Classic III pulling in the tabs :detecting:

[Bucksport]

Finally got to dig today. The ball-field that I have been hitting the last 2 years still has great potential. I am more excited about finding the tabs than the coins. All were found between 4-6 inches. That means that I have an area that has been cherry picked in the past. All finds were in a 20x20 area, and I was only there for about 30 minutes. The classic III is performing great for me.

 

[Rebel1]

I just sent Mr.Bill a M.O. for a Classic III. Haven't used one before. Any tips? I also have an Eagle Spectrum on the way. Wonder how the 2 will compare performance wise. I know the Classic has no VID like the Eagle does, but just for all around use, i wonder which will be better?

 

[Bucksport]

I know you have used Tesoro units before, as I have too, but the single tone of the classic seems to talk to me better. I also really like the trigger pinpoint. I also feel that the balance is much better than other machines I have used in the past.
I kept the disc just above the lowest preset. That way I am digging the tabs, and anything else that appears above. I have tested 3 thin 10k
gold rings, and they all sounded off in those settings.
The modulated audio made depth guessing very easy. I will not be parting with this machine anytime soon

 

[Rebel1]

Yep, Tesoro, Garrett, Whites, Bounty Hunter, Fisher, Technetics. I had an Eagle Spectrum before and regretted selling it. And i did have an IDX Pro for a while. But never a plain 'ol Classic. Should be fun.

 

[Bucksport]

same as an IDX minus the screen. You will do well with it.

 

[Rebel1]

Thanks. Have you ever used one of the Eagle Spectrums or XLT's?

 

[Bucksport]

I have not, but have watched many videos on it. The xlt is next on my list.

 

[Ronk]

I have a Classic 3SL that I bought about 15-18 years ago from Monte and Believe it or not...It's still my favorite machine and I've had a bunch.
To start with...It's been modified by Mr.Bill and with external ground adjust,external threshold,a mini toggle to go from normal auto tune to slow auto tune and sensitivity boost.
Some of the Best features of the Classics are You can run Max sensitivity most of the time with almost No EMI issues,Very quiet in the iron...Slow sweep and quick response..not as fast as some newer detectors but still very quick.I'm not sure if you have the Classic 3 or 3SL but mine will discrimiate at depth and also has the modulated audio so deeper targets sound deeper and shallow targets sound shallow.Something else that people always complain about is a certain type of pry cap bottle top that gives good VDI and audio on newer machines.It's not the detector but the DD coil that causes it to give a good signal.On the Classic with the concentric coil it rejects those type of bottle caps easily.
It's very easy to learn the audio of the Classics.It is well made and No cheap thin brittle plastic.It also has excellent battery life.Mine will get anywhere between 50 to 70 hours on an 8 pack of AA's which I like better than 9 volts.Mine also has the trigger mode change and pinpoint which I wish more newer detectors would have.It' just so handy and fast.
I don't remember all of the differences between the Classic-3 and 3SL.Mine also has the variable frequency adjust and the detector can be set to run quiet with an All metal accept with BlackSand switch or Monte's "Enhanced Disc"mode.This detector will keep up with a lot of newer machines in depth and discrimination.I have use mine for everything except Prospecting and I'm sure it could find some small ones.I've found tons of .22 cal lead with mine and even very tiny brass buttons and rivets that you would think you'd have to have a higher frequency to get.
I have also found very small jewelry using my 5.5 inch coil.Until You get use to using it..I would just run the disc just enough to knock out small iron like nails and the like and dig all the good sounding 2 way signals and see what the targets are.I don't know what type of hunting you do or how much junk you can put up with but the Classics have very good audio and Not like some of the Mosquito sound that the newer detectors have.I think you can do well once you learn where certain targets are rejected at on the dial.
One day in my own yard I decided to run to accept small foil and I dug a ladies ring that I have passed over for 5 years because I had the disc set just above where small foil is rejected.Like I said before..I don't know what type of targets you are after but the Classics will do well in the general coin jewelry and relic department.You can still find extra coils for them online if you look around.I Never worry about EMI or bottlecaps that most people cry about today or if I'm getting enough depth.The Classics can handle a wide variety of targets including silver coins..which it's still better at than some newer machines and even with the lower frequency it can still find gold rings and jewelry with no problem and it will find nickles with no problem.
Just give it a chance and learn it and you might be surprised what it can do.Monte is the Classic Expert so he might Pop in and let you know the skinny on the Classics.I've been using this same one for over 16 years and it's still finding me the goodies without all the problems the others are complaing about with their latest and greatest beep boxes.One more thing...The Classics can be used on a salt water water beach.Not perfect but but still better than some newer detectors.
Have fun with it and it's very easy to learn.I have used this same one for so long and it's well built in America and built like a tank but still balanced very well and if I bump it on a rock it's Not plastic so no problem.The only thing it can't do is swim..But..I'm not a diver or rarely go in the water or out in the rain to detect.I am going to buy me another newer model soon but undecide which one yet.I have a few ideas but saying yet.Post again after you get and used your Classic 3.Let us know what you think or if you have any more questions!


HH...Ronk

 

[Bucksport]

Ronk, excellent write up

 

[Rebel1]

Thanks Ronk. The one i have coming i got from Mr. Bill but it doesn't have his mods. It is the Classic III SL though and not the plain Classic IIII with the big box. It has the Freq. adjust knob, disc, and sens. Not sure if it has the pinpoint trigger or not. Do you know if all the III SL's have it.

 

[Rebel1]

I will most likely have an Eagle Spectrum for sale in a week or two. It was the Predecessor to the XLT. Same machine basically with a few less User Programs.

 

[Bucksport]

The classic III sl has the 3 position trigger.

