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TeKnetics T2 vs Minelab detectors

C

Czech

New member
Hi guys,

did somebody test the T2 against the Minelab detectors (Advantage, Explorer, Sovereign GT, X-Terra 70)? Minelab detectors are well know with their depths in bad ground conditions. Is the T2's depth range comparable with the Explorer? How the T2 performs in iron trashy sites and the places with bad ground? Any comments will be welcome! Thanks
 
I have a big list of different reviews both good and bad comments. Very little bad by the way. The T2 will hold it's own against any top of the line detector.

The R6 Revs are great features also.

Be sure to check out the T2 Manual online at the T2 Home Site...Great information there...

I'll send the reviews I have at this time...

If your interested in the purchasing a T2 after obtaining the proper information you need to make a good decision.

I have one used about 15 times with all the Rev 6 mods
for 575.00 plus shipping and insurance(About 25.00)USA Only.
This detector was bought for the wife, and she's not a bells and whistles type person!

Anyway ...I'll send you some great reviews in your message section after I get home tonight...

KCK
 
Hello KCK,
thanks for the informations. Yes I know there is no perfect detector in the world. I look forward your posting test! Thanks
 
There were things I liked about the Xterra 70. Things I liked were the notch ability and the tones. Ground tracking and noise cancel were decent. With the right coil selection it would make a pretty decent clad machine.

Things I didn't are like the coils, the pinpoint, the grip, or the depth. The T2 easily surpassed it in depth. The only way it could even come close to the depth of the T2 was in prospecting mode and then you loose discrimination ability. The iron mask feature only worked soso. Simply switching the T2 into all metal mode did just as well and you got to keep the meter. For pinpointing with the 70 it was better to switch to prospecting mode and use that as a pinpoint mode as it did way better than the actual pinpoint mode.

The pinpoint mode on the T2 is better and you are able to adjust the sensitivity of the pinpoint mode as desired and the depth read out goes to 16" and it actually works.

Ergonomically, the T2 is a better design and feels lighter and more comfortable to swing. The grip on the 70 is large and hard and gets uncomfortable in a hurry.

If you need a clad machine, go for the 70 with a dd coil. If you need more...then the T2 is the only way to go.

The T2 has some real pro features that you will not find on the 70. The audio mode sampling processing feature selections are something that it takes a bit to understand but once the light comes on, you'll realize what kind of power is at your finger tips. Since the visual and the audio modes are totally independent, it is like having two separate machines performing analysis on a target. You really need to spend some time with the machine and with the manual to grasp this aspect.

Bottom line, I sold the DFX and kept the T2. (to be truthful, I never had the time to master the DFX) I sold the CoinStrike (excellent machine) and kept the T2. I sold the Xterra 70 and kept the T2. I've got a new Explorer II on the way to work together with the T2 and see whats what.

In my mind, if you are looking for a pro-level machine then you want to spend some time with a T2. If you are needing a clad machine with some auto features to make it easier for you then the the Xterra would make an excellent choice.

I know the clad hunter comment will step on a few toes, but there are many clad hunters that rake in $1,000 or more dollars a year just hunting clad and a machine that does that well is hard to come by. I think the Xterra 70 would excel at that with the right coil selection.

The T2 is just on another level.

HH

Mike
 
I have used the Advantage, Sovereign and Explorer II. All of them get excellent depth in very mineralized soil like you find around here. But so does the T2. I would go so far as to say it goes every bit as deep as the Explorer around here. Pinpointing is much easier, target separation is better, it's much lighter and better balanced, and battery life is far more. The only ways the Explorer is better in my opinion are that it has a backlight, and it has better discrimination capabilities. However, when you discriminate you invite target masking.

So all in all I prefer the T2. Best machine I've used in my opinion. I do like the Advantage as well it's an easy to use and excellent machine, but in my use the T2 is better.
 
Thanks for your useful information!!!

