Garys Detecting.co.uk
How to buy a new or used metal detector,learn how to operate a metal detector
Choosing your first machine is very important, start detecting the correct way
The metal detectors below are the best selling starter units suitable for children and beginners of all ages. Shop around for the best deal there are excellent coinshooters on the market designed to give the treasure hunter years of enjoyment.

 For good advice please read the section below before E mailing me or click the link below to visit the
 Friendly metal detecting forum where beginners are more than welcome to post providing it is not about Chinese machines they have just purchased from E Bay.

Remember £25 will not buy a metal detector it will buy you a non functional toy...you must be prepared to pay £150.00 minimum to get you started.
 Personally I dont search beaches so I can not give you advice on that subject.

Also click this link to read my metal detector Q+A

Q: I am new to this hobby should I buy a cheap machine just to start off with.
What to Look For When Buying a metal detector
A: My advice would be to avoid cheap machines especially the Chinese models swamping E Bay normaly with numbers like md 3030 or md 3036, these are known as Shanghai specials and can be purchased from the manufacturer in China for around $25 each, they will not perform well, the depths claims of 2 meters is total bull...try 4inches on a coin to be more realistic
Buy one of these and you will soon be disappointed with metal detecting and give up the hobby for good. However if you're budget is strictly limited the Black Night Magpie from Detecnicks is a good buy at £59.00 but dont expect to much.

What is my best option when buying a metal detector on a budget
I would say a good serious starter price would be in the region of £150-£300 for a new machine with a warranty.....However the smart money would be on a good used models which have earned great respect within the detecting world such as a Tesoro Silver Sabre or any Laser model. Read review here
 These models perform every bit as good as todays modern machines, iron rejection and build quality is so much better. Prices will be around £250, but remember your machine will be worth the same in 5 years time providing you look after it.

Remember machines costing  £500 perform every bit as well if not better than machines costing £1000 so dont get caught in the big money trap you wont have better or deeper finds, just a bigger hole in your pocket and loose more money when trying to sell.

One last thing for UK buyers... beware of metal detectors cheaper than normal, they may be imports from another country with no VAT and import duty paid, you will have a cheap machine but no UK warranty, re selling youe machine will be difficult and purchasing spares for a non uk machine will be almost impossible, so make sure your prospective purchase has serial numbers, you can then check with the importer if it is a UK machine.

In a nutshell if you are serious about the hobby and have a limited budget look out for a used Tesoro, XP, Fisher, Minelab,Whites or Laser.

 

New metal detectors
New machines suitable for beginners and youngsters are

Tesoro Compadre

voted the UK's best beginners machine
£199.00
The Tesoro compadre is very easy to operate, great fun, super little coinshooter, It can reject unwanted targets such as foil and ring pulls, you will start finding coins instantly with the Compadre. Simply turn on, set the control to the targets you want to reject, Iron foil, pull tabs etc and search.
Dont be put off by the lack of controls, this little machine is a coin magnet.
3 piece stem
Powered by 1x 9 volt battery
1/4 inch headphone jack

Laser Scout

The Laser scout is ideal for all ages, excellent performer easily on par with the Rapier , again an analogue system very simlar to the old Tesoro silver sabre plus with precise user discrimination and sensitivity settings
3 piece stem
Powered by 1x 9 volt battery
1/4 inch headphone jack
Seperate discrimination and sensitivity controls
price around £299.00

Tesoro silver U/max

The Tesoro silver u max is easy to operate with a polo search coil as standard like all Tesoro's very sensitive to small targets.

Tesoro Cibola

The Cibola is the very latest "hot" Tesoro,it's now called the Laser Trident 1 here in the UK,
Lightweight and easy to use with the same power as machines twice its price. Suitable for professionals or novices,works great on Roman sites watch this space.
The Cibola (Trident 1) has been given the thumbs up from us, very popular in the UK.
Laser Rapier

The laser Rapier is a little more expensive it's the last of the analogue machines so in my opinion worth the extra.... very sensitive to small gold and silver.
 Controls include : sensitivity, discrimination, target pin-point button, 3 piece stem, powered by 1 x 9 volt battery.
price around £370.00
The laser Rapier Plus is now available with a 9x8 web coil

Black night Magpie
 The Black night Magpie is the ultimate value for money metal detector for only £59.99. Not my choice but will suit a child. Features include target pin point, adjustable sensitivity, variable discrimination, speaker volume control, all metal search mode, low battery warning indicator...All this in a lightweight package at under £60.00 only available fron Detecnicks on 01243 545060

XP ADX 100

The ADX 100 from xp is very lightweight with fantastic Iron rejection, easy to operate, 9 inch 2d coil as standard.
 £299.00
3 piece stem
Powered by 8 x AA batteries
1/4 inch headphone jack
Seperate discrimination and sensitivity controls

Garrett 150 or 250 Ace

Super little coinshooter with a LCD display, very easy to operate with 3 different search options.
 All metal..Jewelry..coins price around £159.00
The garrett ace 150 is very easy to use excellent fun for finding coins in the local park.

Garrett Treasure ace 100

The garrett treasure ace is a good all round machine,superb value for money.
2 piece stem
Powered by 2x 9 volt battery
1/4 inch headphone jack
 

Viking 5

The viking 5 is a good starter machine, excellent value for money probably the best cheap metal detector for searching the River Thames forshore and other junky areas.

C Scope CS 2M

C scope cs 2m, rugged build quality good starter machine

How to buy a new or used metal detector" and "how to operate a metal detector"
Choosing your first machine, how to start detecting for the first time.