Ok, pull up a sandbag and lets see if we can assist a little and help you narrow down some choices for a machine that suits you, your budget and your willingness to fiddle (all will become clear as we go).
Before we go any further, one of the most important aspects of metal detecting is actually having somewhere to go!
Permissions:
This one is often overlooked!
Do you have somewhere to go with your new machine?
All land is owned by someone, and you must have permission to use a metal detector on said land.
Large swathes of beaches are accessible, but there is still a code on metal detecting that you should familiarise yourself with.
Very helpful Link
Also this very helpful thread below is worth a read at least once.
Where can I detect legally?
Lots of people have bought a machine and then failed to find any permission to use it and end up giving it up as a bad job.
Don't be that person, instead go explore your local farms, shop windows, farmers markets, farm shops, allotments, friends and family, horse owners, or anyone who you think has some land.
Ask them nicely if you could have permission to use your machine on their land.
Even a 1 acre plot will keep you busy for a while, and get your foot in the door.
Budget:
Probably one of the most important things to consider.
If you have a couple of grand burning a hole in your pocket then there are machines sold just for you.
However, there are also machines much further down the price scale that are as capable, but possibly not as shiny with many major gadgets and tweaks on them.
Be honest with yourself about how much you can really afford,or want to spend, on this new hobby.
How technically minded are you?
Would you need a machine that you can just put batteries in and switch on and go?
Or
Do you like to fiddle?
Tweak things to get the absolute best out of them?
Have the ability to change settings on the fly?
There are even machines that use "50 Tones" of grey, I kid you not!
The choice of machines and their added bells and whistles are mind blowing, but listen up
Don't get caught up in the hype, a good machine needs to be able to detect metal, have a sensitivity setting and a discrimination setting,an ability to ground balance itself and is also nice to have a volume setting and an earphone jack, but really thats enough to be able to find metal objects in the ground
This is where the forum comes in handy.
Look left and you will see forums with all the makes of detectors listed, and in them are sub-forums with all the machines in that makers’ stable. Inside there are real peoples’ threads and posts loaded with tips and advice.You could save yourself a lot of headaches, and potentially lots of money, by looking and asking about the different machines on offer.
There are also biological and physical considerations too:
Don't laugh! If you are a tall person then it is no use getting a machine that won't adjust to your height. There is nothing worse than spending the day stooped over trying to use a machine that is 6 inches too short for you.
Also consider your physical strength or ability to swing a machine for periods of time. Some machines are heavy so you need to know which machines they are, although you can counter this a bit by using a harness.
The best scenario is to visit a shop and try the machines in the flesh, or visit a club dig or even a rally to speak with people and take a look at their machines.
One last consideration:
Where do you think you will be using your machine the most?
Inland in the fields or on the Beaches?
This is quite important, if you are only ever going to detect on a beach then there are dedicated Beach detecting machines called Pulse Induction (P I ) machines
They punch deep in wet sand with limited interference but they have no discrimination, which means you will dig every signal
With standard machines Most manufacturers blurb will tell you their machine will detect on wet sand, my advice would be to ask people who own the machine for an honest appraisal on whether that is indeed the case
So, there you go. It is a minefield out there but with a bit of thought you can narrow down your choices to maybe 3 or 4 machines, and then narrow that down by talking to the shops that supply them or asking in the relevant machine forums to the left
Good luck
