The Teknetics T2 a blast from the past or a look into the future!

Teknetics T2 review
Teknetics T2 a blast from the past or a look into the future!

 The big question: is the T2 a Bounty Hunter ?
Bounty Hunter have always catered for the budget end of the metal detector market, as a result quality has never been to good.  Since the company came under new ownership in 1999 it re-engineered the products and adopted modern manufacturing methods including the employment of some top metal detector designers and engineers.

First Texas Products, located in El Paso, Texas, are manufactures Bounty Hunter and other metal detectors, including Teknetics and have recently acquired the Fisher name, who have now released their own model called the Fisher F75 based on the T2 platform.

The T2 designers claim their machine is a new high-performance multi-purpose professional grade metal detector. It utilizes the latest advances in electronic technology.
 
The T2 is easier to use than many other comparable metal detectors. Its combination of light weight and balance provides comfort unmatched by any other detector in its price range. Its most popular uses can include coin shooting, relic hunting, and gold prospecting. The fast response speed will hopefully make the T2 ideal for searching European ancient sites.

Key Features include

USER INTERFACE:  Menu-driven....the entire menu is always visible. Where you are in the menu is always indicated.

PINPOINT FEATURE: pin point is trigger-actuated, fully static (non-motion) with variable pitch.

GROUND CANCELLATION:  trigger control fast grab, or manual.

VISUAL TARGET I.D: 0-99 plus eight target category indicators.

MINERALIZATION READOUT:  ground cancellation phase 0-99, and mineral concentration bar graph.

OPERATING PRINCIPLE:  VLF induction balance.

SEARCH COIL: 11" open frame Bi-Axial widescan.

OPERATING FREQUENCY: 13 kHz with frequency shift option

WEIGHT 3.6lbs with batteries

Will the Teknetics T2 compete with today's top metal detectors ??

First impressions
Some time back I had a play with the T2 at a Wanderers dig but never spent any time with it, just some quick air tests which proved to be quite impressive, Dan the owner was still learning the machine but was more than pleased with his results, at that point I didn't have the urge to go out and buy one.

Now I have a Teknetics T2 my original concerns about build quality have been put to rest , the T2 is a well sorted machine with an easy to use fast scrolling menu. I feel the on /off switch position, the coil plug and the thin screen cover could have been better, but the £450 price tag represents very good value for money.
When switched on indoors the T2 became rather unstable, switching frequency and slightly lowering the sensitivity settled the machine down enough for initial bench testing.
Frequency
(Accessed by pushing the trigger forward and depressing the menu button)
The T2 has 7 frequencies to choose from, you can slightly shift either way from the default setting of 4 in order to maintain a smoother operation and alow higher sensitivity settings.
 

The coil
The T2 coil is a 2D widescan, one would assume the final tuning is found below the replaced cover
 

The battery compartment (top cover removed) and the ON / OFF- VOLUME control
 

First of all I conducted 3 standard tests to determine if the Teknetics T2 would match or better the machines which I already own and use.

Initial tests compared against my current machines

Test 1
 Locate a coin next to rusty nail with a clean audio response = No
Test 2
Locate a small Roman coin through my test tub of badly mineralised soil = YES
Test 3
Locate a deep coin with a Precise audio response on my test bed = YES
Score 2/3

My first trip out with the Teknetics T2 Jan 13th
Owing to my short detecting trips I will conduct this review using trip by trip updates and a final summary once I get to know the machine better.

As some of you know I have been recovering from an accident which has stopped me from detecting, today was the first time out since October 2006. Not wanting to throw myself back into a full day just yet I allowed an hour or so to get acquainted with the T2 and post my initial thoughts.

As usual the weather was bad and the driving rain hit me from all angles my new Realtree Storm Kloth coat did a good job of keeping most of it out.

The stubble has been left to rot which is perfect for detecting, because of my limited time I chose a local field rather than a productive field, having carried out my indoor tests I didn't expect the T2 to be any better than the favourite machines I am already using.

The Technetics T2 was really easy to set up, sesitivity...discrimination....tones, this took about 5 seconds to complete. I preferred 2+ which gave a low tone for Iron and a higher tone for non ferrous. Then push the trigger forward and let the fast grab ground balance the machine whilst slowly lowering the coil to the ground a couple of times.

The T2 can be as sensitive or as quiet as you like, using a minimal discrimination setting the low Iron sound will give a clear audio picture of how contaminated or clean a particular search area is.
 I searched a very busy patch to see how the T2 would separate the good targets from bad.

