Five (5) New cheap metal detectors:

[LuckyLarry]

I had to know how good/bad they are, so I bought all of these, costing from $40 to $100 each.

#1 is an American Hawks and is listed under several brand names, but it goes deeper than its other lookalike brands (8" air test on a quarter), and only weighs 1.5 pounds.

#2 is a real winner, a 1023, w pinpoint, with a rock-solid all-metal switch, and very solid in performance (a 25 cent at 8 1/2").

#3 is very lightweight and gets 8" air test on a quarter, but the all-metal switch is weak and may not last very long.

#4 goes deeper than all the others I'm showing, but is slow operating, and is more complex (10" on a US quarter, 12" in all-metal).

#5 is {ALWAYS} cancelling iron and can't cherry pick well at all, it MUST be swung slowly, and it often does not read as it should. But it does read larger-sized iron well..........

I prefer #'s 1, 2, and 3. Children would fit #1 the best, adults # 2 or 3.

I prefer #1, 2, and 3 over my Tesoro Compadre, especially #3, it is the fastest of all, and best-balanced

#3 is quickest response, #2 a very close 2nd. #1 almost as quick as # 2 and 3, and favors old copper and brass, especially coin-sized. The first 3 cherry pick better than my CZ, or most of my other 2 detectors too.

 

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[Loco-Digger]

Thanks for the reviews Larry, glad to see you post again. I started with the 1023 back in 2014. I liked that it was light, had three settings, and three tones. The meter is just eye candy in my opinion since it pegs so easily. I learned to raise the coil while swinging over a target to better estimate it's depth. It was a very good starter detector. I was bitten bad with the detecting bug so the 1023 paid for itself in about 2 months. Back then I hunted without a pin pointer. Once I upgraded to a Fisher F4, I let my brother-in-law use the 1023 on a hunt. He was bitten so I sold it to him for half the cost. Fast forward to now and I have 4 detectors and my brother-in-law has 3.

 

[G.A.P.metal]

Welcome back Larry
I always enjoy your posts !
Gary

 

[Qball]

Someone made a detector in Sweet Home once didn't they?

 

[vpnavy]

Interesting - would be neat if you could also put a "ball park" cost with each - thanks for taking the time to review and share your findings.

 

[LuckyLarry]

Whites still makes metal detectors in Sweet Home, 0ne mile down the road.

Teknetics made their first one 13 miles away and their engineer parted from Whites so he could build his own

 

[LuckyLarry]

They vary in cost from around $40 to about $100, but some people charge over $200. You have to keep checking for the prices, the prices vary tremendously depending on availability, even so on Amazon, although Amazon normally has the best prices.
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