I've also read the T2 has some problems with electric interferences of unknown sources out there. Could you tell me please something about this? How do you can compare these problems with other detectors?

I have also read that T2 forgets its setting while is turned off. Could somebody confirm it? Thanks.
 
Yes on both questions. The T-2 seems to give a little problem sometimes when close to other detectors and also some electrical interference. The setting will go back to factory preset when turned off, but it is easy to set them back again, in fact now that I have used it for a while I like that they go back to factory presets as chances are the ground balance would have changed and you will reset it to the correct one.
I used my T-2 at a site today and I would check the GB several times with the grab feature and it would be around 60 and sometimes 47 and once had to manual ground balance as it was only 32.I find by having it ground balanced it seems to ID better, so I check it often. I got as nickle with a dime today that would sound high pitched one way like a coin and the other way it sounded like iron. Seen when the number jump around lot it is iron trash, good targets seem to lock on to only a couple of numbers.

Rick
 
I hunted a very bad spot using my T2..my 3 friends had Minelabs...Wess was using an Explorer..The soil was very Bad!!!
All the signals were off where they should have been on all the machines...I found more buttons than the other 3 put together..Wess found more musketballs. The Musktballs were easy targets..so I think my T2 did better in that soil than the minelabs ( or at least as good)
It was only my 3rd time out with the T2..were as the other 3 guys had been using thier Minelabs for over a year each.

Dean
 
[quote Mike Hillis]
The T2 has some real pro features that you will not find on the 70. The audio mode sampling processing feature selections are something that it takes a bit to understand but once the light comes on, you'll realize what kind of power is at your finger tips.

[/quote]

Are you referring to the tone modes here?
Could you elaborate on what you've learned about them?

Thanks,
EC
 
I'm a user of both the Explorer and T2. I am not sure if one is 'deeper' than the other. As far as ID at depth I think the Explorer is the better of the two. My T2 loses reliable ID around the 6.5-7 inch mark in most of the areas I hunt. But, even with that being said it's a good machine. I love it in iron and with it's quick reset it has the ability to 'peek' between iron. The quick reset doesn't seem to affect depth much either. For some depth is everything but for some it's not. It's also very good at picking up smaller objects which can be a good thing and a bad thing depending on the site. The biggest plus for the T2 when comparing it to an Explorer is it's only $799. The biggest complain with the T2 is the current lack of coil selection which should be fixed at some point. I also owned a X50 which I sold... of the two I preferred the T2. But, I do have a slight preference to DD coils for the areas I hunt. An X50 might have suited me better with a DD coil although I am not sure. I almost forgot... the T2 can pick up interference in areas which I have not had any problems with my other machines. Switching frequencies helps sometimes... sometimes it don't. Just rememeber with any machine there's no holy grail. At least that I've found. They all have their pros and cons.

-Bill
 
I don't think the pin pointing on the T2 is great...but the machine is one of the better ones out there,,easy to use, and if you are like me and don't get out often....you don't have to learn the machine again.
It pulls targets...nothing else has to be said

Thanks Jeff..even after my problems with "friends" I still may hunt..
So much History... so little time...just do the research..thats 98 % of relic hunting.....

Dean
 
It's been too busy here for much recreational detecting. :(

We did some dirt work to put in a carport. I spotted a nail on the surface, so I thought I'd better scan the whole area. I recovered over 20 more, from old square nails to 20-penny spikes and a handful of short roofing nails. I also dug a couple 22 casings and an old brass dog chain clip.

Using the 3b tone mode, I concentrated on iron signals near the surface. Since we were adding a couple inches of gravel, I ignored those below 3 inches deep. I reduced the pinpoint sensitivity to about 45 and "nailed" every target.

There were a few non-iron targets I wanted to dig but skipped, as the deeper holes were disturbing the freshly packed surface.

-Ed
 
Hi EC,

I think I am slowly putting it all together. Don't have all the answers yet, but I'm getting there.

