How many of you started off with a Relco?

[Tony N (Michigan)]

I know this is going to date me but my first metal detector was a Relco.
Mine had the wooden box to hold everything and two coils.
But I didn't look like the guys in the picture. I may have had bell bottom pants. LOL

 

[still looking 52]

I really can't remember the exact model but it was a whites and it looked exactly like the one in your picture, same color. Seems it was a whites 5000D.

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

I really can't remember the exact model but it was a whites and it looked exactly like the one in your picture, same color. Seems it was a whites 5000D.

I was never any good with the Relco. Dug the usual junk. It was quite an upgrade years later when I went from that to an Explorer XS. I thought "What the heck have I gotten myself into!" LOL

 

[mrwilburino]

I remember Relco. They advertised a lot in magazines like Popular Mechanics and Boy's Life back in the '70s. Not really one of the more progressive players like Whites, Garrett, Fisher, or Compass, but they probably did pretty well in their market niche selling mediocre (but simple & fun) BFO machines to people getting started in the hobby. I had a Jetco, same type of company/detector. There were a bunch of companies like that back then. Most began fading away by the late '70s as detector technology was rapidly changing.

 

[jim tn]

In the early 70's my first detector was a Jetco. Still have it someplace, in fact. I remember Relco. HH jim tn

 

[azdigger]

I started with a gray Jetco............even found coins with it and a Calvary bridle piece.....mid 70's or so.

 

[Mr. Beard]

I started with a Relco in late 1969. The company was less than a mile from my house in Houston and I got to try all the models (all BFO) before deciding on which one to buy. I got instructions on tuning the detector and went out to the closest park. It buzzed on every target in the ground, so you had to listen close for a smooth rise in the sound. The old saying "beep and dig"....was correct....no meter, no target ID, no separate tones and no discrimination. After 4 or 5 years of using the BFO, I found another detector dealer in town and traded in the old Relco for a name brand detector. Too much competition in the late 1970's and refusal or inability to make VHF/TR detectors, made them go out of business. They would have folded sooner but their live animal trap side business kept them going a few years longer.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Great nostalgic look back. Yes, I recall the days when the users of all-metal detectors (77b, relco, 66tr, etc...) were quickly "left in the dust" if they didn't upgrade to the TR discriminators and then the motion discriminators . You were quickly a dinosaur . I didn't know that Relco itself failed to add the up-&-coming discriminators, when they had hit the market by the mid 1970s. Good post.

 

[Sven]

Don't remind me, in 69 bought a Relco, saved up my hard earned paper route money. The metal box Relco BFO arrived, didn't find any treasures and drifted so much, constantly had to retune it. That piece of junk almost dashed my hopes, dreams and interest in treasure hunting with a metal detector. Jetcos were not much better, local department store sold them, returned the one I bought. What saved the day was the Dtex catalog that arrived, bought a Tiny Tex BFO, started finding coins all over the schoolyards. Those swing sets, sure gave up a lot coins. Eventually found enough to upgrade to a White's TR.

 

[Hoser John]

1961 bought a kit from Tandy Craft to make a Heathkit bfo and away I go for over 56 years a fun and many dozens more kinds from bfo, tr, vlf,pulse etc etc. John

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

Don't remind me, in 69 bought a Relco, saved up my hard earned paper route money. The metal box Relco BFO arrived, didn't find any treasures and drifted so much, constantly had to retune it. That piece of junk almost dashed my hopes, dreams and interest in treasure hunting with a metal detector. Jetcos were not much better, local department store sold them, returned the one I bought. What saved the day was the Dtex catalog that arrived, bought a Tiny Tex BFO, started finding coins all over the schoolyards. Those swing sets, sure gave up a lot coins. Eventually found enough to upgrade to a White's TR.

