@The NYC Toy fair 2008 there was only one metal detector maker and that was Bounty Metal detectors – they have an entire line from simple ones (inexpensive) up to beefier ones that include LCD read-outs, iron level detection and ground balancing. The “Gold digger” in only $99 and seems like a good midrange one to start out with.
More:
- Bounty hunter – Link.
- More photos of metal detectors @ Flickr – Link.
- Giant set of NYC Toy fair 2008 photos @ Flickr – Link.
- MAKE’s coverage of the NYC Toy Faire 2008 in one place! – Link.
For the makers out there that do use metal detectors, are the these the best? Comments on these, others?
6 thoughts on “Metal detectors”
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I once heard metal detecting called “the single most unrewarding hobby in the world.” I had a detector when I was a kid and never found anything other than ring pulls and beer caps. Unless you live in an area of historical settlement and can realistically ha a chance of finding an artifact or two, I’d give these a miss and build a bottle rocket, trebuchet or potato cannon. Learn engineering, not frustration.
My father belongs to a metal detector group, and while it can be profitable it wont make you as much money as a 9-5 job. The key to metal detecting is to goto places were people take jewelry off like rivers, lakes, beaches and pools. Also to jump at the chance when the tides are right and erode the beach away reveling sand that hasn’t been seen in 20 years, where you will find nice old jewelry. Profitable? Yes, but don’t quit your day job.
The trick is to get permission to detect on old properties, 75+ years old. A keen eye can spot a square ‘footprint’ of a house that once stood decades ago say in a field or wooded area. The Whites detectors can discriminate pull-tab junk from coins & rings with a % scale on signal signatures from these items. My Whites finds are impressive concidering the low ammount of hours I have spent out with it in the last 14 years. Everything from G.A.R. civil war reunion medallion to lots of old silver coins. (and tons of corroded useless modern zinc pennies)