minelab user has had enough i need a fisher

[bigscoop]

To be sure, the Excal and Sov GT can be complicated and frustrating to learn, especially if you are use to using some of the other "easier to learn/understand" machines. But there is also a good reason as to why so many "very experienced/knowledgeable/successful" MDer's are using them. I hunt a lot of water all over and I'm a huge CZ-20,21 fan, but there has been more then one occassion when I would gladly leave my CZ at home in favor of the Excal. There is no machine that is perfectly suited for all conditions but in the right hands and in most water hunting situations the Excal's are tough to beat. You just have to realize/accept that it is a different type of technology and that you really have to learn that technology as if it was the first and only detector you'll ever own. For instance, if you're assuming that you can simply turn it on and operate the Excal in the same way you operate a CZ then you're probably going to experience problems that won't go away until you really sit back and take the time to understand machine and it's different technology better. It's just something you have to make yourself do if you want to take full advantage of the different type of technology, or perhaps I should say "multiple technologies", being offered.

 

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[gleaner1]

They used to say it takes 100 hours to learn a machine. I say it takes 3 or more seasons of hard detecting and digging a lot of crap to really learn a machine. And there is always room to learn a bit more. Especially if you are trying out a different manufacturer. It makes absolutely no sense to critique a machine until you have learned it. If you forced yourself, you could become very good with the minelab, to the point where it would have to be ripped out of your cold dead hands to give it up.
Same can be said for any top level detector. Try test gardens. Read the manual over and over again.

 

[Willee]

every POS minelab i get have.. excalibur,safari.. all are random, temperamental, make random noise.. in the lab ya they go deep but they are soo screwed up .. You spend more time tinkering with them then detecting.. Bob Frog Foot Weller told me he HATED minelabs and called them scams and poorly made.. he always warned me i never listend. you turn a damm fisher on and it WORKS.. simple. .minelab u need a PHD in electronics.. they have constant interference with soil mineralization int he northeast.. im tired of being scammed. i dealt with kelly co again..

Notice below your Avaitar you state you have an E-Trac on order.

Fire up a new Fisher F75.
Cant wait till I hear how bad you cuss them.
Much harder to learn/understand than an Explorer II or an E-Trac.

What are your friends using where you live?
Are they having problems with their detectors also?

 

[Willee]

i wish no one used a Minelab but me! 8)

Dream on Dixie Digger ... to many know what they are and how to use them ... they wont give them up!

Detectors are like other tools ... the right one makes the job sooooooo easy.
Just wish it was easier to find that just right tool.

 

[gollum]

LEARN YOUR MACHINES!

I have used Minelabs for years. I am on my third Excal. I have a heavily modified SD2000 Gold Machine. My only non Minelab is my Fisher Gemini Two-Box.

Feel free to get your Fisher. They have the ABSOLUTE worst customer service.

NONE of my Minelabs have ever given me any headaches. Even running my SD2000 at 7.6v instead of the factory 6v, it will go all day without issues.

For those people talking about the highly mineralized Coal Belt in Penn, I can tell you that it makes no difference to a Minelab. ALL Minelab detactors are field tested in Australia which has the absolute worst ground for detecting on Earth. If they work in Oz, they work anywhere else.

........... and no I don't work for Minelab.

Best-Mike

 

[NGE]

Don't get me wrong here, I have used all the Fisher's except the new fangled "F" series, also used all the Compass detectors, Ever since I bought a Minelab Explorer XS, I have been in heaven ( after 4 years of learning it ) there's just so much tweaking you can do with it, that ya never run out of settings to use. I live in S.E. Michigan and there are some areas where a Fisher X series will chatter to no end, but that is caused by police frequencies being in the same VLF range as the 1266-X. I have never had that kind of chatter with my Minelabs. Remember, it is 5% machine and 95% user that leads to the success of any detecting adventure . I am trying to justify to my wife that I need another Minelab ( E-Trac ) I already have my original Explorer XS, my Explorer XS II Pro, My Fisher 1266-X, and my original Radio Shack BFO, that I got for my 10th. Birthday ( 50 years ago ). She says I don't hunt much anymore (bad knees and back) but when I do get out, I want the real GOODIES! I have also owned a White's metal or mineral machine with the 4db coil. What a wrist breaker and 14 batteries to boot..........NGE

 

[sniffer]

I started with a BH Time Ranger, nice machine does go deep, I then Bought a Whites DFX, and now I use an Etrac. the Minelab is by far a better machine. you just need to listen to it and ignore the chatter. chatter is really bad in trashy areas, so try a smaller coil or a different area

 

[John Tanner]

I agree get rid of the outdated ML they should be ashamed of themselves how much those things weigh and how awkward and poorly balanced they are-I swung one for a few years and now have permanent shoulder, wrist and elbow damage according to my doctor. Anyone recomending them should be charged with assault or contacted by a personal injury attorny -they are that bad and ML has had years to address it but are too greedy to redesign.

