DetectingWales.com

Ladies and gents

I have an Ace 250 at present (about 4 weeks) but looking at possibly upgrading now.

So, what do you chaps think I should be looking at?
I am hoping to have around £400.

Cheers Ian

forgot to say, mainly used for fields/woods and very occasionally for beach work ;D

I would advise looking at a nearly new Minelab Xtera 705, it's still not the greatest wet sand machine but does have a beach setting and on land there are not many machines that can better it.

I'm tempted to say look at the Minelab and Whites machines, But don't under rate the ACE, its a very good machine, no use on wet sand but very capable on the dry stuff.
Light as a feather and cheap to run, well worth hanging on to as a back up machine ;)
The fishers are also very popular at the moment. Minelab multi frequency machines are very stable on wet sand and mineralised ground, they also ignore hot rocks ;)
See if you can borrow a machine, are you a member of any clubs?
Salty

ah, posted together Geoff :)

I'll second Karl's 'try before you buy' suggestion. I started off with the Ace 150 and recently upgraded to a Minelab X-Terra 705. Before I settled on my final choice, I was lucky enough to be offered a try out of a few other machines to see how I got on with them (thanks, guys). So, if you are in a club, or have detecting buddies who would be willing to lend you a machine, then by all means, ask. The worst they can say is no.

Also, remember that there's more to a good detector than its functions. If you're going to be out for several hours detecting, you need a machine that you are comfortable carrying, so things like weight, balance and grip should be considered.

And don't forget, you don't have to buy new. If you look around, there are always quality second-hand detectors on sale, which means you can get a high end machine for a fraction of the cost of buying it new.

Hope that helps. :)

big E, whilst the advice given here is very sound i'd agree with the "try before you buy" theory. if you going on the 2 day rally ask about, im sure there'll be plenty of guys who are happy to let you borrow their detector for an hour or so.
i use a minelab myself but that doesnt mean they are right for everyone. try a few first if you get a chance, you got nothing to loose.....except money.

Mate try as many machines as you can before you buy one for yourself  :) :)

thanks guys. I appreciated all your advice.

Not in any clubs as none near me, but will ask at a couple of dealers and see what they offer.

I must admit I was looking at Minelab SE/Explorer as they have a good write up and seem very popular, but also buying second hand rather than new as you tend to get some really good bargains, and possibly a few of those valuable extras.

Cheers
Ian

Ian mate if you buy an explorer SE and need a programme drop me a PM  ;D Steve ;D

Thanks Steve that would be greatly appreciated.

I am keeping an eye out for a 705 to go and have a look at but they are a bit elusive near me at the moment.
I am going to view/try an Explorer SE Pro and a Sovereign XS2 soon.
Any preferences on either of these two?

Cheers Ian

The Sovereign range has been and are great detectors, on pasture and the beach there are still very few that can touch there depth, but I think after coming from the Ace 250 you may find it a bit frustrating not having any VDU and having to go entirely by the tones. the SE is a more "modern" machine and when you have mastered it you will not want for another for many years (baring new inventions) but I think you will be hard pushed to find one for under £600.
With the 705 please remember that it predecessor  the XT70 has exactly the same performance and the only "improvements" have been the addition of a backlight and some short cuts to already available functions, oh and a colour change, so check out the 70 as well.
Hope this helps

Hello Ian mate :) I agree with Geoff about the above i first started out with an ace 250 then upgraded to the sovereign gt. the gt was great on the sand but i could not get on with it on pasture. it seemed to slow to recover from signal to signal. so i sold it for an xp goldmax power i did not have a clue what to do with it then i joined a club and bought a second hand explorer se pro and never looked back.
My partner has the 705 and i have to say it seems to be every bit as good as the SE
now i have been on a few rallies i see people using the sovereign gt with no problems at all i just did not know how to use it.  ;) MAKE SURE YOU TRY BEFORE YOU BUY ;)

Guys
Many thanks for all your help and advise. I have decided to hang on a few more weeks to make sure this is something I want to stick with and not just one of those whims, that my wife keeps going on about  ::)  ;D

I have just been given permission for a couple of farms that have not been searched (to the farmers knowledge), so I am going to buy a Propointer which will hopefully speed the digging/locating bit up a little bit, and just hopefully make things a little easier.

If all well and good I will sell my laptop and al my fishing gear to upgrade where necessary.

Once again, thanks  :)

Ian

Hi Ian,
I have a whites prizm 5 that you are more than welcome to try if you are local to Caldicot.
Phil

Very kind of you Phil but I am up near Sheffield. Thanks anyway  :)

Ian

Ian If i lived closer to you you could try my SE pro and my partners 705  ;D  sounds like your making all the right moves to me by not rushing in to things. the 705 is more of a switch on and go machine. the SE can be the same but has more bells and whistles. the programme i use on my SE means i just switch on do a noise cancel adjust sensitively And go ;D

thanks for that Steve. I will bear all the info in mind when I decide hopefully to move on up the scale.

Regards
Ian

Hi
Are you going to the 2 day rally? If you are then there will be loads of different machines there and I am sure that most people would let you try there machines out.
If not then it might be a idea to join a local metal detecing club and try a feww peoples machines out most people are more than willing to let you try there machines.
My partner is Ozzyheadsteve on here and if you are on the 2 day rally then you are more than welcome to have a go at my Minelab X-Terra 705 and my partners Minelab Explorer SE Pro
Debs

ooo! can i have a go of steve's Minelab Explorer SE Pro?
Mutters to my self  " I'll stop him finding all those hammered coins" (sledge hammer in boot).
Mwahahahaha!

Lol robert if you want a go just ask maybe you will find something good with it lol that will pi s s steve right off lol
debs

All good advice.

The Minelab Explorers can be a bit heavy after an hour or two and can take a bit of learning (brill on wet sand)

Another suggestion for a turn on and go machine that's light and sharp with a display is a Laser Hawkeye.