New Acquisition - Used GTI 2500 - Need Advise

[lloyd0161]

Got a good deal on a used GTI 2500. Like to know you thoughts and advise on this detector.

 

[lloyd0161]

So I have had this thing out in the yard for an hour or so. I am really impressed with the ability of this machine. I really like the visual imaging concept and it appears to be very accurate. I have cleaned out my yard with numerous other detectors. Each of these has had different frequencies and features. It took a while but I can say my yard is pretty well picked clean. I have dug numerous silver coins, war nickels, silver jewelry, gold earrings, etc. from my yard. I have a small box full of goodies to prove it. Now the 2500 has not found anything else in the short time testing it other than the known bad target I have found over the years. What I will say though is that the imaging feature is very accurate because I have dug down to the large junk items I have marked and the imaging feature has reconfirmed what I already know. This was really cool and would have saved me a lot of time digging up crap to begin with. I can't wait to try this in some of the fields I have been hunting in the last two years. Most of the coins have been deep wheat pennies which are still numerous in the older fields. This machine is just plain fun in my book. Looking forward to adding a couple updated imaging coils. I am wondering how the sniper coil will do on micro jewelry. So far my trusty Fisher Gold Bug Pro with 5 x 10 elliptical coil reins king in this department.

 

[Oakman404]

Lloyd,
I have never used a GTI 2500. But, it is my dream machine. I envy you! Good luck with it and keep us posted on how you make out.

 

[gabbyhayes]

The GTI 2500 is a great detector and is very much underrated in my opinion. The technology might be getting a little dated, but when it tells you that you have a coin it is almost always right.
The imaging works well, at helping to eliminate junk.

The best feature is the true all metal mode....I have found small gold chains that other detectors miss entirely. (Including the CTX 3030)

I just purchased a few other coils for this machine that I hope to try this summer.

I do find it heavy so if you are going to be swinging for an extended period I would recommend a bungee cord.

I also have a sunray probe for mine which I no longer use.....went with the propointer. Some people prefer the inline probe and there are definite pros and cons to both but I prefer the propointer.
What I did like about the inline though was to be able to use it in very trashy environments or up against a metal fence to find things like rings cause you can still discriminate with the inline.

 

[Patriot 1776]

GH,
With all of your experience , have you ever used the Eagle eye treasure Hound attachment for the GTI 2500 ?
I tried to get some info but seems not to many people have tried this attachment. I do understand its a whole different kind of Metal Detecting where talking about..
your thoughts.
thanks

 

[gabbyhayes]

No i have never used nor seen the eagle eye.
I often wondered if I'd pick one up if someone was selling theirs cheap on a forum???

 

[lloyd0161]

My 2500 came with the older original white imaging coil. Will the newer proformance imaging coils work better? If so I will buy a new 9.5.

 

[gabbyhayes]

What is the size of coil that came with your detector? If its the same size it probably won't make a difference unless it is faulty.
Does your 2500 talk?
The only other thing that comes to mind depending on age is an updated chip if you hunt in high mineralized ground.
You might have the new chip. You could call Garrett with the serial number and they should be able to tell you.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?32,1453861,1454603

 

[lloyd0161]

What is the size of coil that came with your detector? If its the same size it probably won't make a difference unless it is faulty.
Does your 2500 talk?
The only other thing that comes to mind depending on age is an updated chip if you hunt in high unrealized ground.
You might have the new chip. You could call Garrett with the serial number and they should be able to tell you.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?32,1453861,1454603

The detector was recently sent in for service by my buddy before I bought it. Some things were upgraded on it. I just went ahead and ordered the newer 9.5 proformance coil and locking cam upper shaft. Can't wait. I really just like this detector. It does separate just a good as my Fisher Gold Bug Pro. You just need to slow down your swing a bit. Everyone talks about recovery speed. Well this all depends on how fast you want to plow through a site. The slow and methodical folks will find way more than the speed demons. This is how I find my jewelry. Slow and analyze the iffy signals. Once you sort things out from different angles you will bag more finds. This detector likes a slower pace, however, it is far superior to many other detectors. I have owned and used the multi-frequency machines. But I will tell you, they missed an awful lot that my Fisher GBP found due to an ultra fast recovery speed. In order to match or exceed this performance, I have slowed down my swing quite a bit. The 2500 is much better at telling you how deep and how big than anything else I have tried.

 

[lloyd0161]

What is the size of coil that came with your detector? If its the same size it probably won't make a difference unless it is faulty.
Does your 2500 talk?
The only other thing that comes to mind depending on age is an updated chip if you hunt in high unrealized ground.
You might have the new chip. You could call Garrett with the serial number and they should be able to tell you.

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?32,1453861,1454603

The detector was recently sent in for service by my buddy before I bought it. Some things were upgraded on it. I just went ahead and ordered the newer 9.5 proformance coil and locking cam upper shaft. Can't wait. I really just like this detector. It does separate just a good as my Fisher Gold Bug Pro. You just need to slow down your swing a bit. Everyone talks about recovery speed. Well this all depends on how fast you want to plow through a site. The slow and methodical folks will find way more than the speed demons. This is how I find my jewelry. Slow down and analyze the iffy signals. Once you sort things out from different angles you will bag more finds. This detector likes a slower pace, however, it is far superior to many other detectors. I have owned and used the multi-frequency machines. But I will tell you, they missed an awful lot that my Fisher GBP found due to its ultra fast recovery speed. In order to match or exceed this performance, I have slowed down my swing quite a bit. The 2500 is much better at telling you how deep and how big than anything else I have tried.

 

[gabbyhayes]

Most people swing too fast including me until I catch myself. One of the most important aspects of detecting is swing speed and overlap. If your coil isn't over the target, you can't see it. With a concentric coil, the deeper the target the less chance of seeing the target due to the cone shape of the electro magnetic field. This is one reason so many people like DD coils.....they seem to find more with this coil, and they probably do, but it has more to do with the force field shape covering more ground...hense more targets end up being seen.
In mild ground a concentric will go deeper but it is more focused, especially at maximum depth.
There are pros and con's to both coils and depending on a person's hunting style, one or the other is better suited to that style.
The coils are the eyes and ears of any detector, and probably effect a person's success more than many other factors.
The coils are actually antennas for audio frequencies. A TX and a RX coil. (VLF detectors) Also the interaction between them is critical.
The science behind the coils is actually rather complex, though in some aspects kind of simple.
I have gone off on a tangent with this post....
Good luck with your GTI 2500. I know you will find many treasures!