First Metal Detector Help

[palzynski]

2 hours ago, spandexlurch said:

Thank you, I appreciate your opinion. I was looking at the 540 because I figured bigger is better when it came to the coil. I also liked that it is back-lit but I don't forsee myself doing a lot of low light detecting. I like the thought of rechargeable batteries coming with the unit too, so maybe the 440 is the way I should go.

No a bigger coil does not mean  necessarily better , it depends from what you are looking for ... I use my Vanquish for coin hunting. I have tested the 3 coils V8 , V10 , V12 on my 540 and I prefer the V10 . The V8 is ultra light with a quite good ground coverage , but you loose depth with it on coin size targets vs the V10/V12, however it is the most sensible to tiny targets . The V12 is an excellent  coil for big coins at depth but a little heavy for me , and quite big so you need a pinpointer with that coil . The V10 offers depth , lightness and low iron masking a great design from ML and a very polyvalent coil ..

Yes I agree with you the 440 is probably the best choice , there are more functions than the 340 , a dedicated All Metal button that I use very often on the 540 , more volume tones ( 10 instead of 3 ) so that you can adjust the volume more accurately than on the 340 , a pinpoint mode , a rain cover , armrest strap etc .. All this with a still very interesting price ..

I forgot to mention that if the vanquish coils are waterproof , the vanquish control box itself cannot be submerged ...

 

 

[kac]

If you plan on an all terrain machine, one that can be submerged under water as well used on land, plan on waterproof wired headphones. Wireless headphones are great until the control unit is dunked then you have no signal.

[GB_Amateur]

16 minutes ago, kac said:

If you plan on an all terrain machine, one that can be submerged under water as well used on land, plan on waterproof wired headphones. Wireless headphones are great until the control unit is dunked then you have no signal.

To make this clear, "all terrain" here includes underwater detecting, and if you are going under water yourself then kac's recommendation of waterproof wired headphones enters the picture.

Note that the Minelab Vanquish is not a waterproof detector, other than the coils.  The Nokta/Makro Simplex is the (price) entry level detector capable of underwater use.  But being single frequency only, it will struggle in salt water.

Water detecting covers a wide range of uses -- fresh vs. salt on the one hand, and coil submerged, detector (control unit) submerged, and detector+operator submerged on the other hand.  Some detectors have none of these capabilities and you can go up to all, including everything in between.

Not surprisingly many detectorists who hunt around water prefer a fully waterproof detector even if they never plan on *intentionally* dunking it.  Accidents can happen....

 

 

[Coinboy]

Get the Nokta Makro simplex, you won’t be disappointed

[spandexlurch]

Ordered a Vanquish 440 yesterday from Kellyco, should arrive at my house tomorrow. Thank you all for your help and advice.

[palzynski]

11 hours ago, spandexlurch said:

Ordered a Vanquish 440 yesterday from Kellyco, should arrive at my house tomorrow. Thank you all for your help and advice.

Hi ,

Good news , normally you should not be disappointed with the 440... Just one advice take your time to get used to the Vanquish audio, it is a little "chatty"  particular on iron trashed areas . You may find it a little difficult at the beginning this is normal . Usually beginners need at least a dozen hours to get used to the ML multifreqs audio ....

Avoid too iron trashed areas ( yards , parks , ... ) during these first hours and go rather on quieter areas.  Only dig clean and repeatable signal on both directions . You may also test some targets ( coins , foils , buttons , etc ) at home (  outside the house because of the emi) before going in the field , this will also help.   

Good luck and send a post if any question/pb  ... 

[GB_Amateur]

2 hours ago, palzynski said:

Good news , normally you should not be disappointed with the 440... Just one advice take your time to get used to the Vanquish audio, it is a little "chatty"  particular on iron trashed areas . You may find it a little difficult at the beginning this is normal . Usually beginners need at least a dozen hours to get used to the ML multifreqs audio ....

Avoid too iron trashed areas ( yards , parks , ... ) during these first hours and go rather on quieter areas.  Only dig clean and repeatable signal on both directions . You may also test some targets ( coins , foils , buttons , etc ) at home (  outside the house because of the emi) before going in the field , this will also help.

Good advice, but I would take another approach on one particular suggestion.   Palzynski stated:  Only dig clean and repeatable signal on both directions.  IMO, there is considerable value to dig *all* targets, even iron targets, when learning a new detector.  That goes for veterans and rookies alike.  It's just as important to know what you aren't digging (more accurately, to surmise with less than 100% accuracy what you are not digging) as it is to find out (by digging) what you think are good targets.  Having said that, investigating the target ("...signal on both directions...") is a good discrimination technique to develop if you haven't already.  Even that takes quite a bit of practice.

[Compass]

Welcome to the forum and hobby. In reading these posts I see a lot of good advice but realized that when people say to check a target in "both directions" that it might not be clear what that means. A beginner might think that means to swing around 180 degrees and check the target from the opposite direction when it actually means to re-check the target from a direction perpendicular to the direction you first heard the target. This can give you an idea of the shape of a target.

Most coins and rings are round, but certainly not all, and will sound similar approaching them from any direction but targets that sound different when detected from different directions are often nails, bobby-pins and other undesirable items. 

HOWEVER, there are exceptions so I'll often dig every signal depending on how tired I am or how many targets there are to choose from. As you may have already learned, some of the best finds are sometimes from the worst sounding signals. Good luck with the new detector- always an exciting experience.

[GB_Amateur]

58 minutes ago, Compass said:

Welcome to the forum and hobby. In reading these posts I see a lot of good advice but realized that when people say to check a target in "both directions" that it might not be clear what that means. A beginner might think that means to swing around 180 degrees and check the target from the opposite direction when it actually means to re-check the target from a direction perpendicular to the direction you first heard the target. This can give you an idea of the shape of a target.

Most coins and rings are round, but certainly not all, and will sound similar approaching them from any direction but targets that sound different when detected from different directions are often nails, bobby-pins and other undesirable items. 

HOWEVER, there are exceptions so I'll often dig every signal depending on how tired I am or how many targets there are to choose from. As you may have already learned, some of the best finds are sometimes from the worst sounding signals. Good luck with the new detector- always an exciting experience.

Good advice and detail.  Sometimes we fall into that trap of forgetting that not everyone knows the lingo.

Most coins and rings are round,...HOWEVER, there are exceptions....

I cut and pasted these particular comments because I think one extra bit of clarification is called for.  Even when the target is circular/disk, if its orientation in the ground is not horizontal (parallel to the surface) then the 90 degree angle of attack approach (what I like to call the investigation technique being discussed ?) can give quite different visual TID's from the different directions.

I'll finish with a rephrase of Monte's (experienced detectorist who posts here) trailer wisdom:  your eyes are your best discriminator.