Best Detector for Southern California Relic Hunting?

Hi everyone.... been away a while. Good to see you SkiWhiz! Anyway, life's been crazy. I sold my Explorer SE and CZ-3D 1021 a few years back, but I'm getting the detecting bug again. There are new detectors on the scene since I've been away, and I wanted to see what they were all about, and if they would work in my area. I detect mainly in the Mojave desert, hunting for 1860's - 1870's relics. I've done pretty well... lots of eagle buttons, mini balls, a few shield nickels, an old army mess tent fork, and lots of other things. I always find something cool.

I was hoping to get an idea of which detector is going to work best for me. I've tried many detectors in the past and the only one that has given me the kind of depth I want/need is the Minelab. I've tried Tesoro and Fisher single frequency detectors and they just don't go as deep. I've heard the mineralization out here is really bad, but I've heard that it's just moderate too, and single frequency detectors should do fine. What's the real scoop? Do I need to have a multi-frequency detector? My issue is that they are so slow. My old Explorer would null out in trashy areas all the time, and I know I'm missing stuff in those areas. The new faster detectors would do well in these areas, but most are single frequency, and I'm just afraid the mineralization will kill too much depth.

How about that Blisstool? I've seen the videos.... looks like it is a very deep detecting unit. I've also seen some good things about the Deeptech Smart and Gold. Would these work? Or should I be looking at an Etrac? The CTX is out of my price range, and based on what I've seen so far, it doesn't look too impressive.

Comments welcome. Thank you.

E-Trac or CTX 3030 or another CZ of some type is the way I'd go per your description of environment -

run wide open screen and you don't have to worry about "nulling"

a PI machine would be a good choice in that type of dirt too

HH

Vista gold...there's one for sale on treasure classifieds...buy it so I don't, lol.

Thank you for the suggestions.

I've thought about the Vista Gold.... but I saw a video on youtube under "detectorcomparisons" that shows that it doesn't do too well in mineralized ground on silver. The Smart might be a little better as an all-arounder. Can anyone confirm this?

I used a vista gold up in Calaveras county...handles mineralized ground well..

If you are in a lot of iron (nails)...... which it sounds like; I would recommend XP GMP, F75 SE (with both coils) or XP Deus.

Thanks for the recommendations Tom and everyone else.

Tom, I read that the XP GMP is not legal in the US because of the broadcasting frequencies used to communicate with the headphones. Is that true? If so, how would I go about getting a legal version? Also, I can't find any US distributors. Is this available only through UK sources?

The Deus is a bit out of my price range. I'd have to do a little more research to decide if it's worth that much.

I definitely need a detector that can unmask in iron, but the main areas I hunt in have large sections with clean ground, and a little bit of depth would help me out a lot. The Explorer SE did a pretty good job with depth, so I'm a little scared to go back to a single frequency detector. They just don't seem to go as deep in my ground.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2013 04:54AM by Mojave.

Sorry that I can't be of any help as I only coin and jewelry hunt but I wanted to say hello, long time no see glad that you are back.

The XP series units are single freq; yet, (due to technological advancements) ..... they will surprise you as to performance/depth in fairly bad/hot dirt.

Yes the Freq in use for the wireless headphones is not alloted for wireless audio devices in the U.S.

But its on the Garage door freq I believe,...

That's why they dont sell them here and also they think theres not a demand for a iron only non metered machine in the U.S. market.!!!Whatever!!!

you can get them shipped here though from Euro Dealers...

if the company really wanted to sell them here though they could just disable the wirless as a simple fix...I dont never turn the wireless on anyway on mine...I just use wired headphones... and the batteries last longer Too..

I have a feeling as the product evolves there will be a version here though...I hear they can put it into just the headphones since you dont need a I.D. screen...so you could have headphones and pole and coil with no wires like the DEUS lite version...this would also help on repair cost...if you have the warrant they could just replace the headphones or thwe coil and thats it...

Could you imagine the GMP in just a headphone and coil! for like 800.00 buck's!!that would be clever!

Keith

Great advice, thanks.

I have read a few reports saying that the original Goldmaxx is better than the Goldmaxx Power. Any truth in this? What are the major differences between them? Are they worth an extra $100-200?

I'll let you Know in a couple of weeks if the original Goldmaxx is better than the Goldmaxx power......( In my opinion)

I have a original Goldmaxx loaner headed this way...

Keith