Prizm II thoughts

[BobinSouthVA]

Started this hobby in February 07 and bought the White's Prism II over the Garrett Ace 250 based on recommendations from people. I think the Prism's are great starter machines but would highly recommend a III or higher if anyone decides to buy one. My II has been a great little machine and I have found some nice coins and relics, but the two biggest complaints I have are starting to frustrate me. At this point I am hesitant to search some good sites I have lined up, due to the thought of what I'm leaving behind in the ground.

First off the lack of a depth indicator with the II is becoming an issue. When I bought the machine I contacted my grandfather who got me interested in the hobby eons ago. His opinion was "well, do you really need a depth finder, your going to dig until you find it". Well that's true, but knowledge of how deep the item is would be great, thus I would know when to stop.

In conjunction with the lack of a depth finder is the item readout. While I have found that this machine will only find coins a few inches deep, there is very little difference, if any at all, between a soda can at 12 inches, and a coin at 2 inches. Both ring up at the zinc cent/ring/bottlecap notch. I know a lot of people would dig everything anyway, but knowing that this machine does not find deep coins, having the depth finder would indicate that a deep nice coin tone, is probably a can or some other relic.

So all in all its been a great starter machine, but in hindsight I believe I would have upgraded to one of the other Prism machines as a starter or saved a bit more for a higher class machine.


Well back to work to make some more $$$ to pad the DFX fund.

 

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[Mainedigger]

While the other Prizm's have the depth readout, they are not always 100% accurate, nor are they always right on , as you will find with any detector. My first detector was a Prizm III and loved it, however a friend had a Prizm II and found just as many old and deeper coins as I did. Your grandfather was right about digging until you find something...with your not getting them they may just not be there. I didn;t see the Prizm II lack for depth when my friend was out with his and from what I have seen it is a very capable machine. I see you are saving for a DFX....maybe you might wanna look at the M6...I have one now and absolutely LOVE it, very simple to use and an overall fantastic detector...doesn;t have all the bells and whistles the DFX has but to me that is a good thing. It is also about half the price of the DFX. I am not putting down the DFX at all, it is a superb detector, but before you spend all that cash you may want to find out if it all the features will be more than you will use and the M6 may be a better fit detector wise and cost wise.

 

[BobinSouthVA]

While the other Prizm's have the depth readout, they are not always 100% accurate, nor are they always right on , as you will find with any detector. My first detector was a Prizm III and loved it, however a friend had a Prizm II and found just as many old and deeper coins as I did. Your grandfather was right about digging until you find something...with your not getting them they may just not be there. I didn;t see the Prizm II lack for depth when my friend was out with his and from what I have seen it is a very capable machine. I see you are saving for a DFX....maybe you might wanna look at the M6...I have one now and absolutely LOVE it, very simple to use and an overall fantastic detector...doesn;t have all the bells and whistles the DFX has but to me that is a good thing. It is also about half the price of the DFX. I am not putting down the DFX at all, it is a superb detector, but before you spend all that cash you may want to find out if it all the features will be more than you will use and the M6 may be a better fit detector wise and cost wise.

Ha your right they may not be there to begin with. Can you remember any of the depths your friend was finding his coins? maybe my machine is faulty and needs some repair.

I'll have to take a look at the M6. I was just watching some of the DFX videos and was drooling all over my keyboard but the M6 would fit my budget (<<laughs at self... what budget ) better. The DFX certainly is expensive.

Thanks for the input.

.

 

[Mainedigger]

He was finding them easily in the 6- 8 inch range...soil conditons will play havoc with depth as will other factors, but I don;t think that depth range is unrealistic to expect from the Prizm II. As for the DFX vs. the M6...I own the M6 and detect with others that own the DFX, many of whom now say they wish they had gotten the M6 due to the simplicity of operating it. Others are still thrilled with their choice of the DFX and swear by it....All depends on your preference and budget, but either way you will end up with a fantastic detector!!!

 

[khouse]

I believe the P2 is the best one of the bunch. Your P2 tells you how deep the target is by the tone volume when you pinpoint. It's not worth $100.00 for the depth gauge that is only at best approximate. Also aluminum cans can fool all detectors. Raise your coil up 12 inches and if you still get a beep then it's probably a can. Or when you pinpoint if the target is large then that's a clue too. How would you feel if you bought a $1000.00 detector and dug a can. It happens. Maybe in your soil you need a detector with ground track of manual GB? For added depth on the Prizms lock the PP button to enter the all metal mode. It still will give you a TID. Also your P2 comes with the 8 inch coil that is better than the 950 (P5) in separating targets and gets about as deep. Good luck hunting!

I just wanted to edit my post and clarify a point I made. The first sentence should read. I believe the P2 is the best of the Prizm series. That's what I meant.

