Best Metal Detector to start with?

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Hello
I know this probably has been posted a lot but it is getting very confusing
just wondering if anybody out there can give me some advice. I have been looking all over the Internet, about which brand of metal detector to buy it will be my first metal detector. I was probably looking at getting a fisher f5 or a minelab x-trra 505 which one out of the two would be a good metal detector for my first one I am probably leaning more towards the fisher f5 most of the use for the metal detector will be for relic and coin finding , but there is only one shop I can find in Victoria that sells them can anybody else help me out with that as well.
 
Mate came out with me to do a spot of detecting. And been bitten by the bug. Wants to get a starter but only has a $600 budget. Any suggestions?
 
Check out eBay as bendigo gold have very good used detectors with warranties, I picked my xterra 705 gold pack for $800 so I'm sure he could get the 505 xterra for around $500/$600 mark. I'm happy with my choice
 
Id have to say that depends on what area he plans on detecting
And what he will be detecting if it's in the golden triangle I'd be saving a few more $ and getting one of those SD2000 that eBay has regularly for $800-$1000

If he was going to tag along to Tibooburra a second hand GMT for $600 would make him smile.
 
I can think of worse bugs to catch :lol:

Copied and pasted from a previous post of mine https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=32575#p32575, detectors around or under $600

  • Garrett EURO Ace, Ace 350[/*]
  • Minelab X-Terra 305, 505[/*]
  • Whites Coinmaster Series or GMZ/GMT for Prospecting[/*]
  • Fisher F4, F5 or Goldbug for Prospecting[/*]
  • Teknetics Gamma 6000, Omega 8000[/*]
  • Bounty Hunter Discovery 3300, Quick Draw II[/*]

Nugget.
 
Thanks for the feedback all. Will let you know what he settles on and how it performs. Me, personally, I'd go the extra and try for a sd2000. But I know he's tight for a quid so can only hope that whatever he settles for will work out ok. Cheers
 
gday im only really a newbie and i don't have allot money so what metal detector do you guys recommend under $200?
 
I am newbieish too, but I have no clue unless you tell us what you want to search for. Coins, relics or gold?

For $200 it would be a second hand coin shoot IMHO but lets see what others say.
 
There's not a lot on the market under $200 unfortunately but mbasko's post is a great starting point. Let us know what you end up getting.
 
I really like the features on the Teknetics Alpha 2000, it seems to have some great features equal to, if not better than some more expensive detectors like the Garrett Ace series, which are way overpriced here compared to the US for entry level detectors. Probably would have gotten one of these if I hadn't bought the Ace, and in retrospect, it equals if not surpasses the Ace series in every way.

Things I like about the Alpha 2000 include good frequency at 7.8kHz which is higher than the Garrett Ace 250, and just a bit lower than the Garrett EuroAce, which will make it more sensitive to gold and jewellery targets than the Ace 250.
Other features:

6 level discrimination (6 less than the Ace250)
3 discrimination tones for identifying targets (same as Ace250)
Ability to notch out certain junk items (same as Ace250)
Dual headphone sockets for large and small headphone jacks (Ace 250 only has one)
Water proof coil (same as Ace250)
Huge screen with target depth and sensitivity readout (larger and easier to read than Ace250)
Good coil recovery time for targets (much faster than Ace250)
Shaft with built in camlocks, so no shaft wobbles (not on Ace250)
Only requires one 9 volt battery, Ace250 requires 4 AA batteries
Lighter than the Ace250 (2.2lbs vs 2.7lbs)
Large range of accessory coils from fisher/teknetics and NEL
Pricing - $54 cheaper than the Ace 150 which it beats hands down for value and features, and a huge $140 cheaper than the Ace 250, which represents much better value for the money.

Hope that helps out. :)
 
Compared to Ace 250:
No VDI numbers for targets(nor on the Ace)
Less notches to play with when discriminating out junk (possibility of discriminating out good targets)
No provision for ground balancing in mineralised or salty areas (preset ground balance, also none on the Ace)
No eliminate button for unwanted targets, you have to notch out unwanted targets before starting
May be more sensitive to junk targets, hence need to wind back the sensitivity which will also decrease detecting depth (read that on another forum), same could be the case on mieralised areas or wet sand, with falsing if sensitivity too high.

Other things to consider:

No modulation of the target tone to get a feel of how deep the target is, the signal is either off or on
Needs to be run at full volume to pick up on all targets or some of the high range targets may be missed, so volume control headphones would be a must.

For the money though, its pretty hard to criticise such a cheap detector considering the features included on this machine, and price difference between other starter detectors. You probably don't hear too much about them considering they are primarily built for the European market, whereas Fisher are predominantly for the US market. I'm guessing that Fisher's F2 is the closest in their range to this detector (both made by same parent company).
 
Just sent you a message about an F2 for sale 2nd hand with 8" and 4" coil for $225 delivered to your door.

You can not get a better deal than this. It will give you the taste for an id machine with 2 coils.

IT runs at a low khz so is more of a coin machine should be plenty for you to get started with especially in most parts of Australia where

pennies and coins are only buried as deep as 6 or so inches.

Things have changed in reference to which 2 manufacturers allow which Australian Business to import there gear. Personally I don't agree with it

so I import the detector I want either directly or by using a service like shipito which allows my machine to be shipped to a us address then I get it shipped here.

[video=480,360]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRdcJ13feyI[/video]

Hope this helps.

Joe
 
that aldi detector seems ot be the shit mate, for $100 you can call them and they will try to source one in your region
 

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