Minelab Explorer II
Street Price $1200 - Coin, relic
Number of Reviews: 76
on 8 pages.
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Minelab Explorer II
The Perks and My Problem
Greg in Grand Rapids, Michigan -
I have been using the Minelab Explorer II for about three years now and I have absolutely loved this machine. It gets great depth and pinpointing is almost dead on accurate. But recently, the machine started shutting itself off saying "Battery flat....cannot sustain performance" and shuts down. I tried new batteries, both regular and rechargeable and the machine still displays the same message. I contacted Minelab and was told that I was out of luck, to send it back and for any repairs that I was looking to spend around $1000 for the repairs (if any were needed). I was suggested to purchase a new Minelab Explorer II as the price for repairs and to purchase a new detector would be about the same. That sucks.....I don't have that kind of money laying around :(
Mar 20, 2009
30 Yes
1 No
The Explorer ll exceeds my expectations.
Ron From Michigan in Oxford Michigan -I'm a seasoned hunter and have used a lot of metal detectors, and find this Minelab amazing. The Explorer ll is excellent for finding old coins in parks thought worked completely out. Even with the stock 10 inch coil I reached depths of 10-11 inches on old silver dimes. Once learned very easy to use. The tone variation and ID screen gives the user a lot of information. The Explorer ll is a confidence builder. HH Ron
Mar 02, 2009
10 Yes
2 No
Explorer II
Beej in Alicante, Spain -I've only had mine a short while but without doubt it is pulling old coins off the beach which I have detected with other detector and failed to find...
I think pretty much all the Pro's and Con's have been discussed here so I'm not going to go over them again..
What I will do is post up a link to an Explorer II simulator where you can play with all the settings and get used to what does what.. It is a very good simulator but the downloaded version is much better and can be downloaded from MLO http://www.minelabowners.com
Online Version
http://maxderouen.free.fr/test.html
I spent quite a bit of time on these before going to the field and gives you a good idea of what does what.. If you are considering buying one of these you can have a go on the simulator to see if you like it.. For those of you who already own one it's a great tool to play with on rainy days..
There is also I believe an SE version on MLO as well in a downloaded version..
I have no connection to French guy who programmed the simulators but am a recent member of MLO and just thought I'd share the information about the simulators because I believe that they are a great tool which all Explorer users could benefit from using..
Jan 15, 2009
11 Yes
0 No
My take on the Explorer II
Eu_citzen in Sweden -I'll take it in strong/weak points and just some of my thoughts.
Good:
Easy to get depth
(not as easy to screw up like with the DFX)
Good target ID (quite easy to understand)
Good Tone ID
Easy to use
fairly cheap now on i.e. ebay
Hits well on silver/ copper and other high
conductors
FUN to use
It excels in "hunted-out-sites", beach hunting and looking for none ferrous(/iron) relics.
Bad:
Takes time to get used to
cam lock can be bad after a lot of use, quite cheap to buy though.
My thoughts:
It is very sensitive to small targets which is great, both small copper and silver and nickel and...
I think those who complain about the weight never tried a GTI 2500 from Garrett, those are heavy!
The Explorer isn't to bad.
Good depth and a lot of extra coils make this machine a winner.
The tone ID is very informative and you can base your choice on digging mainly on that, it works and it works well.
Only thing I can say is that getting a smaller coil is a must if your hunting trashy sites!
Use coils to adapt the machine to the given situation.
Nov 24, 2008
29 Yes
2 No
For me the best hands down!
John Relic$hunter in Louisiana -I will admit it took a while and a friend that is a season pro at one to get past the learning cuve but after that you could not separate us.
I think there are other machines out there that may go as deep but the ID part is incredible once you learn it something the others cant touch!
It is heavy and is not for the meek but for finding deep relics and 80% of the time knowing what your digging made up for the extra weight.
I tried to use several others just about every brand but I always come back to the explorer!
For the Relic Recovery PRO'S. Oh and one more thing once you learn the 99 different tones and flutes you will not even have to look at the ID screen you will just know whats under your coil!
Smaller coils than the stock 10" give better separation for those that are use to swinging fast. The 8" is the best all around coil to have and a must for the cane fields we hunt time to time.
If I loose my Minelab I might as well hang it up and start a new hobby..........LOL
Good Luck and Happy hunting may the Relic Gods be with you!