 

[Keppy]

I will tell you that you do not need a depth read out or a item indicator. All you need is a....Minelab Sovereign....the best detector on the market . I can tell if it is coin or junk by tone and what kind of coin it is and the ...Sovereign also has ..iron mask...true iron mask....You will not find that on any other brand..............==Jim==

 

[BobinSouthVA]

Also aluminum cans can fool all detectors. Raise your coil up 12 inches and if you still get a beep then it's probably a can. Or when you pinpoint if the target is large then that's a clue too. How would you feel if you bought a $1000.00 detector and dug a can. It happens. Maybe in your soil you need a detector with ground track of manual GB? For added depth on the Prizms lock the PP button to enter the all metal mode. It still will give you a TID. Also your P2 comes with the 8 inch coil that is better than the 950 (P5) in separating targets and gets about as deep. Good luck hunting!

I know and I have no problem digging up the cans, I have just never found a coin deeper than 2 inches give or take. I will give the raising the coil trick a try. and the 8 in coil is the only one I have.

 

[Mainedigger]

Try planting a quarter and a dime down 6 inches and run your coil over it and see what happens...the Prizm II should pick these up easily...if not something is wrong with it and it may need servicing. I think the main problem is that there just aren;t any coins where you are searching, but you want to be sure its not something wrong with the detector first. What are you running for discrimination and sensitivity? On my Prizm III I disicriminated out all but nails and ran the sensitivity down one or two notches from the highest.

 

[EasyMoney]

I know that this statement will really annoy a lot of Minelab owners but here it is anyway, and if they don't like it, it's their problem to deal with, not mine;

I have a Prism III. I have used a Prism II. I have used all kinds of detectors and then some..

AN EXPLORER, OR QUANTUM, OR SOVEREIGN, DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER DEPTH THAN A PRISM II OR PRISM III IN MEDIUM TO BAD GROUND!!!

In less mineralized ground an Explorer, etc gets a little better depth, but not much. I laugh when I read or hear some of these preposterous claims of Minelab owners.

Now the best depth indicator I've ever seen was on a Tesoro Cortez, VERY accurate, and the only really major problems with the Cortez are it's ground cancelling abilities and it's pinpointing abilities. It does get reasonably good depth in nasty ground though because it can be run 2+ inches off the ground. Tesoro can fix the ground balance settings at the factory though, but pinpointing would take a lot of practice. I've seen people really struggling with pinpointing a Cortez, but after awhile they do get a little better at it.

People can live in Dreamland all they want to, but the Prisms I own or have used are really quite deep in their detecting abilities. If it doesn't go as deep as most other VLF's it needs to be repaired. A DFX or an MXT doesn't go any deeper either, I've matched them all against the same targets in ground that has never been disturbed. When I got my (used, $75) III I was really suprised that it did as well as it did, and I even ran over the same targets with several other of my detectors. They only bad thing about Prisms is that they sound off on small pieces of wire too easily because they have poor discriminators. It gets a little old hearing a lot of pops and clicks when the detector tries to cancel all the little steel nails, etc. The Prisms do like copper and brass very much.

The Prisms are a good backup unit, lightweight but a little rear end heavy, and as I said earlier they have as good of depth as (most) other VLF machines in medium to bad ground, but not as good as certain others such as Red Heats, Compass x-200's, x-100's, Scanner R&C's and Goldscanners, Fisher cz's, and Erik Fosters modular VLF's, when searching the higher mineralized areas.

 

[Mainedigger]

Easymoney...I agree...the Prizms give great depth...I upgraded to an M6 from my Prizm III and as far as depth, my Prizm III did jsut as well as the M6...the only reason I went with the M6 was because of the ground balancing and the beach mode....my Prizm jsut couldn;t handle all the interference on the beaches. For the money the Prizms are FANTASTIC detectors and I've found lots of coins with my Prizm III that were missed by DFX's, Minelabs and others...its usually your technique and the ground conditions at the time that usually cause something to be missed...NOT the detector itself. With patience and persistance, you will find the coins at depth, regardless of what you are swinging for a detector.

 

[EasyMoney]

Well versed Mainedigger..

And intellectually disposed too.

In fact, many detectors of various types and brands are very similar to each other and still others too. The main differences are in their amount of toys onboard. I really got an eye-opener when I found that high-end White's and Fishers, Minelabs, etc., weren't really any deeper detecting than the cheapies. Toys are for boys though, and some boys want more toys than others do. So be it.

HH

EasyMoney

 

[Treasure Tom]

I haven't had any problems with my first detector, Prism V. It is very easy to use , the depth gauge is fairly accurate, & it has found coins 6-8 inches. Cans give the detector an overload sound. The deepest item I dug was a cookie tin buried in the sand that was about 16 inches deep (all metal mode). The Prism V has more than paid for itself in coins and jewelry. If you are finding coins only 2 inches deep then perhaps you are in an area where there are only recent drops. Some of the deeper signals show up as IRON. As you dig down and rescan the signal will change and ID more accurately.

