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 Replies: 9 / Views: 14,746 |
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
By the title alone, I know a lot of people are going to immediately react with "no, stay away!" but I'll ask my question anyway.  I have an early 1980s White's metal detector that I used often when I was a kid. I dug it out of storage and it still works. I thought about getting back into the hobby and did lots of research on current models a few months back. MD technology sure has come a long way since the 1980s. I thought I was settled on the Garrett Ace 150, but then got into the typical analysis of "yeah, but for only $xx more I could get an Ace 250... and $yy more for an Ace 350..." You get the idea. Ultimately I decided a Garrett AT Pro is what I'd love to have, but I couldn't justify $600 for a hobby that I'm not sure I'll have time to commit to or that my kids will really enjoy. I stopped thinking about it until I was at my local Harbor Freight store recently. I came across HF's two models, the "better" one being on sale for $46. With a 25% off coupon I have, this would be under $35: http://www.harborfreight.com/9-func...r-67378.htmlI know it's made in China. I know it's gotta be flimsy. I know it's not an Ace 150 or 250 or AT Pro. But for $35, I'm thinking it might be a way to "kick the tires" on this hobby with my kids and see if the bug hits us. If so, then I could eventually upgrade to something else and let my kids use this one. So, I'm looking for opinions from anyone that's had first-hand experience with this HF model. If you're going to reply with "it's Harbor Freight so it's crap", but you've never touched one, that won't help.  Side note: I started falling into the same analysis last night. "Well, for $50 more I can get a Bounty Hunter with a digital readout..."  I'm trying to avoid this trap. |
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New Member
Germany
16 Posts |
I think if you like this brand then you might as well try it. After all, it is $45 and if you're getting it for less then you won't be out too much if you don't like it. Also, might be something to hand over to the kids if you do decide to go ahead and upgrade.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4333 Posts |
Anything that might get the kids involved, I would consider great!
When I listen to LED ZEPPELIN...so do my neighbors...
Roll hunting since '77
Dirt fishing since '72
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Valued Member
United States
326 Posts |
Thanks for posting about this. I own a 1970s White detector that uses 14 AA batteries and doesn't detect all that great. I picked up the HF detector today for 37.00 ttl and it uses 6 AA batteries and is a lot lighter and comfortable to use than the old White one.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2805 Posts |
A $45 detector might actually pay itself off! But that's not what it's all about... just a side bonus.
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Valued Member
 United States
359 Posts |
Larry, what model White's detector do you have? Mine is the old "Coinmaster 4000/D Series 2" http://media.whiteselectronics.com/...20Manual.pdfI know you haven't used it a ton yet, but are you finding this HF detector is picking things up better than your old White's? |
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Valued Member
United States
326 Posts |
My old detector was the White TW3 made for sears: http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par...71217x00001dI've listed the old one on ebay. I never used it very much and it's just collecting dust. I haven't taken the HF detector out of the box yet. I recently had my shingled roof tore off and replaced and am going to use the new detector to do a final check for nails around my house. I have found about 400 so far with a large magnet on wheels but want to be assured I have found them all. |
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
I stopped by my local HF today and picked up the 9-Function detector with a 25% off coupon. I'll give a thorough review after I've tried it out! At any rate, it made my kids excited when I brought it home |
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Valued Member
Canada
453 Posts |
Let us know about your experiences with it :)
I see that they have a pinpointer for $16.99. I might get one of those next time I'm in Buffalo.
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
I was able to unbox and play around with the HF detector in my back yard for a good hour the other night. My first impressions were "this sure feels flimsy", but I didn't expect any more for $35. The discrimination seemed to dial in just as good as my old 1980s detector, and I was able to discriminate out trash, nickels, etc, via an "air test".
I brought it into my back yard in all-metal mode and got a hit near our patio. It was a roofing nail about 2" deep, leftover from our roofing job a few years back. I kept sweeping the yard and got a solid tone on something that appeared to be ~6" long. I figured it was the detector acting up but dug anyway. About 6-7" down I found what appears to be a very old door latch! I had swept that same area with my old White's and it never picked it up. My house was built on former farm land so it's not surprising to find something like that here.
The coolest thing was that my oldest two kids and two of their friends were with me. They were excited to be digging for treasure.
So would I recommend this model? If you're looking for some cheap fun with your kids and don't plan to go out much, it's definitely worth it. But the plastic case and flimsy-feeling shaft make me doubt that it will hold up very well. I did a lot more research and decided to return this model for now and save my money up for a Fisher F2 or Garrett Ace250 (leaning toward the F2). Those are both said to be excellent high-entry-level detectors, but they're also ~$200 each. Comparing them to the HF 9-Function wouldn't be fair.
The HF is a steal for $35. If you're okay not having any discerning beeps or fancy readouts it probably functions just as good as many of the $100 models out there.
Let me know if I can answer any questions about this MD.
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Replies: 9 / Views: 14,746 |
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Posted 09/10/2013 10:27 am
