DetectingWales.com Metal Detector Survey - Rate Your Detector!

[proconsul]

When the time comes to replace our detectors it would be handy to have a good idea about the relative merits (or otherwise) of the detectors on the market.

This is a chance for DetectingWales.com members to help each other out by giving an honest appraisal of their metal detectors.

Please tell us what detector(s) you use then rate them from 1-5 in the following categories:

* Ease of Use
* Detection Depth
* Features
* Overall Value for Money

Then give us a rough run down on the detector's:

* Good Points
* Bad Points

I think a lot of us would find this information interesting and useful...

Geoff

[SimonH]

Teknetics T2

Ease of Use : 5
Detection Depth : 5
Features : 5
Overall Value for Money : 3.5 (would have been 5/5 before the recent £250 increase)

Good Points : Battery life (40hours with 4 AA's) / Very Lightweight / Good Recovery Speed
Bad Points : Earlier Machines suffered from poor workmanship and a poorly designed coil mount/shaft.  Machine wont work with rechargeable batteries

[TheLoveDoc]

ok im going to rate the 2 machines which i have at the moment..... one is a ebay special and the other is the garret 250, so here goes.....

Ebay special..... no make or logo present and cost £45

ease of use....5
detection depth....5   found coins  well over 15 inches down.
weight... 5
features...2 .... basically you need to listen to the different tones to decide if target is worth  digging.
value for money....5  ....an excellent starter machine.

good points.... very easy to use as a begginner and will turn up lots of nice coins in the right areas, very light to use with an excellent life span of the batterries.

Only bad point.... try not to get too wet as problems will occur if the control box gets too damp.


GARRET 250

ease of use.... 5 but will need a few hours practice as with any machine i think.
depth ....4...
features... 5 ... with the different digital display modes and settings this machine is very simple to use after a few hours under your belt.
weight....3
value for money....4 .... i think your paying more for the actual digital display features rather than deeper depth detection. Its a great machine to start off with or even upgrade to from a cheap machine which you got damp and wouldnt work for a while    and all in all these machines will pay for themselves in the longrun...

good points... very easy to use, just select the mode you want and your off. Easy to break down and fit inside a rucksack or bag for transport.

BAD POINTS.... i find myself digging bigger holes using this machine even after using the pinpoint feature... a little heavier than my ebay special and a lot of confusing signals.... which sound good at first but then seem to dissapear.,.

[coleggwent(phil)]

this is a very good thread admin 

mine is the explorer xs

ease of use .......3
detection depth........5 outstanding on pastuure
weight........2
features.......4 when you learn it that is
value for money.......4 at second hand that is

good points very good on iron rejectsion when setup right audio tunes are second to none

bad points to heavy not built very well at all and pin point is not good at all 

[Stig(The)]

X-Terra 70

Ease of use : 5, Michael Jacksons "Bubbles" could use it ! 

Depth : 3/5 dependant on coil fitted.

Features : 5, Great clear digi display,good pinpoint & target depth indicator.

Value for money : 5, A great detector that can be picked up 2nd hand for £300.

Good points : Multi-Frquency,lightweight,large clear LCD screen.

Bad points : It doesn`t fit in the Minelab carry-bag when coil is fitted ! 

[beachboy (viv)]

i have the minelab sovereign xs2a and find it so easy to use it is purely switch on and go,and wouldn't hesitate in giving it a 5 for use-depth-finds-discrm,value for money,the only down side is the weight you need an harness,i bought a straight shaft and it makes a big difference

i have also just bought an explorer 2 and some programs but can't get to grip with at the moment so unable to score it,but hope to in the future

[waltonbasinman]

Nice thread Geoff.

I have a Minelab Quattro which I have had for about three years.

Ease of use  Initially 3 but now I understand it fully A 5.
Depth  Easy 5 enough said
features  4      clear and easy to understand but the depth indicator can be mis-leading
Value for money 5   Bought second hand and was only four weeks old and two hundred and twenty pounds cheaper than new. More than happy with that deal.
Good points  love the colour, its simplicity of use, easy to understand display and strong build.
Bad Points    Don,t get used often enough

[kaister]

XP GOLDMAXX POWER V4 chip

Depth 9/10
ease of use 8/10
overall 9/10
Value for money, i cant really comment as i got it second hand for a song

Very light weight
good discrim,
super fast recovery
switch on and go if you want
it dosnt seem to miss anything cos its fast, fast fast.

Bad bits, shaft has a wobble,
Long learning curve
no id meter
sometimes gives a iron buzz on good signals if there deep.
hopeless on the beach
a start up beep that put a hole in my eardrum

I still love it though.

But my mate today found more than us other two put together with our expenzive bits of kit(xp and a explorer), he was useing a xterra 30 with the contolbox hanging off and flopping around, the coil mount reglued several times and no head phones. Not so much the machine, but how well you know how to use it, and the luck of moving the coil over a target.