Please help possible purchase for newbie

[Diabolik]

just looked on the site, the 440 does have the bluetooth. I trust the experts settings for the most part. Probably wont have to mess around too much.

Ok, I was looking at the Quick Start Guide for the 440 and 540 on Minelab's site. Backlight Button and Bluetooth Button say (540) after them. Maybe someone here can chime in. If you want Bluetooth and are planning on pulling the trigger, I'd make 100% sure first. Hate to see you buy the wrong one

 

[jmaclen]

The 340 and 440 do not have built in Bluetooth. They are 3 tone (not 5), have less accept/reject discrimination options, no backlight and come with the 10" coil.

If you live in an area with mild to moderate dirt or detect in salt water areas you would be fine with any of the Vanquish models. If you detect in areas like me with high mineralization, the automatic ground balance that happens in the background and cannot be adjusted by the user, will sometimes cause ground noise feedback as if the detector's ground balance is slightly off. So with a Vanquish 340 in my detecting areas, I get low iron tones (which are ground noise not iron) around most non-ferrous targets, at the end of sweeps and when pumping the coil with nothing rejected. Not cool. The 440 and 540 have more options for rejecting iron range targets where most ground noise also registers so it is much less of a problem and is easy to deal with.

Just thought you should know.......

 

[TexHunter]

Here's an answer for the lack of Bluetooth built-in on the 340 and 440. I use these with my 440 and Etrac. You can plug most any 1/8"/3.5mm headphones of your choice, as well as the ones that come with the Vanquish, into the receiver. The transmitter plugs into the headphone jack on the Vanquish.

Just do a search on Amazon for the $25.99 Aptx LL Receiver:

TaoTronics Bluetooth AUX Adapter, AptX Low Latency Bluetooth Receiver, 15 Hour Hands-Free

and for the $19.99 Aptx LL Transmitter:

Upgraded Version TaoTronics Portable Bluetooth Transmitter for TV, Low Latency Wireless Audio Adapter for 3.5mm

 

[michaelsmetal]

So it turns out I will have my first real detector on the way tomorrow as I bought a used Equinox 600 from @jmaclen. I will let you know how it goes when I receive it! thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[JimR_TN]

So it turns out I will have my first real detector on the way tomorrow as I bought a used Equinox 600 from @jmaclen. I will let you know how it goes when I receive it! thanks everyone for the advice.

Congrats, you made a wise choice. I bought a used 600 in the Spring and I am loving it. I've put a couple of hundred hours on it already. I highly recommend spending time at schools and parks to get some experience in a target rich environment and learn the machine. I've spent many hours out sweating behind schools for a couple of bucks in modern coins, but everyday I use it I'm more comfortable with it. This experience has helped me with some great finds when I do get my coil over some good stuff.

 

[SkiWhiz]

I have sold quite a few of the Simplex detectors and have used one myself, I and my customers have been really happy with them. Great detector for the money, plus they can be updated via computer when updates are released. Nokta/Makro is a very good company.

 

[Diabolik]

So it turns out I will have my first real detector on the way tomorrow as I bought a used Equinox 600 from @jmaclen. I will let you know how it goes when I receive it! thanks everyone for the advice.

Congrats! Great choice. I think you’ll be happy with it. Awesome that @jmaclen was able to help you out. There are a ton of great folks here!

 

[Donut]

A few dollars more you could have a Minelab Equinox 600

 

[jmaclen]

A few dollars more you could have a Minelab Equinox 600

That is what he did. I was happy to sell him my Nox 600. I did not need it anymore since I have an older 800 and recently picked up a second 800. I am glad Michael bought it from me and he got a great price.

Now we have to help him learn how to use it like the Equinox pros we are.........

Jeff

 

[DIGGER27]

That is what he did. I was happy to sell him my Nox 600. I did not need it anymore since I have an older 800 and recently picked up a second 800. I am glad Michael bought it from me and he got a great price.

Now we have to help him learn how to use it like the Equinox pros we are.........

Jeff

Yep, that's us...experts.
Ex meaning has-been...spurt meaning drip under pressure.
EXPERT!

 

[michaelsmetal]

That is what he did. I was happy to sell him my Nox 600. I did not need it anymore since I have an older 800 and recently picked up a second 800. I am glad Michael bought it from me and he got a great price.

Now we have to help him learn how to use it like the Equinox pros we are.........

Jeff

Ive been watching a bunch on youtube videos and it does seem pretty easy. Now I will just have to stare out the window in anticipation until it comes Monday

 

[shellhouse]

Congrats on the 600. You'll love it!

