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This Is For The Total Newbie ( One Who Never Metal Detected )


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25 minutes ago, bigtim1973 said:

If anyone can read their manual and take the time to research what terms like gain and notching mean then, there should not be any problems with that same person using an equinox or deus. 

Not many people can still do that these days...or are willing to do that.

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I assumed the Vanquish series defaulted to zero GB like the Equinox, but I can't very that. Minelab doesn't mention GB anywhere in the Vanquish manual or literature. My 540 has constant high tone chirps in highly mineralized or iron infested ground. It is almost unusable in colonial iron patches. I can auto GB or use tracking GB on the Nox and only get an occasional chirp in the same ground. 

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On 9/13/2021 at 4:44 PM, maxxkatt said:

This is for the person who has no experience in metal detecting on what to buy and how to get started.

Today's modern metal detectors are more like computers (or more exactly modern signal processors). They are very powerful and often complex.

Buying one the best detectors out there, the Minelab Equinox 800 is a real mistake if you have never metal detected. Quite honestly it is too complex for you to learn in addition to learning how to metal detect.

Instead buy the Minelab Vanquish 540 for $379 for a packaged deal.
Why? It is simple to learn and it uses the same Target Id numerical range and tones as the Equinox 800. Use the 540 to learn the theory of metal detecting. The physics behind metal detecting is the same for all detectors for the most part.

Use your 540 for the first year. Once you are proficient (eg finding some good targets on a regular basis) then and only then consider the Equinox 800. But be prepared for a steeper learning curve. But it will be made easier by your year's experience with the Vanquish 540.

This is sort of good advice. 

I do not like the blanket statement that the Equinox 800 is too complex for a beginner however. For some beginners the Vanquish 540 might also be too complex. Some beginners might do much better inititially with a Vanquish 440 (only 3 tones to deal with). This is where the blanket statement that the Equinox 800 is too complex for a beginner starts to be fairly dumb. The Equinox 800 and the 600 can be setup as a simple to use 2-tone detector in Park, Field and Beach modes with a few button presses. A dealer or a friend that knows what they are doing or even a beginner that is willing to dig into the online manual, can set up an Equinox 800 in a 3 tone mode that mimics the Vanquish 440 fairly easily too. This adjustability is one reason that the Equinox 800 (and 600) is such a good detector. It can be setup for just about anyone to use who can physically swing it.

The people I personally know who are experienced detector users that have switched from the AT Pro to the Equinox and had trouble adjusting easily were overwhelmed by 5 tones. I just showed them how to switch to 2 tones or did the 3 tone adjustment (if they had an 800) and they were much less overwhelmed. 

For a beginner, using the Equinox in 2 tones or in 5 tones if they can assimilate it, running in default Park1 or Beach 1 with sensitivity on 15 to 20 and learning how to noise cancel and use the horseshoe button is pretty much all they need for the first 50 hours or so if their ground conditions aren't too complicated. If they are I show them how to run in auto tracking or how to manual ground balance the Equinox. 

The only "complicated" standard beginner level function on the Equinox is the somewhat wonky pinpointing procedure. The Vanquish onboard pinpointing procedure and function is much easier to operate.

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Rather than be machine or even brand specific what the new comers really need is some good illustrated documentation that breaks down what these detectors do in laymans terms.

Maybe bunch of us should start a thread or topic for just that so they know how these things tick without getting a migrane.

I can't definitively say one machine has such a major advantage over another for the majority of finds. It is only rare conditions and situations that a particular machine may edge another out and often that can be as simple as a coil selection for the job.

There are machines out there that do have deficiencies that I would not use but not going into brand bashing.

End of the day if the know the terminology and what it actually does then they can make a choice of what they want in a machine.

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2 hours ago, kac said:

End of the day if they know the terminology and what it actually does then they can make a choice of what they want in a machine.

Another plus for a newbie detectorist (and I speak from experience here) is defining their application(s).  I re-entered the hobby wanting to nugget hunt and Steve's Guides really helped me.  I also had a secondary need for park and school coin detecting.  That's how I landed on the Fisher Gold Bug Pro -- affordable detector which was created as a nugget detector but which does pretty well searching for coins (and relics and jewelry, for that matter).  In retrospect I wish I had stepped up to its sister model, the F19 (currently also the Bounty Hunter Time Range Pro and Teknetics G2+), but at that time they only had those two camo decorated models -- not my cup of tea.

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8 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

Another plus for a newbie detectorist (and I speak from experience here) is defining their application(s).  I re-entered the hobby wanting to nugget hunt and Steve's Guides really helped me.  I also had a secondary need for park and school coin detecting.  That's how I landed on the Fisher Gold Bug Pro -- affordable detector which was created as a nugget detector but which does pretty well searching for coins (and relics and jewelry, for that matter).  In retrospect I wish I had stepped up to its sister model, the F19 (currently also the Bounty Hunter Time Range Pro and Teknetics G2+), but at that time they only had those two camo decorated models -- not my cup of tea.

No gillies suit to go with the camo detector? Sneak around parks and scare people 🙂

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9 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

In retrospect I wish I had stepped up to its sister model, the F19 (currently also the Bounty Hunter Time Range Pro and Teknetics G2+), but at that time they only had those two camo decorated models -- not my cup of tea.

     Correct me if I'm wrong GB, but I think you may have been; like me, one of the ones that "caved", and bought a "Pinky"💕" G2+ last year, when they were $299!! Great deal, by the way!! 🤣😂👍👍

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To me, although I may be thinking old fashion here but, we do not have a magazine in print any longer. I think when lost treasure and w&et were still on the news stand, it intrigued new users to seek out the hobby more than just guys posting stuff they find in youtube. I know there are digital subscriptions for w&et to subscribe to but if the new comer doest know about that what good is it?

 

Those magazines reviewed lots of machines a lot and at times would tell the reader what the controls do for the machine they reviewed in most cases. 

 

So with the new one who comes along now, they really have no way of getting into grasp on the technical side of the machine before they purchase one. 

 

That was one good thing about the magazines and it helped me choose different machines through the years. At least get a general idea of the ability of different model machines. 

 

Now days  the new comer says stuff like, I want a detector, which one is best. 

 

And when they see when everybody recommends one to them cost 1000 bucks it scares the hell out of them.

 

Even the ace 250 is a complicated machine for someone who doesn't understand what the controls do. 

 

And companies like Minelab have symbols instead of words for their settings and controls to make it more user friendly across many languages and countries. So the new user who doesn't take the time to look into the manual and starts to push buttons and change things could and will make their first experience a nightmare. 

 

 

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