How about the Nautilus Machines?

[joe_black]

Right now i'm using my newb machine - a Garrett TA 100. I've been looking around for possible upgrades, but i've got no experience with other machines. I talked to a fellow recently who had nothing but praise for Nautilus machines. I've looked into them and seems that they are well known for their depth and accuracy, owners really seem to like them. I've noticed that they do not have visual id of any kind, and have 2 different signals for descrimination and all-metal modes, simultaneously. My questions to any owners outthere are:

1 - I'm deaf in one ear, so stereo headphones do me no good, would the signals be difficult to distinguish in mono audio?
2 - is having no visual id a handicap?
3 - how are they on the beach?

Thx for any info or suggestions

 

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[Michigan Badger]

Hi, you might want to go to a Nautilus forum and ask your questions. There aren't many Nautilus owners here.

I've also heard all the good reports so my next machine will be the Nautilus DMC II-B.

Go to this site and ask your questions:

http://www.findmall.com/list.php?39

 

[joe_black]

cool thx badger

 

[FLauthor]

Nautilus Machines are basically old technology. They were THE relic hunting machines in the 1970's and 80's. Other than the switch over to the S handle, I don't think the circuitry has changed. For the money, I'd rather own a Minelab Eureka that has advanced circuitry and a computer chip with a set it and forget it mode. Nautilus Machines I believe still have about 8 knobs to adjust. I own a Minelab XT18000 with 3 frequencies and can pickup a rice grain of gold in mineralized ground. In all metal mode, it will detect iron deeper than I want to dig. That goes for lead as well. I use the XT18000 for finding fine gold on dry sand beaches and relic hunting. It finds a lot of junk but you got to dig the junk to find the goodies. Good luck in TH'ing.

Harry

 

[Sandpit]

Yeah guys stay way from the ole techonolgy if you don't want to dig deeper than 4 inches. Have owned Nautilus models 11, 2b. 2ba for last 15 years. It takes a lot of effort to dig 12" to 18" on most signals, but worth it because other models can't reach that depth. i like those worked out sites. HeHe.

 

[Gribnitz]

Nautilus Machines are basically old technology. They were THE relic hunting machines in the 1970's and 80's.
Harry

They may be older, but Nautilus wins the brand detector competitions all the time on relic hunts. They are heavy as hell swinging the 15 inch coil (I think they even came out with a bigger coil now), but they go really really deep. So deep I don't think I would want to be digging a bunch of holes like that. As far as metered machines go, I don't like them. Anything with much depth to it is going to give a false reading and you are going to pass it over thinking its junk if you trust those damn meters too much. Metered machines are great for coin shooting, so long as you don't mind missing the iffy deep ones. Check out the new Tesoro line as well if you want to look for relics. Not quite as deep as the Nautilis, but they are a helluva lot lighter to swing all day.

 

[dave-enc]

Joe,
sandpit and grib are right the nautilus is the work horse of the relic hunters here in the south east. Strong, and built like a tank. Unless things have changed they are still hand made here in nc, in harnett county, outside of dunn. If you were in florida then I would tell you it would do great in wet sand down there but up here I dont know. I do know that if we started relic hunting on a more regular basis, the nautilus would be at the top of my short list
hh
dave+bobbie

 

[joe_black]

hey all. Thx for the responses and opinions. I still have no idea what i'm goin to buy yet. I guess what i need is a good "all-around" machine, because i'm not really selective about what i hunt for or where i hunt. I go for any good opportunity. More often than not, i wont bother digging further than 12" down, and it doesnt sound to me like the nautilus handles trashy areas as well as others might. And I want one that can perform well in salty conditions cuz i got lots of beach just a short drive away. So my research continues.
And i must say that all you folks and this forum are great, and really help me along in this new hobby that I'm hooked on for good!

 

[jeff of pa]

Sounds to me like maby you should Consider Whites' DFX