Young Person Trapped In Old Body Here, Seeking Help Choosing Best First/last Detector

[RockNRowBoat]

Howdy and thanks for allowing me to slip through the cracks long enough to join and kindly ask for HELP figuring out which detector an antique human running on an analog brain system that lacks ram or whatever is needed to allow me to comprehend and retain the mental software updates necessary to operate proficiently things like remote controls, a rented BMW or some of the metal detectors I see you kids on Youtube fire up, push a half dozen buttons in some complicated pattern that allows you to find all kinds of stuff with some cool looking detectors, pinpointers and a lot more skill than I might hope possess.

So, if you can pretend to be in the market for a metal detector that you can learn to operate while pretending to be permanently trapped in the brain you might have had on one of those bad hangover mornings when you couldn't think straight, THAT is the detector I'm looking for.

I'd like to keep total cost for all the stuff needed that I'd also appreciate your suggestions I buy, (detector, compatible pinpointer, wireless headphones, digging devices, find bag, etc), somewhere under $1,000 if possible.

I tell 100% of my metal detecting history in my profile if you find yourself bored enough to wander toward with a minute to waste learning how brief and ancient my detecting experience is.

I've spent the past week watching countless videos and reading in these forums hoping to come away with the make and model of the perfect detector that I'm capable of learning without throwing it as far as I can to release the frustration I'm prone to when dealing with stubborn devices I see others operate with ease.

I appreciate it very much and when receiving the award for most incredible detecting find of all time, I will give thanks to you first and loudest and for as long as they allow before yanking me off stage.
Amen
 

[F350Platinum]

Welcome!

Gotta say you wrote a unique intro. 👏

I'm not going to recommend a detector to you (yet), first some questions:

You write that you want the detector to be simple to operate, easy enough to handle by someone that is not one of "you kids" (I'm 64 BTW), and you want the whole "find of a lifetime" experience from just turning on the machine. 🤔

I've got a solid 3+years into this hobby (read "rabbit hole"), and have dug quite a few finds of a lifetime, but that's a long tale which incidentally is all here. 🙂

What sort of detecting do you wish to do? Relic detecting in farms or on old properties, Jewelry/coin detecting in parks, salt beach detecting, water detecting, even gold prospecting?

I see you're in Kentucky, that is a pretty good relic and freshwater region of the USA, lots of old stuff and lakes, streams and such. Where do you plan to spend the most time Detecting?

Do understand that you will need to be familiar with detecting laws, and a great place to start is here:

https://www.mdhtalk.org/articles/legal-to-detect/law.htm

It's a brilliant website that covers it all.

Another bit of advice I can give you before you get going is to consider that if you do make incredible discoveries, this hobby can become time consuming and obsessive to the point that it causes dissent in your family. If your spouse is a saint like mine, it won't be as bad. 😀

There are many possibilities available, but you're not going to be immediately successful the minute you go out the door. You will quickly find that there is no detector out there that is 100% successful, you will have to learn it first and also have to learn to laugh at your foibles instead of throwing it as far as you can.

Good luck, and Happy hunting. 🍀

[JCR]

Welcome from East Texas.

[glacialgold]

Welcome from southern Indiana.

In terms of a new quality "turn on and go" detector, I'd say something like the Nokta Score ($379 list price). For another $50, however, the Double Score has more features. Both are simplified versions of the Nokta Legend, which at around $500 competes with top tier machines.

The Garrett Ace series are also good beginner detectors, but you're going to find more capable machines in the Nokta line for a lower price point than the higher end Aces. The Minelab Vanquish series and the XTerra Pro are also cheaper and less pricey than the some of the Ace detectors, yet still have more capability.

For what it's worth, the easiest high-quality/"serious" detector I've ever used is the White's MXT Pro. Three knobs and a couple switches, pretty self-explanatory, and the digital display actually tells you what it thinks the target is. That one is 20+ year-old tech and company no longer exists, so the only sources are in the second-hand marketplace.

[Tom_in_CA]

On 1/4/2024 at 5:31 AM, F350Platinum said:

........

https://www.mdhtalk.org/articles/legal-to-detect/law.htm

...........

 

Uh, there's a lot of ... uh .... "dire sounding" stuff on there where you have to .... uh ... read between the lines.  When you study the evolution of all such nifty list compendium attempts like that, you begin to see a self-fulfilling vicious circle.   A bunch of what you read on attempts like that were nothing more than a giant case of "no one cared UNTIL you asked" routine going on.