 

[Rebel1]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Ronk]

If it's the Classic 3SL then it should be like mine.Did you get a manual for it? You can find lots of info on the C3SL online.I have rarely found any negatives on it anywhere and what I found was from people who didn't understand how to use it.
Is it digital? No...but who cares?
Does it have a meter or tone ID? No...but who cares?
Is it waterproof? No...but who cares?
Does have computer ground balance? No...but who cares?
Will it talk to you? Thank God NO!
Does it have VCO audio..No but who cares? Nothing wrong with VCO but the last machine I had with VCO was very loud and annoying!
Will it tell the time? No...but who cares? I wear something called a watch.
Is it wireless? No..but who cares? Something else not having to worry about going wrong.
Bells and whistles are NICE but they drive up the PRICE.
The Classics have what's needed and what's not needed.
A few of the pluses are....a Rear mouted headphone jack on back of the box where it SHOULD Be!
It's Not restricted to DD coils only.
Excellent battery life! Better than most on the market today.Not all...but most.An excellent way to keep batteries where they should be.(In the detector and No wires to worry about!
It has one of the best dicriminator circuits today! Simple but effective.
It is Not a chatter box like a lot of newer machines are.You Can run max sensitivity most of the time.The only EMI I have ever had with my C3SL was so minor that it was hardly noticeable and ony lasted for a few sec.
It handles iron very well.With a small coil you can still find goodies in with iron..Not quite as good as a DD but very close because the Classic does reset very fast..Again not quite as fast as some newer but I've never had any problems finding goodies very close to iron.In fact just recently with my small coil I found a coin and rusted nail in the same hole.The detector never made a peep on the nail.
Once you get the detector set up for the area you are in you rarely have to change the ground balanced setting.I check mine after a good hard rain because in my ground it does make a little difference.Or if you go to a newer area that you are unsure of you might want to check the ground balance just to be sure.I set mine just slightly positive as you get about and inch or 2 above the ground and it works fine for me.
If you ever change the frequency shift you Have to change the ground balance also.I'm not around other detectors much so I hardly every use the Frequency shift and I hardly every get any EMI which is nice with the Classics.
Before I forget...When I bought my Classic for Monte about 15 or 16 years ago..It was already modified so I can't compare an unmodified one with it but I have read enough posts through the years of how well the Classics perform unmodified and I've read great reviews about it!
The trigger mode switch should be Mandatory on ALL detectors! It just seems like it was meant to be! It is so handy and it's just so natural if that makes any sense to you! To me..that is My own Bell or Whistle! A lot of detectors even today still have just a push pad or button which is ok IF you can get use to it.One thing about the trigger mode change and PP is You don't have to worry about bumping another knob or button or push pad or any other settings when you use it.
The Classics will also handle some real tough ground evern though it's a single turn function.I have not hunted any ground yet that the Classic couldn't handle.It is a Smooth Quiet running machine and when are in All metal the threshold is also very smooth compared to a lot of machines.It runs smooth enough to hear low faint targets over the threshold.
Something else I found out recently is SUN-RAY makes inline Probe for the 6.59khz detectors and that's what the older Classics are like ours.I've never tried one myself but it's a miracle that they make something today for the Classics of yesterday. I don't remember if they make one for the later Classics with the 8.?? khz or not.
If you take the time to learn the Simple but Effect Classic 3SL I KNOW if will perform very well.Like I said before...Nothing wrong with Bells and Whistles..They are needed for some to help keep up with the competition.
Sure they don't make the Classics any longer but I'll Never get rid of mine because I don't have a reason to.For MY kind of hunting it works Perfect! All the years I've had it and it has NEVER had to go in for repair ever after all the times I've dropped it or bumped it got hung up in the bushes and fell over out in the field.It's still going strong and still bringing in the goodies.I have NO complaints.It DOES what it's designed to do without any HYPE! Like I said..."Simple but Effective! It's still one of the Best Coin and Jewlery detectors out there and it gets the job done.Just take your time with it and learn what the audio is telling you and it has Very Good analog audio without the tinny sound or mosquito sound which I don't like.I has a nice smooth Modulated audio that's easy on the ears and very pleasent to listen to.You can learn a lot from this
single frequency detector.I Love mine.That last silver dime I found with mine was in a place that was hunted before with other detectors.I was using my small coil in above average mineral ground and it had a nice smooth round sound that I knew was good but I didn't know it was silver.
It does great on clad and silver.It has good depth and great discrimation! I will discriminate coin sized targets at depth which is nice because I don't have to worry about digging a deep rusted nail when set to reject iron..although like a lot of machines it can be fooled once in a while but not very often with the Classics.The 9.5 coil is good for covering more ground faster and maybe looking for caches or larger items and it's still balanced very well.It won't wear your arm out even running the 9.5 coil on it.My 5.5 incher stays on mine most of the time and it gets just about as good depth as the larger coil.I hunt very trashy areas the small coil is the ticket to those kind of sights it has no problems with small jewlery and small targets.The discrimination circuit is very accurate on the Classics and you loose very little depth if any at higher levels.
I could write my own book on the Classic performance but I just wanted to let you or Anyone know that if you take the time to learn the Classic..then You might be surprised what it can do! When was the last time it has been sent back to the factory for repair? Never! It's That good! No EMI and No PryCaps and No rusty nails to worry about!!!! Yeah!
HH!...Ronk

 

[Rebel1]

Ronk, wow!! Talk about "Writers Cramp? haha Great write up. Couple questions. Does the threshold with the mod work in disc mode? I wasn't aware that the Classic even had an all metal mode. I am thinking about having the mod done but do you think it is worth the extra $100? Do you have any experience with Tesoros? If so, how does the Classics compare to them? Thanks for the help.