DetectingWales.com

Hi again all... :)   I have a question for you.... The detecter I bought was from ebay and cost £45.00 and i seem to be doing ok with it finding a fare few coins and other stuff. I wonder then why there are other machines which are being sold for hundreds of pounds. Would i find more if i upgraded ? What do you get for ya money i mean ? It would be interesting to go over an area and see how the cheaper machines perform and then go over the same area with a top of the range machine and see if it hits more targets..... maybe if i can get to one of your rallies we could test this out  if some of you are interested ?  :) Might be suprised by the results .... :-\

Hey Doc ;),

OK the more expensive machines go a bit deeper and have got lots of controls on them etc, but i think it's like buying a mobile phone, you go to shop buy the latest, go back tomorrow, and you've guessed it a new model is on the shelf >:(.

I have been on the beach detecting with my Garrett Ace 150, which cost £126, watching others who were using machines costing 4 times as much, I've gone over for a chat, just to see what they have been finding ???, surprisingly, on quite a few occasions i have had quite a bit more in money finds etc :D.

So i think it doesn't matter what you use, if the goodies are there you'll find them :) , and you seem to be doing just that at the moment mate, some nice find's you've had bud, keep up the good work , Ace ;) ;)

as the old saying goes " you have to walk over it to find it " ! i upgraded from a bounty hunter because i wanted a machine with a screen...a minelab explorer....but i would'nt say i have found more with it !..maybe this will illicit comments like i dont know how to use it etc...lmao !.. ;D...it's a matter of taste doc....byron

I found more with my £110 Garrett Treasure ace than any other machine ive owned.
i think basiclly because i had it for nearly £10 years and i was out Detecting more often
The only differance now is my finds are a lot older because joining a Good Detecting Club like RARE has got me to a lot more places than id have been on my own.
Its not what you pay its how much enjoyment you get for your money.
Ive gone back to a very simple machine now and im very happy and enjoying my Detecting again.

Nowadays i think i enjoy being out with my good friends ive made whilst detecting just as much as finding something.

all the best
Phil
 

hmmmm ok i will stick with the one im using at the moment i think. I agree with you there PHIL mate.... only regret i have is not taking up the hobby sooner ..... im loving it  :D

We all let the detector manufacturers convince us that the latest detectors are more advanced and deeper,

when in reality, there probably isnt much in it except for looks and alternative sounds.

You note, none of them make as standard a water proof control box, on tectors costing around £1000

The older detectors didnt discriminate as much as the newer ones, but he who digs the most, .....finds the most !!

..... and also digs the most rubbish!!!


leaving the good stuff for the rest of us!!      ....     [i hope!!!!]

I know in Aldborne this weekend there was a ferrous Iron signal in almost every metre of the 100+ acre fields
It would take a life time to dig them all.
I know theres some that would say a lot of iron age Items have a very high ferrous content but all modern Detectors get fooled by large iron anyway.(reading high on a ferrous only meter) so even this High Discrim your find large ferrous, you do have a chance with say an Explorer to where you have 2 digital readings Ferrous and conductivity.

I think it depends what your hunting for
I love coins, artifacts are something i find while looking for coins.
I leave the corroded stuff in the ground if i can help it but thats my preference

Regards
Phil Jones

You dont have to Pay 1000s for a good machine but i would say mid range machines have an advantage over entry level ones I went from a digging targets a few inchs down with the Garret to mostly 12 inchs with an Advantage pro that cost me £325 but then my find rage wasnt as good as the Garrett because per day i was spending  more  time digging deeper items like coke cans and ring pulls as well as the good stuff.
Its all a case of luck with a bit of help from a good machine.
On Ploughed fields targets my be only a few inches down or even on the surface in which case any detector set on all metal would find it. but having a few extra inches is a bonus.

regards Phil

"but having a few extra inches is a bonus"  ???  ???  ??? :o lmao !!

Well thats what the wife keeps telling me  ;0( hehehehhe

 :o :o :o

My first machine was a Garrett freedom ace and i thought it was great. When i bought it it was cheap compared to some of the machines available. As time went on i got to know everything about my machine and found some great stuff. Since buying myself a new machine i feel that i don't trust it as much as my freedom ace. I wish i had my old machine back and i think its all about what you am happy with.

If your not doing well with the machine you have then an upgrade could be a good move though its a two edged sword. A ground balance control might make all the difference but if you don't set it right it can cost you finds.

More controls = the more chance of wrong settings.

Go for a depth monster and there will be more iffy signals so more time wasted and it might well need a slow sweep speed so not as much ground covered.
Go four (or more filters) and you have to maintain a higher sweep speed. Wears you out faster and might not be possible on furrows, heavy undergrowth etc. but on open ground/flat dry sand you can hit all the recent finds before others get to them.

Getting the weight/balance right and something that suits your style of detecting is worth more than an extra inch in depth. Best of all, find what suits so you can detect as long as you like without fear of tennis elbow and hopefully one manufacturer or other will match your physical needs and give improved performance at the same time.

Some good advice there Brian, lots a machines now that give similar performance but the weight and sweep speed definitely makes a difference to the finds you make. I don't understand why with some it has to be really slow and with others the faster the better, I've got one of each and prefer the faster sweep speed because you cover more ground and make more finds without losing the depth to any extent.

Hi
you will definately need to upgrade if you want to detect wet sand for that you will need a detector that can handle the extreme positive salt mineralisation  such as the minelab range,soverign,explorer etrac or  fisher Cz range or pulse machines .Land is far more forgiving for detector performance and really getting to know your machine and what its saying to you will pay dividends.I agree with the other posts about speed ,weight ,ease of use etc but overall its important to have confidence in your machine - thats where joining a club ,seeing what others are using and finding is important - then you can judge its performance  and the confidence it gives you for yourself.
If you really enjoy the hobby and want to get the best out of it then its worth a little investement in the right machine for you. Its all a learning curve however the majority of hardened detectorists do plump for a major brand name machine at some stage - go to a rally and there you'll get lots of experience and advice. a look at all the detectors  and a comparison of finds.
hope this helps

Its good advice .... thanks all  ;)

I think that Sandpiper hits the nail right on the head with the words:
"but overall its important to have confidence in your machine"
I am 100% confident that if there is a target in the ground, within range, be it in land or on the beach, and I swing the search head over the target, the detector will make a signal.  All I have to do is go over it - as simple as that.
Of course, many factors influence the target being "in range" - how compact the soil is (especially for minelab users - the more dense, the better); if the soil is damp or dry; if the target is lying flat with a large surface area or on its' edge etc etc.
I think that is what a lot of the hunt is all about - being at the right place at the right time - and hopefully with goodies buried in the soil / sand. :D