Star Rating:
A Hot Off the Press Product Review
GO-FIND-11 Metal Detector Review (MSRP $99.99)

     Minelab is a well known company that has been making metal detectors since 1985. They produce many models and one can assume that the higher the price, of one of their detectors, the better it will be able to find treasure that is hidden by different kinds of ground cover including dry or wet sand.
     The Go Find 11, see photo 1, is their least expensive model and it is priced lower than many of the toys that we tend to purchase for our children and grandchildren. That said, it is capable of detecting metals that are hidden by soil and shallow sand. Their slogan for the unit is “experience the fun and excitement of treasure discovery with the GO-FIND 11. It is the ideal detector for beginners”. The goal of this review is to determine if this product can produce what this company’s slogan promises.
     To assemble the unit you just pop in four AA batteries and pivot the different parts to their open position. You don’t need to use any tools to assemble it. Photo 2 shows the unit's closed position and photo 3 shows the unit in its open position. The GO-FIND 11 display panel, photo 4, has icons that will tell you what treasure lies beneath its sensor. The illustration tells you what each icon means. You can increase or decrease its sensitivity and set it to ignore iron objects.
     This detector, in the hands of a pre-teen might turn a picnic in a park or a day at the beach into a fun experience. Can you image spending at least one day with them off their smartphones?  You might be able to use it to create an interesting scavenger hunt in your backyard for a young child’s birthday. This metal detector is extremely lightweight (2.2 pounds) and physically adjusts in size so it could be used by a responsible young child or young adult.
     My first test was to determine if the detector can detect different types of metal. The answer is yes but the icons that lit up during this testing were not accurate as to what metal it was detecting. For example my 14 carat gold bracelet lit up the aluminum foil and low value coins icon. After this initial testing I tried to test the unit in my backyard that includes a large area of woods. I received signals every few feet that indicated I could find metal buried at that location. A little shallow digging at two of the locations did not find anything. I can’t say if I dug much deeper if I might have found something made of metal.
     I have a large plastic container that contains 50 lbs of sifted sand which I felt could be the perfect place to see its effectiveness at the beach. I tested the sand before burying anything in it and the metal detector indicated that it already contained things of value. Since the sand was purchased and not found on a beach, I cannot say for certain that it didn’t contain small metal fragments that might be picked up by the detector.
     The Minelab Go-Find app for smartphones requires a Bluetooth connection between the metal detector and your smartphone. The manual is for the different models in the Go-Find series and the Go-Find 11 is the least expensive unit and it does not have Bluetooth. Therefore, you cannot use the app with this metal detector. I noticed negative comments by Go-Find 11 purchasers at the app store and felt it appropriate to indicate in this review why this app is not working with the Go-Find 11. The app can’t work with a detector that doesn’t have Bluetooth.
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Providing Resources on New & Emerging Tech for Technology Literacy
Alan J. Pierce EdD
          
pierceaj@techtoday.us
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