KB, the Gold Bug came highly recommended by Ed and Dale. I picked up one on Ebay a couple of years ago. I did tests with it. I buried a can 3 feet deep and it sang like a canary. I couldn't go any deeper because I was in the water table. I'm hoping Ed will give a class on how to use it at Brookdale. I've used mine to locate cans buried under six inches of leaves and pine needles. No pits yet, but I'm hopeful there are some in Texas. I did find an old Pabst OI at Corky's about 1 foot down in the dirt.

Later,

Tom I.

Tom, you'll be getting a class with it a week from Thursday !!!! Can you belive it? 8 days to go!!! It appears that the weather will be nice but still too far away to tell. Indian summer right now with temps in the mid 70s and sunny. Buy new batteries before you come.

Carl, Pete, Steve A & Scott will be dumping out of Reno. Let's all clean cans in Stew's bathtub in his $500K house acorss the street from the lodge!!!

Ed

Well, Kb,

I stopped at Gander Mountain, and all they had were Bounty Hunter brands. I tried the BH Tracker IV. It had good depth of 3 feet, but, it didn't have a good tone. It had a broken tone over masses of metal. Not good for a pit. I couldn't adjust it to do otherwise.

BUT, the cheaper Fast Tracker Model had an excellant long beep over larger masses of metal like you'd experience with a pit. The bad news is, it's depth is about 2 feet with the factory 7 inch coil. HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS! You can get a optional 10 inch coil for $59 that should get you beyond the 3 foot range. You should hit 4 feet with that coil on a Fast Tracker. So, if you must buy a new Bounty Hunter, get the Fast Tracker and then get the 10inch coil. That's $99 for the detector and $59 for the optional coil.

But, if you shop around, you can get a good used White's 4900, or 5900 or a Gold Bug for that price. The only problem is that the Gold Bug and White's Models I mentioned have manual ground balance. The Fast Tracker has automatic ground balance, which cause less operator error.

I hope that helps.

Vince

Good Advise Vince, Maybe if you have time you can give us a best buy for the buck type of thing. What's good for the $100.00 range, $200.00 etc..., I know those Gold Bugs are around $500.00 and you can spend thousands if you want. I'm looking for the $200.00 range myself.
Danny

Danny, I picked up my gold bug for $250.00 on ebay. If your patient you can pick one up.

Later,

Tom I.

thanks for all the tips guys, i like danny B's pt about the $$$ range, i am in the under 200 range...now, while we may not have as many pits out east as else where, i just need or want a detector that will make a BEEP or BLIP sound when it goes over buried rusty beercans that my have been covered up by mother nature or buried at 1-2 feet or more...heck once we hear a BEEP, we stop and dig, most of the time it is some type of can. I just have a fear that my current detector doesnt give me BEEPS at deeper depths. thanks again, kb

will the gold bugs and such make the same BEEP when it goes over rusty beercans at 3 feet and at 6 inches? i dont think i need lots of gadgets, just something to make a BEEP when it goes over very deep buried beer cans, weather a pit, moteher natur, or bulldozing dirt over the bank to cover the dump..thats what i need....kb

Ed, You must have been referring to me, I'm tempted to get a Gold Bug & try again. I have a Question, You get a good beep & think it's a Pit, But how do you know a Pit of cans, Could you start digging only to find a buried Washer, Dryer, Car, 55 gallon drum, pile of buried car rims, or any other mass lump of Metal, This seems likely but have not heard this complaint? How do you know cans or not? What exactly does this Descriminator knob do? LEON.

A goldbug will squel like a pig if the metal is close to the surface and generally, if its that close, its a single can or trash. You will get used to the various tones the detector will make after hours and hours of use. And you will get used to the size of the area also. Solid but muffled means cans are deep with a goldbug and I like those - a good chance for 30s cans!

You never know what is buired - there's no way to tell unless you dig. Gold Bugs do not use discrimination because you want to detect full metal.

Ed

That Squeel like a Pig line reminded me of that Movie Deliverance. Thanks for the Advice. LEON.