 

What I mean is, that in order to assemble lists like that IN THE FIRST PLACE, guess how they went about it ?   They simply went to the powers-that-be, AND ASKED.  Right ?  Ie.: Sent letters, or picked up the phone, or showed up at kiosks, or sent emails, asking "Hi, can we metal detect ?"   Or "what are the rules/laws regarding the use of metal detectors".  

 

And whomever is fielding these "pressing questions", gets bandied desk to desk, till it finally lands on the desk of a purist archie.  Who morphs some understanding of cultural heritage, or Lost & found laws, or "alter and disturb" language, or "harvest and remove" verbiages, and returns with a "no".   That makes its way into these compendium attempts. AND PRESTO !  Another policy or rule or law or "no" is born.

 

And these were often places that, quite frankly NEVER HAD BEEN AN ISSUE BEFORE .  So old-timers were left scratching their heads saying :  "Since when ?", or "That's nonsense".  So if ever anyone challenges a supposed rule, guess what is sure to happen next ?  Yup, you guessed it :  Go ask a bored desk-jockey.  Do you see the vicious circle ??

 

Sure, avoid obvious historic sensitive monuments.  Sure.  But just sayin' that you have to read between the lines when trying to use lists/links like that.   I wrote a commentary (upon their request), that you can read there, where it says "alternative view...." at the top.  

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome to the crew ! 

Turn on and go sounds like what you're looking for ..

$1k total for a detector and all the extra's .

(Remember the ones with all the buttons and menu selections come with presets that the design engineers have done all the programming for you ! Still turn on and go but with options as you get better , again with that help from friends here.)

I'm gonna say general rule , half and half on the detector+ the etc. ~$500 each ? but the extra's are basically optional on costs depending on choices .

First one I come up with is a Vanquish 540. ~$500 wireless headphones and a small coil come with it ! (small coils are a must have for most of us but NOT required  )  The coil can get wet but the brain likes to stay dry..

(The Legend is about the same $ but a little more complicated. Still has presets plus you could actually learn the thing enough over time to get by with help from your new friends) This one will go undah wahtah with no problemo !

The classifieds here has less costly options too. Anything sold there has been field tested by one of us.  

Good luck finding the right detector and what you find with it ! 

 

Your extra list in no particular order.

A pinpointer . Some never use one but some others swear by them... ($30-$!30) range.

Digging tools , any shovel in a storm !  I really like the Radius Nomad ($40-50)for it's light weight and root slaying heritage.  (It's big brother is around too if the extra weight isn't a problem. 'bout same price as the Nomad... The $20 garden spade I started with is still in the trunk)

A hori type garden knife/digger is good for the easy close to surface targets. 

An all plastic trowel so you can metal scan as you go. Beaches tame down a bit with a sand scoop but many just use their shovels. 

A finds pouch. Anything will work. Of course the suppliers fill this void but I've found some good ones at Goodwill (camera bags for a couple of bucks each) 

Knee pads or something to kneel on is popular ! 

 

 

 

 

 

[Coffeeguyzz]

Rnr,

Welcome to the site and best wishes in your new ventures.

I need to re-emphasize rvpop's comment regarding the Legend and its pre-set settings (tailored for Park, Beach, Field and Goldfield hunts).

I recently purchased one for $509 with wireless headphones and larger coil included.

While there are umpteen online comments/videos about how sophisticated this machine is - and daunting to achieve significant mastery - it is absolutely 'turn on and go' if one wants to simply use the pre-set parameters (frequency, recovery speed, sensitivity, etc).

Prior to my recent - first, using this unit - prospecting hunt on an old gold mine area, I set up 16 different profiles with a wide array of settings in order to learn more of how this machine operates. (Too soon to tell, but I like what I've seen so far).

As one prominent Youtuber has said, his 1,000 hours using the Legend is about 500 hours shy of what he needs to consider himself an expert. 

Conversely, by simply turning on the unit, a user can start swinging immediately using the settings optimimally set for local  conditions by the experts who designed the thing.

Bottom line, if you diligently apply yourself, you increase your chances of success.

The Legend offers a 'newbie' set up with the optionality to employ more  sophisticated settings for more experienced users.

Again, good luck.