We have put this very simple Metal Detector buying guide together to help you learn about metal detectors.

 

It will show you the different parts of a metal detector and will also explain about the features you will find in a metal detector so that you are ready to buy a metal detector with confidence.

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It is a very good idea to familiarize yourself with the basics of a metal detector so that you can better decide what features you would like and that you feel that would be important in the type of metal detecting you intend to do when you are ready to buy a metal detector.

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Take a few minutes to look through this metal detector buying guide and then visit this page showing our metal detector buying recommendations.

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So what is a metal detector?

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Well very simply a metal detector is an electronic device that will find metallic items that are hidden from view.

 

Metal detectors are a valuable tool used in industry, construction, security and also for hobbies such as looking for lost coins, jewelry or for prospecting for gold. 

 

In this website I’ll be focusing on the metal detectors used by hobbyists rather than industrial use.

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What are the parts of a metal detector called?

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All metal detectors, regardless of brand or model or price will have the same basic components. It is important that you understand these components when you are getting ready to buy a metal detector

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Arm Rest.  This is the part that your arm will go through, they are usually padded for comfort and will have a strap to go over the forearm to help with the weight of the metal detector. The arm rest will be adjacent to the hand grip, where the user will hold the detector to swing it while searching for items.

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Search coil. This is the part of the metal detector that is swept over the ground in order to find the hidden metallic objects. Search coils are usually circular or elliptical in shape.

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Coils are available in many sizes, usually the smaller coils will give less search depth, but are very good among areas where there is a lot of metallic trash such as nails etc in the ground, or in areas where there is heavy undergrowth, obstacles etc.

 

Larger coils often give greater detection depth, but may be difficult to use in overgrown areas, or areas where there are a lot of trash items in the ground. They can also become heavy after several hours of use.

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Control Box. The control box will usually contain the electronics, controls, headphone jack, speaker, batteries and display screen of the metal detector . The control box is usually located above the hand grip so that the user can easily operate the controls with the same hand that is used to swing the metal detector.

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Shaft. This is the rod that will connect the coil to the control box, the shaft is usually adjustable so that it can be easily adapted in length for ease of use.

 

Cable.  Most metal detectors have a cable connecting the control box to the search coil. Usually the cable is loosely wound along the detector shaft. Some new metal detectors use wireless technology to connect the coil to the control box and headphones.

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Headphones.  Headphones are usually optional, but highly recommended to make sure that items being detected are not missed, also the use of headphones will prevent people in the area from being annoyed by the sound of the metal detector. Some metal detectors allow for the use of wireless headphones.

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What should you consider when buying a metal detector?

 

Price

For most of us the cost of a metal detector will be a big factor when buying a metal detector. There are many metal detectors available in different budgets. All will detect metal, but with more expensive detectors you will usually find that the depth of detection, the ability to differentiate and identify metallic targets will be better than the cheaper models.  Also you may find other features such as waterproofing, visual display, GPS and wireless technology.

 

Where will you be using your metal detector?

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If you intend to use the metal detector on beaches, or in and around water you would need to consider buying a waterproof metal detector. If you intend to use a metal detector for goldfield metal detecting you would need to look at metal detectors with good gold detection ability. If you intend to metal detect for old coins and relics, known as relic hunting you may need to buy a metal detector that is a good all round machine which is adjustable according to the conditions you may face.

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Metal Detector Weight

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Usually metal detectors are quite light to pick up. But after several hours of use they may start to feel heavier to some users.  

 

If you are an older or younger person, or someone who might have a shoulder or back injury then selecting a lighter metal detector might be something you may want to consider when buying a metal detector.

 

There are however  now some shoulder harnesses and straps available that will help take some of the weight while using a metal detector which will make the metal detector seem much lighter, even after several hours of use.

 

Metal Detector features.

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As part of this metal detector buying guide it is important to explain to you some of the most common basic features of a metal detector. Once you have a good basic understanding of these metal detector features you should be in a much better position to buy a metal detector.

 

Discrimination.

 

Many metal detectors include the ability to choose or discriminate which metals will be detected. You would be surprised as to how many nails and other rusted iron objects are in the ground. Many people do not want their metal detector to hear those items so users may want to discriminate iron objects so that they only hear other metal items.

 

Relic Hunters may prefer to use little or no discrimination so that they hear the iron nails so that they know when they are near an old area of human habitation, such as a cabin or homestead because there may be older coins also in those areas.

 

Beach Jewelry Hunters may only want to hear jewelry so may use a lot of discrimination so that they don’t hear any nails or other iron objects.

 

The ability to adjust the amount of discrimination to apply to a metal detector is very important.

 

Tones

 

Most metal detectors will give different sounds for iron objects and for objects such as coins or Jewelry etc. The tone of an object is very useful in helping the metal detectorist decide whether to dig it or not.

 

Visual Display.

 

Many modern metal detectors include a visual display indicator (VDI) screen on the control box. This is another feature that will help a detectorist decide what an object may be when found by a metal detector. The VDI will often be a number displayed on the screen, with lower numbers being in the iron range and higher numbers being items like silver or copper. Learning what numbers different types of items give is a good skill to learn when operating a metal detector.

 

Sensitivity

 

In most metal detectors you can adjust the power or sensitivity of the detector.  Higher sensitivity may not always be the best option, because ground minerals, electrical interference from buildings, power lines etc may interfere with the metal detector. The detectorist should aim to adjust sensitivity to allow the metal detector to be stable, but powerful without giving false readings due to local interference.

 

Ground Balance

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​The ground contains many different minerals, many of those minerals present in the soil or sand that we will be detecting on may effect the stability of the metal detectors and may result in false reading or reduced detection depth.

 

Most metal detectors will allow the detectorist to control the metal detectors ability to perform well with ground minerals present at a particular location. This is done using the ground balance feature.

 

Ground balance should be adjusted so that the metal detector can see through the ground minerals and give good detection performance.

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Pinpoint Mode

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Most of the newer metal detectors on the market will include a feature called pinpoint mode. 

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Pinpointing is the ability to narrow down exactly where in the ground the target under the search coil is, especially for smaller items such as coins.

 

This is important for a  to minimize the amount of damage done by digging for a target in areas such as lawns etc and  to speed up the target recovery process allowing for more time spent detecting.

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Are you ready to buy a metal detector?

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Once you have read through the metal detector buying guide and have a good basic understanding of the features in a metal detector and have decided what kind of metal detecting you are interested in doing, what particular features that you would like and what your budget is you should be ready to buy a metal detector.

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We have selected a number of good quality metal detectors arranged by budget in this page. The metal detectors that we have chosen are all highly rated and are very  popular among metal detector users across the world. 

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We hope that our metal detector buying guide was useful to you and that it will help you in your choice when you are ready to buy a metal detector.