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Newbie which model ?

NCman

New Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2021
Messages
12
Hello from western NC. Glad.to be here.I am going to purchase a detector today.
I have been reading many reviews to the point of confusion. So here goes my questions.
I live in an area with high iron/mineralization.
I have about 30 acres here in the foothills. It has an old house and a few barns built around 1880. There are many farm implements on the property. Also, numerous sheds and barns with plenty of nails I'm sure.

I have a budget of $600. Which detector would you buy.
Thanks for any advice
 
Hello from western NC. Glad.to be here.I am going to purchase a detector today.
I have been reading many reviews to the point of confusion. So here goes my questions.
I live in an area with high iron/mineralization.
I have about 30 acres here in the foothills. It has an old house and a few barns built around 1880. There are many farm implements on the property. Also, numerous sheds and barns with plenty of nails I'm sure.

I have a budget of $600. Which detector would you buy.
Thanks for any advice
At that exact price point I would go down the list of vendors here to get the best price and get on the list for the soon to be shipped Nokta/Makro Legend. With multifrequency, included wireless headphones, lithium ion rechargeable batteries, straight shaft and light weight, it has a lot of features for the price.
Also, if you happen to go on a beach trip, you are good for all conditions on the beach.
 
Hands down Minelab Equinox 600. It's a proven detector that goes deep with great tones and readings at all depths. Its hard to beat Minelab performance
 
Thanks for the suggestions. So, minelab 600 over the AT pro for iron rich ground
 
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$425
Garrett Apex w/MS-3 Wireless Headphones
SMF for Land and Saltwater Beach
4 Selectable Single Frequencies
Built-in Lithium Battery
Quick- Response and good for working in Iron debris.
Lightweight and very comfortable to use.

I have three of them and it is my main-use land based detector.

Monte
 
Ok, just to be sure all points are considered;
My ground here in NC is acidic,rocky and has high iron.
I also have a fairly large Creek that I would like to search for gold. It seems that gold is found at higher frequencies.Considering these things do y'all stick with your suggestions?
High iron
Coin searching around old farm and Creek for gold.
Also, my land was owned by an old guy who was rumored to like burying things.
If a jar of silver coins were buried 12" deep...would any of the recommendations detect it?
 
Ok, just to be sure all points are considered;
My ground here in NC is acidic,rocky and has high iron.
I also have a fairly large Creek that I would like to search for gold. It seems that gold is found at higher frequencies.Considering these things do y'all stick with your suggestions?
High iron
Coin searching around old farm and Creek for gold.
Also, my land was owned by an old guy who was rumored to like burying things.
If a jar of silver coins were buried 12" deep...would any of the recommendations detect it?

Just about any detector is going to hit on a large wad of silver coins at 12 inches. The Equinox 600 does not have a preset Gold mode but some people said they are successful with a 600 using the existing programs that they feel have algorithms more weighted toward the higher frequencies.
The two higher frequencies on a 600 are in use when the multi-frequency setting is selected but the two higher frequencies cannot be selected individually. I have an 800 not a 600 and am more familiar with the 800 but this is the way I understand it. With your soil conditions I would select some kind of multi-frequency machine. The advantage of the N/M Legend over the 600 is that it is probably going to be more waterproof, more durable, has a gold setting and includes wireless headphones. All at the same price as a 600. The trouble with the Legend is that they will not be shipped for about two more weeks and you have to get on the waiting list for one. The only other thing with the Legend is that the general public has not had it in their hands to evaluate yet. Hopefully someone here with a lot of gold detecting experience will reply to your questions.
 
Just about any detector is going to hit on a large wad of silver coins at 12 inches. The Equinox 600 does not have a preset Gold mode but some people said they are successful with a 600 using the existing programs that they feel have algorithms more weighted toward the higher frequencies.
The two higher frequencies on a 600 are in use when the multi-frequency setting is selected but the two higher frequencies cannot be selected individually. I have an 800 not a 600 and am more familiar with the 800 but this is the way I understand it. With your soil conditions I would select some kind of multi-frequency machine. The advantage of the N/M Legend over the 600 is that it is probably going to be more waterproof, more durable, has a gold setting and includes wireless headphones. All at the same price as a 600. The trouble with the Legend is that they will not be shipped for about two more weeks and you have to get on the waiting list for one. The only other thing with the Legend is that the general public has not had it in their hands to evaluate yet. Hopefully someone here with a lot of gold detecting experience will reply to your questions.

I've heard that "iron wrapping" can occur with Equinox series of metal detectors (and presumably, the Vanquishes, as well) such that if you were to come across a large cache of coins (silver or otherwise), the MIQ VDI will read so "high" that it wraps around 40 and shows an iron signal.

