NEED HELP PLEASE

[congerman]

I am looking round for A second detector as I bought A Garrett euro 350 just before Xmas I have found loads of stuff with it but I am looking for another machine as my wife comes out with me A bit and I told her she can have the Garrett  and I will get another detector I have looked round and there are loads for sale I fancy A different one than the Garrett  I have been looking at loads of YouTube demonstrations of various detectors and  some show certain advantages over other ones and some detectors seem to do the  the same I know it will sound silly to some people but the only  difference that stands out is prices some of the machines hold there value better I understand that the soil configuration makes A difference at different venues but its confusing  in life popularity of an item or brand  can  make A big difference so I was hoping some members would recommend some makes they use and there benefits  I must of watched 100+ field tests on different detectors but there seems to be only A few brands that are favoured I am looking to spend around £700- on the right detector new or second hand  its strange because I have seen machines that cost £1500 going second hand for £300 and others that cost £1200 going for £900 second hand so I checked the machines out on  YouTube being tested against each other and there wasn't any difference in the tests carried out  so can you please help by saying what machine you OWN OR RECOMEND and the benefits you find with it sorry if this was boring but I am spending to much time on here when I could be out on the beaches or fields 

[Mike]

for that sort of money its got to be a minelab , explorer ,or  etrac , 2nd hand explorer xs £300 ish , explorer 11 £400 ,
all will be very happy on wet sand ( garrett will not be) inland probably the best but thats my opinion , t2 great machine dont do beaches tho , the downside with the minelabs are weight , can be hard to get into , you need to work with the machine for quite a while to get to understand the tones and settings etc , upside , deep and sensitive especially with aftermarket coils like the ultimate 13" , id say the majority of guys on here use a minelab and for a good reason , they do the job , hope this helps 

[davtec (dave)]

must be Etrac Etrac Etrac The best.

[congerman]

Thanks for your replies mike + Dave just the info I was after 

[alun]

I asked the same question a few months ago, and used a minelab explorer 2, which was on loan from a mate for all work beach and inland. But now got a Whites 300DFX.
Should have stayed with the explorer as the Whites is taking a bit of getting use to.

Take their advice its your best choice for all round searching, and they know what their on about.
Happy hunting

[welshjohn]

Hi Congerman,

I understand your dilemma; it took me ages to get the machine(s) am am happy with.  I use an Explorer SE Pro with the standard coil and a 15 inch WOT coil.  It can't be beaten on the beach in my opinion; be prepared to dig targets real deep.  Its good on damp pasture and land generally, but does struggle on dry soil, ploughed and rolled fields.
That's where my X-terra 705 with 12 x 13 inch NEL coil comes in.  Good coverage and really sensitive to small silver.  Holds real stable on the dry soil where the multi-frequency machines struggle.
Staffs detecting has a second hand E-trac for £725 at the moment.  You won't go wrong buying from Kevin, great guy.
Hope this helps

John

[Da Monkey]

The DFX is an excellent machine as well when you get used to it mind Alun, not quite as deep as the Exploder 2 you used, but not that much in it, particularly with a different coil fitted. It will be excellent on the beach too and easier to ID the finds and pinpoint than the Minelabs, I've run both for years and still love the DFX. Try Ray's program, seems to work well for him.

[jondav]

I would say,to be honest, that you really need two detectors to cover all the sites you might encounter,the minelabs, are mind bogglingly deep,I found a 5p at 11inches in wet sand with my explorer.however, for those really mineralised,junky areas,i still think you cant beat the Tesoro/laser machines, these can pick out a coin,right next to a chunk of iron, you might one of each ,second hand for a budget of £700

[troutmasterfunk]

Etrac...

[congerman]

been looking at A knew  XP Deus  whats your thoughts on this machine seems ok 

[Mike]

been looking at A knew  XP Deus  whats your thoughts on this machine seems ok 

very capable machine what ihave read but not so hot on the wet sand , minelabs the way to go for beach and inland

[Dungbeetle]

been looking at A knew  XP Deus  whats your thoughts on this machine seems ok  

I've been using a Deus for the past 18 months it's light versatile excellent on mineralised ground. I have found over 50 hammered with this machine which is good for up here. I don't know about it on wet sand but it's fine on the dry. I forgot to add wireless, once you have used a wireless detector you won't want to be tethered to your machine again.

[alun]

Agree there Da Monkey.Used Rays program and one other Eprom program. Had my first silver of this year with Rays program.
Still getting used to her at the moment. Surprisingly easy to tweak programs with good results, easier than the ex2 and lighter. Thinking of getting spare coils later in  the year any suggestions?
But getting back to a new comer on beachwork, the minelabs tend to have a good switch on and go program on both wet and dry.

[Da Monkey]

Hi Alun,

Good to hear that Ray's program delivered the goodies

I ran the DFX along side the Minelab explorer II for years and like both. The DFX performed just great on the beach, it really can hold its own, even on the wet sand.  I have to confess that I have moved "up" to the v3i, but its slightly heavier and to be honest I think I preferred my old DFX, so will probably be changing back someday I think. I tend to use the Deus mostly inland, but the V3i or Explorer on the beach. I have used a Johnny Sierra "HotShot" coil on both the DFX and V3i and am very impressed, you can run it VERY hot  but as your DFX is the 300 version which has a 12" spider coil you might not find much if any difference to be honest as the HotShot and your 300 coil are both concentric 12" coils.  

I have never used one yet, but have seen them with folk at rallies and they seem to perform well - I would see if Chef does an "Ultimate" coil or there are any plans to do one for the DFX, as from what I've seen they are really light and you would benefit from a DD coil for coverage over the concentric.  Alternatively SEF make a nice 15 x 12" that should improve your depth quite a bit but they are a little heavier.  I also use the Whites Elliptical coils, but think I would go for a smaller SEF to get separation in noisy sites rather than the elliptical if I were spending the money again.

To be honest you could just stick with the standard coil for a year and get used to the machine, don't forget that if you are struggling with interference from powerlines then try it in single frequency mode and if you are on a noisy site with lots of rubbish stick it in it's trash busting mode "Correlate", that has worked well for me in the past

Good luck with the machine, I'm sure it will grow on you, I like 'em  

As far as Congermans question, I agree with what has been said, any of the Minelabs, maybe an SE or E-trac if you can find one for the cash or a DFX is also good for my money...

- Andy