Tell me about your Safari

[beenpicking]

OK! I have never seen a Safari or for that matter a Mine lab. Tell me is the screen really easy to see in bright sunlight. how is their customer support. I am just checking things out and felt who better to ask? Tell me how dose the Safari work for you?

 

[crazyjoe999]

I think it would be a wise choice! I like it. Takes a little getting used to. In a trashy area you have to go real slow, a little faster in a clean field. Never had a problem reading the display. Good on the beach. Every detector has it's pros and cons. I don't think you would find one much better...maybe equal to but.... Read the posts and you will will learn a lot. Good luck! Don't know about customer support, but you can call Minelab and talk to a real person usually OR a good dealer will answer questions.

 

[bunker314]

Hello Beenpicking,
The Safari was my first machine about a year and a half ago. It truly is a turn on and go machine but can go beyond that. There is a learning curve, it took me about 6 months to really have the light switch click on. Where you hunt and what you are hunting for may make a difference. The Safari is not really a small gold hunting machine. There are machines for that. But it is a great overall detector.
You can hear the sounds (multiple sounds for different conductivities) while looking at the numbers. Eventually you barely look at the numbers until you hear a sound that you like. The icons (rings, pull tabs, coins etc.) are worthless and most people cross save to get rid of them. After a while you don't even notice them, but there is a theory that the Safari works faster if they are hidden.
The thing about Safari is "SLOW DOWN". Sometimes this can be a frustrating but slow and steady wins the race. The standard coil goes DEEP and is very good at separating targets, like most of us we have a smaller coil for trashier sites. I have the SEF 6x8.
The screen can be hard to see with direct sunlight, I put a sunscreen film over the display and that helped a lot. You would definitely want a rain cover to give you time to get to shelter. One other negative about the screen is that it is not back lit. Small issue but I thought that I would mention it.
The Safari is awesome at the beach. It can go from dry sand to wet salt water sand with no problem. That is the advantage of the FBS technology.
It has the same processor as the Etrac just fewer bells and whistles. Prep, croakersmoker, kschae4, lud, goldstrike among others are all awesome hunters here on the Safari forum. They took the time to understands it and uses it to its full potential.
I can't say from personal experience because Minelabs are all I have used but they say they tend to be a bit heavier then some others. There are items available to assist with this. ie swingything. I use mine Safari sometimes 8-10 hours with no problem.
Never had to use the customer support, heard that it has gotten better now that it has moved to its new US headquarters. There were some problems when they were in transition.
Hope this helps, I am sure I forgot something, others will add their personal observations. Check out the previous threads!
Best of luck,
Bunker

 

[kschae4]

Beenpicking- Bunky's account above was spot on. Only he forgot to include himself as an awesome hunter ! I did have an experience to comment on customer service and it was very recent and most favorable. http://www.findmall.com/read.php?3,1551458

 

[john4840]

OK! I have never seen a Safari or for that matter a Mine lab. Tell me is the screen really easy to see in bright sunlight. how is their customer support. I am just checking things out and felt who better to ask? Tell me how dose the Safari work for you?

Hello beenpicking, I have used Minelab metal detectors for almost 15 years and I own 3 or them. I have never had to talk to Minelab customer service, because I have never had a problem with any of them. That includes my 15 year old Sovereign XS.

I own and used a Quattro which is the same as a Safari and as for the TID screen I really like the fact it has big numbers that can be easily seen. I have never had that much of a issue in direct sun light with the screen.

What I like about it is that it will find coins deep and the TID number are consistent no matter what depth the coins are.

 

[DaugBiscuit]

Concerning Minelab support, I have never used them with an issue with a machine but I did contact them recently about an Explorer I was interested in purchasing. I was interested in finding out the mfg date so I sent them the S/N of the machine I was interested in purchasing. Minelab Ireland came back with the mfg date as well as the S/N of the coil the original machine was shipped with which told me the machine was authentic. I ended up buying it last month.

Concerning the bright sunlight, I have not had a problem with the Safari but I do the Explorer - it must have something to do with the difference in the angle and/or the quality of the material the screen is made of on the newer Minelab machines.

You cannot go wrong buying the Safari; it is a really good machine once you learn trust the numbers and learn other benefits available to you - especially the cross save feature. I personally do not use the icons but I do like to hear the sound of conductive and ferrous on an iffy target. Although I now own an Explorer, I wouldn't part with the Safari for anything.

Good luck and HH,
Don

 

[edjcox]

Safari is a detector that while it's pick up and go, you're going to be mighty cnfused at it's musical repertoire until you learn to read it's music properly.
Your overall bst bet is to dig a target garden and fill it up and mark it. Let it be for a few weeks and then swing over it and mae nte of the sounds. You can try and use the icnons but in the end a good set of headphones and tuned ears will serve you very well...

It's a good choice..

 

[Big Boys Hobbies]

Great deep silver machine. One of the best!!