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Sodbuster
I'm looking forward to a fun detecting season this year. I am not fully retired yet and don't have time to get out and hunt as much as I would like, but am planning on getting out at least one day a week for a few hours.

I was fortunate to get into detecting as a 'hobby' when I built my first detector from a kit two months before I turned 16. So, and a 'youngster,' I could easily work in some hunt time with my other interests which were mainly hunting and a bit of fishing.

That lead to me being very interested and very involved in this sport at a young age, and I managed to keep at it, very actively, through the years. There was so much more to find back then and through the '70s and early '80s that Coin Hunting was very rewarding and a lot of opportunities very close to home. I would take my kids with me from the time they could walk, and while I enjoyed Relic Hunting, that surge didn't really take place until mid-'83 when we got a much better detector to use in those old and very iron infested sites.

I was able to enjoy, and devote ample time, to 'Recreational Metal Detecting' all my life. I remember those days well, the amount of older coins and silver coins, the huge amounts of modern coinage that was out there for the Coin Hunting enthusiast, and I also reflect back on how healthy I was back then and was able to devote almost endless hours a day dedicated to searching potential sites.

Glad I did because I had health problems limiting my mobility starting with an on-the-job injury in '87 working for Compass Electronics. That lead to more issues when diabetes and high blood pressure started to aggravate my life and slow me down by '91. The doctors got me a cane in '93 and for 24 years now that's another limiting factor on how much detecting activity I can devote of a day. Then, after another on-the-job injury in June of 2010, I have been retired.

So I'm glad, and fortunate, that I was able to enjoy metal detecting a lot when I was able to and didn't have to wait until I was retired or close to it. If you can get out at least one day a week, and put in a few hours each time, that will help keep you focused on this great sport and keep you mentally refreshed on how these detecting contraptions work.

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Sodbuster
I currently have in my detecting "arsenal" a V3i; F75 ltd2; Tesoro Tiger Shark; Spectrum XLT. At this point, my go to detector is the F75. I like the simplicity of the controls, the light weight and the quick response. Best target ID and depth indication, and most complex goes to the V.

Quite an array of detectors, with each being a little different and a complement to the others. I have some 'special application' models, such as a Compass Coin Hustler TR, Makro Racer, Makro Gold Racer and Nokta FORS Gold +, but my Regular-Use Detector Team that travel with me, all or in part, are my Nokta Impact, Relic and CoRe plus Tesoro Vaquero, Bandido II microMAX, original Bandido, Silver Sabre microMAX and Mojave.

I don't have any duplicate Tesoro's in my 'arsenal' but I do have two FORS CoRe and three FORS Relic units, but that's just to keep things 'simple' and have a different search coil attached to each of them. I plan on getting another Impact and doing the same with it, having two devices with different coils.

I usually have two vehicles and that lets me keep detectors in each rig and ready-to-go, since I can usually get by taking just 2-4 detectors on a day's outing. When off on a prolonged detecting jaunt, such as the WTHO that's coming up, I am going to take as many with me as possible because I might have a want or deed to use a different coil or just a different detector, especially for Relic Hunting applications like this Outing will be.

Out of your arsenal, I would have to also pick the Fisher F75 as the better unit of the bunch, and also agree that the White's V3i is the more complex of them all. I like your reference to keeping things 'simple' as that's one of my three favorite words regarding metal detectors and personal choices. I like things to be 'Simple' and 'Functional' yet provide 'Performance.' Personally, I preferred the Teknetics T2 to the F75, but it just worked better for me with the 5" DD coil for the iron littered old sites I prefer to hunt than the F75's I had.

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Sodbuster
Right now considering the Rutus Alter 71 - always looking for an edge, and a way to deal with EMI.

Like you, I have always kept a sharp eye out to find 'an edge' in my detector selection. Back in the '90s, for example, the XLT was a nice fit since '94 when I got my first, of 28, XLT's. They worked quite well for a lot of the Urban Coin Hunting I was still able to do and for where I lived in a large metro area. The Tek. T2, after 2006, was a very good fit in my arsenal with the smaller 5" coil for Relic Hunting since the bulk of my old sites are densely littered with nails and other iron debris.

Until January/February of 2015 I also had a few other models in my detector battery, such as the White's MXT All-Pro and MX5, Teknetics Omega 8000 V.4, and always since mid-'83 there were one or two or three Tesoro detectors. The quick-response and fast-recovery of Tesoro's in challenging iron sites has been, and still is, the mark I set for other detectors to try and match to fit my needs. In January of 2015, I took on the Nokta FORS CoRe and that move quickly bumped everything else I had ... except the Tesoro's.

I have not been impressed by most 'foreign-to-the-US' detector makers until Nokta came along. I have watched some videos of the Rutus Alter 71, but I don't put a bunch of faith in videos. Some are okay, but many don't give me the answers I might have. The real test of comfort, 'simplicity' and performance come from hands-on handling if a detector. If I ever come across someone with a Rutus Alter 71 I'll ask to try it, but I'm not going to invest in one.

Matter-of-fact, with the excellent detector battery I have right now, I don't plan to invest in any other brand for my Coin or Relic Hunting needs. The only void in my arsenal would be a waterproof detector, but it has to provide performance on par with what I'm using now.

If you do get one, however, I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on it.

Monte

PS: I'll respond to your e-mail shortly.

"Your EYES ... the only 100% accurate form of Discrimination!"
Stinkwater Wells
Trading Post
Metal Detector Evaluations and Product Reviews
'How-To' help for Coin & Jewelry Hunting, Relic Hunting and Useful Techniques.
My Regular-Use Detectors:
Makro: Racer 2 w/'OOR' & 5" DD
Nokta: Impact (2) w/5" DD and w/5X9½ DD, Relic (3) w/5" DD, w/5½X10 Con. and 7X11 DD, and CoRe(2) w/'OOR' and w/7X11 DD
Tesoro: Vaquero, Bandido II µMAX, Silver Sabre µMAX each w/6" Concentric and Mojave w/7" Concentric

Other Specialty Use Detectors from:
Compass, Makro, Nokta and Tesoro
Note: Detectors are listed alphabetically by Brand, NOT in my order of preference for use. Additional search coils on-hand in accessory bag.

Pinpointers: Using Nokta and Makro Pointers.
Headphones: Using the Killer B 'Hornet'.

*** All working well today to make memories for tomorrow. ***
monte@stinkwaterwells.com .. or .. monte@ahrps.org
(503) 481-8147