T2 Classic question and comparison G2, Patriot, Omega

[J392]

Hello all, I have been lurking around for awhile but this is my first time posting I recently noticed on the Teknetics website that it shows the T2 classic as having a back light but I have always been told they do not. Does anyone here know if I have been previously misinformed, if it is a mistake on the site, or do newer T2 classics have a back light and older ones do not? I contacted Teknetics through their site but haven't received an answer, I imagine they are busy working on the Teknetics direct site.

My next question is what detector to get Right now I have a few home sites lined up and some parks to hunt. A couple of the older places haven't been hunted to the owners knowledge. The detectors I'm looking at are: Omega 8000, G2, G2+, Patriot (F70), and the T2 classic. I could purchase any of these detectors for what I would say is very reasonable price, probably about $250-300 difference between the cheapest and the highest. I'm not really a relic hunter, mainly looking for coins and jewelry but on most sites I'm not going to be running discrimination too high and digging relics wouldn't bother me. Would the Patriot and T2 classic be the best all around detectors since they have more of a middle of the range frequency (13kHz, vs 7.8 and 19)? I have also heard the the T2 classic and Patriot have kind of a "boost" in discrimination when you have it at a lower or higher setting, would that combined with the Patriot in slow speed make it the overall deeper detector or would it just make it unstable? Also is there a bonus for me with the Patriot having a shorter iron range since I'm not much of a relic hunter or is that negligible? From what I've seen the G2s have considerably tighter VDI reading at depth but I don't know how much depth they would lose on an in ground silver target vs a lower frequency detector, I also don't know if I'd enjoy the audio of the G2 compared the tones of the others. Any information, opinions, or advice would be appreciated. Thank you very much Jerry

 

[REVIER]

Don't believe the T2 has a backlight.

There is sort of a boost in sensitivity on the F70/Patriot on disc numbers from 4-0 and from 21 up to 65.
Not boost, per se, but a slightly different way of discriminating which adds a bit more sensitivity.
I believe the T2 has this too although at different numbers.
SL speed on the F70 IS an actual boost like the F75...a bit different programming process but with the same effect and results.

I hunt for coins and jewelry so the F70 is my baby, the T2 finds that stuff too but it has a bit more compression in the upper end because of that iron range so not my first choice between the two.
I not only hunt for coins and jewelry I find plenty of both including gold.
I find relics pretty easily also and learned ways to hunt very successfully in iron infested sites with that smaller iron range.
That smaller iron range for that type of hunting is not a handicap to me, it is just right.
As far as depth it all depends on your soil but I can say this...
In good soil my F70 could hit about 10" with the elliptical concentric, a couple inches further with the sniper DD and easily 12-14" with the big DD.
I once got great tones and even an accurate screen ID on a target at a measured 15"...all of this was without boost.
Here the southeast and red dirt I can't get that far in the bad stuff but I can get up to 8-9" with my DD's which is far enough since there us a ton at 6"+ that most missed over the years for several reasons.

I have no clue about the Omegas or G2s because I never used any of those.

 

[J392]

-- moved topic --

 

[dfmike]

They are all great choices. You will find people who have found success and prefer any of those choices to the others and for a variety of reasons.

You seem to favor coins and if that is your main concern the Omega or T2 would probably do best. If you like a little bit of everything the G2 or G2+ can offer very stiff competition to the other two. I like to hunt coins with my F5 (twin brother to the Omega that I had at one time) essentially because of the tones and the fact that it hits so hard on silver at that frequency. If I want to hunt for silver only, I can set it up at 3 or 4 tones and never dig the lower tones. I don't have to look at the ID at all unless I hear a high tone. With the G2 or G2+ you have to rely on the ID more unless you want to dig everything. That being said, the visual ID is definitely more stable and IMHO more reliable than the F5. I have an F19 (same as G2+). The F19 also separates better with same size coil which may or may not be important depending on how much trash you encounter on your hunts.

The F19 isn't quite as deep on coin sized silver but it's deeper on lower conductors (gold, nickel, lead). The difference in depth between both would not be a deciding factor for me (it's not that great) but it might be for you and where you hunt.

I don't have a T2 so I can't speak about it. One of Fisher's 13 kHz machine is next on my list.

As far as I know only the G2+ and Omega 8500 have a back light. The Omega 8000 and T2 don't have one. I use mine very rarely but sometimes on early morning hunts at dawn it has been practical. Ergonomics are great on all machines. Big readout, buttons and knobs at the right place and easy to set up.

Deciding between any of the detectors you mention is not an easy choice. Can you try before you buy ?

 

[vlad]

Some places like East Texas with red dirt & iron ore, the higher frequency units don't have that much depth [friends say the same in Alabama].
Jerry Tyndall of Nautilus told me years ago the DMC-4 was much deeper in bad ground than a DMC-2B/2-Ba.
The new Impact which gives [separate] frequencies, or the ML Xterra units might be more proficient in differing grounds [including salt].

 

[vlad]

n/t

 

[dfmike]

Keith Southern has a few vids of the G2+ and F19 in bad dirt. 10 inches on a clad dime in discrimination mode is not bad. The machines still maintain good ID at that depth. He seems impressed himself.

https://youtu.be/qj214qthTr4

at 14:00

 

[lytle78]

Here's what Dave Johnson - who designed the F75 and the F70 had to say about the F70 - the Patriot IS an F70.