What would be great is if we had some in-depth information from the pros on how to best set up your metal detector. If each person could post info like "I use a goldbug, I set the blip/blip knob to 3 and the bing/bong dial to 7. As I sweep a potential area for cans I listen for a high pitched beep. This sound indicates a high likelyhood of cans up to 3' deep." Is this kind of information possible, or do the settings change if your in Cali vs. Michigan vs. Georgia and do they change if you're looking for a pit instead of a surface dump. I just bought a Whites Prizm II and can't wait to try hunting for cans but I haven't got the slightest clue how to set the settings or what kind of sounds to listen for. Any tips on what I can expect from this machine? - Thanks Fellow RBer's / Shu

Kevin, the gold bug is also user friendly. I'm a low tech kinda guy and it's easy for me to use. Alot of detectors have a big control panel and are cumbersome. The GB is very lightweight and easy to handle. It breaks down into 4 parts for easy travel. I'm taking mine to Calif. next week for a real workout!

Later,

Tom I.

On Ed S. and Scott F. advice I went for a Gold Bug in August - picked it up on E-bay for $265. I lost two auctions before closing with a high bid.

I'm still getting used to the Gold Bug and think it will take some more time to understand the signal tones and intensities. The pits I've found over the past two months were more on the "squealing" sound over a large area.......might have missed some "solid, muffled tones". The pits I've dug have had top layers between 6" to 18" deep and in several very different soil/ground types. I've done a lot of kicking the "duff" layer away on signals and re-sweeping with the detector - if it's shell casings, bottle caps, etc. you'll know quick enough - last week while doing this technique I found a very cool antique pendant fashioned out of 3 nails.

Ed or Scott, correct me if I'm wrong, but adjusting the ground-reject on the Gold Bug has varied for me in let's say rocky soils under conifers in the Lassen area versus sandy soils of the high desert on the east side of the Sierras. So I think soil type, mineral content, and maybe density/compactness precludes recommending a "one-size fits all" setting.

Ross

I use a Whites (CoinMaster) Classic II and, while I'm fairly certain I'm getting pretty good depth with it, I'm a little disapointed in it's ability to pinpoint a target. I used to use an old Radio Shack special that was a piece of junk but it would give a different tone that increased in pitch the closer you got to the actual metal. The Whites just goes "Beep" no matter what, my old one would give a steady tone that got higher and louder the closer it came to the target. It wasn't much help with discriminating different kinds of metal (neither is the Whites) but at least you knew exactly where you needed to dig.
KB's detector makes different sounds for different metals. His will beep for most things but for a rusty object, like a can, it makes this sour almost farty kind of sound (I'm guessing it's meant to be a "reject" sound)so he at least knows when to dig for sure.
Out of our three detectors I'm pretty sure my Whites gets the best depth but the other two certainly have their advantages. My question is, is there a detector out there (new or used for under $150-200) that combines all three of these attributes? I'd like one with depth, different sounds for different metals, and a steady tone that changes volume/pitch as it gets closer to target. Any suggestions in that price range guys? Thanks.

Get a goldbug, it might be a few more bucks but you'll be happy in the long run. Regarding the noises, a single high pitched squeal that you can pinpoint is a single can not very deep. Ideally what you want is a steady lower pitched hum as you sweep it over a larger area. This indicates a large amount of metal at a deeper depth (a pit). Yes it could be a car or drum or something else so you dig in and find out.

It's more a matter of practice than anything else. After awhile you can pretty much tell if you have a fire pit, wire, a tent stake or some other item you don't want to bother with.

The Goldbug will need adjustments occasionally for different soil types but I try not to mess with it unless I have to. Probably the most important thing is to put the switch on the left side in the middle position.

Scott

I have a Goldbug and after an hour I thought I was an expert. I'd hear a sound and then could tell whether or not it was a can (I thought). I would only dig the items that made the right squeal. Well, I tried digging some of those other squeals and guess what - they were often beer cans. I don't know what causes the different sounds on cans that are at the same depth (maybe different solder? different lids? who knows?) but I now dig every sound. I'd rather dig everything than miss a good can.

I agree with getting a Goldbug. You'll get one on eBay for $250 if your patient. There's also a Goldbug II but the original is better for cans from what I've heard. Plus, you'll pay much more for the II anyway. I've got a few different coils with mine but so far have only dug with the "standard" coil.

