Every detector brand has its own badge for frequency technology, and the naming does more to confuse buyers than any other spec. Here is the plain-English version.
The detector transmits one signal into the ground. Simple, stable and cheap — and entirely adequate for dry inland ground. The limits appear on conductive wet salt sand and heavily mineralised soil, where a single frequency either falses constantly or has to be desensitised until it finds little. The Simplex Ultra is our benchmark single-frequency machine.
A common misunderstanding: Minelab’s Pro-Switch (X-Terra Pro) lets you choose 5, 8, 10 or 15 kHz — one at a time. Lower frequencies favour larger, deeper conductors; higher frequencies favour small targets. It is a genuine tool, but it is not multi-frequency, and it shares single frequency’s wet-sand limits.
The machine transmits and processes several frequencies at once, which is what keeps IDs stable on mineralised and salt-wet ground. The badges: Minelab’s Multi-IQ (X-Terra Elite, Vanquish) and higher-powered Multi-IQ+ (Equinox 900, Manticore — those two only); XP’s FMF (Deus II, ICON X); Nokta’s SMF (Legend 2). All are simultaneous multi-frequency; they are not the same platform, and the implementations differ in refinement.
Inland-only on ordinary soil: single frequency is fine, and the savings are real. If wet-sand beaches or mineralised ground feature anywhere in your plans, multi-frequency is worth the stretch — it is the single most consequential spec on the sheet. Our beginners guide and leaderboard mark the technology on every machine.
Honest advice for your ground and budget · 01724 845608 · Mon–Fri 9am–5pm · Sat 10am–12pm
Crawfords Metal Detectors is an authorised Minelab dealer and an official stockist of XP and Nokta. We test and sell the products we review.