Add to it they are made in China-(Malaysia) and owned by a foreign company so little money stays in the US and that they have easily the WORST customer service and longest repair delays its a no brainer to stay away from their products.

Fisher F75 smokes all ML units in speed, separation, see thru, ergonomics and weight and is equal in depth and much more sensitive to small targets-USA made and owned keeping US money in the US where it belongs and has excellent customer service along with a 1 day in house turnaround on repairs for non water units 2 days on those.

ML is still using 10 year old technology calling it new while Fisher continues to come out with all new and improved products instead of just painting, renaming their units and raising the price which is ML's MO

Anyone saying an F75 is harder to learn then an ML Explorer has never used an F75 or is severely lacking in skill I have used both and its no contest-F75 is so simple even a caveman can use one. The ML and its hidden menus are so confusing they include a flow chart that looks like a road map so you can get somewhere to make an adjustment and after pressing 6 buttons you better hope you didnt make a wrong turn-pretty comical saying its easy!F75 is all on the screen and easy to make adjustments on the fly....

JT

 

[gollum]

I agree get rid of the outdated ML they should be ashamed of themselves how much those things weigh and how awkward and poorly balanced they are-I swung one for a few years and now have permanent shoulder, wrist and elbow damage according to my doctor. Anyone recomending them should be charged with assault or contacted by a personal injury attorny -they are that bad and ML has had years to address it but are too greedy to redesign.

Add to it they are made in China-(Malaysia) and owned by a foreign company so little money stays in the US and that they have easily the WORST customer service and longest repair delays its a no brainer to stay away from their products.

Fisher F75 smokes all ML units in speed, separation, see thru, ergonomics and weight and is equal in depth and much more sensitive to small targets-USA made and owned keeping US money in the US where it belongs and has excellent customer service along with a 1 day in house turnaround on repairs for non water units 2 days on those.

ML is still using 10 year old technology calling it new while Fisher continues to come out with all new and improved products instead of just painting, renaming their units and raising the price which is ML's MO

Anyone saying an F75 is harder to learn then an ML Explorer has never used an F75 or is severely lacking in skill I have used both and its no contest-F75 is so simple even a caveman can use one. The ML and its hidden menus are so confusing they include a flow chart that looks like a road map so you can get somewhere to make an adjustment and after pressing 6 buttons you better hope you didnt make a wrong turn-pretty comical saying its easy!F75 is all on the screen and easy to make adjustments on the fly....

JT

AAAAAAHHHHH!

A great quote that shows nothing except the poster's lack of knowledge regarding Metal Detector Technology.

You are soooooooooooooo right! That's why Excals have consistently smoked any other detector in the water and at the beach. The Minelab Gold Machines are the detectors of choice WORLDWIDE. No other gold machine goes as deep in horrible ground conditions. Maybe you should go and try your Whites or Fishers in Australia that has some of the absolute worst ground conditions on Earth. Why do you think Ozzies pay double what we do for the same Minelab detectors, and yet they are STILL the detectors of choice.

.......... and once again ..........I don't sell or derive profit in any way (except for using them) from Minelab.

.....and one other thing, if Minelab is such a scumbag company, then why do they have a completely separate division for specialized Mine Detecting Machines? I wonder how many lives and legs have been saved because a Minelab Detector was used to find and remove land mines from poor villages around the world?

Best-Mike

 

[Keppy]

I agree get rid of the outdated ML they should be ashamed of themselves how much those things weigh and how awkward and poorly balanced they are-I swung one for a few years and now have permanent shoulder, wrist and elbow damage according to my doctor. Anyone recomending them should be charged with assault or contacted by a personal injury attorny -they are that bad and ML has had years to address it but are too greedy to redesign.

Add to it they are made in China-(Malaysia) and owned by a foreign company so little money stays in the US and that they have easily the WORST customer service and longest repair delays its a no brainer to stay away from their products.

