Digitech Metal Detector bought from my local Jaycar Electronics store.

[Simon_49]

I recently bought a Digitech Metal Detector from my local Jaycar Electronics store, the catalogue number is QP-2307 and it cost me about Au$140.00 or so, I bought it as a Christmas present for myself, anyway, it features three different modes, All Metal, Discriminate, and Notch, I know it's a bit of a cheap one, but I was on a tight budget and I'm planning on upgrading to a more expensive machine if/when I can afford, it'll give me lots of experience in the meantime.

It has an 8 inch waterproof search coil so it should be fine for metal detecting on beaches where there is moisture, it also has an LCD display that's relatively easy to read, variable sensitivity, a headphone socket, and a rotary volume control too, it is powered by two standard 9V batteries, it is also pretty lightweight as well.

Really looking forward to getting acquainted with it.

Note: I have to wait till I can post a few pics of it, so please bear with me....

 

[roy cobb]

Wr all have to start somewhere so get out there and swing that coil the good part also is it won't take long for it to pay for its self.
Roy

 

[Northeast]

Yep, even the most basic machine should pick up a few coins and hopefully even a few rings for you.

Not so much the beach but just remember good retrieval/soil replacement etiquette in parks/public areas.

Get stuck into some research of likely spots and best of luck. Look forward to seeing your finds :Y:

 

[Eldorado]

I started with a $100 Aldi detector just to see if detecting was something I would enjoy.I loved it so I eventually upgraded to an XTerra 705.As the others have said your Digitech will find some coins,put them in a jar and you will be surprised how quick they add up.Welcome to the addiction.

 

[Goldpick]

Here's the Jaycar metal detector, the display looks very similar to the Aldi one, wouldn't be surprised if the electronics weren't the same.

Anyway, hope you have some fun learning the detector, Heatho did well with his Aldi detector so hopefully you get onto some good finds.

 

[Simon_49]

Yep, that's the one, I think I've pretty much got the gist of how to operate it, it's actually pretty straightforward, I saw a video clip on youtube of someone using one of those Aldi detectors, not only is the screen very similar, the audio signals are too, I'm just wondering if the search coil is a single or a double, could be a double concentric one with a coil in the middle, anyway, my new detector seems to be pretty good bang-for-the-buck for the money I paid for it.

When I accumulate enough points to allow me to attach pics (I think it's about 10 points) to my threads, I'll post a couple of close-up pics of the controls and screen.....so stay tuned.....(pun not necessarily intended).....

 

[Simon_49]

Here we go, some close-up pics of my new metal detector:

LCD Screen:

Control Panel:

And Headphone Socket:

Sorry about the image quality, I used the camera function of my Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro phone, and since I had my first coffee for the day I had a bit of the shakes, but hopefully you can see what it looks like.

 

[Adrian ss]

Congrats on you new detector .
This machine has fixed ground balance so if you find that it is sounding off over the ground where there is no metal, try lowering the sensitivity until you can stop the ground noise. You will loose depth but should still find items within a few inches of the surface.

At the beach you may find that the disc mode is a bit chatty. It would be better to search in the All Metal mode over the dry sand. Try it over the wet sand and see how it goes and lower the sensitivity if it is noisy. You may find that at the beach best results will be had over the dry sand.

For best results it is better to use this detector where it runs with good stability rather than trying to hunt where the ground noise is to severe.

Place some coins on/in the ground and scan over them at various sensitivity and or disc settings to get an idea of how well the machine is coping with the ground minerals.

Wish you success
Adrian ss

 

[Simon_49]

Congrats on you new detector .
This machine has fixed ground balance so if you find that it is sounding off over the ground where there is no metal, try lowering the sensitivity until you can stop the ground noise. You will loose depth but should still find items within a few inches of the surface.

At the beach you may find that the disc mode is a bit chatty. It would be better to search in the All Metal mode over the dry sand. Try it over the wet sand and see how it goes and lower the sensitivity if it is noisy. You may find that at the beach best results will be had over the dry sand.

For best results it is better to use this detector where it runs with good stability rather than trying to hunt where the ground noise is to severe.

Place some coins on/in the ground and scan over them at various sensitivity and or disc settings to get an idea of how well the machine is coping with the ground minerals.

