New Detector

[kaybork]

looking into getting something new, i dont run anything fancy nowadays and this last weekend i could have thrown it in the creek it was being so wonky. That being said, i am looking into getting a Minelab, mainly i want to find old artifacts/coins, my husband wants it to be able to pick up copper (as we have land in MI and have found copper a handful of times) Would love for it to be fairly simple to run. Detect in a little bit of water would be good too. something compact would be nice too. Someone had told me to get the Minelab 66 but just wanted to hear some options.  i dont wanna spend the money if theres something that would be better

[Rick N. MI]

The Minelab Xterra pro and nokta simplex would be a better economical choice.

[67GTA]

I would stay away from the Go-Find series. Now that the Xterra Pro is out, I will second what Rick said. They are both economical detectors that you can turn on and go without fiddling with settings. Can't go wrong with either one. The only caveat would be that the older simplex models run on 12 Khz and go nuts when you use most pinpointers around them. If you make sure and get one of the newer gen simplex detectors, they have changed to 15Khz and no longer suffer from this problem. 

[kaybork]

13 minutes ago, 67GTA said:

I would stay away from the Go-Find series. Now that the Xterra Pro is out, I will second what Rick said. They are both economical detectors that you can turn on and go without fiddling with settings. Can't go wrong with either one. The only caveat would be that the older simplex models run on 12 Khz and go nuts when you use most pinpointers around them. If you make sure and get one of the newer gen simplex detectors, they have changed to 15Khz and no longer suffer from this problem. 

 

Good to know, i do normally just carry my pinpointer in my bag with me, so that is very good to know. I will defiantly look into the ones you suggested, thanks!

[CPT_GhostLight]

I would say the Minelab Vanquish series would be a better choice as they are simultaneous multi-frequency (SMF) detectors and will handle difficult ground much better than the single frequency detectors mentioned before, and they cost less to a little more depending on the model. My wife uses a Vanquish 540 and loves it. It's a true turn on and go machine with some excellent advanced capabilities in a small and light package. 

[Jeff McClendon]

I am going to vote for the new Minelab X-Terra Pro. It has all of the collapsibility of the GoFind 66 but way better ergonomics, features, coil choices, versatility (fully waterproof) and a very similar price. Personally, I am not a Nokta Simplex fan even though it has a great price and features. The Simplex audio sounds just too much like a distressed duck for my ears. I like the Minelab Vanquish models a lot since they have Multi IQ simultaneous multi frequency but they absolutely are not waterproof. Just the coil is. Those are the best choices for around $300 detectors. If the Nokta Score was released, I would be voting for it for sure.

[TedinVT]

I bought a Minelab X-Terra Pro for my wife and she's very happy with it. Key features for her are light weight, waterproof and simplicity. We recently added the ML85 Bluetooth headphones. Notable finds in the last week are an 1883 V nickel and a 14K wedding band.

[kaybork]

12 hours ago, TedinVT said:

I bought a Minelab X-Terra Pro for my wife and she's very happy with it. Key features for her are light weight, waterproof and simplicity. We recently added the ML85 Bluetooth headphones. Notable finds in the last week are an 1883 V nickel and a 14K wedding band.

Thanks sounds like that's the route I shall go 😊

[GB_Amateur]

The big bugapoo for the Minelab Vanquish series is the lack of adjustable ground balance.  With its (simultaneous) multifrequency operation it adjusts for the ground by comparing the background (i.e. non-target area) signals from two (possibly more) frequencies.  That works well to a point.  But in difficult ground?

You mention having land in Michigan which has native copper.  I assume it's in the Upper Peninsula (Keweenaw Peninsula?).  Here's a map that I found here which shows mines, etc. around Lake Superior:

I'm no geologist but with so many mines (many are iron mines?) I suspect having a detector which allows the user to ground balance is the way to go.  Fortunately the Minelab X-Terra Pro which has already been recommended by multiple responders does have user tuneable ground balance.

[kaybork]

6 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

The big bugapoo for the Minelab Vanquish series is the lack of adjustable ground balance.  With its (simultaneous) multifrequency operation it adjusts for the ground by comparing the background (i.e. non-target area) signals from two (possibly more) frequencies.  That works well to a point.  But in difficult ground?

You mention having land in Michigan which has native copper.  I assume it's in the Upper Peninsula (Keweenaw Peninsula?).  Here's a map that I found here which shows mines, etc. around Lake Superior:

I'm no geologist but with so many mines (many are iron mines?) I suspect having a detector which allows the user to ground balance is the way to go.  Fortunately the Minelab X-Terra Pro which has already been recommended by multiple responders does have user tuneable ground balance.

That's a very cool map, thanks! Yes it is property in the Keweenaw peninsula. We have found quite a bit of small native copper already, our land also holds a old logging camp where so far have only found a axe head, although I have only been there twice so far. Thanks for the detailed explanation, sounds like the x-terra is the route to go for me.