Any suggestions?

[TCOYEN]

I am going to buy a metal detector leaning towards a White Prism III. Is this a good begginers choice??? I plan to use it alot on the river banks of the IL. river and plan to get to most places by boat so I don't want something to expensive... :ponder:

[RHM22]

I only metal detect occasionally, so I can't tell you with anything with any certainty, but I have a Whites XLT and a Bounty Hunter (can't remember the model). My XLT is great! It's probably over 10-years-old by now, but it picks up targets like a magnet. The Bounty Hunter is really nice, but I've never used anything as nice as my Whites. I got lucky and got the XLT at a flea market back in 2002 for $200, and the Bounty Hunter cost me $30 in 2008.

[TCOYEN]

cool.......by the way I like this new addition and I hope I like my new hobbie of metal detecting I guess I have Daniel to thank for the new hobbie :l

[Daniel]

I metal detect also, and it's a form of coin hunting, althought more expensive and time consuming then bank roll searching. Unless, one knows a good area to hunt. I have found that no one metal detector is the best unless you get into the cache finding detectors. It can get real expensive with these.

It's best to buy the largest coil you can afford, and use a brand that is most recommended. All of the metal detectors use the same technology, but provide different bells and whistles, so go with whith a detector that suits the area and type of coins you intend to search.

[Nolifeking]

One thing that I ran into was that bigger coils aren't always the best. I have a 12 inch coil and as soon as I get into a little bit of trash or near power lines my metal detector goes wild. I would definitely suggest a whites, but as to which model like Daniel said that's really up to what you want to do and what you might like. I personally went with an expensive model because I couldn't pass up the bells and whistles plus I only wanted to upgrade once. I didn't want to buy something for $600-$800 and not like it and then want to get one more expensive. So I went straight for the expensive one. :l If I were to suggest one to you I'd probably pick any of the prism ones. If there is a very good chance that the metal detector is going to go through blazes in the duration of it's use you might even think of just getting a coinmaster (also made by whites). It's only $180 right not and I don't see too much difference between the prism 3 and the coinmaster. The only things I know for sure that is different is the prism 3 has a strap on the arm cup to strap your arm in while sweeping and it also has adjustable lower arms. Both wouldn't really affect the performance of the metal detector just one of those bell and whistle things. Ask around too. Somebody you know might have one that they never use and would give up really cheap. Just because a metal detector is old doesn't make it worthless. A lot of the older models can easy keep up with the models of today. Also try :ebay:

[TCOYEN]

I am one of those people that don't like to buy some things used and I think that this would be something that I would want to buy new. I agree with you that cheap and older models find treasures well and they would cost less.

[Nolifeking]

To be honest with you if you had the money and you were going to take care of it (not drop it in the river :l ) I'd suggest just buying a really nice one off the bat. I started off with a $300 when I was like 12 and upgraded just this last summer. I love the metal detector I have now and ten years from now I might have mastered it. That's the thing I like most about the more expensive models. There is a longer learning curve so your not going to get bored with them. As for performance I never dug a coin over 4 inches with my bounty hunter. My Dfx 300 on the other had I have dug several coins at 8 inches.

[TCOYEN]

I am going to be optimistic and get one around 300 dollars with the idea that I will find enough with it to upgrade to a really good model.... :ponder: :thumbsup:

[Nolifeking]

I wish you luck! What sort of spots did you have in mind that you were going to search?

[TCOYEN]

along the banks of the IL. river there are lots of sand beaches where people camp and party also lots of places where people fish from the bank and pulling things from there pockets or changing clothes to swim etc. would have to yeild some finds I have dropped change in the sand myself and sometimes it sinks into the sand enough that you don't really see where it fell. As well I will be looking around the mouths of creeks, streams, and rivers that flow into the IL. river. I think I will find some good items and lots of worthless ones. More so I think I will be in it for the hunt...... :thumbsup:

[Nolifeking]

Well if you have gotten on already I would suggest getting a sand scoop I attached a picture of one from whites website. This long handle scoop you could easy make and save yourself a ton, but the key is having that long handle. You can stay standing and not have to be crouching down to look for the item in question. Just scoop and shake. A friend of mine has one and I seen him breeze right through a beach with it. When you get your detector let me know and I can give you some practice techniques you can do before you get out there.

[TCOYEN]

very cool I am going to my local dealer today I will see if he keeps these in stock an see if he has any other useful items.

