Hi,
All the machines mentioned by the posters before me and all good machines, and you will always have users who say some are better than others, and it may be true. It is a fact that some machines can go deeper, are more responsive, have better ability to adjust to different soils etc. etc. than others.
If a very good friend was to ask me the question you have asked, I would say to him/her something like this:
When you are starting off in detecting you do not want to start with cheap rubbish..you will only become frustrated and disheartened. By the same token, you dont want to start with the most high tech. unit that does everything except make you a cup of coffee, either...you will only become frustrated and disheartened. When you are starting out you need a machine which is simple to use, yet can be adjusted to suit varying conditions, and can perfrom to a degree that will satisfy the user whilst the user is learning to detect, and beyond. If the detector can take a veriety of different coils, all the better.
When you are starting in the hobby, it makes common sense to buy a detector which is lighter rather than heavier. You wont know until you start swinging for long hours how your body is going to cope with detecting, so give yourself a break and dont overload your system (relating to comfort) until you have some idea how much punishment your arms and back can take.
You have mentioned some good detectors in your own post. Take the Cibola (and I am not stating that you should buy the Cibola). It is light, has good respose to targets and can be used in a variety of locations (even shallow water at a salt beach) it has several coils available in different sizes. However, whilst it would be a good detector to start with, you might soon start wishing you had bought a detector with adjustable ground balance, and look longingly at the Vacquero (or one of the X Terras, or one of the Fisher F series or one of the Teknetics etc. etc.) Pewrsonally, I would not recommend a Sovereign or the more high tech. Minelabs ( E Trac) to a beginner. Whilst they are great machines, I think a beginner should begin with a machine where he or she can learn the basics of detecting and then progress to a machine at the higher end of the market . If you were buying a car for your son or daughter to learn to drive, would you buy them a Ford or Toyota, or would you go for a Ferrari.
Consider the machines which wont do everything for you, but will make you learn about what you are doing while detecting, i.e. the effects of having your sensitivity too high,(or too low); how to ground balance (or get the best out of a detector which has pre-set GB).
Good luck with your quest. If you go for a good brand with a good warranty then you will get a good detector. It is then up to you to get the best out of it. Often, we need to learn what we are doing before we can get the best out of anything. All the Best.
All the machines mentioned by the posters before me and all good machines, and you will always have users who say some are better than others, and it may be true. It is a fact that some machines can go deeper, are more responsive, have better ability to adjust to different soils etc. etc. than others.
If a very good friend was to ask me the question you have asked, I would say to him/her something like this:
When you are starting off in detecting you do not want to start with cheap rubbish..you will only become frustrated and disheartened. By the same token, you dont want to start with the most high tech. unit that does everything except make you a cup of coffee, either...you will only become frustrated and disheartened. When you are starting out you need a machine which is simple to use, yet can be adjusted to suit varying conditions, and can perfrom to a degree that will satisfy the user whilst the user is learning to detect, and beyond. If the detector can take a veriety of different coils, all the better.
When you are starting in the hobby, it makes common sense to buy a detector which is lighter rather than heavier. You wont know until you start swinging for long hours how your body is going to cope with detecting, so give yourself a break and dont overload your system (relating to comfort) until you have some idea how much punishment your arms and back can take.
You have mentioned some good detectors in your own post. Take the Cibola (and I am not stating that you should buy the Cibola). It is light, has good respose to targets and can be used in a variety of locations (even shallow water at a salt beach) it has several coils available in different sizes. However, whilst it would be a good detector to start with, you might soon start wishing you had bought a detector with adjustable ground balance, and look longingly at the Vacquero (or one of the X Terras, or one of the Fisher F series or one of the Teknetics etc. etc.) Pewrsonally, I would not recommend a Sovereign or the more high tech. Minelabs ( E Trac) to a beginner. Whilst they are great machines, I think a beginner should begin with a machine where he or she can learn the basics of detecting and then progress to a machine at the higher end of the market . If you were buying a car for your son or daughter to learn to drive, would you buy them a Ford or Toyota, or would you go for a Ferrari.
Consider the machines which wont do everything for you, but will make you learn about what you are doing while detecting, i.e. the effects of having your sensitivity too high,(or too low); how to ground balance (or get the best out of a detector which has pre-set GB).
Good luck with your quest. If you go for a good brand with a good warranty then you will get a good detector. It is then up to you to get the best out of it. Often, we need to learn what we are doing before we can get the best out of anything. All the Best.