Not quite sure how true this is, but some preliminary are tests using a small handful of quarters has produced anomolous results with the MIQ's VDI.
 
My choice would be

XP orx. Its right in your budget and ultra light. Coming from a guy that has owned a nox 800 since they came out.
 
At that price point and considering your intended use and conditions, I'd look at the following machines:

NM Legend - retail is roughly $635. Comes with an 11 inch coil and wireless headphones (bluetooth)

XP ORX - retail is roughly $600 (give/take a little). Choice of 1 coil (9 inch high frequency, 9 inch X35 low frequency, eliptical high frequency coil, or 11 inch X35 coil). Wireless headphones are an additional cost.

Equinox 600 - roughly $600 (likely a hair more). Comes with one coil. Wireless headphones are an additional expense (I think).

Garrett Apex - roughly $400 w/o wireless headphones. Roughly $475 (give/take a bit) with wireless headphones (they are fantastic). Don't recall the stock coil dimensions (I use the smaller coil on mine).

NM Anfibio multi - I don't recall the price, but I think they can be had for a bit more than $600. Comes with wireless headphones. Standard coil is 11 inches (I think - I use a small coil with mine).

Of those machines the Legend, the Equinox, and the Anfibio are waterproof. All of the machines (listed) have waterproof coils.

I don't own the Legend or the Equinox. I will own a Legend. I do own the other 3 machines. I mostly hunt in areas that have a lot of iron trash (similar to the area you're talking about). I am very pleased with the performance of those 3 machines in iron trash (other conditions too).

Were it me buying the machine, at this point, I'd likely go with the Legend - although I think a strong case can be made for any of the machines listed.

Amended to add the following:

The ORX and the Anfibio are selectable frequency machines. The other machines listed are simultaneous frequency machines.

Another machine you might consider is the NM Simplex. It is waterproof. It is a single frequency machine. It's also a $254 machine (about $330 if you want the wireless headphones included). I believe there is a deal where you get an additional coil with the purchase of a Simplex + (including the wireless headphones).
 
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I've heard that "iron wrapping" can occur with Equinox series of metal detectors (and presumably, the Vanquishes, as well) such that if you were to come across a large cache of coins (silver or otherwise), the MIQ VDI will read so "high" that it wraps around 40 and shows an iron signal.

Not quite sure how true this is, but some preliminary are tests using a small handful of quarters has produced anomolous results with the MIQ's VDI.

I do not think it is technically possible for a digital vdi display to "wrap" like an analog speedometer in a vehicle. Maybe it is just some coil overload making it appear like "wrap". Maybe members here with more smf experience than we have will give their input on wrapping and coil overload. Mrs. atomicbrh found what seemed like most of a John Deere tractor(really just the large solid green fender) about 2 feet down with a Vanquish 340 and it did not do any kind of wrapping. I told her to stop digging at 1 foot but she refused to stop until that thing was out of the ground.
I chose my words carefully in my reply and mentioned nothing about an accurate vdi number. I just said any detector would hit on it and even if the detector "wraps" in some fashion it is still a hit. We would dig a signal like that under the op's circumstances.
 
I do not think it is technically possible for a digital vdi display to "wrap" like an analog speedometer in a vehicle. Maybe it is just some coil overload making it appear like "wrap". Maybe members here with more smf experience than we have will give their input on wrapping and coil overload. Mrs. atomicbrh found what seemed like most of a John Deere tractor(really just the large solid green fender) about 2 feet down with a Vanquish 340 and it did not do any kind of wrapping. I told her to stop digging at 1 foot but she refused to stop until that thing was out of the ground.
I chose my words carefully in my reply and mentioned nothing about an accurate vdi number. I just said any detector would hit on it and even if the detector "wraps" in some fashion it is still a hit. We would dig a signal like that under the op's circumstances.

I think all metal detectors can have wrap-around (large iron targets read/sound like good targets). I've owned 20 or so detectors and as far as I can recall they all experienced wrap-around to some degree.

Wrap-around is why some detectorists notch out some of the higher segments (where wrap-around reads). I don't notch those segments out, as I prefer to identify large iron by sizing the target.
 
Get the equinox, it whips the apex and AT pro so bad it's not even funny. If you talk to one of the forum sponsors they'll hook you up with a great price.
 
Bang for your buck it's hard to beat the Nokta Simplex for a first detector. Surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the info. Considering the fact that I'm mainly just going to search my land then I'm leaning towards a cheaper model. The simplex + is looking good.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the info. Considering the fact that I'm mainly just going to search my land then I'm leaning towards a cheaper model. The simplex + is looking good.

The Simplex is a very good machine and should serve your needs very well. Not the top choice for gold, but it should excel for the rest of your needs.

Call one of the supporting vendors; they'll give you a great price.
 
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