An Elder In Class

[Jonathan65]

Greetings! This 65 year old artifact is about to sign up for detector kindergarten class. This is a hobby that I have thought about for years, and finally decided to activate that intention.

I am aware of the very basics, but I have no experience, nor have I ever had a detector in my hands. However, I have done some preliminary research on entry level equipment to get me started within my budget.

How comparable (not price) are the Whites PrismII and the Garrett Ace 250 in performance, durability and function? How significant is the diameter of the detecting disk head?

Thank you for your considerations.

Jonathan

 

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[Montana Jim]

Greetings!! And Merry Christmas & Welcome to Treasure Net! 8)

I'm originally from Upstate myself... Rochester... and I hope you enjoy yer detecting experiences! I have no practical experience with the machines you're asking about but I know folks here will help you...

You live in a great place for relics and coins!

Keep posting and Happy hunting!

 

[Jonathan65]

Thank you Jim. I know that this area along rural Lake Ontario should be fertile ground. I grew up on a farm here in the 1940's, and just moved back after being in Wisconsin for 40 years to care for my 94 year old father. The area in the corridor near the farm is steeped in historical activity. I am 30 miles east of Niagara Falls.

Hope to have a detector in place to become familiar enough with before the snow melts and the frost leaves the ground.

Jonathan

 

[Montana Jim]

In addition... here in the forum there is a New York area... and there are tons of folks around you that detect... Heres a short cut to that area... you may be able to hook up with someone or get some tips...

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/board,173.0.html

And by the way... either detector will be great... that ACE 250 is a popular thing that almost everyone is happy with from what I read... I don't think you'll go wrong either way... The important thing is to get out there and start!

 

[BamaBill]

I for one, wouldn't recommend a target ID type detector to start with. I think a Tesoro would teach you more (a used machine is a good value because of how customer oriented the company is and how they hold their value), guess it depends on your health and if you can dig most of your targets to learn your machine. I just think that a TID type machine makes it too easy to trust the readout and not dig, when there are so many variables that makes the ID iffy a lot of the time. The TID type machines are best when your coin shooting and audio only machines (most of the Tesoros) are great for relics. I have both and I'm starting to learn to dig a lot of the targets that TID machine is identifying as junk and about half the time its not, especially if its at the edge of where the machine can give some kind of ID.

 

[Sandman]

Hello Johnathan, both those machines are good but I have to argee with BamaBill on not having a screen to rely on to decide weather to dig or not. Relics will read down in the iron area anyway. I don't use a screen most of the time myself, but I've been at this hobby or addiction for many years. Take note that this hobby might lead to owning many detectors.

The Tesoro line is great and for you I think a Vaquero would fit the bill, however it does cost more than a Ace 250. The Ace doesn't have an adjustable ground balance for the deepest depth at every location. Many swear by the Ace and for the price I don't think it can be beat. That's why some of us have many detectors as they are like tools, one for each type of job.

It is a fun hobby and you will enjoy it if you don't get hung up on not finding a gold coil right away. If you have questions, we'll do our best to help.

Good Luck,
Sandman

 

[Timberwolf]

Welcome to Tnet

I agree with everyone so far....But I would like to add one thing...I highly recommend that whichever machine you decide to buy....please buy it from a dealer, not a department store or a warehouse.

In my opinion....the big guys stay in business because they sell in volume.
The little guys stay in business because they will give you help and service after the sale.
Plus they probably has many hours of experience in the field. This is very important.

I hope you enjoy this new addiction

Timberwolf

 

[Jonathan65]

Thank you men for your generous responses. Let me digest the ink dropped so far, and I will do more investigative research before I commit. There is time to study up before spring arrives to make my initial purchase.

I am well aware of the addictive potential housed in this hobby. I have enough other ones already in place, and I am aware of the tool syndrome - like screw drivers and wrenches, one for each assignment. And, I have no intentions of buying from a national chain. I have tried to keep my purchases local for the past 50 years.

Fortunately, I am healthy and in above average condition for my chronology - have worked outdoors my entire life.

Regards,

Jonathan

 

[Old Dog]

Jonathan,

Merry Christmas !

Welcome to TNet,
My best recomendation is to hang out, read the posts, chip in and enjoy.
Read up on detectors and make the purchase that you think will be best when the time comes.

But most of all ... stick around and enjoy what you find here.
Treasure hunting isn't always done with a detector.
sometimes the treasure can be found in these threads.

The friends you will find here can be more valuable than anything you dig up.

Thom
Old Dog

 

[Jeffro]

To answer your question about the head size- a larger coil will find larger objects deeper, (works best in non-trashy areas) and a smaller coil will find smaller, shallower targets. (work best in trashy areas, being able to see between junk targets).

 

[BamaBill]

Jeffro, don't forget the plus and minuses of the larger coil vs. small coil. The larger coil picks up more of the ground too and can make your machine unstable if the ground is heavily mineralized. The smaller coils are better in heavily mineralized ground, but don't cover much ground in a sweep (which is not a problem around old homesites or parks, where a smaller coil helps get through the trash and in close to rough areas where the stones or trees make it harder). The larger coils come into their own when hunting a wide open field with little trash and you're looking for that old homesite or battlefield. So, eventually if you hunt a variety of sites and you're really into it you'll need both.

 

[luvsdux]

Don't know what kind of a budget you have, but the Tesoro line offers a much better selection of accessory coils than the Ace 250 or the White's Prizm series. I agree that it might be well to start with a non tid detector. I have several beep and dig Tesoros and a White's MXT and while I appreciate the tid on the MXT, I still make my first decision on whether to dig or not by the sound alone. The White's MXT, DFX, and M6 all share a very complete coil selection, but are a more expensive line of detectors than the Prizms. The reasons for the different coils are to make the machines more versatile in different conditions. In extremely trashy areas the small coils slip thru the trash and aren't overwhelmed by too many targets under them at once and tend to be more sensitive to small jewelry etc. but aren't as deep as the larger coils. The large coils cover a lot of ground more quickly and can pick up larger targets deeper, often with less sensitivity to small items however, but can drive you crazy when multiple targets are in their detecting pattern. Double D or widescan coils as they are called, are less affected by heavy minearlization an a good choice for prospecting. Hope this helps a bit.
Good luck,
Bill

 

[Jonathan65]

Both Bills and Jeff,

Thank you for that explanation and discussion. I was not aware of the interchangeability of accessory coils among manufacturers. Apparently the coil diameters not only correlate with surface area coverage, but also yield varying degrees of "sensitivity," depending upon soil characteristics.

I located a small shop in a nearby rural village, Wilson's Metal Detectors. Just found out this morning that the owner heads up a local prospecting club. I am going to call him shortly. Hopefully, he may have the Garrett, Whites and Tesoro brands in stock for me to examine for "fit" at my entry level stance first hand.

My brother told me the shop has been there for years, but thinks it is only open seasonally. An e-mail to the owner should clarify that. It could be that Charles is my missing link to expand my resource base and curiosity, and shorten the learning curve. I never realized how popular and widespread this hobby must really be nationwide. I will keep you folks posted on that outcome.

Regards,

Jonathan

 

[thompy]

another machine you might look at as an entry is the fisher f2 $200 with the 8" and 4" coils and its big brother the f4 with groundballance and 3 coils $425