Some signals gave a low tone then a high tone every 2 or 3 passes of the coil, on one occasion it turned out to be a tiny rose farthing (see pic), in other cases it was Iron. So again tone ID is not as black and white as we would all wish, I am sure with some more hours under my belt and better weather the T2 could be honed for better performance than my original set up, I have been told DP mode would have offered better target seperation.

The meter could reliably identify coin sized targets to around 8"deep on this iron contaminated soil... Occasionally some deep sounding targets failed to register on the meter , I guess this is because the audio circuit is much stronger and can locate deeper.

I had some interesting targets and at respectable depths, so far my initial thoughts on the T2 are somewhat mixed but after only 2 hours with a new machine I am in no position to make any form of professional judgement.

 Its not a magic wand by any standards but it's well worth a second look, personally I don't think it will out gun the Tejon or Gold Maxx on badly iron contaminated sites, especially with the large elliptical coil (I may eat my words)...However I think the new breed of Teknetics poses a very big threat to those manufacturers offering higher priced machines.
 

Latest news  second time out and the Teknetics T2 finds Celtic Gold !!
Another quick visit this afternoon to the same field as before (Sat 20th Jan) I tried using the DP (Delta Pitch) mode and a little more discrimination to work in amongst the Iron.
Delta Pitch mode takes a snap shot as the coil passes the target sometimes you will get a different tone every pass, but this "snap shot" is enough to snag a possible non ferrous target that may require further investigation
This fantastic Celtic 1/4 stator came up with a lovely sounding signal.
 
TASCIOVANUS GOLD QUARTER STATER
 
Perhaps just luck walking over the coin at the right time, all I can say is :
The Teknetics T2 has almost paid for itself before the battery indicator dropped 1 bar....
how often can you say that !!
Settings used
Sensitivity  75
Discrimination 18
Tone DP mode

Riverbank search 22nd Jan
I met up today with Mike Aka Buzzerman to spend a couple of hours searching alongside a local riverbank. This small field next to the Thames was very popular during Victorian times and has been a popular site with local detectorists for many years. Most detectable targets had already been found and the site has been recently hammered to death by Explorers with 15" WOT combinations and the Gold Maxxes using 11" coils. The last time we detected here was testing the Nexus, Victorian coins were at depths of around 14" which were to deep for conventional machines.
 
Mick also uses a T2 and has had silver every time out...this was my first opportunity to open the T2 up and see what it could "clack out" on deep pasture ?

My riverbank pasture settings for coin shooting which I found to work well
 Sensitivity 95
 Discrimination 35
 Tone 1
Site conditions : short pasture, very little Iron, soft wet soil, easy digging.

Mick was hunting in all metal and using the meter to identify good targets.
Almost straight away we were both into a target, mine was a clear sound with a high 70's reading, I took a large spadeful of earth out thinking the target would be within the spoil...but no it was still down there in the hole..another spadeful still didn't reveal anything, the probe finally detected a mint Victorian penny in the bottom of the hole at 11" deep. I looked over and Mick had dug the same sized hole and unearthed another penny.

My first coin of the day a 1896 Victorian penny

The coins came thick and fast all at fantastic depths, I had a total of 20 coins in 2 hours including 2 silver, Mick had about the same amount plus he had his traditional silver at last knockings.
The T2 is one of the deepest machines I have used on pasture, it's discrimination can be wound up to 35-40 which will reject most Iron and still maintain very acceptable depths.
It was one of those days when you could have gone on and found another 20 or 30 coins but that's another days sport
 The T2 has earned my respect as a deep pasture machine that's for sure.

Ok big deal we spent our time digging Vicky pennies, lets not forget 20 coins each in 2 hours on a small field which has been heavily detected since the 1970's.



I found the DP mode was not as deep as the 1, 1+ or 2+ modes they sound much cleaner,  I would not recommend using DP mode (Delta Pitch) for deep pasture, it would be better suited for searching for shallow targets in amongst Iron with a lower sensitivity.

 There was some intermittent interference during the search but I found it to be my mobile phone roaming for a signal and not the other T2.

One thing that occurred to me while out today was how versatile the T2 is, how many detectors on today's market would suit all skill levels from a complete first timer up to a seasoned relic hunter....I guarantee a complete novice will get instant results using a T2 ...... take it to a club dig with the top boys and you will easily stand your corner.


Iron contaminated Roman site
Today we had a chance to visit a moderately Iron contaminated ancient site, nowadays good targets are rare and it appears that only high frequency machines make the finds.

