Need your opinion

[detectorace]

Hi i'm wondering about buying a cheap low end water detector ,my use would be only in summertime on the beaches and som snorkeling.
I am not willing to pay 6-700+ us for something that i may not have time to use very often.
I would consider my self as a newbie(still)
I'm thinking of buying the hybrid viper trident,and wonder if it would fit my use and experience not to mention my economy.
best regards
geir

Please give me your thougts.

 

[scubadetector]

If you read these boards much you will know that nobody here is willing to recomend Chineese junk. These machines cannot be fixed and are absolute garbage just like the Cobra's.

If your not willing to spend the money look at waterproofing an Ace as others have done. If not willing to look at an Ace or something around 500.00 your best bet is to stay out of the water.

Serious water hunters pull in over 5000.00 a year in gold. My lowest year in Mi has been around 7 thousand. It pays to have a good investment in a good machine. It WILL pay for itself if you find the right spots and that is a promise.

 

[Ron Lord]

The Viper is cheap under water detector,but if everyone in your area is useing excal's there is a good chance that you won't find much because there detectors go much deeper than a Viper. 30 years of huntting says if everyone Excal's or Garrett's and you are using Fisher detectors Your not going to find much.Happy Huntting , Ron Lord Naples , FL

 

[Bling]

if you are going fresh water id go with a good used Tiger Shark around $450..but you would be better off with the best,the Excal is hard to beat and will work fresh water as well as salt water.and has tone id to help you.

 

[detectorace]

scubadetector and junklord first of all,thanks for your quick reply and advices.
When it comes to what you refer to as "chinese junk" i've heard that before
and i think that there may be something in it,however i woulden't expext a low end detector
could even be compared to a high end one,not even close.
Ihave read a lot of threads about this machine and very few recomend it,the reason
why i even consider it is that if i should by a top model here in Norway i would have to pay
over 12 close to13000 nok for it and about the same including taxes if i bought it from the us.
that's a lot of money to spend for a short season and for a type of detecting i may not have
time to do very often.
Besides,there isen't many that are in to metaldetecting here in Norway not like in the us
anyway,so i woulden't have much competition
So that is basicly why i consider to buy it and the fact that i would buy it from Kellyco or
AArdvark(Kellyco E-bay),respectable dealers that i've delt with before.
As stated i'm still a newbie since i'm not able to get out as much as i want and that is why i would like
to start with something cheap and simple,there is quite a diffrence between 12000 and apx.1500.
please feel free to advice me ,you may even yell at me and call me an idiot
Thats why i've asked this question here and on other forums,because of the great people here
About customizing an ace i have seen what Kenny (Khouse) did and i'm impressed but can you snorkle
with it and fully submerge it.
Greetings from Norway

 

[scubadetector]

No one should call you an idiot. Everyone on here has an opinion. I am on another site alot and I have seen what a guy in Norway brings in. He has some prime hunting spots and he is the only one that hits them he says. He has brought up some wonderful gold rings and a LOT of money. Your coins are worth a lot more than ours!!!!

Maybe try a cheap machine. The main problem is that they will find everything. The discrimination is a joke. If you start doing good I would then see about a better machine with all the money you find and then retire the cheaper unit and hit all your spots again!!!

Good luck in youtr decision!!

 

[GaBeachsweeper]

With a little help from forum insiders you ought to be able to pick up a good White's PI PRO very reasonably. I found one that way for $400. In the box nearly unused, and transferred the warranty.
Good Luck in your search.
Jim

 

[brobox]

My hunting partner Jerry, we now call him the Gold Guru, bought one to try water hunting after 32 years as a relic hunter. He tried it for one hour, then brought it over to my house saying it would not hit any targets except on the surface. We tired the Cobra on a 4 gram gold band and it would only hit it at one inch. The Cobra was immediately boxed up and returned to Kellyco in exchange for an Excalibur II.

Four days after owning the Excalibur and his first gold find was a heavy 2 ounce mans bracelet that more than paid for the Excalibur. The bracelet was estimated to be 20-22 inches deep. Well out of the 1 inch range of his Cobra.

He has since found a gold nugget ring with 15 diamonds and several gold wedding bands, all of this within two months of water hunting. There is not a chance this would have happened with a Viper or a Cobra. There is no such thing as a good $300. water machine unless you get a super deal on a top of the line used one.

Gold being heavy, will sink out of the range of a Cobra or a Viper within one tide change and will be found by those using higher quality machines. It's you choice, but I would save up for a machine that is known to work and get results.

