fine. There are three different models of Vanquish with various features. The only one that supports native wireless headphones is the Vanquish 540.

3. Minelab Equinox (600, 800)
Pros: Great all around machines. They are multi frequency, waterproof, and very deep so they will do well everywhere you want to take them. These machines are pretty much what everyone who can afford them wants these days. And I don't blame them.
Cons: Cost. These are pricey for a beginner. But for someone who has been in the hobby a while they are worth the money.

4. Quest X5/X10
Pros: Very inexpensive for a machine with target ID. These are a great value and perform fairly well.
Cons: Single frequency and not waterproof. Also, they do not have wireless headphone capability so if you want that you are going to be buying some additional add on module to get it. Being single frequency, they won't do well in salty conditions/water. But they can be used in dry sand. I would not take them near water.

Other detectors - I think there will be some here who will recommend some other brands of detectors because they have used them and found them to be good machines. Garrett, Fisher, and other companies have some good machines. But I just don't think they compare anymore on a value and feature basis with some of the detectors available today. The Simplex and Quest are fantastic values and the Vanquish and Equinox have you covered on multi-frequency capabilities. If I were buying a machine for someone today, my first question would be cost. If they want something cheap and don't care if it is waterproof, I'd go with the Quest X5,X10. But if they are willing to spend an extra $50-$100 then the Simplex can't be beat. And if they need multi-frequency, I'd steer them toward the Vanquish and Equinox.

Finally... none of these machines are good for small gold flakes. So if your intention when going to Arizona is to gold prospect, these are not the machines to take. They will all work on larger gold nuggets to a certain extent, but your odds of coming across such a nugget while vacationing are quite small. All of these machines are great at the park, fields, fresh water beaches, and dry sand at salt water beaches. Some can handle water detecting and deciding up front what type of detecting is the most important to you will help steer you in the right direction.

These are all just my thoughts and opinions. Others here may agree or disagree.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hi. I am in the process of just beginning to decide what metal detectors to purchase for myself and my wife. We have a very cheap small little detector that can find small items a couple inches in the ground but looking for something to do more.

Our primary usage will be near our home, in woods, parks, etc. I’d like to take to Arizona for some desert hunting when we go there each winter. Using it on the beach would also be nice to do.

Can anyone suggest where I should begin? Are the coils detachable and such so one can have different coils depending on what you are looking for? How deep should I be concerned with searching! Is a foot reasonable?

I guess I just need a starting point. I don’t know if I should consider units that run about $250 or $500 or perhaps more. Any help is very appreciated.

Thank you.

Welcome to TreasureNet. When you say beach do you mean salt water or fresh water beach, it makes a difference, salt is made up of metal minerals, if detector isn't designed for salt it will drive you nuts below the high tide line. In the $500 range there are a lot of good choices.

Here are just 3 to check out...

Nokta Simplix with wireless headphones is about $340

Garrett Ace Apexis about $440

Minelab Equinox 600 is about $650

all 3 work in salt water environment, keep in mind you will need accessories to go with it, at beach a good water scoop, on land a good digger, pouches to put your finds and trash in too. If you or your wife is Military Minelab gives 15% discount to military vets with proof of service , all dealers pretty much honor the discount as long as you prove your or wife is a vet.

 

[mts]

Some answers to your other questions:

A. Are the coils detachable and such? - Yes, all have detachable coils. But whether or not other coils are available is the main issue. The Simplex and Equinox machines definitely have other coils available. I'm not sure about the Quest machines. The Quest machines are made to hit a price point and you will likely not be switching coils with them. I'm not sure on the Vanquish, you'd have to check.

B. so one can have different coils depending on what you are looking for? - Yes, that is the general idea. But for most of the things you are talking about doing, the stock coils will be fine. After you've been detecting a while you might opt for a smaller "sniper" type of coil to use in trashy areas to get better target separation. When you have trashy areas, the trash can "mask" good signals. Having a smaller coil can help you separate out the good from the bad. But I would not worry about that until later.

C. How deep should I be concerned with searching! Is a foot reasonable? - It depends on the type of target. Most coins and rings max out at around 6-8" in depth. But you will find 90+% of them at less than 6". So all of the machines above will be fine for that. For bigger targets like cannon balls and relics, you could end up with targets down a foot or more. But all of these detectors will be able to handle most of that stuff. The bottom line is that all of the detectors listed will blow your current detector out of the water. They all have enough depth capability for just about anything you would want to find in a park, yard, or beach. If you get out into the farmer's fields to look for relics, the Quest will be on the lower end but will still give you most of what you need. From a depth perspective, all of the listed machines are within a few inches of each other on coins and rings with the Quest being the least powerful to the Equinox being the most powerful. But many people will argue that the Simplex and Vanquish are both right next to the Equinox in capability. Don't get me wrong, depth is important, but there are limits to what you can squeeze out of any machine. There will be targets that are out of reach that none of these machines will detect. But these specific detectors are known for good depth at their given price point so if you buy one of the four I recommended, you will get good depth compared to a lot of other machines on the market that may cost more.

Hope this helps!

 

[angelito1]

Welcome to Tnet .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

MTS, had to delete your post because they are no longer a supporting vendor.

 

[mts]

Ok. Sorry, I didn't realize that.

 

[mts]

I'm assuming that if I don't mention any specific vendor names I can still post the deal right? If not, please feel free to delete again.

So right now, Nokta/Makro is still running their holiday deal where you get a free Pulsedive pinpointer (worth $101) with the purchase of a Simplex metal detector. That means that for $339 you can get a Simplex, wireless headphones, and a great pinpointer. You will never beat that deal anywhere else. You could literally buy two Simplexes with headphones and pinpointers for the price of ONE detector with similar options from another brand.

Some of the metal detector dealers who support this site still have this deal going on but it won't last long!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Ok. Sorry, I didn't realize that.

No apology needed...

I'm assuming that if I don't mention any specific vendor names I can still post the deal right? If not, please feel free to delete again.

So right now, Nokta/Makro is still running their holiday deal where you get a free Pulsedive pinpointer (worth $101) with the purchase of a Simplex metal detector. That means that for $339 you can get a Simplex, wireless headphones, and a great pinpointer. You will never beat that deal anywhere else. You could literally buy two Simplexes with headphones and pinpointers for the price of ONE detector with similar options from another brand.

Some of the metal detector dealers who support this site still have this deal going on but it won't last long!

No problem here.