Teknetics T2 Review and First Impressions (Info, Thoughts, Photos +)

Before I start off this review, I want to shortly have the attention of my Norwegian readers:

Før jeg starter denne anmeldelsen av Teknetics T2 metalldetektor, vil jeg bare kort henvende meg til mine norske lesere. T2 er en ganske undervurdert metalldetektor på det norske markedet. Den er en bestselger over alt, bortsett fra i Norge ettersom den først nylig ble introdusert til det norske markedet. T2 er forløperen til Fisher F75 som er en av de mest solgte toppmodellene på det norske markedet. Flere av markedets øvrige toppmodeller er inspirert av T2. Den er sikkert verdens mest kopierte og plagierte metalldetektor, og ikke uten grunn. Den er veldig god for mynter, smykker og diverse samlerobjekter og den passer veldig bra for norske forhold. Jeg vil si takk til Eskeland Electronics AS for en rask levering og god kundeservice. Eskeland Electronics AS autorisert forhandler og verksted for Teknetics i Norge, og du kan lese mer om den på detektor.no som er nettstedet til denne forhandler: http://www.detektor.no/Shop/Product/Teknetics-T2-metalldetektor/FTT2

Now let’s start with the review.

When first released, the Teknetics T2 was probably the most advanced metal detector, and it really set the standards for how metal detectors are made today. The company First Texas Products (USA) really tried their best: The owners of this detector will have a lot of positive opinions about it, and this metal detector still stands among the top detectors on the market today.

The T2 is built on the S-shaped form factor, a traditional and a familiar design for most detectorists. The upper and middle rods are made of a lightweight aluminium alloy and painted with durable powder coating, so you won’t need to worry about scratches and the paint chipping off – the T2 can withstand many years of rough use. The bottom bar is made of carbon fiber, and it is strong and springy.

The rods are connected to each other by means of a double locking system, well-proven over the years the production of metal detectors.

To assemble the detector, first you fix the position of the rods with spring buttons and adjusting the metal detector for your desired height, and then rotating in place the locking collars.

The Teknetics T2 metal detector operates at a frequency of 13 kHz, and this tells us that the engineers wanted to “kill two birds with one stone”, because at such a frequency, the detector can be used for almost all kinds of detecting, for example it will easily find both big relics, and small pieces of jewelry. Speaking of which, the Teknetics has also proven good for finding small gold nuggets!

If we talk about the demands of for example detecting in Europe, a frequency of 13 kHz will mean the following: you can equally well detect large coins from the time of the empires together with medieval silver as well as relics from both world wars. I think that this provides really great flexibility, and a good all-purpose detector.

The control box is imposed on the handle, the shape of which is not accidentally developed, but actually very convenient. The handle seems covered with some kind of special rubber of a moderate hardness: even after multiple hours of detecting I have rarely been tired of the T2, but always motivated and ready to continue. The display is located in such a way that a detectorist can perfectly see the large and informative LCD display, and he can easily change the settings on it even with one hand, which gives some advantages over other detectors. For example: the trigger, which is located under the control box is easily accessible by the index finger, and after trying it, you would wish that every detector had such a function.

Moving the battery compartment under the elbow, the engineers decided two problems at once – they reduce the size and weight of the control box, and they made a more correct weight distribution of the detector. And I personally think that the placement of the headphone jack on the T2, as well as on the Fisher F75, is the best solution I have seen so far. For me, this option seems much more comfortable than having the headphone jack at the back of the control box, but that just may be my personal preference.

The engineers at T2 also claim that “high-quality alkaline batteries will easily last over 30 hours, and using headphones while searching will increase this time even more.” Now this seems really remarkable for me. Speaking of which, I think that four AA batteries is a well-balanced solution for such a detector.

What I also like about the T2, is that the armrest width can be adjusted for your arm, without even using any tools. All you have to do is to squeeze the armrest from the sides, and find a comfortable width.

The T2 also has a pretty great coil; The Double-D 11” coil which is specially designed and developed for a wide variety of situations. Those who have experienced it know that you can fully rely on such a coil. The guys at T2 also claim that the coil is “fully waterproof”, so as I see it, you should be good for searching in shallow water and even salt water – now this is really a “must”, because as most detectorists know, and as my friend once said: “there is little point in searching on the dry part of the beach, which is already most likely been completely detected several times. Most of the jewelry gets lost underwater, and stays there”.

Not surprisingly, the number of those wishing to stroll through the fields with their detector in the cold weather is greatly increasing, and therefore I think it is a big advantage that the T2 can be used in as low as -20 degrees Celsius. Perfect for places like the Northern Countries ?.

One thing that I also noted me while looking at the Teknetics T2 specifications, was its weight: only 1.6 kilograms, and this despite the fact that the detector is equipped with a large DD coil. For me, this seemed like a really good indicator, and given the good weight distribution that I already mentioned, one can start thinking of how long you can go swinging with it without tiring the hand!

A quick glance at the control panel is enough to see that this detector is not too hard to understand, only two buttons plus the trigger, and no “hidden” sub-menus. This gives us less chance of walking in the field and maybe worrying about “did I chose the right settings?”, as many owners of the more advanced detectors may encounter.

Many beginner detectorists are afraid of buying a professional detector, doubting that they will be able to master it. With the Teknetics T2, I think that this will most likely not be the case- there is no need to constantly adjust something, memorize all the settings, repeatedly reading and learning the manual. Generally, the Teknetics T2 is a detector for those who are used to obtain maximum information from the detector, including visual, and in my opinion, the T2 provides such an opportunity. A newcomer will not get lost in it, and can feel very confident with it.

For example; a friend of mine who was just starting off with the hobby, chose the T2 as his first detector. On the first day of his search he even beat me with his finds, and I used the Fisher F75! I don’t know if this was just pure luck or what, but the certain thing is that he had very little problems starting off with this detector.

Summary

To sum up my thoughts about the Teknetics T2 I will only say a few sentences: The T2 really set the standards for how most detectors today are made. For example; the design of it, which can also be seen for example on the Fisher F75, is in my opinion among the best today. The T2 can be considered a semi-professional detector, and if you maybe add a better coil, I think this will be a detector to satisfy for many years. A beginner detectorist, as well as an experienced one, can with no problems master this detector, and it is almost guaranteed to bring many good finds.

What do you think about this detector? Maybe you already own it? If so, what is your experience with it? Let me know in the comments!

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