I'm thinking of getting myself a metal detector, you know, just for fun. I do have one that my grandfather gave me, but let's face it, it couldn't detect a battleship. I'm not looking to spend a small fortune on one, but I'm looking for something that could at least find coins and things of that nature. Do any of you guys have recommendations on models? Thanks! :smile
I would go with this one http://whiteselectronics.com/coinmaster.html, or any other White's. I have a slightly older version than this one, but I have used this model. It's light, simple, easy to use, pretty reliable (I would say), and relatively inexpensive. I've heard of Garrett and Fisher being good brands too, but I'm sure someone else will be along to weigh in.
Having been a "detectorist" for a few decades, I would recommend that you buy a quality machine (White's, Garrett, Fisher are all good). Cheap machines mean nothing but frustration and a waste of time. Then spend a lot of time learning the signals your machine produces and what the finds are for those signals. Once you master it, you'll find a lot more "good" finds and less junk. In a park where I've never detected before, I'll eliminate everything except copper and silver just to see what potential is there. Another tip once you become one with your machine, is to reduce the discrimination level. The discriminator eliminates a lot of the junk items, but because gold is an alloy, gold is also rejected. If you go wide open, you'll dig more junk but you'll also find gold. This works well in parks where people lose jewelry.
