Omega or G2 help me choose

[Habanero]

I'm new here as a poster but I've been reading for quite awhile now. I am entering the market for a new detector and have the field narrowed down to a G2 or an Omega. I live in central Texas and am really just a beginner detectorist with a couple of months experience. I currently own a tesoro silver umax with stock coil and my hunting areas are mainly parks and play grounds with coins and jewelry in mind for my targets. I've already become quite frustrated with my tesoro in some areas, mainly near playground equipment and rebar enforced concrete. It becomes near impossible near picnic tables with all the chirping and falsing from the trash. I try to leave discriminate on foil but often out of frustration to find a decent target, I will crank it up to 1 cent.

 

[Kevin B.]

II'm a newby too, but for what it's worth, I'll say get the Tek G2. I had one and sold it to finance another impulse buy. I shouldn't have sold it. It was the quietest running machine that I've used. I have an Omega now, and I'm fond of it. But I like the G2 better. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[goob]

Does the G2 tell me if it thinks the target is a pull tab, dime etc just like the omega? Also, I've read gobs of praise about the G2 and it's ability to work in trash with the 5" coil, but that was iron trash. Which machine would perform better in finding desirable targets amongst aluminum trash like tab, foil and can slaw riddled areas such as what I encounter at parks here?

I too would like to hear some responces about these matters. Hope somebody can enlighten both of us haha.

 

[Habanero]

II'm a newby too, but for what it's worth, I'll say get the Tek G2. I had one and sold it to finance another impulse buy. I shouldn't have sold it. It was the quietest running machine that I've used. I have an Omega now, and I'm fond of it. But I like the G2 better. Just my 2 cents worth.

What in particular do you like or prefer about the G2 over the Omega besides how quiet it is?



Quote
Habanero
Does the G2 tell me if it thinks the target is a pull tab, dime etc just like the omega? Also, I've read gobs of praise about the G2 and it's ability to work in trash with the 5" coil, but that was iron trash. Which machine would perform better in finding desirable targets amongst aluminum trash like tab, foil and can slaw riddled areas such as what I encounter at parks here?

I too would like to hear some responces about these matters. Hope somebody can enlighten both of us haha.

Yea, this is a big plus for me. My Tesoro chirps and falses when in heavy aluminum trash and just drives me crazy. I am sure part of it is my coil size, the stock donut coil, but I was hoping it would just run quiet in this stuff near the max discrimination.

I also wanted to mention that I have used and may be able to get a Tesoro Cortes relatively cheap or use it when I want to, but it seems to be lacking in several ways from what the Omega and G2 can do. I am not fond of the lack of tones on the Cortes except in the sum mode. The ground balance is not tied to the discriminate mode but only to the all metal mode with a factory preset GB for discriminate mode. The display is rather smallish as well and the TID lumps several of the targets together instead of better seperation. I also was not fond of the notch on the Cortes; it was still picking up and chirping on pull tabs in the narrow mode as well as some chirping from bottle caps in wide notch mode. Too bad its not an adjustable notch such as on the Golden

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

He liked how easy it is to swing and use. It is the quietest machine I think I have ever used. Doesn't make noise unless its over a target. Using it all metal will gain more depth also.

 

[pasttom]

I like my Omega a lot, it does some really cool things. I like that I can choose the number of tones and shift the frequency if it is picking up EMI from another machine or other source. It is fast and flexible. I find I prefer the GB/G2 in most situations though. It doesn't need to shift to reduce EMI. Most of the time I am waiting for a tone so I know its still working it is SO SILENT! I prefer the 5 inch coil in most circumstances too. You won't go wrong either way, but I'd go G2 and then an Omega as back up. I love that they are coil compatible! Hope that helps. HS (Happy Shopping)
Tom

 

[TerraDigger]

This question sounds like a job for Mr. Monte

 

[Kevin B.]

He liked how easy it is to swing and use. It is the quietest machine I think I have ever used. Doesn't make noise unless its over a target. Using it all metal will gain more depth also.

Absolutely, Bart. And with a quiet running machine, I have less mental fatigue and am able to focus more on the task at hand, which is searching out good targets among the iron nails that seem to cover all of my favorite places to hunt. I have had the F75LTD, the AT Pro, The Minelab Etrac, the Tek G2, and now the Tek Omega. If I had it all to repeat, I would keep the Tek G2. It's very effective and very simple to run. It fits your arm and is so balanced that you can swing it forever and not get a backache, or even tired. That's one reason I like the Omega. The nice fit. But the Omega is not near as quiet running as the G2, at least for me. But it's growing on me. Hope this helps. Kevin

 

[Habanero]

I really like the comments about quiet running, that's a bit kudos for the G2 IMO and just what I've been missing lately. These newbie ears have trouble telling good signals from bad amongst falsing and chirping. How about the TID part with the G2? Does it have a readout that tells you 1c, pull tab, screw cap, foil etc just like the Omega? Also, about notching and discrimination: I thought I read somewhere that the discrimination does not go past 80, so you cannot not notch out anything above that reading. Won't a lot of you aluminum trash and bottle caps come in above that 80 reading?

 

[digsgti]

I would like to see someone test these two machines in the same test garden. Outside of a little depth the G2 seems to be the nicest detector First Texas has out at the moment. I'm curious how hard it hits coins compared to the Omega. I can only say my Omega does fairly well with coins, but I would never relic hunt with it. Based on what I've read about the G2 it is closer to being a dual purpose machine even though it is geared more for low conductors. I don't know...First Texas needs to combine these two machines with LTD power and G2 silence. There would be no question what machine to own then.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

No sorry it doesn't yell you penny/dime. Not really a problem though. You will memorize the #'s they hit on really fast.