Chuck in Cape Coral

 

[detectorace]

hi scubadetector,well i kind of agree with all of you and will follow your good advices,however my thought
was to learn and see if waterdetecting was something for me in a cheap way,but i guess you are all
right in what you bare saying.
I do have an ace 150 and an ace 250 the 150 i only use with the sniper coil,so maybe i'll do as you say and rebuild that one.
we'll see.
I know there are detectorists in Norway but not even close to what it is in the us,here they are not very visible
Anyway to you and all the others who has replied to this thread,i very much appritiate your good advices and i will
follow them.
All theese good advices tells just what this forum and other really means,a whole bunch of great people that are
willing to share their experience with others.
Thanks guys,you just saved me some norwegian dollars and i will know save up some more and buy some real
stuff.
greetings from the land of the wikings (Norway that is)

 

[grumpyolman]

I bought a used Excalibur from the classifieds on this forum and got it for half the price of a new one. It works great. Has some scratches but that's not hard to handle when you save about $600.00. Get the gold in Norway. Jim

 

[barnicledawg]

For about $543 US, you can buy a new Tesoro Sand Shark, a top-rated PI beach and surf detector. It would be an excellent compromise between the expensive Excal and the cheap Chinese junk. From my research the top beach/salt water detectors (from sales and reputation) are:
1) Minelab Excaliber
2) White's Beach Hunter
3) Tesoro Sand Shark

Both the ML and White's are VLF machines, the Tesoro a Pulse Induction. Personally, I plan to buy a Sand Shark for detecting for Spanish cobs along Florida's southeast coast beaches in the spring.

 

[aushunter]

Definently buy a higher end detector as it will surely save a lot of dollars and find you lots of $$$.
Went detecting with my 13yr old Excalibur over christmas and it is still finding heaps of stuff down to a least 12/13in.
No gold this time but a heap of coin and a few of other odds and ends.
Different tones also help in IDing the type metal, but I say dig everthing if you are uncertain.
Ive even used it in the creeks in our Aussie gold fields and found older type coins dating back to the 1800's.
Goodluck on yer purchase Detecterace and goodluck on the hunt.

 

[Ron Lord]

I have been huntting FL. waters for 30 years ,both east & west coast and have never seen a Spanish Cob!! So what makes you think you can come down to our beach and find Spanish cob wright off the bat.Wishful thinking maybe!! Well at least you can have fun trying. Happy Huntting Ron Lord,Naples ,FL.

 

[Ron Lord]

Get your facts straight . I did not call your detector chinese junk ,I said it was a cheep detector $ 300.00 . Most under water detector sell for around $1000 and up. I didn't say your detector was bad detector just cheep. You get what you pay for . I'm sorry if I #@#% you off and anyone else on this forum ,but Chinese junk isn't cheep also.. Happy Huntting ,Ron Lord, Naples,FL

 

[JOHNMARKHAM]

hello to all, i bought my Excalibur 11 in October and love it, i also own an ace 250 and i use the larger coil on it as well as the stock coil
Ive found lots of coins and rings, necklaces too, oh yes and even a 1/4 silver re ales on the Atlantic beach where the ship wrecks are on first time out there..
spend good money and find good stuff....

 

[BigCatDaddy]

My hunting buddy's wife bought him one for Christmas and he brought it out on our last hunt. Not good!! The coil was tilted about 10

 

[crabby]

When it comes to MD'ing in saltwater and on saltwater beaches the absolute best detector you can affortd is what you should get.

I wanted a "beach" detector so bad I could taste it. But I know what kind of guy I am when it comes to two things: Cameras and metal detectors. I won't use any camera except a Nikon
and I wanted the best beach/saltwater machine I could afford. Well, I couldn't afford what I wanted; so, instead of comprising I saved my pennies, sold things on eBay and was finally able to buy my "dream" water machine. A Fisher CZ-20. I have never been sorry for waiting.


Crabby

 

[scubadetector]

I have a CZ-20 with an 8" coil and 2 CZ-21's with 10" coils I love all three. I don't think I would ever switch unless I knew of a deeper machine. On autotune the machines go deep and take a bit of practice to use but they are wonderful. Good luck in your quest and I hope you find a lot of wonderful finds!!

 

[wizard]

WHERE IN NORWAY ARE YOU FROM..I AM FROM TRONDHEIM AND I HAVE AN UNDER WATER DETECTOR THAT YOU CAN TRY, THAT IS , IF YOU ARE CLOSE BY..

 

[Cupajo]

Hi Wizard,

Your willingness to help Detectorace is what I find great about the people that persue this hobby.

Good show sir!

Regards,

Cupajo

Connecticut, USA