CHOOSING AND SETTING UP YOUR EQUIPMENT

🎯 How to Choose Your First Detector?

Budget Start ($200-400)

• **Minelab Vanquish 340/440/540:** Multi-IQ multi-frequency — top choice for beginners. Turn it on and go.
• **Nokta Simplex (New Gen):** Waterproof, cheap, reliable.
• **Garrett ACE 400i:** A classic, but the technology is showing its age.

Advanced Level ($600-1000)

• **Minelab Equinox 700/900:** Lightweight carbon shaft, excellent depth, sees everything.
• **XP Deus 2 (Master/WS6):** If you want feather-light weight and super speed.

Pro Level ($1500+)

• **Minelab Manticore:** 2D target map, powerful noise cancellation.
• **XP Deus 2 (Full):** Total control.

📡 Frequencies: The Physics of Searching

• **Low (3-7 kHz):** Penetrate deep into the ground. Favor large objects (pots, helmets, Imperial-era relics). Ignore small items.
• **Mid (12-15 kHz):** Versatile. Good for coins and older items.
• **High (20-40+ kHz):** "Vacuum up" small items (scale coins, earrings, chains, nuggets). Less depth.
• **Multi-frequency:** Scans on all frequencies at once. The best choice for varied ground and beaches.

🌀 Coils (Search Heads)

• **Stock coil (11"):** All-rounder.
• **"Sniper" coil (6"):** Small. For trashy sites (house pits, beaches). Picks out a good target among the nails.
• **"Big foot" coil (15"):** Huge. For clean fields. Adds 20-30% more depth, but it's heavy.

📊 VDI and Discrimination

VDI (Visual Display Indicator) — a conductivity number.

• **-9...0:** Iron (nails, horseshoes).
• **10...30:** Foil, gold, can tabs, nickel. (The "contested" zone).
• **30...60:** Copper, Soviet-era coins, modern pocket change.
• **80...99:** Large silver, large copper items.

2025 Tip: Dig the borderline signals! A gold ring can sound like a bottle cap, and a deep coin can read as "iron-ish."