Interested in the Omega 8000

[Hwy 395]

I've been reading some reviews and watching some videos on Youtube, and this looks like a good detector. I was, up until recently, swinging an Explorer but now I only have a few Tesoro units. I really like the lightweight detectors but I don't want to give up depth in the process. I'm a young guy but after 6-8 hours of non stop detecting with the Explorer (with SEF coil), I'm done. My neck gets stiff and I call it a day. I feel like I could cover more ground with a lighter detector that doesn't require as slow of a swing speed.

I'm curious about what kind of depth one can expect with the 8000? I bought an F75 LTD a few months ago but I wasn't very impressed with its operation. It was too unstable for me and I didn't really get a big depth benefit because even in bP mode, I had to lower the sensitivity so much to get it to run stable. I ended up selling it. From what I've seen, the Omega is very stable, but what kind of depth could I expect in semi-mineralized ground?

I'm wondering if the g2 is worth waiting for. The 19 khz frequency is kind of a red flag.... seems like it would be too sensitive to use in parks and other trashier areas.

Any opinions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[bugg]

And still have it, and still enjoy it. Its very lite, I get tired of digging, not swinging. I use all 3 coils. My soil reads about 60 on the meter.. The deepest clad dime so far was 7' deep. I feel it will detect deeper where the deeper targets are. I dig very little iron. Only a few bigger chunks, and 2 steel bottle caps so far. Very fast response and recovery, from one target to the next. Quite accurate TID, and very accurate depth meter. Easy to set up and use. Very stable operation. Its a good solid coinshooter. Square pulltabs tend to read as nickels, So in heavy trash, I choose to not dig tabs, and nickels are left behind. I feel its a hard machine to beat in its price range. I find its a fun machine to use, and I've used a bunch of machines over the decades.

 

[Cache Man]

In my soil on silver dimes 8-9" quarters 10 inches with the 11" DD coil very good detector. HH

 

[Low-Boy/LCPM]

For me with the 11DD I can get the same I got with the F75 but not as deep as the LTD.

 

[jmaryt]

hi low boy!
has this detector been stable
in your soil?..any erratic instability noticed under any particular site conditions at all?
thanks!

(h.h!)
j.t.

 

[Monte]

There are a lot of very good detectors out there on the market, to be sure, and without hesitation I can tell you that the Omega is definitely one of the better ones. Just keep in mind that there is no single "perfect" detector for everyone. Quite often the most avid and serious detectorists will own and use two or three detectors as each might compliment the other in one way or another. Overall, however, there will be one detector that see the most use and for me I'm finding myself grabbing my Omega first time at any site I arrive at.

I've been reading some reviews and watching some videos on Youtube, and this looks like a good detector.

It's a very good detector.

I was, up until recently, swinging an Explorer but now I only have a few Tesoro units. I really like the lightweight detectors but I don't want to give up depth in the process. I'm a young guy but after 6-8 hours of non stop detecting with the Explorer (with SEF coil), I'm done. My neck gets stiff and I call it a day. I feel like I could cover more ground with a lighter detector that doesn't require as slow of a swing speed.

The Explorers and Safari do have a more fatiguing balance. The 11" Pro coil isn't as bad as the rest Minelab has offered, and I found the 10X12 SEF coil to also cause too much nose-heavy handling that was rather tiring. I'm NOT a young guy and my healthy stinks so my run-time with a Safari or Explorer w/11" coil is limited.

The Tesoro's are light weight, and the Omega is also a surprisingly light and well balanced detector. better than the Tesoro's, in my opinion, because the coils have a nice, lighter and better balanced 'feel' to them.

But I take note of your comment: "I feel like I could cover more ground with a lighter detector that doesn't require as slow of a swing speed." To me, that sounds like you work your Tesoro's at a faster sweep speed than the Explorer. That's fine, because the Explorers generally favor a very slow sweep, but you can sweep some makes and models TOO FAST for the existing ground conditions. Many 2-filter type detectors, like the Tesoro's and White's Classic's and others, will actually lose performance and responsiveness when swept too quickly, especially in higher mineralized conditions. I do find the Omega mode forgiving, much like the White's MXT, but you still want to learn the most functional sweep speed for the coil and detector in use for a particular site environment.

Faster than the Explorer's? Yes, but using a "proper" sweep speed will also allow the operator to employ proper coil control. That includes adequate overlapping and maintaining a consistent coil-to-ground relationship.

I'm curious about what kind of depth one can expect with the 8000?

Decent, functional depth. To me, that's the best way to describe a detector's depth of detection. You can't really get into quoting rough-guess depths as there are so many variables involved. Since you mention the Explorer I will add hat I have found, overall, the Explorers and Safari can provided good functional depth, but their strength is in providing a more accurate TID 'at depth' than most makes and models. They aren't necessarily the deepest seeking detectors, they just ID well to about 95% of their attainable depth.