Tom

 

[BobinSouthVA]

I haven't had any problems with my first detector, Prism V. It is very easy to use , the depth gauge is fairly accurate, & it has found coins 6-8 inches. Cans give the detector an overload sound. The deepest item I dug was a cookie tin buried in the sand that was about 16 inches deep (all metal mode). The Prism V has more than paid for itself in coins and jewelry. If you are finding coins only 2 inches deep then perhaps you are in an area where there are only recent drops. Some of the deeper signals show up as IRON. As you dig down and rescan the signal will change and ID more accurately.

Tom

Actually I live in "colonial" Virginia so there had better been some old stuff . Most of the properties I have permission to hunt have substantial histories and judging by the amount of junk I dig have not been hit before. In my own yard which dates back to only 1984, I have found a 1940 nickel, 1916 Barber dime and a 1903 indian cent, but all of these were at max 2 inches deep. Found a pocket watch at 12+ inches back in March 07 when I first got the machine.

so after reading all your posts I decided to do a bit of testing (air testing). At first things didn't look good. a quarter rang up as a cent and would sometimes give a bad sound. A nickle would not register at all sideways, but would barely sound off going back to front. Cent and dime seemed OK.

I'm seriously starting to think the unit may need repair. I tried to clean it up a bit. Removed the coil cover and the coil looked OK. Cleaned it all off. Tightened the cable connections and retested. Bit better results this time. (air testing again)The nickel rang up OK this time and I could get about 6 inches.

Today I tested some coins in the ground. Could get a copper cent at 6 inches max and the same with a nickel. Didn't have time to test any other coins.

Watched some of the M6 instructional videos and it seems like a very nice machine. I also looked at some of the Soverign specs and like that as well. Starting to think a machine like the soverign, without a display, would force me to understand how different targets sound and better interpret the sounds I'm hearing.

The Prism II is still under warranty so when it gets too cold to hunt here I'll get it in to see if there is indeed a problem.

Thanks for all your thoughts and comments.

.

 

[Treasure Tom]

Good to hear that your test results are better. It wouldn't hurt to have your detector checked if it is still under warranty. Happy hunting!

Tom

 

[khouse]

I didn't know you had a coil cover? It sounds like you had some crap in it because it's better without it. I have been detecting for 23 years and used the same detector and coil for 15 years. I used the same 8 inch coil all that time and never wore it out. Todays coil are even better.

 

[Mainedigger]

I didn't know you had a coil cover? It sounds like you had some crap in it because it's better without it. I have been detecting for 23 years and used the same detector and coil for 15 years. I used the same 8 inch coil all that time and never wore it out. Todays coil are even better.

I didn't realize you had been using a coil cover either...That is what may be giving you problems...I don't use one at all myself and am not convinced they don;t "screw" up things, and that might be jsut what is going on with yours.

 

[BobinSouthVA]

I didn't know you had a coil cover? It sounds like you had some crap in it because it's better without it. I have been detecting for 23 years and used the same detector and coil for 15 years. I used the same 8 inch coil all that time and never wore it out. Todays coil are even better.

I didn't realize you had been using a coil cover either...That is what may be giving you problems...I don't use one at all myself and am not convinced they don;t "screw" up things, and that might be jsut what is going on with yours.

hmm never thought twice about the coil cover. Always thought it was standard equip and most people used them. I'll have to leave it off for a while and see if my results are any different. Thanks for the eye opener.

 

[EasyMoney]

I haven't used a coil cover in all my 33 years of detecting.

In the old days, when people had to scrub the ground with the old TR's, the coils wore out real fast, but that was 30 years ago! The Phantom (made by Wilson Neuman) was the first ground-cancel discriminator invented, and it was invented somewhere in the mid 70's. Then came the Bounty Hunter Red Baron, and it went deeper than the Phantom. With those two detectors it no longer became necessary to scrub the ground to get the best of depth. A coil cover was no longer needed.

 

[robert roy]

Am I mistaken or are you limited to what coils you can use on the Prizm?
It seems to me that you are limited to the one coil. Is there a smaller coil for high trrash areas?
Personally, I love my MXT but you might really get by with the M6 if you don't need the prospecting mode on the MXT. If you need other coils for the M6 and the MXT you can go to Kellyco and get excellerator coils ( smaller and larger coils) that will fit fit a number of other detectors incluing the MXT and the M6. I don't think that can be said for the Prizm II, III and up until you get to the M6.

Regards
Robert R

 

[doctorbb]

Been detecting for 37 years, had first Coinmaster for 33 years and have had Classic III for the last 4 and haven't ever used a coil cover. In sod I keep the coil on the ground and in rough areas just above and have never put a scratch on it. I pay attention to where I'm swiniging, go slow and avoid rocks if I see any. Sure I've had some accidental bumps but nothing to damage anything, these things are well made. Plant a test garden and try it with and without the cover, see if there's a difference. The Prism should hit most everything to 6" whether on edge or not. Go slow and learn what the machine's saying. You can teach yourself to determine depth by raising the coil and sizing up the object while pinpointing. Also try using a probe to locate object before digging. This will give you a depth indication and can save a lot of digging by popping out shallow stuff. Keep pluggin'.