First Metal Detector

[mcjtom]

About two years ago I bought a Chinese Mental Detector for some $40 thinking they are all the same.  Kind members of this forum quickly set me straight and I got Vanquish 440.  By no means I'm experienced or even succesful, but I have a technical background and the interest and the time to read about metal detecting, ask questions, experiment with settings, and be happy swinging.  And I think by now I know enough to appreciate the complexities involved in metal detecting.

Now the problem: I've been asked, obviously being an expert :⁠-⁠), by a friend as to what fun detector to buy for his wife so that she could look for things mostly around their summer house in a forest in Europe (and maybe later elsewhere, like on a beach).  To my eye the ground there is mild, but I don't really know.  She probably doesn't want to look for anything in particular, just explore what may be under ground.  The detector should be sufficiently easy to use so that she doesn't get discouraged at first and not super expensive as he is not sure if his wife would like the new hobby.

The question I got was if the Xterra Pro was the right choice.  He also looked at the Simplex Ultra.  My answer was that the Vanquish 340 or 440 may not look as modern, but she may have a better luck with it as it may be simpler to set and more stable to operate and read.

Am I wrong? Is there something else that I should have said?

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 3/15/2024 at 2:19 PM, mcjtom said:

About two years ago I bought a Chinese Mental Detector for some $40 thinking they are all the same.  Kind members of this forum quickly set me straight and I got Vanquish 440.  By no means I'm experienced or even succesful, but I have a technical background and the interest and the time to read about metal detecting, ask questions, experiment with settings, and be happy swinging.  And I think by now I know enough to appreciate the complexities involved in metal detecting.

Now the problem: I've been asked, obviously being an expert :⁠-⁠), by a friend as to what fun detector to buy for his wife so that she could look for things mostly around their summer house in a forest in Europe (and maybe later elsewhere, like on a beach).  To my eye the ground there is mild, but I don't really know.  She probably doesn't want to look for anything in particular, just explore what may be under ground.  The detector should be sufficiently easy to use so that she doesn't get discouraged at first and not super expensive as he is not sure if his wife would like the new hobby.

The question I got was if the Xterra Pro was the right choice.  He also looked at the Simplex Ultra.  My answer was that the Vanquish 340 or 440 may not look as modern, but she may have a better luck with it as it may be simpler to set and more stable to operate and read.

Am I wrong? Is there something else that I should have said?

X-Terra Pro would be a strong choice as it has a variety of coil options from all 4 of the Equinox detectors (600, 700, 800 & 900) as all those coils will work with X-Terra Pro.  Also, the 100% Waterproof feature is nice. 

Yes the Simplex is a similar priced detector that is very popular as well.  I don't sell as many of them so I can't tell you the Pros/Cons of each, but I think coming from Vanquish to X-Terra pro would be easier than to a Simplex.

Hopefully this helps and wishing you luck.

 

[mcjtom]

The friend's wife got the Vanquish 340, which was probably a good idea.  The controls are superbly simple, understandable, and usable.  I was afraid that the adjustments could be too crude, but that's the beauty of it.

It's like with good cameras - the fewer the buttons the better (up to a point... :-). a

• The tone breaks and modes' notching are in reasonable places. 
• There is All Metal Mode - reporting all targets and letting you investigate them.
• There is the same awesomely stable ID system as in more expensive detectors with the same technology.
• It behaves well enough in moderately bad grounds and on ocean beaches  
• Modes have been assigned reasonable recovery speeds for their purposes - the Coins mode is pretty fast (not sure about the recovery in All Metals Mode - either the same as in Jewellery Mode (medium) or slower).

And all that with nearly no need for fiddling with settings (and thinking about what else can you do to make it detect better) - just go detecting.  3 Modes + Sensitivity - one of them should work out... 

And, on top of it, it can identify and find things quite well.

 

[mcjtom]

This leads me to, what I think, is a fair question: while I understand that the ability to swing and interpret the detector's signals is not all there is to finding things, it seems like a skill that people hone for years and cherish.

Has a target-detecting competition ever been attempted where the detectors are standardized (and, importantly, simplified, so the ability to optimise detectors matters little) so that only the skill matters?  Say, everybody gets the Vanquish 340 and let the best one win 🙂 

How differently would people do?

[MD4V.org]

Great question! Yes it has been tried with the Tesoro Compadre many years ago. Skill plays a very important role. But each machine is different, so time on the headphones with the machine you are using is everything. I agree with the Vanquish for one reason - it works on a saltwater beach (SMF)