DetectingWales.com

Beginners Section => Advice for beginners => Topic started by: archie on November 28, 2011, 08:21:43 PM



Title: upgrade?
Post by: archie on November 28, 2011, 08:21:43 PM
okay, heres a 'how long is a piece of string' question - I use an Ace 250 at the moment, and am seriously thinking of upgrading. thing is that I wont be sure on the amount of money I will have to play with (prob about £300) until after january. I may trade in the ace, but difficult as it was a gift in the first place.
I look at the pics in the mags, but the choice just becomes blurred.  I only detect on farmland, as have had no luck with the ace on beaches.
I know from being a member of detecting wales that there is a lot of experience of numerous machines amongst the members, I just need a bit of guidance on the best value for money machines.
I am afraid I cant really handle a MD that is too heavy as only the use of one arm.
I know its a question with a million answers but any help would be appreciated :-\


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: handyman [Alan} on November 28, 2011, 08:23:41 PM
i'd take a look at the good secondhand minelab xterra range.

easy to use, light and very effective


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: Neil on November 28, 2011, 08:28:25 PM
If you don't mind an older machine with incredible pasture depth - I bought my Minelab Explorer II for £300.

It takes a while to get used to, but was around £1000 new and moves you straight into a serious detecting machine.

Stick a post up on here asking for one. In the days before DW I did the same on another forum and had 3 offers for sale all around the £300 mark.

Hope that helps

Neil



Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: shunggav on November 28, 2011, 08:32:15 PM
hi i have  a white mxt for sale its a very good detector a quite light has a beach mode and but   as neil said the exp 11 is good but u need arms like rambo to use it all day


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: Chef Geoff on November 28, 2011, 08:39:24 PM
I agree with Gav the EX II is ane of the heaviest machines out there so is not even worth considering. The Whites MXT that he has for sale is a very sensitive machine and great on hammered coins and has the beauty of working of the beach should you venture there. At that price it is a true bargain and if Christmas wasn't fast approaching then I would of snatched it off him straight away.
Google it and read the write ups.


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: Napoleon on November 28, 2011, 09:01:57 PM
Explorer xs on ebay for £ 280.00 . good luck with the upgrade.Nap


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: ysbytymike on November 28, 2011, 09:03:47 PM
Re. the difficulty because the Garrett was a pressi..
Tell whoever bought it for you that by selling it, you'll be to get a machine with more functions. All bases covered..  :D :D


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: JRD on November 28, 2011, 09:26:35 PM
I would look at a second hand Fisher F75 or a Teknetics T2 both very good machines, and very light. I got a T2 myself traded in the ETrac because of the weight issue and have never looked back.

No good really on the beach but as you said you are looking for inland detecting.


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: archie on November 28, 2011, 10:16:51 PM
cheers all, thanks for the info so far, looks like I am going to do a lot of read-ups :D


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: romano-brit on November 29, 2011, 01:40:59 PM
defo go for an explr11 youd be mad not to, as for the weight it only takes a few trips out to get used to it, i can go 8 - 9 hours with mine


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: ysbytymike on November 29, 2011, 08:06:05 PM
Everybody complains about the weight of the etrac.. I picked it up for the first time and thought 'what on earth are they talking about' - its not that heavy. As Romano-brit has said,
you'll soon get used to it even if it is heavier than your current machine.


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: bymatt666 (byron) on November 29, 2011, 09:29:00 PM
ever since i got my explorer i have used a bungee harness....now some are restrictive but, the one i use all the time now is superb...plenty of freedom and swing and maximum support......it looks like a dogs lead, but with a bigger loop that one arm slips through and the rest goes behind your neck and hangs down on the side you wish to attach to the tector (right hand or left ).....i can swing for hour after hour and feel no effects at all......they are on ebay for £14.49p....thouroughly recommended........ ;)........byron


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: rjm on November 30, 2011, 07:42:27 AM
Have a look at Teknetics Omega 8000. It operates on 8 kHz which is a good general search frequency, is light, simple to use, nice screen and will work on the beach.

A friend uses it and has cut hammered's, and various other sized shapes/sizes finds.

An excellent alternative to the Minelab stable and one I'd use if I wasn't happy with my fairy stick!



Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: dances with badgers on November 30, 2011, 08:17:30 PM
how long is a piece of string question = twice the length from the middle to the ends.
 shimples ;D


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: welshdigger on December 29, 2011, 02:57:18 PM
im in the same boat as you archie.
i got an ace250 and £300-£400 to spend on a new detector but not sure what to go for?
looking towards saving abit more and getting a minelab safari or e-trac but reading about them they seem a little tricky to use for a newbie?
so have you decided on what your going for next?
fisher f5? teknetics omega 8000? minelab x-terra 705?




Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: ysbytymike on December 29, 2011, 03:03:50 PM
X-terra 705 is a lovely machine. My first detector was a Golden Mask so like yourself a newbi. The GM broke down a matter of weeks from new
so PX it for the 705. It was simple to use from the box.. Found my first hammered with it and loads of artifacts.


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: ysbytymike on December 29, 2011, 03:06:49 PM
how long is a piece of string question = twice the length from the middle to the ends.
 shimples ;D

Every time I get a piece of string regardless of length, someone will invariably have cut the ends off!! 


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: Zeus (Joel) on December 29, 2011, 05:55:25 PM
im in the same boat as you archie.
i got an ace250 and £300-£400 to spend on a new detector but not sure what to go for?
looking towards saving abit more and getting a minelab safari or e-trac but reading about them they seem a little tricky to use for a newbie?
so have you decided on what your going for next?
fisher f5? teknetics omega 8000? minelab x-terra 705?



I have a Safari and it's just turn on and go. Easy peasy to use.


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: archie on December 30, 2011, 05:37:41 PM
im in the same boat as you archie.
i got an ace250 and £300-£400 to spend on a new detector but not sure what to go for?
looking towards saving abit more and getting a minelab safari or e-trac but reading about them they seem a little tricky to use for a newbie?
so have you decided on what your going for next?
fisher f5? teknetics omega 8000? minelab x-terra 705?
hi welshdigger, still not sure what to go for, my mate is bringing his safari for me to try, he also has an  explorer and it certainly 'looks' heavy.
personally I would love to go for a G2 as a F75 AND T2 look out of my price range.  As I have said before I have had a couple of unexpected bills lately (vets etc) so wont really be able to consider till the end of Jan. still you never know what bargain might turn up yet ;D
Have you decided what to go for yet?  best of luck on your search.




Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: minelaber on December 30, 2011, 06:44:35 PM
buy the best you can afford as neil said a good second hand gets u right in there with perfomance with very little money.


Title: Re: upgrade?
Post by: archie on January 05, 2012, 06:07:54 PM
got myself a F75 with a trade in for the 250 from Pepsi's woo hoo!!!
F75 was the model I was looking at before the G2.
Looking forward to lots of digging, reckon the farmer wont need to plough the fields this year once I get the hang of it. ;D


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