Oct 30, 2008
23 Yes
0 No
Just an OK detector
wILL in NC -
Bought this over priced machine to use as a backup for my MXT...mistake...this machine is heavy, noisey and at best a prizm3 equal..I hunted an old farm house with it, found a few coins at up to 4 inches....rehunted with my MXT and was pulling silver at 14 using the super 12 coil...Minelabs are all hype...sold it the next week and got a DFX......don't buy into the hype...these machines feel, work and are cheap.....buy a white's...you will not go wrong
Aug 07, 2008
26 Yes
50 No
Made me look like I knew what I was doing
Rick in Northern, VA -I bought a X-Terra 50 to try metal detecting and found a bunch of clad in my local school yard that dates to 1950. Mostly around 4 inches. OK, I then bought on Ebay a used Explorer 2. Read the manual, put batteries in and went back to the same school yard I had been searching with the 50 and BAM found a 1936 Merc, Dime at 8 inches and then 2 wheat pennies at about the same depth all in about 30 minutes. I just watched the conductivity meter and listened to the tones. Hard to believe I was that good, but I wasn't! It was this Explorer 2! What a difference in its abilities even with a novice behind the wheel. All I can say is that this dectector has made me a detecting animal and the folks that come to watch me dig think I'm a pro.
I have to laugh. The guys at Minelab have made in my limited opinion a excellent device. I now have about 3 weeks under my belt with this new hobby and man it doesn't get any better than this. I have found bullets, silver rings, and enough coins to pay for my batteries and extra coil. I was like allot of folks just getting into metal detecting not knowing what machine to purchase. Well the Explorer 2 made me look and feel good about my choice for a new hobby. Don't be afraid of the so called learning curve. Things are ususally made more complex than they really are and this device is no different. I have used the factory settings and turned up the sensitivity a little (22) and the threshold down (13). With these settings I have found items down 10+ inches. One more thing its really not that heavy because of the internal battery pack it balances rather well and I can hunt as long with it as I can my 50. From one novice to another get one of these and call it a day.
Aug 01, 2008
35 Yes
3 No
Super duper machine.
Eddie in BEAVER,PA -I purchased one on Ebay explorer 2. It came last week Friday just for the weekend. I read little bit and turned the machine on. I went to play ground and found $7.76 and 3 gold rings and 1 silver kids ring. Sunday was even better I went to CITY PARK of Beaver Pa and baseball fields. That weekend I found over $211.67 change money all the way back to 1881. I found 2 gold necklaces and 44 gold rings (9 was diamond, 4 emerald, 3 rubies). Not to mention some toy cars and some weird and interesting items, watch fob, id tags. I tell you one thing BUY IT, TURN IT ON AND USE IT on factory settings. I did it and I Know YOU CAN DO IT. Thanks and happy treasure hunting.
Jul 09, 2008
8 Yes
35 No
Explorer II, a great machine !!!!
JJ McCOY in OHIO -I bought a used Explorer II last week, prior to this I used a Fisher CZ-6. It took a little getting used to the audio response. My first 3 finds were silver, in one hole I found 2 silver walkers and 3 inches from these a standing liberty quarter 1926. I love this machine, it's great on silver.
I found a shield nickel 1868 at 12 inches down. Today in one hole I found a silver war nickel, a 1935 buffalo nickel, 1892 indian cent and a 4 wheaties from the 30's. It's a little heavy, but stick with it. Once you learn the curve, you know what you have before you dig. The audio never lies, the 2 dimensional display varies by depth, but close and confirms your audio response.
Feb 24, 2008
22 Yes
7 No
Explorer SE..... Complex , But Logically designed
rrwerdt@comcast.net in Harrisburg, Pa -Yes, The Minelab Explorer SE has a lot of gadgets, bells and whistles. Some may not actually help you find what you are looking for. However, I have programmed telelphone systems for the last 25yrs. So I really like all the software adjustable options. It makes me feel more in control. And after all it is a toy. The SE is my first detector (purchased 10 months ago)so I don't have a comparison. I have found hundreds of coins, Oldest 1818 Matron head penny. Nothing of much value but Great fun ! It takes a while to discern all the rapid tone changes when you encounter mineralized soil or multiple metal. You get a tremendous amount of audio and visual data rapidly. The Explorer SE is a sleek and beautiful machine but somewhat heavy or possibly misbalanced. Overall I like this instrument very much now that I've forgotten the price pinch. RATING: BUY
Oct 09, 2007
18 Yes
10 No