DetectingWales.com

Its the one I'm used to......

Guys  ,we've got to have this debate as its doing my head in. Why do people become so obsessed with makes and models of machines ?

I changed from a dfx to an Etrac a few years back because any electric wires around played havoc with the dfx. Am I finding any more with the Etrac ?   Well no actually, but I dont worry about electric pylons any more so fir me its a more comfortable experience.

So what does make some people await new machines with the menace of wolves hunting their pray ready to pounce at the first sign of weakness?   Is it the desire to own that machine themselves or to protect the validity of their own purchase.

And what makes some so aggressive when it comes to machine choice ? Would they have an argument in Currys over a make of washing machine?  I think not..

So come on guys you all know who you are, what makes you tick ?

Rob i liked the Whites XLT my mate still uses one today

I am obsessed with my Deus I have never in 35 years of detecting found so much

Some people have had the Deus and simply can not get the depth out of it, this is usually down to there inexperience or detecting technique  ::)

I do like to try out new machines from time to time but all of them have been a bit disappointing, some have been absolute junk

What makes some people so aggressive and abusive is that they do not like there make of detector criticised, even in a constructive way

What makes me laugh is all the stupid videos you see on the internet of machines claiming to be depth monsters

Do not be fooled by these static /party tricks, in the field these machine are usually very unstable, and badly affected by power lines

I use an explorer xs only detector i have used so to me its the one to have  ::)

well i love the explorer xs , it does exactly what it says on the tin , it finds things , its been around in various forms since 1999 and still going  strong ,  some  would say the best detector ever made and others would say its junk , i dont much care either way all i know is it works well for me and thats really all we should worry about , if its not broken dont fix it  ;) ;) ;)

i use the XS as well,you can pay as much as you want for a detector but at the end of the day it comes down to a lot of luck , as long as you are happy with what you got who cares . most of the top detectors are pretty much equal , its all the hype of the manufactures that get folks fooled into buying them. just enjoy what you got . ;)

We are pack animals and as we "developed" the pack gave way to the tribe and this need for a feeling of belonging continues into the modern world.
Why does anyone support a football team? Those players that people support and even spend a fortune going to see  don't know them from Adam, some even buy the "kit" in some strange effort to show their tribal identity.
How many wear badges when they go detecting? I haven't (voluntarily) worn a badge since I was about 8 and cant get my head around that one.
And so I think metal detector brands are just another "tribe" to belong to. Coupled with this is of course the fact that many have spent a lot of money and our constant self doubt on whether we have bought the right one, turns itself in to aggressive defence.

So at the end of the day, it just human nature ;)

Rob.

I started detecting in Jan 2010 and before deciding which machine to buy I read lots of comments and opinions on DW and elsewhere to try and help me with my choice. I finally picked an X-Terra 305 and was eagerly awaiting my machine when I was horrified to read some people slag it off and I remember feeling totally gutted and thinking to myself that i've wasted my money!

But for me its like this, I have been really lucky to find hammered, Roman and in my opinion other really cool stuff with my detector and that has ignited my passion and enjoyment for this hobby. Yes I may very well have walked over something amazing that another machine may have picked up - so be it, I will never know about it and therefore I will happily keep plodding along with my 305 enjoying the hobby and people I meet along the road!!

Stampy  ;D

Good post Stampy.

I use the Etrac, DFX and T2 they all have there good and bad points. If someone said the T2 was rubbish, it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest. I use a  combination of machines and swap during the day. The DFX will always stay with me because it’s covered it’s cost 50 times over, and although not the deepest  machine it is a trusted friend, never lets me down.


I think most of the top of the range machines are much the same. What I don’t like is the hype the promoters of these new machines  make, if you set your self up saying it’s the best machine on the market, be prepared for a few critics to tear the thing apart.

 ;D Garrett For Me It's Found Me Treasure that's going to the local museum ;) JOB DONE ;D Now its time to play ;D

What only one bit of treasure, you must be detecting with flat batteries  or something! I’d trade that Garret's in for a better machine if I were you :D :D :D

:P I was waiting for something like that ;D ;D ;D Oh I have upgraded thou from the Euro to the AT-Pro Fancy coming in the sea with me with your landlab ;D ;D :P

No , i'll leave that for the fish, i think! ;D

i have'nt owned as many machines as most of you lot but my etrac does me fine,i guess peeps allways get defensive about they're choice of machines because some are highly priced and dont want to look foolish for forking out a fortune on a particular machine.just a thought :)
 i also think about what im missing rather than what i have found lol,especially if i aint hittin the gold rings >:(

It has always seemed to me that detectors and golf clubs are marketed in a similar way. The latest available will always find you more or gets the ball to travel further and more accurately. Once you have bought them, something else claimed to be better but higher priced comes onto the market. Lots of advertiser hype and user bragging must make it difficult for newcomers to choose a model.