I need some lessons on how to use the thing properly. I don't have any problem with stuff that isn't too deep, but maybe I'm missing some of those killer MD and VA pit dumps (which probably don't exist anyway). I like my Goldbug and my kids like the Bounty Hunter (only because I don't let them use the Goldbug )

Steve

THE GOLD BUG 2 IS NOT ANY GOOD FOR FINDING CANS - DO NOT GET IT THAT ONE. ON OF THAT, ITS $500 FOR A USED ONE.

Look for just a "Gold Bug" and you cant go wrong. Once you have it set, you DONT have to keep adjusting it. Its pretty easy to use,and especially lightweight.

When looking for one on ebay, pay close attention to the picture of the coil - if it is beat up, then it was used quite a lot. Try to find one that was used just a few times - the coil will be very clean on those.

Ed

There are so many different makes and models it's hard to keep up.

I used to have a buddy who was an avid metal detector enthusiast. He also sold detectors. Back in 1996 and 1997, we'd go out detecting in the parks. Because he sold detectors, he'd grab a new model and we'd try it out.

The thing I learned is that some detectors are really tuned and set up for small targets like gold rings, jewelry and coin. The way they sound and respond is set up for pin pointing small objects. That is, the sound only gives short blips. And, this really sucks for finding cans. Why? Well, instead a long loud beep over a big object, all you get are broken blips as you cross a pit or something large. This makes it really tough to determine if you're dealing with a bunch of pull tabs close to the surface or a larger object deep in the ground. And here's the surprise, I learned a lot of high end detectors respond just that way. Not good for cans.

But, on the lower end of the spectrum, the cheaper metal detectors often gave long sounding bleeeeeeeps over pits, but were sold with small coils to keep the cost down. You need to get the optional coil if possible.

Another thing about cheaper detectors is durability. Often they don't put up with dropping and kicking around. I had this buddy who had a Bounty Hunter, and when he'd find something, he'd just drop the detector from his waist and let it hit the ground. It stopped working on a trip and I had to glue the thing back together because the speaker and circuit board had broken loose. I put foam block in the the thing so it wouldn't get so damaged from dropping. I'm not sure a more expensive detector would take that kind of repeated dropping either though. But handles aren't always durable on cheaper models. I had to get an upgrade handle for my detector when they changed the design.

Tesorro made great detectors in the late 90s. But, I'm not familiar with their present models. Mike, my detector buddy would bring Tesorro models out on trips we'd take to the city parks. I was impressed with the Tesorro's lightness. They had this Micro-max line that was the lightest in the industry. But that was in the late 90s.

The bottom line is, that you want a detector that is really good for relics. And, that rules out a lot of detectors even on the high end of the price line. There are so many makes it's hard to know what to buy and I think most of us just get what someone else uses. With brands like, Tesorro, Fisher, White's, Bounty Hunter, Minelab, Garrett and other, the only place you're going to get to try them out is at a metal detector club.

Vince

Kb,

Congrats on becomming a proud new owner of a Gold Bug. Trust the people who told you to go with them. I for one also found a pit the first time out with mine. They are also correct on saying dig everything. I find most turn out to be cans.
Ed and Stew will show you the right way to use it. They are both Super Nice guys .Plus they really know their s-h-i-t.
thanks again
Robert Haskett

hehe..one more time
TESORO SILVER UMAX - 249 new..if you can find a used Shadow X2..its the same thing...really easy.....really effective.....I always have it in my car along with my super-duper expensive coin detector.....

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the post about Tesoro. I have a few questions. How does it sound over a big mass of metal. Does it give a bunch of little cherps, or one long loud squeel.

The reason I'm asking, is because we need this information as a club to find out which models work and which ones don't for our hobby. We need to have more choices and find out what REALLY is the best detector for our hobby of the hundreds made.

Maybe, at a Canvention, we need to set up a detector game and find out which detectors work the best. We could have local metal detector dealers bring different models and see which works. Also, we could set up some way for guys to use detectors on an hunting course.

I was thinking if we could find some sandy area where we could bury cans at different depths in a large square area. On the edges, we could have a grid with letters and numbers. If you think you found something with your detector, you'd mark the grid location. At the end of the event, we could see which guys with which detectrs found the most pits. No digging until the end. It would just be a detect and record thing.

With guest metal detector experts, we'd probably learn things we never knew before.

Vince