When is too much too much?

I started out with a Tracker IV in December of 2003. Spent $120 dollars on it. Got hooked, or obsessed, or what ever you want to call it. Now moving into 9 years and 40+ machines later, and I couldn't begin to tell you how much money. I look at the new detectors and their prices and realize I have no interest in them. I don't know if its the 40+ units (that number includes repeats like the three Xterra 70 units that I've owned trying to figure out how to like it) that have spoiled me or just that I find that they are not really worth the price being asked for them.

And now I watch the mfgs try to out do one another with a offering priced higher than their competitors. They are looking at one another and saying, Hey...they are selling those at 1000 bucks. I bet we could make one that could sell at 1200 bucks. $1000, $1200, $1500, $1700, $1900, ....just goes on and on. And I had found myself standing in line for the next one just like everyone else. And finding that other than varied feature sets, they really didn't add anything to the enjoyment of my hobby. They still didn't have the coil sizes I needed, they still didn't have the feature sets that make hunting my targets more efficient. In the end I had a high priced peice of equipment I had to sell at a loss.

I guess I find it too much. Greedy in a sense, and counter productive.

I'm stepping out of the high price line. Let the guy behind me take my place.

I hope the smart phone revolution moves into the metal detector hobby market. 99 cent detector apps and a couple hundred dollars worth of hardware.

HH
Mike

Is that why we own Tesoros? Priced right and get the job done.

DeepTech Vista X with 3 search coils.
Works for me

40 machines in 9 years? I bought my 1265x in 1985 and didn't replace it until 2009 when I added my F70. (Added a CZ-21 last fall but that's only because I found a few historic places that require total submersion) The longer I keep and use a machine the more unique features and abilities I find it has. Both of my units are for the most part "turn and go" machines and people probably scoff at the idea I can find unique attributes in these machines years latter that they couldn't find out about them in a matter of weeks but I feel that's truly the case. The 1265x was able to run head to head with the best new machines for a number of years. Likewise, now that everyone in my area is using Etracs and Explorers I can almost hear them laugh when I show up with my half price detector. There is very little they can do that I can't do.

I think the entire marketing strategy is to convince detectorists that they MUST pay outlandish sums of money inorder to compete with the other guy. They must have the newest most expensive detector available or they will not find the deep old coins. Ironically, so many places have now been hammered that most people don't find much no matter what machine they use. The real game changer is being best at research.

Im a little more picky a new detector like a new car dont impress me with out some honest reviews..... guess im from MO. I get a chuckle sometimes when i see a new detector come out and everyone jumps.... reviews start coming in and there is problems that some just wont admit since they gave so much for the machine. Its also bad that prices creap up with no changes or that there are obvious mods we all are doing that the company doesnt want to make. Xcal comes to mind.... headphones, shaft, coil swap.

Dew

I started in 1999 with the same machine, but I have only bought 7 machines and 2 are water and 2 are relic, get a hold on yourself haha, what ever turns you on, Question, have you found the right machine

If I were to guess I'd say it wont be very long when metal detecting will cease to exist....a relic in itself. If you think about it, it's like we are in the last days of it now. Modern development continues to destroy thousands of acres of historic ground....and coins and relics along with them. Land is the one thing that they ain't making any more of and people could care less if 150 yrs ago a unit of Civil War soldiers camped on the ground, or if years ago it was a picnic spot or park. As they use to say when I was in school "that was then....this is now" and that's the mentality of people today....let's forget our history and focus on the NOW...what will benefit me NOW? It's getting harder and harder to find landowners that will let you metal detect...special thanks goes to a lot of hunters before us that left a bad taste in the owner's mouth (uncovered dig holes...trash thrown down on top of the ground, gates left open for livestock to get out, fences damaged by crossing them wrong, etc). Now you have the modern era of hunters....thanks to reality style TV shows...it has all became about profit and money. Coins and relics have no historic meaning to them....rather they are saw as only "what's it worth"....and the shows on TV depicting this is making us all look bad...and no doubt going to attract attention of the bad sorts. With proposed bills that have already came and gone making things more strict....the noose tighter around the neck...it's only a matter of time before it will be illegal to do in most places, if not ALL places. In Tennessee there are already places you can and can't go with a metal detector as in LITERALLY thousands of acres of land. We will be collecting detectors before long....talking about how we use to be able to go to the local park, or research where that camp site of them soldiers was....and all we have left to run our detectors over, are what we found long years ago.