I am not as seasoned as many on here, just about 13 years, I am on my second machine, first was a c scope 1220xd (ten years)...got a bit heavy, but found me oodles of nice stuff, I updated to a lighter weight machine, but, I was determined to stick under a financial threshold....and not be caught up with the fashion/prestige of owning a £1000 machine.....yes, they work well, but not that much better than more modestly priced machines.....most of detecting is random luck anyway...!
The most important factor as mentioned , is getting to understand and know your machine, once you get to the stage where you and your machine are as one - It's the best in the world !     ;)

Mind you, having looked at this month's Searcher, the new C.Scope 6MXi review is so good it's got me thinking about whether to trade in my F75 or T2  ;)

I think in the end it is down to the personal experience that an owner has with their machine and manafacturer,
I have had a rapier , I would recommend this as a good entry level machine.
A garrett 1500 gti, not bad. but  comments by other Garret users say Get Rid of the annoying bell tone. I sold mine due to this and the awkward top heavyness of the machine,
Next came an XP GMP less said the best, I could not get on with it at all and confidence in  the machine during use is paramount. what is the point of spending a day out it if your continually questioning if you could have done better.
I am now on my second Minelab. EXP 11 and then Etrac and find both suit my style and area of detecting.
 A big deciding factor for me is after sales service, who wants to pay £500+ only to find when it doesnt work their shafted. I found that the XP owners manual was a joke, a bad photo copy padded out with John Lynns field test, if a maker thinks this much of their customers.!
 Also XPs after sales service from what I remember is Nigel at Regtons ( not to dismiss Nigel, i know he will help if he can - if hes in the shop) but in the end it is a shop that sells, XPs etc.
Garretts after sales are similar (hard to find)
Where as Minelab are exceptional, I have rung Ireland - for free on the sales 0800 no- usually spoken to either Finbar or Des with out asking for them by name, had spares and repairs done free of charge. This makes me feel happy spending money on their product.

12 years ago the Explorer XS came into my life. In the beginning it was like a naughty child, disobedient, aggravating, uncontrollable and throwing tantrums. The fault was mine I was being reactive and not proactive. With continued patience, perserverence, and a little forgiving, I came to understand what the naughty child was trying to tell me. Twelve years on and that naughty child has allowed me into its mind and become my best friend.

As Avalon said most top of the range detectors are much the same. They all need to be fully understood to get the best from them. And lets face it most items are found in the top 6 inches anyway. The detectorist that moves on too quickly from one machine to the next will never be truly happy. What do they say? 'A fool and his money are soon parted'.

Avalon's point about the DFX being his trusted friend also reminds me of when the the first Explorers came out. The DFX at the time was 'The Machine' to have. A lot of DFX users were rubbishing the Explorer without even having used them at the time. Two years down the line a lot had gone over to the Explorer!! Why?. Not because the DFX was suddenly an inferior machine, but because they were overcome by the hype and a need to know. There are those who always have to have the newest toy and don't appreciate what they have got.

Finally, what is worse is the detectorist that is forever criticising other makes without having ever used them. If you have never used it (for more than 6 months). Don't abuse it!!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry Ian, I've got to say that the 6" myth is the biggest load of B#*l-h^t that ever became part of detecting philosophy.
It emerged back in the days of the silver sabre and the birth of motion machines, VLF motion technology won't in normal mineralised soil find small targets any greater than 6 or 7 inches, because the surrounding soil gives the same or similar reading to the target and so becomes invisible.
I have been lucky to detect 3 building sites where on one, 10 inches of top soil had been removed and on an area of no more than 4 acres I found 76 hammered coins in the space of a year.
The truth is that there is probably 100x more things under the surface than we can or will ever (with VLF) recover. ;)

What I meant to say was that most of the finds we dig are in the top 6 inches. Happy now! Never for one moment did I believe that there are less items beneath 6 inches, just that those closer to the surface are more easily detected. Yes we would have a field day if we could take the top 10 inches off of all our sites. You shouldn't be so quick to contradict other users on a whim. Feel free to contradict me again James (oh sorry it's Geoff isn't it?) but I have no intention of using this forum to get into slanging matches in order to make myself appear superior to others. The name is Alan and not Ian by the way.

Sorry Alan, that wasn't meant as a dig at you, far from it and my apologies if it seemed like it was. It's a much used mantra by some (OK not you) that most of the good finds are in the top 6" which you must of heard, when in fact most are below that. I see now in rereading your post you said that most are found in the top 6".
Sorry also about getting your name wrong I thought that the cadiffIAN was a play on words.
But I've got to ask......Who is James?

Apology accepted Geoff. Please accept mine also as I could have sent you a pm instead of being so scathing on the thread. Am on  a 6 start so have to go. Will catch up later.

Cheers Alan,

 Well said I agree with what you say.

Plus some folks will swallow any B*ll the manufacturer tells them and others have to have the latest toy :D

I have been detecting long enough (comming up on 40yrs!) to recognize the smell of b*llsh*t  but never the less have fallen for it myself in the relatively recent past with a certain detector from eastern european parts that will remain nameless, but once bitten twice shy eh!

Personally I have not found "a one fits all scenarios detector" thats why i have 4 and swap and change to suit their abilities and the land available at the time.

Oh and before any one thinks i am a millionaire or something I bought all 4 wisely second hand for less than the cost of a certain new moonlab! ;)

The best machine is the one you are using at the moment its the one you are used to and can afford  i have had  4 different detectors since 1978 and each  one found me lots of finds you have got to get out and be in the right spot to make the finds if their is nothing in the fields you make no finds   

Well said Topcat.  I would defy the new Minelab to find any more in my latest field than I have. Or the BlissT for that matter.  If it aint there, you aint gonna find it.

Val

 Yep and if it is there you gotta walk over it ;)

True, very true. :D

As Geoff has pointed out (more than once) It would take years to cover every inch of a 20 acre field. Even then ground condittions dictate that some things are going to remain 'hidden'.

I just wish they wouldn't hide so well in my permissions. ;D

Val