Same with me. It didn't take long to figure out my Relco wasn't going to find me much. I put it away and waited years for Minelab to come out with their Explorer XS.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

1961 bought a kit from Tandy Craft to make a Heathkit bfo and away I go for over 56 years a fun and many dozens more kinds from bfo, tr, vlf,pulse etc etc. John

Was that tandy-craft kit even capable of finding coin sized targets ? If so, how deep ? Or was it only capable of finding larger items ? Eg.: horseshoes, hubcaps, cans, etc....

 

[Tom_in_CA]

.... Relco wasn't going to find me much. I put it away and waited years for Minelab to come out with their Explorer XS.

Holy smokes ! That's quite a range/span of years ! You're giving your age away That's got to be 25-ish year gap between those incarnations ??

 

[Tony N (Michigan)]

.... Relco wasn't going to find me much. I put it away and waited years for Minelab to come out with their Explorer XS.

Holy smokes ! That's quite a range/span of years ! You're giving your age away That's got to be 25-ish year gap between those incarnations ??

Yep, that Relco sat in its wooden box. Every now and then I'd look at it but just didn't have the desire to waste my time taking it out again. Then something strange happened: I got married and had a girl.
Years later, when the old hag decided to leave (actually I asked her to move back with her parents if she didn't like living with me so she obliged) I went to a detector store and they pushed me toward the new Explorer XS. So glad they did.

 

[Hoser John]

The beach was full of coins, jewelry and junk in the 60s in redondo, hermosa etc as no beach cleaning monster machines. Paid for my first car, 52 ford, with the finds. Sure beat dragging that screen through the sands . Plenty of relics camping also but no nuggets though if memory serves me right this am, first cup a coffee not done yet-John

 

[Tom_in_CA]

The beach was full of coins, jewelry and junk in the 60s in redondo, hermosa etc ....

What kind of machine were you using in those days ?

I met a guy, about 20 yrs. ago, who had started in about 1963 or '64 as a young college kid, in So. CA, with a Metrotech. He had been on a beach in So. CA, and seen a few guys swinging them. Got interested, asked where they'd gotten theirs. Apparently there was a store front at the time selling them down there. Hence within a week or two, he was the proud owner of his own.

However, he was quite a ways inland (Riverside or Pasadena or something). So he soon learned that he could do quite well simply hunting sandboxes all over town. Which, .... in 1964-ish, were apparently virgin. The Metrotech could get decent depth for that era on coin-sized targets (4" or so ?). And in an hour or two's time, he could get a few bucks in change any day he wanted. And go figure: In 1964, minimum wage was only $1.25 p/h. So he could make more money metal detecting, than he could get working !

But he never had the presence of mind to go out and do anything exotic. Like angle for old coins, or do ghost towns, or beach storms, etc.... He simply had no idea. It was good enough just to angle for current coins in sandboxes. Nor did he save any of the coins (which would have been all silver in those days). Instead it was just beer and gas money !

 

[kingingkunsan]

I started with a RadioShack Discovery 1000. Obviously, I entered the hobby after a lot of you. If I recall correctly it was in 1999 or 2000. My wife bought the RS Discovery for me for X-Mas as a surprise. I knew nothing about metal detecting and was pretty excited. Found a bunch of clad (shallow) and one nice wedding set worth more than the machine. In 2003 I joined a detecting club and the members persuaded me in upgrading. I elected to get the Minelab Explorer II. Still have it. I have purchased other machines since; Tesoro Golden uMax, Tesoro (I forget which one), sold both due to being so attached to the FBS. I also have White's TDI (DIV) and Garrett Infinium (DIV & water hunting) and my wife uses the Garrett Ace 250. My oldest son uses White's DFX. I plan to upgrade to the Minelab ETrac in 2018 and my wife wants the Garrett AT Pro. My oldest son is happy with the DFX. My youngest son will end up using the Ace 250. Sorry for the long post

 

[Dan-Pa.]

No but started out with a 10 buck radio shack from a flea market and 25 plus years later still going strong having used many models...

 

[doc holiday232]

I started with a Metrotech in 72/3 and was certain that a Chinaman with metal in his mouth was in danger---found a lot of minie' balls with it.