Fisher F75 smokes all ML units in speed, separation, see thru, ergonomics and weight and is equal in depth and much more sensitive to small targets-USA made and owned keeping US money in the US where it belongs and has excellent customer service along with a 1 day in house turnaround on repairs for non water units 2 days on those.

ML is still using 10 year old technology calling it new while Fisher continues to come out with all new and improved products instead of just painting, renaming their units and raising the price which is ML's MO

Anyone saying an F75 is harder to learn then an ML Explorer has never used an F75 or is severely lacking in skill I have used both and its no contest-F75 is so simple even a caveman can use one. The ML and its hidden menus are so confusing they include a flow chart that looks like a road map so you can get somewhere to make an adjustment and after pressing 6 buttons you better hope you didnt make a wrong turn-pretty comical saying its easy!F75 is all on the screen and easy to make adjustments on the fly....

JT

You got that right looks like a road map hit 6 buttons and hope it's right "Why so compilcated i want to treasure hunt if i want to play with my computer i will stay at home.

 

[Keppy]

I agree get rid of the outdated ML they should be ashamed of themselves how much those things weigh and how awkward and poorly balanced they are-I swung one for a few years and now have permanent shoulder, wrist and elbow damage according to my doctor. Anyone recomending them should be charged with assault or contacted by a personal injury attorny -they are that bad and ML has had years to address it but are too greedy to redesign.

Add to it they are made in China-(Malaysia) and owned by a foreign company so little money stays in the US and that they have easily the WORST customer service and longest repair delays its a no brainer to stay away from their products.

Fisher F75 smokes all ML units in speed, separation, see thru, ergonomics and weight and is equal in depth and much more sensitive to small targets-USA made and owned keeping US money in the US where it belongs and has excellent customer service along with a 1 day in house turnaround on repairs for non water units 2 days on those.

ML is still using 10 year old technology calling it new while Fisher continues to come out with all new and improved products instead of just painting, renaming their units and raising the price which is ML's MO

Anyone saying an F75 is harder to learn then an ML Explorer has never used an F75 or is severely lacking in skill I have used both and its no contest-F75 is so simple even a caveman can use one. The ML and its hidden menus are so confusing they include a flow chart that looks like a road map so you can get somewhere to make an adjustment and after pressing 6 buttons you better hope you didnt make a wrong turn-pretty comical saying its easy!F75 is all on the screen and easy to make adjustments on the fly....

JT

AAAAAAHHHHH!

A great quote that shows nothing except the poster's lack of knowledge regarding Metal Detector Technology.

You are soooooooooooooo right! That's why Excals have consistently smoked any other detector in the water and at the beach. The Minelab Gold Machines are the detectors of choice WORLDWIDE. No other gold machine goes as deep in horrible ground conditions. Maybe you should go and try your Whites or Fishers in Australia that has some of the absolute worst ground conditions on Earth. Why do you think Ozzies pay double what we do for the same Minelab detectors, and yet they are STILL the detectors of choice.

.......... and once again ..........I don't sell or derive profit in any way (except for using them) from Minelab.

.....and one other thing, if Minelab is such a scumbag company, then why do they have a completely separate division for specialized Mine Detecting Machines? I wonder how many lives and legs have been saved because a Minelab Detector was used to find and remove land mines from poor villages around the world?

Best-Mike

Yes but they are useing PI detectors that are user friendly also the Sovereign & Excalibur are user friendly..

 

[gollum]

Don't sweat it Keppy.

Thats why Minelabs have preset modes. See, if you understand what you use, you can get the most out of it.

I see it all the time. Someone wants the best machine out there, and they spend a small fortune for an expensive professional machine. When they can't figure out how to use it correctly, all of a sudden there is something wrong with the machine. HAHAHA

Use the preset modes or a cheaper click-and-detect machine (XTerra 305, 505, 705). Simple and easy to use.

I'm not a coin shooter. I use detectors for prospecting, nugget hunting, cache hunting, exploration, etc. I have had all my machines for several years, and consequently am able to use them to the best of their abilities.

Just learn your machine.

Best-Mike

 

[gollum]

Yes but they are useing PI detectors that are user friendly

HAHAHA Do you REALLY think that Minelabs Gold machines are user friendly? Maybe after the introduction of auto ground balance, but the older SDs require a learning curve, but after you learn them, there is nothing better. I have fairly heavily modified my SD2000 I have had for almost 12 years. With five manually selectable frequencies, I can fine tune the machine to the ground or search conditions. I also run it at 7.6volts (on lithium polymer batteries) instead of the factory 6volts. It adds several inches to its' depth (with good ground). I don't know any other machines you can run at a higher voltage without burning them up.