That said, I haven't had the opportunity, yet, to compare the Omega side-by-side on a located target with a Safari or Explorer to see how closely they compare. Keep in mind, also, that the Omega has a suggested retail of $599 and comes with a 10" elliptical, concentric wound coil. The Safari and Explorers come with an 11" round DD coil and are priced at about double or more than the Omega.

Now with that said, I can say that I have been quite impressed with the results I've had so far from my Omega. I've had very decent depth, and better TID on some of the deeper targets than I had anticipated. Generally the deeper finds have been a little 'jumpy' so are as Target ID, but they have been reasonably consistent, ample info to alert me to a potentially good target, and the ground conditions weren't great and the sites have had more small iron junk that I would care to have to deal with. Thus, some target masking is going to affect the TID quality at those sites, regardless of what detectror is in your hand.

I bought an F75 LTD a few months ago but I wasn't very impressed with its operation. It was too unstable for me and I didn't really get a big depth benefit because even in bP mode, I had to lower the sensitivity so much to get it to run stable. I ended up selling it.

So you didn't really have it long enough to learn all of the strength and weaknesses and sold it. May I ask what you got in it's place? Sometimes I find people like to have a detector absolutely quiet, and there are some that work reasonably well while staying silent. however, some of us like to operate "on the 'edge' of stability" and it can take a bit of patience and learning. One reasons I found a lot of F-75 and T2 users to like their detectors is because they can operate "on the edge" and hey get very good depth and sensivity/responsiveness.

From what I've seen, the Omega is very stable, but what kind of depth could I expect in semi-mineralized ground?

Since the Omega 8000 has a very good Ground Balance adjustment circuity I find I can get good depth in mineralized ground. It will depend upon the mode you search in and settings used, but the Omega is often very stable. A highly sensitive detectror is going to be just that, sensitive, and if you're hunting somewhere in-town where you're exposed to all sorts of urban EMI. I've hunted in many places where a Sensitivity setting of '99' (maximum) runs very quiet. Quite a few sites and noisy can be quieted down if I reduce to 70-75, but I often stay at about 80-85 as I can tolerate a little instability. To or three places I hunted, near some industrial areas, called for a reduced Sensitivity to about 45-55 because EMI was so bad, but I've used other makes at these locations that were just as bothered or were unoperable.

I'm wondering if the g2 is worth waiting for. The 19 khz frequency is kind of a red flag.... seems like it would be too sensitive to use in parks and other trashier areas.

As I stated, the more devoted, and avid detectorists tend to have at least 2 detectors. I think the G2 is going to appeal to quite a few other than just gold nugget hunters. What makes the Omega, and similar-performing quick-response detectors so appealing is that they can take on trashier areas and do better than the slow-responding models. The 19 kHz operating frequency ought to do well, but even the Omega, at 7.8 kHz, provided decent response to some very small gold nuggets I've tested.

I'll most likely add a G2 to my personal arsenal and then rely on three models to handle the different needs I'll have for them. For the time being, I know that the Omega will likely continue to be the 1st unit I grab at any site.

Monte

 

[CoinShooter-Craig]

The deepest clad dime so far was 7' deep.

I think I would have quit digging after 2' (feet) - What did you use a backhoe?? - Sorry - I had to do it.
Happy Hunting - CoinShooter-Craig

 

[bugg]

n/t

 

[Hwy 395]

Thanks for the response, Monte. Very informative.

One of the things I really like about the Omega is the "Ground Error" meter. If I notice the ground is running positive, I can just push the button to level it off. The g2 doesn't seem like it will have this, but it does have the ground grab. The layout of the Omega looks more intuitive to me.

 

[reltolbert]

The Spokesman for 1st Texas (Teknetics, Fisher, Bounty Hunter) told me my Bounty Hunter Platinum is the same as the Teknetics Omega 8000
with only superficial differences. Only Teknetics Coils will work with my Platinum.

 

[Hwy 395]

Oh, and to answer your question, Monte, I sold the F75 LTD and went back to using my Explorer. I was going to stick with it for as long as possible, but the final straw came when I hunted my brother in laws backyard and couldn't keep a stable threshold thanks to all the nulling out. The recovery speed was just too slow to deal with some of the iron junk there. One of these faster machines might be the answer for such a situation .

I know a lot of people like running their T2/F75's really hot and listening between the falsing, but I get way too mentally fatigued to hear constant chirping coming from my detector. I don't want to detect with my eyes fixated on the screen, waiting to see a 80+ reading in the middle of a million 10-15's. I like to have a good signal stand out.