The F70 was the product of a mission-- to come up with a less expensive adaptation of the F75, while incorporating things we had learned meanwhile. Without "dumbing it down". Because the F70 was advertised for a lot less money than the F75, marketing dept. didn't quite dare to say how good the damn thing really was. Some of the secret sauce we put into the F70 eventually made its way into later revisions of the F75 group of machines, as well as into the Teknetics "Fratbros" series and most other new beeps introduced after the F70.

 

[REVIER]

Here's what Dave Johnson - who designed the F75 and the F70 had to say about the F70 - the Patriot IS an F70.

The F70 was the product of a mission-- to come up with a less expensive adaptation of the F75, while incorporating things we had learned meanwhile. Without "dumbing it down". Because the F70 was advertised for a lot less money than the F75, marketing dept. didn't quite dare to say how good the damn thing really was. Some of the secret sauce we put into the F70 eventually made its way into later revisions of the F75 group of machines, as well as into the Teknetics "Fratbros" series and most other new beeps introduced after the F70.

I quote that statement all the time.
We owners always understood this stuff, this is a rat-rod unit built on the same architecture as the flagship and the T2 platform.
Not quite as pretty with a few less whistles and bells but the important stuff is there.
The power, the speed, the sensitivity and out of this world target separation...plus a ton of setting combinations to take advantage of all that.
My jaw has not stopped dropping from day one with mine and still is on almost every hunt.

At my club's end of the year seated hunt and festivities in Kansas one of the members went to the trouble setting up a test bed in an out of the way area to test our detectors just for depth and fun.
He used an AT Pro and he was real good with it and found a ton.
He planted dimes at 2" intervals from 4" on up in a row up to 12" and measured all the depths exactly.
My Compadre could hit the 6" dime hard but the 8" was iffy and the rest were quiet.
Then I pulled out my F70 with the F75 DD coil in 4H tones and no headphones.
Went all the way up the line with no problem and then I stopped and swung over the 12" coin and kept getting repeated sharp, loud high tones on every pass.
He was standing near the area and noticed so he came over.
He was a little shocked, he had been watching people with all kinds of detectors all day and didn't notice anyone else hit that deep dime so well.
A couple months later he bought an F75 LTD.

 

[J392]

Thank you all very much for your responses to my post I did send Teknetics another message today (this time directly through their website, the form didn't work the last time I tried) and received a response almost immediately. You were all correct, no the T2 Classic does not have a back light and he said the web technicians were notified to correct it.

REVIVER: Great information on the Patriot/F70. Your other posts about it are really what put the Patriot on my radar, and it seems like it would be a great value at the price point they are advertising.

dfmike: Thanks for the link to the G2+ video and the detector comparison. The video was one I hadn't seen and was very interesting to watch especially hearing his opinion on the differences between the G2, G2+, and F19. Unfortunately I'm quite a distance from being able to give any of the detectors a tes run before I hand but I think it's probably like you said, they're all great detectors anyway and I doubt I would be disappointed by any choice.

vlad: Thanks for reminding me to keep the soil conditions in mind, I think most of in my area is pretty mild but I know it can vary. I would love to have a multi frequency unit but they are a little out of my price range right now, they are something I will keep an eye on. Off subject but I noticed avatar, are you a Lord of the Rings fan?

lytle78: It's funny that you posted that quote because after reading it I remember having seen it somewhere before but I had forgotten about it. It's great to get information like that straight from the horse's mouth.

 

[Pastor bob]

T-2 is excellent coin hunter in my book. So is the F-70 and the Omega although you will have trouble finding an Omega 8000 (which I think is better than the 8500). The G2 and F19 are not the best for coins IMHO.

 

[D&P-OR]

You shouldn't never argue with a Pastor---but---I think the G2+/F-19's are EXCELLENT coin hunters!---Fast, dead nuts target I.D., quiet, quiet runners (until they hit a target), excellent ergonomics, adequate depth.-----Each to his own opinion I guess.----------Del

T-2 is excellent coin hunter in my book. So is the F-70 and the Omega although you will have trouble finding an Omega 8000 (which I think is better than the 8500). The G2 and F19 are not the best for coins IMHO.

 

[dfmike]

I agree with Del. I was surprised by the F19 myself. I wish it had multi tone capability sometimes but that "dead nuts target I.D." is something special.

 

[vlad]

there are CZ's there now in the $300 range (I've seen NASA Tom certified units in the $400's)-and a CZ will really zap the nickles-yet
hit high conductors at the same time-deep. A good digger is a must-coins over 10" can often necessitate a big hole, but a decent pinpointer can help keep
this to a minimum.
And you can find ML SE/SE Pros and Safaris in the $500 range.

 

[vlad]

it seems the F-19, G-2 and others may soon add some tones.
But you know how scuttlebutt goes-and the factories seem to be close-mouthed* until something is 'on the shelf/ready to ship.'
(*so that current versions don't remain on the shelves-and not in your hands!)

 

[amberjack]

wow the gold bug sure has morphed if its now heading for tones..happy with my F19 as is not sure tones are going to make it better for what I use it for, but for what started out as a gold detector with disc now is a coin detector that can be used to find gold, and by gold I mean nuggets.

and agree it has great id on round things that are uniform size

AJ