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

[Joe D.]

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!! ????

[bigtim1973]

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. 

 

 

[GB_Amateur]

9 hours ago, Joe D. said:

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!! ????

No, I've gotten a little more reserved in my detector buying.  I finally realized (after having it drummed into my head but ignoring the advice) that owning a detector is only the beginning, easy part.  Learning to use a detector, figuring out its nuances, treating it like a musical instrument that is only as good as the musician playing it.  Those things take a lot of time (in the field), at least for me.  Yes, that was a good deal and I much prefer the ladies' version (pink) to the macho, macho man green.  But I still have the Gold Bug Pro -- too many good memories to ever get rid of that one -- and it only lacks a few features of the G2+/F19/TRP.  If I get the itch I can revert to firing up the GB_Pro and the memories come pouring out.

 

[ScoTTT2]

Three years ago when I started detecting .. my thought was not buying the "best" detector .. but if I was even going to like detecting at all .. I wasn't thinking if I needed a detector that could pull a 10 inch dime out of 100 nails .. as soon as I started seriously looking at detectors, everyone said I should buy the Nox 800 .. the latest and greatest .. I wasn't going to spend that kind of money for a detector, since I wasn't sure if I was really going to like detecting to begin with .. I am smart enough to learn anything and if one man can do it so can another, but why spend that kind of money on a whim? .. but some people do .. anyway, I spent a little more than I was thinking I wanted to start out with (thanks to a scratch off ticket), and got a pinpointer along with the machine .. by the time I realized I was hooked on detecting, I had found enough in clad coins to buy any detector I wanted .. I had also detected with a few people who had done it for years .. I asked them enough questions about their machines and watched what they were finding, compared to what I was finding, and went from there, now knowing what I wanted in a detector .. most, if not all, of that clad could have been found with a $150 detector. That would be my advice to someone wanting to start detecting .. don't get caught up in what anyone thinks is "best" or what brand you should buy .. see if you like detecting and if it is something you'll be spending a lot of free time doing or maybe it is something that is not really for you (it would suck to find out you don't like to metal detect after spending a grand on equipment, or even $500) .. spend as little money as possible .. realize, even with the most expensive detector, you are going to dig trash .. save your clad, until you know detecting is something you really like doing .. give it a couple years .. by then you'll know what you want or need in a detector and have enough money in coins for a good down payment or out right purchase.

There is one oldtimey guy I see out detecting all the time near me .. he has detected for many, many years and still uses his radio shack metal detector and has no plans on buying a better detector, all he likes to detect is quarters. That is detecting to him, his enjoyment is in how many quarters he finds in a hunt and he finds a lot of them. No reason for him to own even a $150 detector. That $50 detector has paid for itself over and over.

When I was younger I had two real fast cars .. one was a Mercury police interceptor and one was a Pontiac Trans Am .. the Mercury was a 100 times the car the Trans Am was .. way faster, handled better, had a lot of room for doing stuff, from a drivers perspective, it just didn't get much better .. but the girls really liked the Trans Am, not so much the Mercury, even though the bucket seats and center console kept them at a distance .. both got me to the other end of the road, though. 

[67GTA]

This is a super short video I just made showing how the Vanquish acts in heavy iron. It is a Kentucky colonial home site that I've beaten to death over the years with at least 8 detectors. I am always reluctant to recommend the Vanquish because of the iron falsing tendencies. I see new detectorists asking daily on FB groups about why they are getting constant high tones and not finding the perceived target. For parks/beaches it is stable and is an excellent value compared to the Equinox, but a new user will get disgusted pretty quickly if they start swinging in an iron infested site. This was a custom mode based on jewelry. All metal on (chirps even worse with discrimination on), low iron bias, and sensitivity 2 bars down. Please ignore the cow patties ?

 

[67GTA]

Can anyone help me figure out how to how to embed the video? I just posted a link to it because I haven't figured it out yet.

[phrunt]

All you do is paste the youtube link into the post and press enter, it will automatically embed.  You don't need to do anything

[67GTA]

Thanks! That was easy. I was just making more complicated than it really was.

[Rick N. MI]

Great video showing false hits in iron. I don't like detectors that do that in iron. I guess you have to put up with it to get the most finds or increase iron bias and/or lower sensitivity more. Or not use it in iron lol. There are detectors that don't do that. I guess that's why we need more than one detector.