Like most people, I purchased my first metal detector from Radio Shack. It was a Micronta brand 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 Surfmaster PI and the Tiny Tec Pinpointer have all moved on as well. 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 the three detectors that can do everything for me that I need, and have a spare for someone else that wants to detect with me. The Detector Pro Head Hunter Wader, Tesoro Silver µMax and my Garrett GTA500. All three 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. No fiddling with a bunch of knobs trying to figure out how to use it.
Here are the three machines that I use most often. I'm comfortable with them, I know how they work and I find treasure with them.
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.
The Tesoro Silver µMax is a land detector with only two control knobs that can also be used in the dry sand at the beach. This is a turn on and go machine which means there is nothing special to fiddle with and preset before going on your search. Just turn it on and start finding your treasure.
The Garrett Ultra GTA500 is primarily a land detector. The GTA stands for Graphic Target Analyzer. It uses touchpad controls rather than dials and knobs. It also has an LCD display panel and notch descrimination that allows me to knock out those things that I don't want for any special searches. I can use this machine on dry land, at the sandy beach and in the wet sand.
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.
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