[Nolifeking]

If you ever plan on digging in grass or solid ground besides just sandy beaches I would highly recommend a digging lesche. These are darn near indestructible. I have one and I've used it to dig in gravel, pry/cut tree roots, and cut sod.

[RHM22]

If you detect near canals or small stream, make sure to check in the canal/stream rather than on the banks.

[TCOYEN]

I have lots of different knifes so I think I will save my money there also I have several ice picks. So then the search coils are waterprof or do I need special equiptment for searching in water????

[Nolifeking]

Most coils should be waterproof. But since you are going with a cheaper model it might not hurt to double check. What almost always isn't waterproof is the control box. If the coil is waterproof the metal detector is technically waterproof up to just below where the coil plugs into the control box. Hope this helps.

[TCOYEN]

Yes thanks very much I would think that the dealer could tell me more about the waterproof part.

[Nolifeking]

I'd sure hope so. :l Hopefully your luckier than me. The dealer in my area was a crook so I had to completely avoid buying from him. I've never given him a cent of my money and I plan to keep it that way. I ordered my detector directly from whites web site. I lucked out when I bought mine too because it came with what they called bonus bucks so when I ordered I got I think $200 in bonus bucks. I got a bulleyes II pinpointer, a digging trowel, some books, and my lesche for free!

[Daniel]

I didn't know the large coils picked up interferance from lines. We have two Whites, one with a large coil and one with a small, but my dad has the large coil. I thought I was sacrificing some depth using the smaller coil. :dunno

[TCOYEN]

Well I just got back from my local whites dealer.....I went with my mind set on just buying a prizim III but he talked me into buying the less expensive coinmaster he assured me that it is the exact same detector but a different color and lessor price...he also explained many things to me and gave me lots of tips including interferrance from different things. I thought I wanted a bullseye pinpointer but he talked me out of it and explained it to me as a real waste of money since you have to be real close to the object you may as well just use the detector laying next to you on the ground. This older gentleman was very honest with me and was talking me out of things that he had right there in stock. He said he would be happy to sell me these items but they are not needed and more or less a waste of money and was telling me things that would work just as good that I could make or find cheaper. Not everyday that you find this honest of a person. :thumbsup:

Oh and yes the detectors are waterproof up to the control box... :D

[Daniel]

I'm glad you posted this, I was looking at the coinmaster.

[TCOYEN]

Your welcome I Hope to have many more posts in this section of the forum...but hopefully my future posts will be of treasures found with my new Whites Coinmaster.. :wave I plan to keep all things found except junk like pop tops I have a cool trunk to keep it all in and I am going to call it my very own "TREASURE CHEST"

[Nolifeking]

I personally like the bullseye pinpointer. Yes it is a little bit overkill and I would probably never pay $120 for it, but it can be very useful especially when you are first started out. Digging in sand it wouldn't make much difference, but if you ever decide to did in solid ground I'd recommend it. For one the ability to detect a coin when you are getting really close to it is nice. Before I got mine a wrecked a couple coins by putting huge scratches in the surface from my digging tool. The pinpointer allows you to know when your close so you don't wreck the coin. Also even with an extremely good metal detector you can always narrow down a coin. If coins are slanted in the hole it can sometime fool the metal detector into thinking that it is someplace else. The metal detector will always get fooled but the pinpointer you can run up and down the side and all around the bottom of your hole. If it goes off you know right where it is so you can dig around the coin carefully. If you don't get any signal they you can widen out or deepen the hole. I would go nuts without mine and it has saved me a lot of time. I've seen them online for like $15 and from what I understood they were just as good. If I can find the link again I'll put it on here. It as at least worth $15.

[TCOYEN]

Yes I would agree that if I could get one for $15 I would get one. I think a good tip is not to use a steel ice pick to hunt with I made a pick out of a brass toilet tank float rod used a Glass drawer pull for a handle and sharpened the other end to a blunt point I don't think that this will scratch up much being made from brass..... :eureka:

[Nolifeking]

That's a good idea. I've never used a coin probe though. I've never trusted myself enough not to scratch the coin. If anything that's why I like my pinpointer so much. I found that link check it out if you get some time http://ww2.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/D ... mber=97245

I'm thinking about getting a new coil for mine, but I haven't quite decided yet.

[TCOYEN]

cool I have a harbor freight store about 7 miles from my house I go there often I have never seen one there I was not looking for one but the next time I go there I will look for one. I may have to order it online....Thanks for the site.... :thumbsup: