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The Teknetics T2 was a huge hit back in the day as it earned a reputation as a gold nugget metal detector.
African gold rush hobbyists had a large part to do with that, and thanks to the T2’s performance and word of mouth popularity, it saw a spike in sales.
Brought back to induce the same gold rush fever in the 21st century, the Teknetics metal detector gets another look.
At a Glance…
✔️ Best Feature: Multiple user adjustments
❌ Worst Feature: Prone to dirt intrusion
👌 Ideal For: Shallow Water, Beach, Gold Prospecting, Coins, Silver, Relics, Jewelry, Beginners, Intermediates, Experts
Our Verdict: The Teknetics T2 is a versatile metal detector suitable for all sorts of terrains where treasure lays in wait. It’s been proven to be a good gold machine, but it’s ability to be used for all types of treasure makes it a winner for all hobbyists.
Who is the Teknetics T2 Classic Best Suited to?
The T2 is a metal detector that would be better in the hands of experienced hobbyists. Its many adjustments and features would present issue for the beginner as its extremely versatile.
The complexity behind this model is what makes it perform so well because it can be adjusted to various types of environments. Its price point is easily within the affordable range for seasoned pros, and it’s also attractive to the newcomers.
It would make an excellent, first-time buy, but it would require a steep learning curve. If a beginner has the patience to learn the specifics and the skills required to put the T2 through its paces, it will certainly see them through many hunts for a long time to come.
How Does the Teknetics T2 Classic Perform?
The T2 is a single frequency 13 kHz metal detector that has a good operating frequency for all things treasure. It mainly earned its reputation as a gold detector when African hobbyists found a lot of gold with it, and so it’s been proven to be good for prospecting based on its powerful threshold and higher frequency.
It’s especially good for target separation in trashy fields, and its many user settings allow ultimate versatility for whatever terrain you may hunt. However, it’s not fully waterproof, so there’s only so far you can go.
If you’re a coin-shooter on some days, a relic hunter on others, and a prospector here and there, the T2 will help you do it all.
Features & Benefits
Multiple User Adjustments
The Teknetics metal detector has a good array of user adjustments packed into what is essentially a 2-search mode machine.
All-Metal mode is a single filter search mode that detects all types of metals and targets it comes across. In all-metal, you have adjustable gain from 1-99 and audio threshold from -9 to +9, so you’ll be able to pick up the weakest of signals to dig it all.
In Discrimination mode, you can reject metals, adjust sensitivity, and take advantage of two signal processing methods. You have Continuous Processing and Sampled Processing that allows you to tailor audio for your style of detecting whether you’re coin-shooting or relic hunting.
On top of these two search modes, you also have multiple tones, various methods of ground balancing, pinpointing, and frequency shifting. All this amounts to a very affordable and very versatile metal detector.
Multiple Tone IDs
This isn’t you ordinary 5-tone metal detector, and for the price, it better offer more than five tones. The T2 has threshold audio that is available in all-metal mode, and in discriminate mode, you have multiple tone selections to sift through.
Between, 1 (1 tone), 1+ (medium to high pitch), 2+ (2 tones), 3 (3 tones), 3b: Bottle Cap Mode, 4 (4 tones), and dP: Delta Pitch, you’ll be able to find the right set of tones for your method of hunting in any terrain.
The different tone selections are analyzed by continuous processing, sampled processing, or a combination of both. This provides the ability to hear variations in the tones based on the target metal, size, depth, and orientation in the ground.
Fast Target Recovery
The T2 is well-known for its ability for fast target separation and recovery because of its excellent ferrous and non-ferrous identification. This is a result of a combination of the various types of audio and accurate Target ID system. It’s an excellent tool for relic hunting in trashy sites.
You can also pinpoint with this metal detector which is trigger-actuated and located under the housing for fast and convenient ease-of use.
The ability to perform ground cancellation and adjust for pinpoint sensitivity that does not affect or change all-metal or discrimination sensitivity allows for very precise pinpointing.
