I am just getting started again in this hobby. Like another poster, I had a cheap Radio Shack something or other when I was a kid (35 years ago), and detecting just wasn't very much fun, not because I didn't find anything, but because the detector was just too hard for me to dial in, adjust and use. What I would like to buy is something simple that can find a penny or a clad quarter 3 inches under the ground on soil or at the beach without tons of knob fiddling and a B.S. in Physics with an emphasis on Electromagnetics. Preferably for as close to $300 as I can get. I live a hundred yards away from a Junior College that is undergoing heavy renovation (bulldozers running from dawn to dusk on every non-rainy day) and it seems to me that this would be a great place to look for stuff.
Any advice on a simple, easy to use detector would be appreciated. I'd like to get started and learn to use a detector, then upgrade to something nicer later.
Thank you.
Welcome back, and welcome to the forum!
A few detectors for you to check out would be:
Garrett Ace 250
Whites Prizm series
Used Whites MXT
Used Minelab Sovereign
Used Whites Classic IDX
Any of the above are simple to use, work reasonably well, and can be had for $300 or so, some of them less (MXT will be probably a little more).
Most will work ok on the beach, but most will not work super well in the wet sand (except the Sovereign, which excels in the wet sand).
Enjoy, and feel frfee to ask more questions!
Perfect, thank you. I just bought a Prizm2 from Whites online. $199.99 (plus shipping). I look forward to getting into this hobby again. I am a retired fellow (40 years old) and live in Santa Maria, CA if anyone out there is from around here, I'd love to hear from you. If I am supposed to post this is some other place, my apologies, just getting started and enthusiastic- you know...
Matt
Great! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun.
EC