Lets kick this one around...

[Dan-Pa.]

Personally I prefer a Minelab meter as it has a more sleek design versus the others out there made by various companies...Yep have used the 550 and modded 180 and the 550 is my choice basically if you break targets into 550 areas instead of 180 one would feel you get more resolution per target.I basically go by tone and a silver dime will stop me in my tracks and usually do the wiggle and am good to go.
In addendum I guess its what one gets used to and must be the Odd ball as I see the new GT meter is a 180...Those that use off brand be my guest as its only my opinion and preference..

 

[Frank in NH]

n/t

 

[adam in cal]

I remember this discussion from a ways back .......(I believe Art uses the 550 scale also or at least he did for awhile)I was using the 550 scale for quite some time and was fairly adament that it was better......I still believe its better at telling you excatally what you have...ie junk with the 550 meter...lets say a ketchup wrapper it may be right at 220 with the 550 meter and a gum wraper may be at 198....with the 180 meter they both come in as junk but share the same id number.......so the 550 meter you may know excatally what kind of junk your seeing ...with the 180 you know its just junk but not what type.......I now prefeer the 180 because i see more stability in it and a faster target response .........the tone are the key .......and a meter is personal prefrence (IMHO)........I hunt a park out here where the meter is worthless.....zinc pennies range from 138 to 177 coins come in all over the board so its all about the sounds and target size at that place ..........

 

[Rick(ND)]

Dan,

A lot has to do with what you get used to and how you use it to ID with. The 180 meter I find I can ID most of the time with it bouncing between 2 numbers. The 550 meter on the XS pro I had seem like it was always bouncing between 6 or 7 numbers with some of these overlapping other target numbers. This is what I had found with the 180 numbered meter. The nickles would read between 143-144 while the beaver tails off the older round pulltab would read 140-141. Now a war nickle could read from the 143 all the way to 151, but have the nickle tone to it. The 176-177 where the zinc pennies or the IH and there is a few older Wheaties in the teens would read these numbers too, now a 177-178 would be a screw caps and the 179-180 would be the good coins. I never found that close with the 550 meter even though there is a bigger spread in the numbers as they would overlap other target ID numbers.
It all comes down to what you get used to and i find the 180 meters have been the best ID for me. The new Patriot meters i found could not ID as close either, that is for me anyway.
I was hopping to see what others think on this that has used some different meters.
Rick

 

[Dan-Pa.]

I am a silver coin hunter and if it gives me a 549-550 and its deep in an older place would bet its a silver coin or a large cent..I do realize mineralizations differ and we on not all hunting on a level playing field but this is in my neck of the woods..Honestly believe meter tolerances are not 100 percent, we all hunt different, mineralizations differ so I guess its slap on your favorite meter and go for it..Do realize deep coins, tilted coins and the like may come in lower and have gotten deep silver dimes at 546-547. It all comes down to knowing your meter and for me the wiggle sure does work to stabilize a reading..In all honesty the secret of a Sov. is the tone and the sweet tone of a silver coin combined with the meter of your choice is where its at...

 

[Richard@BackwoodsDetectors]

Patriot meter (couldn't get myself to spend the money) but in talking to very reputable Minelab dealer, he was very impressed with it... and I have only used the older meters... I would like to, somewhere down the road, try them both, the new ML and the Pt..... best to you and stay warm...Richardntn

 

[Art (NWOH)]

You sucked me into one of these discussions a couple years ago.
Will only say that I'm still with the 550, and prefer the XS-2 meter over the newer Elite meter.



HH