Which Metal Detector is best for under 350 Pounds?

[jtalbot0001]

Hi Everyone, I have a friend who wants to take up Metal Detecting, never done it before at all, and has a small budget, say 350 Max, so just been to JoanAllen site just to see what you can get for that money, any suggestions on a decent machine that you can just switch on and go for that kind of money, seen there is Fisher F2/F4/F5 or Whites Coinmaster, any of these good? Thanks, Jon

[diggerdave1]

Hi..
first of all,where is he most likely to be using the machine?..land? beach? or both?..
u will find alot of dealers, like joan allen..will say a fisher..or minelab..as they are suppliers for this brand..
Regton will suggest a garrett or xp..as the same applies...
there all good brands of macnine and will do the job....
also try looking at cscope...golden mask.....tesoro...laser.....
try Garys metal detecting site plenty of good advice to be found...
go on plenty of detecting forums for metaldetector reviews..........
everybody will have there own opinion as to what machine to buy...
just dont rush into apurchase of an md take your time make sure u get the best machine to suit u!
switch on and go basic controls..or a bells and whistles digital meter machine and most important where will your majority of searching detecting be done...

[Chef Geoff]

Hi Jon, if your friend is not sure if they will stay in the hobby or even if they will be out more than a couple of times a year then I would suggest buying second hand rather than new and getting the most bang for your bucks as you can without getting any thing to complicated that a newby will get frustrated with and give up.
Kev at Staffs has a Whites XLT for £265, the XLT has a fantastic track record and is equally at home on the beach as it is on land. Read the reports but it is a great machine and as simple or difficult as you want to make it. Have a look here;
 http://www.staffsmetaldetectors.co.uk/secondhand1.htm

And here's a review from Gary's
http://www.garysdetecting.co.uk/xlt.htm

[skookum]

High,
This is a question that can´t be answered without knowing more about where and what you are mainly interested in searching.
Should you search maily on beaches or on heavily mineralized ground, a PI(pulse induction) detector is generally considered superior becuase false signaling is eliminated.
Minelab (Excalibur) being one of the few exceptions as it uses VLF for under water use.
Also many beach PI detectors are waterproof which can save a lot of money should you be caught by a rogue wave or loose footing and slip into the water.
For land use the trend nowadays goes towards VLF(very low frequency) detectors that have mostly replaced the older style T/R(tansmit/receive) units.
The bonus of VLF detectors is that you can switch into a discriminate mode that enables you to filter out unwanted signals, mostly iron objects.
Although here must be said : operator beware - if you discriminate out tin foil and pull tabs you may exclude a lot of gold objects at the same time since they are in the same conductivity range.
There are also several other important factors to consider, such as:
The availibility of different size coils for the detector.
Do you want visual target identification or just an acoustic signal
Does the manufacturer provide a service facility for the detector, should it become defect
How much does the detector incl. coil weigh - it is definitely NO fun to swing a heavy detector for hours on end.
The ease of operation - many detectorists don´t want to keep fiddling with numerous dials or buttons and prefer a turn on and go unit.

Then there is the question whether you want to buy a new or a used unit.
Operating on a slim budget you will definitely get more value for your money buying used - most of the times at the cost of an expired manufacturer guarantee.
For a general price guideline consult feebay (also under completed listings).
Sadly there are not very many British manufacturers of metal detectors left on the market - C.Scope and Viking being the only ones that come to my mind at the time.
Happy hunting
skookum

[Da Monkey]

Thread is over 12 months old dude...

And DFX for £350 for my money anyway.... LOL.

[brisad]

Da Monkey

I think the clue was in the greeting

(No offence meant!)