Best-Mike

 

[Keppy]

Yes but they are useing PI detectors that are user friendly

HAHAHA Do you REALLY think that Minelabs Gold machines are user friendly? Maybe after the introduction of auto ground balance, but the older SDs require a learning curve, but after you learn them, there is nothing better. I have fairly heavily modified my SD2000 I have had for almost 12 years. With five manually selectable frequencies, I can fine tune the machine to the ground or search conditions. I also run it at 7.6volts (on lithium polymer batteries) instead of the factory 6volts. It adds several inches to its' depth (with good ground). I don't know any other machines you can run at a higher voltage without burning them up.

Best-Mike

Mike...I have been useing Sovereigns since the first year they came out......I have used every Sovereign they made and i see no real difference from the first one to the GT...... I have always said that the Sovereign is the best inland detector & coin & jewelry detector made by any one.......And the best one that Minelab makes for Coins & Jewelry................. But then that is what i believe just my opinion Jim

 

[gollum]

Keppy,

I have used a lot of different detectors over the years, but I always wind up back with Minelab. The only rival to the Minelab Gold Machines (IMHO) is the Eric Foster Goldscan 5c. A work of art, and nobody knows more about modern Pulse Induction that Eric Foster.

Best-Mike

 

[EZrider]

I agree about Erics works of art. As far as production machines go. I traded my F75 in on the ETrac i use now. I was one of the first to get one in the NE. There was nothing on the internet about it so i had to learn it from scratch. The F75 is an outstanding relic machine. But for big city parks and beaches it was a no go for me. The Sov is a nice Cadillac of a detector. But not even close to the Mercedes we have today. I'm not brand loyal as i own both Fisher and Minelab. I have also owen and used many different models over the years. Half the fun is understanding and learning your machine.

HH
Bob

 

[Keppy]

I agree about Erics works of art. As far as production machines go. I traded my F75 in on the ETrac i use now. I was one of the first to get one in the NE. There was nothing on the internet about it so i had to learn it from scratch. The F75 is an outstanding relic machine. But for big city parks and beaches it was a no go for me. The Sov is a nice Cadillac of a detector. But not even close to the Mercedes we have today. I'm not brand loyal as i own both Fisher and Minelab. I have also owen and used many different models over the years. Half the fun is understanding and learning your machine.

HH
Bob

EZ ... Are you saying that the Sovereign is out dated like the Caddy.. And the Mercedes & Lexus is what detector E-trak ? F75 ?...

 

[EZrider]

There is nothing that the Sov can hit that the ETrac can't. However there are targets the ETrac can hit that the Sov can not. One of the biggest problems with most detectors is masking and silent masking. The ETrac is one machine "i'm sure there are others" that isn't effected as much. Not to mention the tones,target ID and separation is superior. While the Sov groups most coins in the high tone "180 with a meter" The ETrac separate the coins. I can tell an IH from a zinc penny from a memorial/wheat from a clad dime from a silver dime from a quarter etc. The 2d target scale is amazing. Add tones that you can tune to your liking and the way you go. Discrimination does not effect the ETrac like it does with other machines. My CZ-21 is like that too.

There is nothing wrong with the Sov. There great machines. But there is nothing the Sov can do that the ETrac can't do better IMO.

 

[Deepdiger60]

There is nothing that the Sov can hit that the ETrac can't. However there are targets the ETrac can hit that the Sov can not. One of the biggest problems with most detectors is masking and silent masking. The ETrac is one machine "i'm sure there are others" that isn't effected as much. Not to mention the tones,target ID and separation is superior. While the Sov groups most coins in the high tone "180 with a meter" The ETrac separate the coins. I can tell an IH from a zinc penny from a memorial/wheat from a clad dime from a silver dime from a quarter etc. The 2d target scale is amazing. Add tones that you can tune to your liking and the way you go. Discrimination does not effect the ETrac like it does with other machines. My CZ-21 is like that too.

There is nothing wrong with the Sov. There great machines. But there is nothing the Sov can do that the ETrac can't do better IMO.

Ditto on that just turn on the Sov. GT and swing

 

[gleaner1]

I'm deadly with a cz. I love fisher. If I had the time, patience and wallet to learn the minelab, I would. I love minelab.