Ground Balance
You have both manual ground balance and computer assisted FASTGRAB ground balancing options on the T2. You can bet that your metal detector will tell when you need to fine-tune user adjustments to quiet the chatter in extremely mineralized ground – it’s really good about that.
The ability to perform such finely-tuned ground balancing means the T2 can literally be used in any environment. In fact, you can use it on wet sand, at the beach, around hot rocks, and all with maximum sensitivity. It may mean you will need to ground balance with a low level, but with max sensitivity, you’ll be able to minimize the chatter and find good targets.
Ergonomic & Balanced
The T2 has been well-built with ergonomics and balance in mind. After all, it’s designed to be a metal detector that should be used for long hours at a time.
It weighs in at 3.5 lbs which is heavier than comparable models. However, a well-balanced metal detector feels lighter in weight and is easier to use than a nose-heavy 2.5 lb model that causes strain by the end of the day.
The shaft is adjustable from 45” to 54”, the arm rest is adjustable, and the hand grip has a durable, high-friction elastomer covering.
Limitations
Prone to Dirt Intrusion
The T2 is like most other metal detectors that features a waterproof searchcoil and shaft. You can adequately use it for shallow water detecting. However, like its alternatives, the control box is not waterproof, so you can’t get it wet let alone submerge it.
The biggie here is that the headphone jack and speaker box are a separate compartment up by the arm cuff. Its placement is designed to be a convenient feature for easy and closer access for headphones, but it makes it prone to dirt, sand, and water intrusion. Since they’re exposed due to their location, it could be a worrisome feature when setting the metal detector on the ground.
Popular Questions
What is the Maximum Depth of the Teknetics T2?
There are multiple factors that affect depth detection such as ground condition, depth of target, type and size of target, and how it’s laying in the ground. Even with that said, the T2 has multiple user settings that allow for maximum sensitivity and depth detection in mineralized soil.
Under good conditions, the T2 can detect US coins at maximum depths of 12” to 15”. Much larger items can be found several feet deep.
Does the Teknetics Metal Detector come with Headphones?
Unfortunately, the Teknetics T2 does not come with included headphones. You must purchase headphones and batteries separately.
How Long does Battery Life Last in the T2 Metal Detector?
The T2 requires 4x AA batteries to operate. With alkaline batteries, the T2 is estimated to provide 40 hours of operation. With rechargeable batteries, you can stretch battery life to approximately 25 hours.
Using headphones will help to conserve battery life. Additionally, the T2 does not have a backlight. While this may be a drawback, it’s in fact another feature that drains battery life. Without it, the T2 requires very little power to operate and is designed to run for many long hunts without battery replacement.
How Deep into Water can the Teknetics T2 go?
The T2 is not a waterproof metal detector, so the control box and speaker/battery compartment must not get wet. However, the searchcoil can be submerged into water up to 2 feet deep.
Is the Teknetics T2 Metal Detector Easy to Use?
All the features on the T2 can seem intimidating and can give off the perception that it will be difficult to use. This is not the case.
The T2 has a very intuitive interface that is designed to provide fast and accessible access to menus, features, and adjustments. The interface has a logical menu program that is extremely user friendly and is one of the best interface programs on a metal detector yet.
Conclusion
The T2 did have its heyday in the past, and it’s every bit deserving of retaining its hard-earned reputation today.
It has expert features that are intuitive and easy to use. It’s priced affordably, and it comes with a 5-year manufacturer warranty.
Because Teknetics is a brand under the First Texas Products umbrella, the T2 is covered by First Texas and applies only to the original owner.
The T2 is a high-performing and USA-made metal detector with a 5-year warranty. There are few that can compete with this model for the price.
Further Reading:
- Fisher CZ-21 Metal Detector Review (10.5 inch Coil)
- Aquascan Aquapulse AQ1B Metal Detector Review
- Minelab GPZ 7000 Metal Detector Review
- Minelab SDC 2300 Metal Detector Review
- Minelab Excalibur II Metal Detector Review