Selecting Your First Metal Detector.
If you are looking to start a new outdoor hobby like metal detecting, it is important to understand the capabilities of Metal Detectors before making your purchase. If you are a newcomer to the metal detecting hobby or profession, you need to make certain that you find the right detector unit for your needs. When buying a metal detector, you need to be aware of the following considerations:
Cost
Price is important but the cheapest metal detector may be a disappointment as it may not have the functionality you need e.g. not able to penetrate to a required depth or discriminate between objects like the Garrett GTI 1500 Metal Detector. Economy models of most metal detectors have a limited feature set that may not perform to your expectations. Our advice for most detector users is that you should purchase a unit with some extra features to ensure that it will be useful for more metal detecting activities and give a longer life before having to upgrade.
While it is better to buy a unit with extra features, it is still important to know what features you really need and to stick with those features and stay within your budget With the range of metal detectors on the market, your aim should be to select a unit that will meet your performance needs within your price range. This means you don’t need to look at expensive, top of the line units If your becomes more intense and you need a better metal detector, there are lots of stores that will offer to trade in your metal detector on a higher end model. From our research, it shouldn’t be too difficult to locate a dealer interested in trading in your old detector when you want to upgrade to a more expensive detector unit with better detecting capabilities.
Features
The major metal detector manufacturers usually offer a range of detectors from simple to advanced fully featured units. There are some expensive units with complex built-in programs designed for specific uses These high end units may not be suitable for novice metal detector users as the ability to use the extra functionality may require a lot of field experience. Higher end units are more expensive as they usually offer more functionality. To stay within your budget, only buy a metal detector with the features you need. In choosing your metal detector, make sure your selection criteria are based on what you are going to use the detector for. if your metal detecting activity is hobby oriented, don’t buy an expensive fully featured model .
Unit Weight
The original metal detectors were large bulky units to accommodate batteries and signal systems. Advanced battery and computer technology implemented into metal detector design has reduced the weight of these units considerably making them lighter and easier to carry. Therefore, before making a purchase, it would be best to test the metal detector to see if it fits your size requirements or read the technical specifcations to ensure that the unit is a light weight with an adjustable reach mechanism. Use these parameters to select a detector that will be easier for you to carry and operate.
Target Identification
In choosing your new detector, you can opt to buy a unit with high end “Target Identification” or one with a standard alert tone. Units featuring target identification provide an indication of the likely identity of the target object to help you decide whether to retrieve that object. Should you decide to ignore the item detected, the detector will give a sign so that it won’t be retrieved.
If you give careful consideration to the factors listed above, you should be able to buy the best Garrett Metal detector most suited to your needs. Selecting the right metal detector will result in more successful metal detecting activities.