Daniel,

You are correct. More and more historic land is either being sold off to developers to put up a concrete jungle, or it becomes off limits due to state regulations.

Hunting in the future may be relegated to tot lots, rivers, lakes and the beaches. Relic hunting in it's truest sense of the word may be a thing of the past, with clad and jewelry hunting the only thing left.

I tend to use the same machine for years.....learn 'em well...inside-out....becomes an old friend to hunt with! lol

Mike Hillis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I started out with a Tracker IV in December of
> 2003. Spent $120 dollars on it. Got hooked, or
> obsessed, or what ever you want to call it. Now
> moving into 9 years and 40+ machines later, and I
> couldn't begin to tell you how much money. I look
> at the new detectors and their prices and realize
> I have no interest in them. I don't know if its
> the 40+ units (that number includes repeats like
> the three Xterra 70 units that I've owned trying
> to figure out how to like it) that have spoiled me
> or just that I find that they are not really worth
> the price being asked for them.
>
> And now I watch the mfgs try to out do one another
> with a offering priced higher than their
> competitors. They are looking at one another and
> saying, Hey...they are selling those at 1000
> bucks. I bet we could make one that could sell at
> 1200 bucks. $1000, $1200, $1500, $1700, $1900,
> ....just goes on and on. And I had found myself
> standing in line for the next one just like
> everyone else. And finding that other than varied
> feature sets, they really didn't add anything to
> the enjoyment of my hobby. They still didn't have
> the coil sizes I needed, they still didn't have
> the feature sets that make hunting my targets more
> efficient. In the end I had a high priced peice
> of equipment I had to sell at a loss.
>
> I guess I find it too much. Greedy in a sense,
> and counter productive.
>
> I'm stepping out of the high price line. Let the
> guy behind me take my place.
>
> I hope the smart phone revolution moves into the
> metal detector hobby market. 99 cent detector
> apps and a couple hundred dollars worth of
> hardware.
>
> HH
> Mike


this is essentially correct! if you do a lot of research,it is likely
you will draw the conclusion that "SLEEPERS" are offered for
sale by the manufacturers. .most are in the $500.00 to $600.00 range!
seek,and ye shall find!..just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

limegoldconvertible68 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 40 machines in 9 years? I bought my 1265x in 1985
> and didn't replace it until 2009 when I added my
> F70. (Added a CZ-21 last fall but that's only
> because I found a few historic places that require
> total submersion) The longer I keep and use a
> machine the more unique features and abilities I
> find it has. Both of my units are for the most
> part "turn and go" machines and people probably
> scoff at the idea I can find unique attributes in
> these machines years latter that they couldn't
> find out about them in a matter of weeks but I
> feel that's truly the case. The 1265x was able to
> run head to head with the best new machines for a
> number of years. Likewise, now that everyone in
> my area is using Etracs and Explorers I can almost
> hear them laugh when I show up with my half price
> detector. There is very little they can do that I
> can't do.
>
> I think the entire marketing strategy is to
> convince detectorists that they MUST pay
> outlandish sums of money inorder to compete with
> the other guy. They must have the newest most
> expensive detector available or they will not find
> the deep old coins. Ironically, so many places
> have now been hammered that most people don't find
> much no matter what machine they use. The real
> game changer is being best at research.


research is essential,but with so much development,and difficulty
gaining access to property,it would appear the manufacturers are attempting to survive
by introducing detectors which pick out coins masked by junk.as of now,we can STILL hunt
public places which primarily is keepin' most of us in the hobby!..just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

One wonders hunted for 50 years or so with one shotgun and one rifle.

20 years or so into detecting must have owned and used 100 or so some the same model twice and if I stayed with my original CZ6 and Toltec 100 would still be at square one.
Must be the addiction of the hobby....Heck I cringe just thinking about the shipping involved and salute you for honesty...Anyone know of detox. center for the hobby???? as they seem to have them for every other addiction....

To me a good detector is like a pair of shoes. There are some that look good and cost an arm and a leg, those that get the job done, and then the ones that fit just right and a pleasure to wear. I have been through a lot
of detector shoes and found that the best is not always the best for me. I have also found that I tend like the older styles, fits more to my type of hunting and it feels good. I can get 3 or four of the older ones for the price of one of the newest. We put a lot of interest in " how deep" ' how sensitive" and knowledge of a unit will always provide you with the best results. I think this is not from my knowledge of the hobby but just plain old age...

Old Man Tom of SC

It's the 'ol greener grass syndrome. Except ... when we get over there, over the fence, it's different...it's kinda uncomfortable...it's got it's own little faults too.

My philosophy is to learn the machine WELL..with my BH 3300 it took about 3 weeks. With the F-4 ..maybe 4 months. With the Surfmaster PI...about 9 months.

With my current love.. The XP Deus it's 14 months and I'm still learning. In the past month I've improved to the point where I really appreciate the machine. But still a ways to go. (I can't quite figure out the non motion mode).

But in the long run it's whatever works for you!

HH Joe

Man you guys really have gone through the machines! Since 1971 when I started I've had perhaps 15 of them. Staying with my 1021 CZ-3D until I see what Fishers new offering is later this year. Was REALLY
about tho pull the trigger on an ETrac but gonna hold off and see what comes.

Have been metal detecting 40yrs. this month ( started when i was 16) My first detector was a Frontiersman by relco ( laugh ) then a whites 1db, next a garrett 3, then a garrett master hunter 7 which i ran from 1986 to 2006. In 2007 i purchased a cz-3d and have found more quality coins with it in 5yrs. then in the previous35. Have found 3 cent pieces ( silver and nickel ), half dimes, two-cent pieces, and shield nickels. and these coins i had never found before purchasing the cz-3d. All these odd ball coins have been found in 3 places that i and many others had hit over the yrs.(campmeeting ground, agricultural fairground, and a Chautauqua site). Until something amazing comes along i believe i will stick with this one. Mike.

mike from Illinois Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Have been metal detecting 40yrs. this month (
> started when i was 16) My first detector was a
> Frontiersman by relco ( laugh ) then a whites 1db,
> next a garrett 3, then a garrett master hunter 7
> which i ran from 1986 to 2006. In 2007 i purchased
> a cz-3d and have found more quality coins with it
> in 5yrs. then in the previous35. Have found 3
> cent pieces ( silver and nickel ), half dimes,
> two-cent pieces, and shield nickels. and these
> coins i had never found before purchasing the
> cz-3d. All these odd ball coins have been found in
> 3 places that i and many others had hit over the
> yrs.(campmeeting ground, agricultural fairground,
> and a Chautauqua site). Until something amazing
> comes along i believe i will stick with this one.
> Mike.

That is exactly why we run out and buy the "newest" deep-seeking detector on the market... to gain that one extra inch of unsearched ground. Truthfully, I own a DFX & V3i, F-75, Explorer II... and I look at them and think "what an idiot" sometimes. The deepest (that I personally dug good targets with) is the F-75 at 13", I've dug a lot of silver with the Explorer II, Never dug a deep target (deeper than 7") with my DFX... EVER, but it is a killer canned hunt unit! I am still learning the V3 but it has more potential than the DFX ever had. I might consider a CZ-3D if it were one of Tom's units. The most fun to operate was the Explorer II, just turn it on and go and dig the flutey high tones.

Geez Mike, I did the math and you average a new detector every 73 days!!!

Good heavens, I have been reading these posts and am starting to feel like quite an embicile myself. I started detecting last March! That's one year ago. I started with a new ACE 250. Then an AT Pro. Then....Etrac, F75SE, Teknetics G2, Omega, another G2 (sold first one), Another AT Pro, (sold first one) Another F75SE (sold first one) and finally, unless I've skipped one, a NasaTom CZ-3D. That's 10 in one year. Hold the comments please, I already feel lousy about it. Most of my problem has been trying to find a detector that will pierce through this Tennessee red dirt.
I remember that I was so excited when I bought my Etrac. OH BOY!!! I thought. But a trip to the test garden left me with my mouth wide open wondering if I got a bad one. But it's that way with all of them. So far, in the ground in my yard, the AT Pro with stock coil will hit the targets with hi tones that all the other detectors would hit as iron. I would hear Youtube videos of guys hitting faint hi tone signals on deep silver. I've NEVER heard that in the year I've been swinging over this red dirt. Just iron tones. I guess I need to get good at figuring out varying qualities of iron tones cause that's all I ever hear past 6 to 7 inches. Except for this last AT pro. Which accidentally got sent from the factory hotter than usual. LOL

I have paid for two machines in last 20 yrs. When I started in the early 80's I paid for 4 machines in 3 yrs. Realized early it was a losing deal financially to hop from machine to machine. A upgrade every 5-10 yrs may be worth the technology.....but not on a annual basis IMHO.

Well Mike you’ve made an excellent post…we all love the hobby, a new unit is something to look forward to, and we tend to be amenable to the manufacturers’ advertising hype. I certainly do understand your feelings on the matter. I agree with the above comments, some of the guys may have played the game…but they knew it full well. A good many of us are getting along in years, we have the dollars to spend. I guess we figure at this point in time why not indulge our hobby…that’s nothing new under the sun. But you are correct…enough is enough.

After successfully prospecting 22 years with a Garrett Goldstinger I discovered the metal detecting forums about four years ago. I quickly imagined that I was dissatisfied with my unit and needed to upgrade immediately. Well… an F75, MXT, Garrett Infinium, White’s TDI Pro, and Goldbug2 were acquired and these are more than sufficient for any prospecting task or application. These acquisitions have made a substantive difference in the field…and incidentally have prompted me to “upgrade” my search techniques. So overall it was a win-win set of circumstances for me. Now I intend to stick with them for the foreseeable future.

But as you say…enough is enough. Despite that the new cache and boost mode on the latest F75s are sorely tempting…I’ve bought my last detector for many years to come. That’s what I keep telling my wife…I hope its true. BTW…my old Spectrum XLT is still my favorite unit for coins. It is not particularly deep or good in trashy areas…but it is so comfortable and just plain fun detecting with it. And that’s the bottom line…that we’re having fun…

Jim.

It's not the machines that bother me, it's the places I've been and not had a detector in my hand, during the 70's and 80's I built houses all over the Mass inner belts, that's the area between RT128 and RT495 if anybody knows the area's, I built a house less that 2 miles a way from the Concord battle grounds, it was woods and we did frame to finish, so many places I missed out on, because I started detecting 20 years after I wanted, but I'm catch up now

Mike - I hear you loud and clear. I just got into the hobby recently with a AT Pro.
Doesn't get the depth I need so I went looking to move up.

You know a few extra inches sure costs a lot of money.
I came close to pulling the trigger on a upgrade but avoided the temptation and
the no-return unending merry-go-round.

The capabilities of these units should be independently certified and charted for all to see.
Instead all you get is hype and hidden agenda's because when it comes to performace most
are not as powerful as believed. Especially for the money.

MD'g manufacturing is still mostly stuck in the 1960's and has a long way to go.
It does not seem interested in taking advantage of todays technology but only
making big profits because people keep buying their $1,000+ glorified stud finders.
We are the problem . . . not them.

I'm staying put.

I have gone through more detectors the past two years lookign for the right machine than I even care to think about. It's insane. No more.

I'm sticking with what I have got.

I have been detecting for 8 or 9 years.

I started with a Nautilus IIb and some nice Gray Ghost headphones. I had that for 3 or so years.
Then I got a T2 and that opened up a totally different (and more successful) coin hunting venture for me.
I got an Omega 8000 and then quickly sold my T2 and Nauty. I got the same price for the T2 that I paid 3 years prior and more than I paid for the Nauty.
I got a V3i and used it for 6 months. Loved it but wasn't getting depth and it was hard on my back and elbow.
I finally gave in and bought an E-Trac (used - my first used detector). I sold the Omega for 60% of what I paid 1.5 years earlier and then sold the V3i for 44% of it's internet value (winter sale?).

So, financially I have mostly been ok with what I've owned and sold. In 8 or 9 years of detecting I probably took a full 3 years off.

I really like just having one detector as I am just a coin hunter (thus far). I prefer to learn just one machine and learn it well but I can understand the fun that many machines bring. And related, I can see that after using a few machines I pick up on new machines (V3i and E-Trac) very quickly.

Oh, I still have the Gray Ghosts but did pick up a pair of UK headphones called Chef phones. They don't have the highs of the Gray Ghosts (almost) but are much much smoother, heavier duty and better insulated. I'll keep the Ghosts too.

I will probably sell the E-Trac after a new and lighter E-Trac or CZ comes out - they do best in iron mineralized ground.

Caretaker Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's not the machines that bother me, it's the
> places I've been and not had a detector in my
> hand, during the 70's and 80's I built houses all
> over the Mass inner belts, that's the area between
> RT128 and RT495 if anybody knows the area's, I
> built a house less that 2 miles a way from the
> Concord battle grounds, it was woods and we did
> frame to finish, so many places I missed out on,
> because I started detecting 20 years after I
> wanted, but I'm catch up now


very familiar with the area. to be truthful,the whole damn area should be given national historical
landmark status!.lexington "battle green" downtown concord,and all these old towns along the 128 belt
keep huntin' as much as i can,when ever i can. so many places,so little time! (hot damn!)
where it all started!..just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.