Wish you success
Adrian ss

Thanks Adrian, cheers for that mate, I'll definitely give that a go and see what results I get, I'm guessing that since there'll be quite a lot of salt-water, which happens to be electrically conductive, at Mindil Beach I'll probably experience a lot of ground noise effects, I was actually thinking of starting off with the detector set to all metal mode, I was wondering whether the machine used automatic or fixed ground balance, most detectors usually do feature some kind of ground-balance circuitry, unless it is a really basic design like a BFO (Beat Frequency Oscillator), will be interesting to see how well my detector copes.

 

[Adrian ss]

Something else you can try with this machine at the beach is to notch out nails in the disc mode. It may help stability over the wet salt sand and it may help a bit over dry land as well.

 

[Simon_49]

Something else you can try with this machine at the beach is to notch out nails in the disc mode. It may help stability over the wet salt sand and it may help a bit over dry land as well.

Cheers, I'll give that a go too, if I don't end up finding anything at Mindil Beach, I'm going to treat it as a learning experience.

 

[Simon_49]

Okay, so I've got myself a detector, I'm guessing that I should invest in a couple more pieces of equipment, such as a pin-pointer and some kind of sand scooper so I can dig out my finds, there's a camping shop in the Casuarina shopping centre in Casuarina, I'm wondering if they'll stock those items, I'll go pay them a visit next year.

 

[Adrian ss]

I wouldn't bother with the pinpointer at the beach. The digging is easy as is locating the targets. A scoop would be handy. Just a hand scoop is sufficient. A pair of leather gardening glove is a good idea because you will encounter some sharp stuff in the sand at times. You won't need a long handle scoop...Yet
Don't spend much money on odds and ends until you know you are going to like metal detecting.

 

[roy cobb]

I pick up a plastic scoop from a prouduce store drilled a few holes works fine and cost $15

 

[Blackgreg]

Hi like you i got one of these over Christmas I also got an old whites coinmaster.
I took both to the beach and spent an hour with the Jaycar and an hour with the Whites coinmaster and old 5000d s3
I swept thr same area with the Jaycar and the whites the results were poor but the Jaycar produced nothing the whites 7 tent pegs 22 bottle caps, 1 hair clip, an Allen key and a 20c coin, no ring pulls.
I confess I don,t like the Jaycar I prefer the whites as when you find a target it give a continuous tone and analogue reading over the target the Jaycar a single bleep but I may be sing it wrong .when I set the Jaycar up it does only give short bleep over coins. Should it give a continuous tone? I prefer the analogue pointer on the whites to the Jaycar display it al seems very vague.
Has anyone done a setup video for the Jaycar?

Good luck with yours
Greg

 

[EVIE/BEE]

I picked up a 3oz piece at 2ft down, i doubt you would have heard that one. The 35oz in my avatar shot was near the surface sounded like a beer can....no problem for you. You should find nuggets 2 grams at 2 to 3 inches.
Good luck.

 

[Blackgreg]

Hi mine had a intermittent fault I took it back and got a full refund only had it for four days, I think the fault may have been in the search coil, I may get another but not from Jaycar

Now using my whites relic

Greg

 

[Damiantheomen]

Hi all. Just purchased this model for my son to try when we go bush walking in the golden triangle here in Victoria and for some fun at local beaches in Port Phillip Bay. So reading others comments the sensitivity should be turned down in iorn rich soils like that found here in Victoria
Sorry to dig up an old post but my son is super excited about getting out and prospecting
D.

 

[grubstake]

Hi all. Just purchased this model for my son to try when we go bush walking in the golden triangle here in Victoria and for some fun at local beaches in Port Phillip Bay. So reading others comments the sensitivity should be turned down in iorn rich soils like that found here in Victoria
Sorry to dig up an old post but my son is super excited about getting out and prospecting
D.

Welcome to the forum, D.

As long as he sticks to the dry sand areas of the beaches, your son should have some fun with his new detector. The digging is easy and if he's lucky, there ought to be some targets to find. The goldfields are a different kettle of fish altogether - any excitement there will most likely turn into frustration pretty fast.

Good luck with the search, anyway!

 

[Damiantheomen]

Welcome to the forum, D.

As long as he sticks to the dry sand areas of the beaches, your son should have some fun with his new detector. The digging is easy and if he's lucky, there ought to be some targets to find. The goldfields are a different kettle of fish altogether - any excitement there will most likely turn into frustration pretty fast.

Good luck with the search, anyway!

Thanks so much. Not expecting much in the goldfeilds but something is better than nothing I'd guess.