I got an email from a CCF member, and the answer may helpothers, so I am posting it here. He asked:
Quote:
I am considering buying a metal detector in the next few months, I thought only White made them and then learned about Garrett. You seem to be high on Garrett (since you sell them) but I know little to nothing about detectors. I have an old White my uncle gave me but it does not offer what I want, I want the screen that will give me an object icon, depth, etc to save from digging up shingle nails and bottle caps. I have a lot of places to search that have never been searched; for example a creek crossing that was an unpaved shallow water crossing in the 20's on my grandfathers farm, too many shotgun shells, car parts, bolts, cans, etc just get constant signals everywhere. Need more discrimination. Would also like to stroll the beach from time to time with it just to see what may be found (hopefully some old spanish coins washed up after the storms).
anyway, I want to spend around 500-700 dollars. What do you recommend in a Garrett that is user friendly?
I used to sell White's, in fact I was the fifth largest dealer in the Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Ontario district. They make a good machine, but we've had better experience with Garrett.
The reason we quit White's is because they jerk their dealers around, and don't honor their agreements. This wasn't just a distributor level problem, I had direct access at the VP level and talked to family members who owned the place.
The best answer to your question is gonna cost more than you want, but there's an odd reason for that.
A couple years ago, Garrett came out with the Ace 250. It not only blew away anything made by the competition, it pretty much obsoleted most of the better Garretts. For under $300, it was delivering $500-600 performance.
This means the only clear improvement was the GTI machines. And if you're going to get a GTI, you might as well get the 2500, especially since Garrett has extended the spring special indefinitely (hey, it's the stupid economy), and you get the spare loop, carrying case, headphones etc for free instead of an extra $380.
If you're doing relic hunting, an alternative is the Master Hunter, with or without the add-on two box Depth Multiplier. It's a great machine, but it's been around for awhile. They tweak the electronics as they learn new tricks, but it's not the latest and greatest.
All of these are at
http://metaldetectors.ecrater.com . If you have any questions, Email thru CCF or sales@biggfredd.com .
Posted 10/03/2008 11:55 pm
its like Christmas come early
but you get what you pay for I guess...