Starting out, there's a cheap digging tool on amazon for about $10 and also GP pointer II for under $30 which is sort of a TRX style device but without advanced features. For the money, I "dig it".

Sand scoops can get pricey, and it's something I need to look into before getting out to the beach this fall.

GL and HH

 

[dixiedigger57]

the DFx is was an awesome machine, now Whites tanked so service on the now aged machine would be iffy if any. the learning curve is huge. its for a seasoned detectorist. had a great friend with one.

SimplEx a good buy, Vanquish, Quest has some units, and for less than 500 i think the Garrett Apex.

buying from a member and getting a deal on the 600 was awesome and shows how good a community we have here!

good luck and may good fortune reward you!

 

[jmaclen]

Ive been watching a bunch on youtube videos and it does seem pretty easy. Now I will just have to stare out the window in anticipation until it comes Monday

This site and Detector Prospector have good Equinox resources. Plus, I have thousands and thousands of hours on the Equinox 600 and 800. I will be happy to guide you as will others on this forum.

The black Garrett Pro Pointers, orange carrot Garrett ATs and the Fisher/Teknetics F-Pulse and Tek Point are well worth the money. There are some ridiculous prices on the Whites Bullseye II (not the TRX) which are easy to use and work fine even though they are older tech. I have seen some for less than $40 new. Buying the GP Chinese knock offs is a big mistake in my opinion. There are some good deals on used "made in the USA" ones on &^()%. Anything less and you will be disappointed.

A good 8" long shafted or more flat head screwdriver works great for the shallow stuff and folks won't yell at you for digging big plugs with a shovel. There are some good coin popping videos on YouTube which explain how to do it. I would watch them too. Sometimes I just use a well used 6" long blade hunting knife. Depends on the neighborhood I'm hunting in.

Wilcox/Garrett makes a simple, inexpensive, yellow plastic hand held beach sand scoop which can get you started.

keep posting and asking questions Michael and enjoy this awesome hobby.

Jeff

 

[michaelsmetal]

This site and Detector Prospector have good Equinox resources. Plus, I have thousands and thousands of hours on the Equinox 600 and 800. I will be happy to guide you as will others on this forum.

The black Garrett Pro Pointers, orange carrot Garrett ATs and the Fisher/Teknetics F-Pulse and Tek Point are well worth the money. There are some ridiculous prices on the Whites Bullseye II (not the TRX) which are easy to use and work fine even though they are older tech. I have seen some for less than $40 new. Buying the GP Chinese knock offs is a big mistake in my opinion. There are some good deals on used "made in the USA" ones on &^()%. Anything less and you will be disappointed.

A good 8" long shafted or more flat head screwdriver works great for the shallow stuff and folks won't yell at you for digging big plugs with a shovel. There are some good coin popping videos on YouTube which explain how to do it. I would watch them too. Sometimes I just use a well used 6" long blade hunting knife. Depends on the neighborhood I'm hunting in.

Wilcox/Garrett makes a simple, inexpensive, yellow plastic hand held beach sand scoop which can get you started.

keep posting and asking questions Michael and enjoy this awesome hobby.

Jeff

Since I'm still a youngin' and can get up and down easily I've been using a plastic pasta strainer for the dry sand which has always worked great lol. I havent done much detecting on the ground so it is definitely something I will have to get used to.

 

[JimR_TN]

Starting out, there's a cheap digging tool on amazon for about $10 and also GP pointer II for under $30 which is sort of a TRX style device but without advanced features.

When I started about a year and a half ago I bought a Prospector's Choice digger for about $10 and a cheap pinpointer for about $20. I upgraded both this year. I bought a Fisher F-pulse and it made a HUGE difference. The time to find my target reduced dramatically with the quality pinpointer. I'm able to get more targets per hour by spending less time digging and searching forthe target in the hole. More recently I upgraded my digger to a quality Lesche digger. It is nice, a bit lighter but it wasn't a dramatic upgrade.

So I would recommend going for a cheap digger but get a quality pinpointer. They really make finding the target so much easier.

I will say this advice is for digging in the dirt. I'm not a beach person so I can't say if a pinpointer is a big deal at the beach or not.

 

[shellhouse]

The black Garrett Pro Pointers, orange carrot Garrett ATs and the Fisher/Teknetics F-Pulse and Tek Point are well worth the money. There are some ridiculous prices on the Whites Bullseye II (not the TRX) which are easy to use and work fine even though they are older tech. I have seen some for less than $40 new. Buying the GP Chinese knock offs is a big mistake in my opinion. There are some good deals on used "made in the USA" ones on &^()%. Anything less and you will be disappointed.

