Vintage metal detectors - which was your favourite and do you still have one?

[proconsul]

Some of us have been in this metal detecting lark quite a while, getting on for forty years in my case, and we've had a few metal detectors in our time.

Which was your favourite vintage detector? Have you still got it in the attic? Tell us about it (with a pic if possible).

In my time I've had:

Early seventies - a simple BFO
Late seventies - a Fieldmaster discriminator
Eighties - a C-Scope
Nineties - a Whites XLT
2000's - a Minelab Explorer XS

Out of the lot of them I think my favourite was the XLT. Light, easy to use and gave very positive signals. The only downside was that it loved hot rocks.

Geoff

[saxonman]

Had a C SCOPE TR 1970-74.

[doddy10]

I used to use the Arado 120b and the 130 i think in the 80s sadly I dont have either machine now. I did have the XLT too for a while.
 Would be interested to see the new arado though, before they stopping making machines for the hobby trade they were generally regarded as some of the best available.

[nomad]

c scope 2m....at the time it was a good machine....now its outdated...a bit like me.....!!!

[dragonsbreath(Paul)]

Arado 120B and XLT long since gone....

[adesace]

Garrett freedom ace 250. mid eighties

[Debbie]

Going back in time - in the early eighties paid £15 for a very basic Viking.  It was the one with a oblong white box along the stem with just 2 knobs I think - one was on/off and the other may have been to tune it.  The handle and stem were shaped like a shepherds' crook    Went around old parks lifting the iron bench seats out of the way, detecting behind and under them and putting the bench back !  Found lots of pre-decimal coins, including Victorian, and that was how the detecting bug first bit    On one occasion I was busy digging a signal in a woodland area of some ornamental gardens, and, unknown to me a policewoman was watching.  She asked what I was up to and I nearly jumped out of my skin    I said I was hunting for old pennies, and she just said OK, just make sure you fill in your holes and she went on her way.  No hassle back then.

> Upgraded over the years, and between us have used Fisher 1235x and 1265x;  Quicksilver CZ5, 
> a Gold Mountain King Cobra - loved hot rocks !!
> Minelab Sovereign - the early one - excellent machine, great on the beach.  Had it sent to a single tone - no meter or anything to look at - when it beeped you just dug it 
> Goldscan 2 for the beach, but it sounded like a Geiger counter - hard work
> Minelab Explorer II

Now left with e-trac, Deus and Whites Surf PI Pro.  Very happy.

Deb

[dances with badgers]

the stem was shaped like a shepherds what ?

[avalon]

Now let see, these were the machines I remember:

 C-Scope 770 D

Compass coin scanner

White’s Eagle Spectrum

White’s XLT

Tesoro Silver Sabre Umax

White’s DFX

Tesoro Cortes

Teknetics T2

Minelab Etrac