It took a little time to settle with the T2 in fact over an hour, I tried different settings but eventually found a compromise that worked well, the DP audio mode drove me nuts, so I settled for the 2+ this gave a low tone for Iron and a higher tone for non ferrous...basically a Gold Maxx with a meter.
 
I must say the T2 was every bit as responsive as Barry's Gold Maxx in fact I am convinced the T2 had the better performance on the day, especially comparing our finds at the end of the search.

I found a variety of targets including 3 Roman coins 1 cartwheel penny, 1 massive Roman lead weight, a Fibula and about 20 buttons, where as Barry had a good collection of smaller targets including a Roman coin and buttons.
My settings for searching ancient sites which I found to work well
 Sensitivity 70
 Discrimination 15
 Tone 2+
Site conditions : rotted stubble, moderate Iron, soft soil, easy digging.

The T2 has no preference to target size, it will find the full range of targets which may interest potential buyers, on a final note I demonstrated the T2 without headphones to Bazza before getting into the car, we got a signal with a 55 reading and dug it out, originally we thought it was a blob of rubbish, when Baz rubbed his finger over it a cross could be seen...no idea what it is.


Mystery coin found with my T2

US COINS
I have been asked by some overseas readers to post photo's of the finds compared to a US coin, thanks for your e mails guys..here are the pictures you can see how small some of our UK coins are.



Here is some audio tone information for those who do not own a T2
 

Teknetics T2 my views
I think the designers of the T2 have hit the bullseye with this one.

This machine has never failed to produce, with every trip it has impressed me even more, some people have had mixed views after purchasing one but you can't please everybody. I am sure as they spend more time with this machine their confidence will grow, stem locking collars crack but you cant blame Teknetics for that as they are from outside suppliers .

I would describe the T2 as a combination of 3 metal detectors, the sensitivity and recovery speed reminds me of the Compass Gold scanner combined with some very nice features found in the Tesoro Lobo, XP Gold Maxx and the Whites MXT.

In just over 1 month approx 6 outings the T2 has found over 100 coins 50 of which have been very small roman and medieval coins, 1 Gold Celtic, and a Saxon coin...plus a bucket full of the usual junk.
Yesterday I learned a little more about the T2 and it's audio response while searching a badly contaminated settlement site.
 I hope this information can help others....
My standard settings  Audio 2+* Sens 75*  Disc 10*
My" I'm not hung-over" and want find everything settings Audio 1* Sens 50-70* Disc 18-21*

Iron contaminated site information searching with the T2

Sweep speed some say you need to swing the T2 fast to obtain maximum depth, this is only practical if the ground conditions are clean or if you are cold searching a new field.
 Swing the T2 slow and methodically if you want to find small targets in amongst Iron !!!

Audio 1 or 1+ is the deepest and has the fastest reovery, slightly reject iron and keep an eye on the meter for flashes of positive numbers but watch out for readings bouncing between 80 and 30 this may be large iron. This setting can be a head banger if youre not in the right frame of mind but it will pick out those tiny Roman coins in amongst nails like you wouldn't believe.

 You will need to work slow and investigate low and high tones together, OK some will be iron.. big deal, some won't.

The T2 is hyper sensitive.... contaminated soil can add the Iron buzz to a faint target such as small coin or artefact.

The meter is not very accurate in amongst iron so don't rely on it to much but do look for consistent good numbers tying to break through.

Avoid using DP in these conditions although it gives a great tone on silver... 2+ is by far the best for UK sites.

Be brave and dig targets that are not 100% iron tone, even when the target is in the spoil you may still get an iron buzz when using tone ID.

Fast Grab GEB If you cant ground balance due to bad iron turn the machine off then on and use in the default setting which is set for the worse conditions you will encounter (ferrite).

Some coins and artefacts found while testing the T2

 

T2 top tips so far
When searching always leave the cursor over the tone position...this way if you do accidentally knock the control you will move the tone setting and not the important features (disc and Sensitivity).

Place a clear PDA screen cover over the T2 screen, the Belkin palm tungsten T3 series is a good size available from Staples and good office supplies.

An aftermarket stand is a must, the T2 has a habit of falling on it's side when placed on the floor.

Your T2 will be very unstable if operated indoors.
 

Logitech blue tooth headphones
Don't be tempted to buy these headphones for a metal detecting, they have a long signal delay although sound quality is very good.
I have tested a pair on the T2 and they get a big thumbs down... the signal you hear is long after the coil has passed the target.


Avoid...avoid....avoid

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