Those are good points really about buying US made and good quality brands whenever possible. To be fair, the GP II is totally different from the GP Pointer (Garrett PP look alike). The II has reportedly better performance (seems fine to me as well) and is waterproof unlike the original GP Pointer. Would definitely not recommend the original GP and would purchase a real Garrett PP instead.

I'm pretty pleased with the GP II (TRX look alike) and had most of the other major pinpointers such as Garrett PP, F-Pulse, and Whites TRX. It doesn't have the ratcheting capability of the TRX but hey it's under $30. It's still Chinese made and there are potential QC variability issues which can result. Time will tell if this one has any durability or reliability long term. May also throw it in a tub of water overnight for the fun of it.

Short version is that it works pretty well for now and is externally nice, but it's untested long term as far as I've seen online.

 

[michaelsmetal]

This site and Detector Prospector have good Equinox resources. Plus, I have thousands and thousands of hours on the Equinox 600 and 800. I will be happy to guide you as will others on this forum.

The black Garrett Pro Pointers, orange carrot Garrett ATs and the Fisher/Teknetics F-Pulse and Tek Point are well worth the money. There are some ridiculous prices on the Whites Bullseye II (not the TRX) which are easy to use and work fine even though they are older tech. I have seen some for less than $40 new. Buying the GP Chinese knock offs is a big mistake in my opinion. There are some good deals on used "made in the USA" ones on &^()%. Anything less and you will be disappointed.

A good 8" long shafted or more flat head screwdriver works great for the shallow stuff and folks won't yell at you for digging big plugs with a shovel. There are some good coin popping videos on YouTube which explain how to do it. I would watch them too. Sometimes I just use a well used 6" long blade hunting knife. Depends on the neighborhood I'm hunting in.

Wilcox/Garrett makes a simple, inexpensive, yellow plastic hand held beach sand scoop which can get you started.

keep posting and asking questions Michael and enjoy this awesome hobby.

Jeff

I found a White’s bullseye 2 for $30 on letgo. Should I go for it?

 

[jmaclen]

I found a White’s bullseye 2 for $30 on letgo. Should I go for it?

That depends. I know you are on a tight budget. Do you have to pay shipping or taxes or can you pick it up locally and maybe get the seller down to $25 or less which is basically half price. Is it in good shape?

So there are two main types of pinpointers. One give a continuos beep/vibrates when you get close to the object. In the case of the Bullseye II depending on where you are able to set its calibration, you will get a continuous beep between 1.5" and 1" on a coin sized target.

A second type of pinpointer like the Garrett AT and ProPointer not only gives you a continuous beep/vibration at 1 inch or less, they will also give you a proximity beep starting at around 2.5" or so, kinda of like the backup alarm/beep on many newer cars and trucks which beeps faster when you get closer to a large object.

So if you are using a Bullseye II type pinpointer it will tell you there is a target 1.5 to 1" away from the tip of the pinpointer. It won't tell you which side it is on or if it is up or down from the tip.

The proximity pinpointers (which cost more of course!!!!) will tell you when you are getting close and can give you a good idea about what direction the target is from the tip of the pinpointer.

It is similar to your original issues with deciding on a detector. Do you want to get a used proximity pinpointer that is of high quality that will last you a year or two that maybe is even waterproof or do you want to buy a new GP knockoff or a used Bullseye II that will get you started but will not make your detecting experience as good as a proximity pinpointer.

Successfully detecting a target, pinpointing it and recovering it are all determined by IF you can locate it fairly quickly for shallower targets and even deeper targets. Spending 5 minutes or more looking for an elusive target in an already 10" deep hole is not fun when your pinpointer won't let you know how much deeper it is.

Since I use an Equinox a lot in restricted digging areas with screwdrivers only and no shovels, I have my F-Pulse/Tek-Point pinpointers set on maximum sensitivity which is around 3.5". That way if I hit a target and my pinpointer sounds off on it, I know the target is less than 4" from the surface if it is coin sized or is a much larger and maybe deeper target if it doesn't seem to be coin sized. A Bullseye II or the Chinese GP pinpointers will not even make a sound on those 3" to 4" deep targets.

Jeff

 

[Beachhunter]

Congrats on the Equinox 600. Great choice and cudos to Jeff for helping you into a great detector. Invest in a good scoop if you’re beach hunting. You’ll be glad you did and that’s not an age thing. You can hunt faster with a good scoop. Best of luck Michael!