At first glance when you are choosing a "# of Tones" mode to use, you may think that you are just selecting how many tones you'll hear for the tone id. You can choose between 1, 2, 3, 4, and multi-tone, Tone Id. But what you are really selecting along with the above is how you want the audio mode to process the signal response for the audio side of the detector. And along with that, two modes also change the way the visual id processes the signal.

If you go back to the manual you will find that you can choose between several audio signal processes: Continuous, sampled, or some combination of both.

The 1, 1+, and dP audio modes use a continuous signal process for the audio. You get to hear the entire signal from leading edge, peak, to falling edge of the signal. There is no internal threshold that limits how much of the signal you hear so you get to hear everything that the target might produce. Your sweep speed combined with the signal strength and target position under your coil is the only limiting factors as to how much information the audio can convey.

The 2+ mode uses a split sampling process. Continuous for the high tone side, but a combination of continuous and sampled for the low tone iron side. One aspect of 'Sampled' means that there is an internal threshold that has to be reached in order for a signal to produce a audio response. This gives you a nice long audio look at the non-ferrous signals, but helps to keeps the ferrous responses short. This in combination with the Biaxial coil is what makes this mode so good in the iron.

The 3 and 4 tone modes also use a combination of continuous and sampled signal processing. It works just like the 2+ ferrous response mentioned above, except it affects the entire discriminatory range.

The 3b mode also uses a combination of continuous and sampled signal processing but with a tighter threshold on the sampled side that requires a more stable peak signal response.

The Visual ID side only uses a sampled signal process. It works on a different sampling process than that of the audio modes and is the same for all audio modes but one. When you chose the 3b audio mode, you are also selecting to use a Visual ID mode that uses a tighter sampling process for the visual id. This is probably the least independent mode you can select and I tend to think that the same sampling process is used for both the audio and visual id modes.

I have thoughts that the dP mode also changes the visual id sampling process just by the amazing way the audio can sound so good, yet not give a visual.

So...what does this mean? Well to me, it means that I do more than just select how many tones I hear when I select an audio mode. It means I'm selecting how much or how little of the signal information I want the machine to put into my ears. Better machine control for the site, and better control of the information I'm feeding my ears and eyes. All resulting in better dig/no dig decision making.

Thats where I'm at right now.

HH
 
I don't hunt relics much so 2+ doesn't have much to offer me (I don't think).

The 1+ seems to say the most to me. Especially since it also identifies the shallow targets which I may want to pass up.

EC
 
for depth, target seperation, pinpointing & sensitivity to small targets. But if I mainly wanted a clad hunter that I could also use for the beach, then I would opt for a XT70.
 
In my area, with high mineralization, and LOTs of rusty iron, the 2+ mode works well for finding deep and moderately deep stuff, differentiating the goodies. I use 0 discrimination in this mode so I avoid masking. The id might not be "ideal" but you will still get a good tone and it will make you dig.

Just what seems to work the best in the areas I hunt. I agree though if I was hunting a modern park for clad I'd go with 3+ or 4, or maybe dP.
 
I am thankful for your commentary!

However what about the depth performance? Does anybody seriously test the T2 according to the Sovereign's or X-Terra 70's depths? Does the T2 hold the breath with the minelab's?
 
I've used the Sovereign, Advantage and Explorer II. I wouldn't hesitate to use the T2 against any of them. As you know they are all excellent machines as far as depth, Minelab doesn't make a machine that won't go deep in nasty ground. But from what I've seen the T2 can hold it's own against any of them.

If you've used the Minelabs and gotten good results, you won't be disappointed with a T2. It does very well in depth, and working the goodies from iron.
 
Hi,

thank for your post.

Well, I use the Advantage since 2003 and I wonder about a Target ID detector.

I really like fast response speed of Advantage either its depth but I don't like its poorer discrimination, single tone (impossible to recognize kind of non-ferrous metal) and also its weight. Overall balance with straight shaft is much better but weight is killing me slowly.

Did anybody use the Advantage and now is using the T2?
 
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