eltonnoway@mail.com

Okay... I've made up my mind. (Gonna get one or the other) I've
researched the Whites DFX and the Minelab Explorer II to death. Both
have pros and cons. I'll save everyone the pain of having to read thru
the good and the bad and not list them out. Each detector does
something better than the other. Both units have their own cult
following that will claim the "other" unit is a piece of junk.

(Yes I know the Explorer II is a lot heavier than the DFX and is also
not anywhere near balanced as well as the DFX. However I was lucky
enough to find a local club'er with and Explorer II who was using the
"S Harness" from Kellyco. I tried it on and the Exp II floated like a
feather.

http://www.kellycodetectors.com/acce...nharnesses.htm

Anyone could swing the Exp II all day long with no problem if they have
this harness. Because of this harness, the weight and balance is no
longer one of my deciding issues. I would rather focus on which will
find me the most treasure with the least amount of aggravation.

In my research I even found two MD'ers that own one of each detector.
Wow! I've talked to both at length. One guy primarily uses the DFX and
falls back on the Explorer II if he isn't sure what to make of a find.
The other guy prefers to use the Explorer on falls back on the DFX.
Both guys stated the Explorer II could detect deeper. Both said I can't
go wrong with buying either unit, that both are excellent and I'll be
happy with either one. But these were the only facts they agreed on.

One guy said the Explorer II was very difficult to learn all the
different tones and preferred the DFX because it was a turn on and go
detector right out of the box. He said their are probably twenty to
thirty different tones, many of which sound the same, and you have to
learn and remember which tone is telling you what. The other guy said
after three days he still hadn't figured out the settings on the DFX
and preferred the Explorer II because it was pre-programmed and he was
able to turn on and start detecting right out of the box. One guy had
been detecting 18 years, the other guy 20 years.

NET: In searching internet newsgroups I find the same conflicting
reports as to which one is the most difficult to learn. Its agreed that
both of the units are two of the best on the market but I don't want to
take the next 3 years learning to master either one of them. If it
takes six months to learn the quirks of either unit I'm okay with that
but I'd rather it not be any more difficult than it has to be.

After months of emails, ads, forums and detector salesmen I've decided
its "not" so much the detector as much as it is "what technique you
already know that that influences the learning curve. In other words...
if you've learned to search treasure primarily by tones (listening)...
then the Explorer II is easier to learn. If you are more familiar with
visual indicators and programming discrimination the DFX is easier to
pickup.

So...what do you think of my theory? Is the complexity of learning a
new unit a result of what technique your are already familiar with, or
is one really of these units really more difficult than the other?

FYI, I haven't picked up a detector in 25 years so I have nothing to
unlearn. I can learn either one, but would like to start detecting
(successfully ) as soon as possible.

NOTE: I've tried posting this in a US newsgroup but the number of DFX
owners far outnumber the Explorer owners so I got a lot of Explorer
bashing rather than any reliable facts.
Elton

Theo

Buy both detectors - problem solved!