Meter or..not to meter?

[Tired Rooster]

Many of you really seem to like using a meter on the GT. I think I understand why. But, is the only reason for it so that you can cut down on digging "trash"? Also, who all makes a meter for the GT?

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

My Reason isn't necessarily to cut down on digging trash. The meter helps to show a signal that's climbing in numbers! Most faint signals will remain just that faint but the meter will show a different picture altogether! I even use it on the beach as the information gathered each hunt goes along way on my land hunting. The meter is no longer made but there are several Minelab models available used. I was lucky to find one NIB on a shelf in a dealers shop. There are ways to make your own but I have not seen these at work. Check out the normal on line auction and forums and you can pick one up for around 100 dollars use.

 

[Jiminsandiego]

I used my gt for about a year before getting a meter and I wish I had gotten one right from the start. I tried and tried to "learn the tones" but in my humble opinion that was a waste of effort. Is it a zinc penny or a dime? The meter will usually tell me, but the tones are just to close for me to confidently decide. If I can just get a glimpse of a 180 it is usually not a zinc penny. Also if it is less than 90 it usually isn't a good target. Again the sound of a 90 versus say a 115 is very hard for me to distinguish but the meter "spells it out". The meter will also go into the negative numbers on a bottle cap which seems to help id those. In any case having the meter has helped me to "learn the tones" and has made detecting a lot more fun with less frustration during the learning curve. I mostly hunt the beach so I end up digging most everything but the practice using the meter has really improved my land hunting skills. A lot of people will say you don't need a meter to hunt the beach but I personally would suggest at least trying one.
Cheers,
Jim

 

[JASONSPAZ1]

I do not use a meter for two reasons. I got into the Sovereign series since I was tired of my metered machines and I wanted a beep and dig high end machine. I can tell what is under my coil by the vast tone info that the GT gives me. The second reason is the weight factor. I use a Sunray probe and the meter to me just ads to much weight. If you train your ear you can tell silver from copper and you can discern the sound of an aluminum warble. However the last thing I will say is that you do not need a meter. If a meter works for you than thats what matters in the end.

HH
Jason