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

This forum and people here are great!!

 

[Habanero]

This forum and people here are great!!

I agree! Some good information so far and everyone is really nice here too. I am still not much closer to making up my mind on the machine, although I kind of fancy the G2 in some ways, but also like the readout/screen and information from the Omega. It seems the G2 could be used for a broader range of applications as it is a nugget machine that has found a great following among relic and coin hunters but I'm not counting out the Omega yet! I am still curious about how these two detectors do when working in the aluminum trash associated with parks, the pull tabs, aluminum twist caps, foil and pieces of soda can often found around picnic tables and near the trash cans.

 

[Crosby]

I can only say my Omega does fairly well with coins, but I would never relic hunt with it. quote]

I've used my Omega for relic hunting and it does quite well with the 11"DD coil. I prefer the G2 when there is a blanket of square nails, but in moderate iron, the omega works nice. For the most part I set the Omega at max sens, two tones and the disc between 1 and 16.

 

[BuckeyeBrad]

Lotsa good info already shared with you so far. I do have and use both detectors,......well actually I have the GB with both DD coils instead of the G-2. I also have all the available Frat Boy coils. In a nutshell, I'd recommend the Omega for what YOU say you want a detector to do. Yes, the GB's/G-2's is "easier" to run slightly more stable than the Omega but the Omega (as well as any detector, IMO) can AND SHOULD be throttled back as needed in order to get stable operation without worrying about what that actual setting may be. A lot of folks really struggle in their minds about what they might be missing with lower sensitivity settings, but my experience at sites that I've spent a ton of time running anywhere from hotter than hades to sensible stable levels, less is many times actually more. Achievable depth with lower sensitivity settings is still substantial and as such and more importantly, one is taking away some of iron's ability to mask. The Omega has the ability to run with four different target tones compared to the 2 tone vari-break of the G-2. Although this difference isn't critical in finding desired targets, the four tones will afford you less time spent looking at the display as you hunt. Keep in mind that the high tone of the Omega is (pre-set) modulated, so good hearing and adequate headphones come in to play in order to get the deep high conductors. The more one can and does change things up in their hunting approach(s), the better the chance more finds will come to light. Although the Gold machines MIGHT run well with particular examples of concentric coils, there is no guarantee of that, as per the manufacturer, whereas the Omega is designed to run with both designs of coils. In fact, I'd recommend the Omega with the three coil package if you can swing the bucks. Don't get me wrong, I really love the GB and am confident and comfortable in using it as a coin shooter, but again, if I'm reading your request correctly, the Omega will better fit the bill for you.

 

[Habanero]

Lotsa good info already shared with you so far. I do have and use both detectors,......well actually I have the GB with both DD coils instead of the G-2. I also have all the available Frat Boy coils. In a nutshell, I'd recommend the Omega for what YOU say you want a detector to do. Yes, the GB's/G-2's is "easier" to run slightly more stable than the Omega but the Omega (as well as any detector, IMO) can AND SHOULD be throttled back as needed in order to get stable operation without worrying about what that actual setting may be. A lot of folks really struggle in their minds about what they might be missing with lower sensitivity settings, but my experience at sites that I've spent a ton of time running anywhere from hotter than hades to sensible stable levels, less is many times actually more. Achievable depth with lower sensitivity settings is still substantial and as such and more importantly, one is taking away some of iron's ability to mask. The Omega has the ability to run with four different target tones compared to the 2 tone vari-break of the G-2. Although this difference isn't critical in finding desired targets, the four tones will afford you less time spent looking at the display as you hunt. Keep in mind that the high tone of the Omega is (pre-set) modulated, so good hearing and adequate headphones come in to play in order to get the deep high conductors. The more one can and does change things up in their hunting approach(s), the better the chance more finds will come to light. Although the Gold machines MIGHT run well with particular examples of concentric coils, there is no guarantee of that, as per the manufacturer, whereas the Omega is designed to run with both designs of coils. In fact, I'd recommend the Omega with the three coil package if you can swing the bucks. Don't get me wrong, I really love the GB and am confident and comfortable in using it as a coin shooter, but again, if I'm reading your request correctly, the Omega will better fit the bill for you.

Thanks for the information; its good to hear from someone who has tried them both out. Does the Omega "lock on" to targets just as well as the G2? In other words, if there is a good target such as a coin, will the Omega lock in on a solid number and stick with it or jump around? The Cortes I tried was really jumpy with some of its read outs, even in sum mode it just did not want to lock in on a number but would vary. This could have been due to trash surrounding my target, but I am also interested in how the Omega does in this same situation with good targets in trash.

 

[jim tn]

If I don't feel I need extreme depth, the Omega is what I pick up over my F 75 LTD as it just locks on so good. Far more often then not, I can tell a silver dime from a clad one. For pure coin hunting, it really is a great detector. Good luck with your choice. HH jim tn

 

[Swagman]

I have the G2, but now wish I had bought the Omega. The depth on my G2 is not very impressive. I do find surface CLAD and an occasional deep one (7").

 

[onbrake]

There is a new video on you tube from dirt digger that is about the O8 watch how deep this thing can detect.He shows different ways to hunt with the O8.I have one been hunting for close to ten years and hunting old places like there new again.The O8 is a very deep quiet machine.

 

[sekypaleo]

Sorry guys, I had an Omega and got rid of it for a G2. Hands down the G2 kills an Omega ...at least for me. I hunt relics 90% of my time but have pulled a silver dime from 9" and my G2 is way better at locking on to GOOD targets...plus I have no problems with EMI where with the Omega ...half the sites I would hunt I would have to turn the sens so far down that I got no depth. Just my 2 cents