Like a lot of people, I purchased my first metal detector from Radio Shack. It was a Micronta 4003 and I was thrilled with it. I thought I was going to find everything I'd read about both on land and at the beach. Little did I know that these early detectors weren't built for such things. They were only good for finding a few coins that were not buried too deep, as these early detectors didn't get much depth, but they were fun. After playing with this detector for awhile I realized that I had to buy a more reliable brand name detector that would find what I was after. With that in mind here is my list of past and present metal detectors.
Shown below are the detectors that I have owned and used. Most are land detectors with the exception of the Tesoro PIranha, the Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II and the White's Surfmaster PI which are PI (pulse induction) detectors that are used in more mineralized conditions, such as the salty surf and under water.
All these machines work well and I've had no problem finding treasure with any of them. I no longer have the Garrett Sea Hunter Mark II. For me this detector was just too heavy, bulky and cumbersome to detect with. Also the Tesoro Bandido II µMax (the 'µ' is the symbol for mico, therefore it would read 'micromax'), Tesoro PIranha, White's MXT, White's Surfmaster PI and the Tiny Tec Pinpointer have all moved on. These are all great detectors and work well, but I don't need that many spares. I decided to sell them to others who could get enjoyment from them as I did.
In their place I now have three detectors that can do everything for me that I need and to let someone else use when we go detecting. The Garrett Ace Apex is my primary land and surf detector along with my Tesoro µMax. The Detector Pro Head Hunter Wader is my underwater detector that I can use to a depth of ten feet. All are fantastic turn on and go machines and are great for anyone just getting started in this hobby or even someone who's been detecting for years.
The Garrett Ace Apex is my newest detector. It is a very easy to use and is an extremely light detector that has a built in battery with a detecting life of about 15 hours. This is a multi frequency detector that can be used to hunt in all types of soil conditions. It can be used for coins and jewelry, hunting relics, gold searching and hunting on the salty beaches of New England as well as in the surf, but is not submersible.
The Detector Pro Head Hunter Wader allows me to detect in the water as well as on land. It's not made for diving, but if the headset controls drop into the water there is no problem. I just pick them up, put them on and continue detecting. The Wader has only three controls and no bulky control box on the shaft. Everything is in the headset. One side has the controls and the other side has the batteries. The amazing thing about this detector is that it can be used on dry land, sandy salt beaches and in the water both at the ocean and fresh water lakes and ponds. It is truly a go anywhere detector. Unlike pulse detectors used in the water, this has a discrimination knob to tune out any unwanted junk.
I've also added a couple of Pinpointers to my group. A short explanation about them with their pictures is shown below.
To see enlargments of any of the Metal Detectors below just click on them.
|