Lusting for a Garrett GTI 1500

[Hal Pollner]

Hey Forumites:

I've only had my new Garrett Ace 250 for 4 days, and have never even taken it out in the field, but after reading the Garrett Catalog and comparing specifications of other models, I'm sure drooling over that GTI 1500!

Did this ever happen to any of you? Should I go for the more powerful detector?

Hal

[bigjohn]

hal use it (250) learn it.!! it will do nothing but help you out when you upgrade. i thought i knew my minelab then a few months later i really new it and love it. theres a learning curve to any one det. if someone has never use a md i would not say get a ex2. or se. i and miss john have loner md's if somebody wants to use one . an come huntin with us. bh 3300's cant give them a minelab and say goodluck learn what you have its a good md. and i bet after a month or so if you still want to upgrade your thought might change on the 1500.

[bill(de)]

More than a few times for me Hal and in all honesty would keep the Ace 250 and get a Sniper coil with a spare lower rod for the trashy areas and learn to hunt with it.
Not sure if this is your first detector or not but more power doesn't necessarily result in more finds. If you don't have good sites the best detector in the world won't be of much use.

I had a GTP 1350 and sold it just before the Sniper coil came out or shortly after but i had a horrendous time pinpointing with the Rhino coil at many of my sites because they are trashy and old and most targets aren't really that deep and prefer a detector with a quick recovery speed and small coil selections for target separation rather than ultimate depth for most of my hunting.

I'm not saying the GTI 1500 wouldn't be a better detector for you and understand it is one of the better pinpointing detectors due to it's coil selection , just saying there is a lot more to finding the good stuff than just MORE POWER but it's nice to know you have a powerful detector that can be harnessed to any condition through coil selection and multiple control functions. Just a thought .HH Bill

[Hal Pollner]

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the ACE 250 is my very first metal detector, and maybe you're right in suggesting that I learn it and all its operations first. If I don't stay with metal detecting, then I'm out only $200 rather than the $800 for the 1500 detector!

My hunting grounds are desert soil with low brush, mostly with a high percentage of sand and some fine gravel, but with more normal soil beneath the top few inches. There are many abandoned mine sites, caves, and foundations of old squatters ruins outside of town, and these would be my usual target areas.

Here's a picture of one of the typical wilderness areas where my astronomy club has its star parties: That's my car & telescope. (We always arrive well before dark so my wife can collect rock specimens!)

Hal

[bill(de)]

That telescope is Awesome Hal. Is it a new HUBBLE - Terra Firma.

Good luck with your Ace 250 and before you upgrade perhaps you could talk to others in your area and find what detectors are working best for them, especially around those old mines, caves and foundations. Good luck. HH Bill

[Hal Pollner]

HEY BILL:

That telescope is far from the biggest I've ever owned...it's only a 12.5 inch reflector.

Prior to that I had a 15", a 16", a 17.5" and a whopping 20" truss-tube reflector.

Larger telescopes do not give any more power...they just gather more light, enabling the viewing of dim galaxies, nebulas, clusters, & other faint and distant objects. A 20" telescope gathers four times the light of a 10" telescope, not just twice as much! Magnifying power is not nearly as important as light grasp.

Cheap department-store telescopes advertize 500-600 power, but that power is empty and useless, because the small-diameter optics don't gather enough light to make anything bright and sharp at high powers. The images are dim and fuzzy. The optics are terrible and the all-important mount is too flimsy to be used with anything over 40 X. We astronomers use powers mostly in the 60-200 range, but with large optical apertures and heavy, rigid mounts.

I started buying smaller scopes in recent years, as they were less trouble to transport and for my wife & I to load and unload.

Here's a shot of my massive 20-inch Obsession truss scope: As you can see, a ladder was often required to reach the eyepiece when aimed at high-positioned objects. (The eyepiece I'm looking into cost as much as TWO Ace 250 metal detectors!)

Hal

[bill(de)]

Well i can see why they named that large scope Obsession and in all honesty i admire someone who dedicates themselves towards a hobby with the passion you apparently have and appears you live in the best part of this country to View the Cosmos. Wish you clear skies . HH Bill

[Hal Pollner]

HEY BILL:

Obsession Telescopes also produce a 25" and a 30" truss scope, and on special order, they'll work up a 36" reflector for you! The bigger ones require tall, well-braced ladders, too!

The price for the 30" is $16,000 and requires one year to complete. As for the 36", I don't know, but it's probably around $25,000, and owner David Kriege doesn't always accept orders for scopes outside the normal lineup.

Was the pinpointing problem the reason you sold your 1350?

Hal

[bill(de)]

Those Scopes are the real BigBoy Toys .

The GTP 1350 is a nice detector and loved most of the features but for me it wasn't what i needed. A lot of my sites are either modern trashy,mineralized,iron infested and any combination of the 3 and didn't care for the large receiver coil on the GTP , i also didn't care for the belltone high coin response, i want a quick single audio response on a single target . And yes the pinpointing with the Rhino Coil was the biggest problem for me using the GTP 1350 and still remains etched in my memory .

The GTI 1500 has coils options that are much more favorable to tighter pinpointing from what i understand. This is just my experience and other's have found the GTP to a be a great detector for them.

I guess for the reason you buy different scopes in your main hobby is the reason we buy different detectors in this hobby. It's Just Cheaper HH Bill

[FinalLastDays]

Hal - I noticed in one of your previous photo's you were holding a Coronado PST. How do you like it? If hydrogren-alpha wasn't so darned expensive, I would have a filter. Also, have you partaken the hobby of astrophotography? Would love to see your work!