MineLab Go-Find 66 Metal Detector Review

When the MineLab Go-Find 66 arrived in the mail, it was a very exciting day. The kids all clustered around to watch the package be opened, and they immediately began making grand plans for all of the treasures they were going to uncover with it.

We tried this metal detector out with three kid testers, ages 10, 8, and 5. Everyone was very excited to give it a go and figure out how it worked. The 10-year-old read the instruction manual thoroughly and retained enough of the information that he was able to remind me how certain features worked the following day when I was trying to operate the metal detector but having trouble remembering which button activated which feature. If your memory is, like mine, not as sharp then I’d recommend taking the instructions out with you the first few times you use your metal detector.  

Unboxing the Minelab Go-Find 66

The MineLab Go-Find 66 comes with a variety of accessories that enhance its use. There’s a set of headphones that plug right into the metal detector so that you needn’t have to bother anyone else around with the beeping noises. Using headphones can also mean longer battery life, as you can turn the detector’s volume down much lower and thus use less power. For our purposes, though – a few people using the metal detector together – we found that the headphones made the experience less fun for the group since only the person wearing them could hear the exciting beeps notifying us of treasure. We ended up putting the headphones aside so that everyone could listen for the tones made by the metal detector, but if you’re using this device alone the headphones are definitely an asset. 

Another accessory I really liked was the waterproof phone pouch that comes included. Simply open it up, slide your phone in, and seal it up to keep your phone safe when using your metal detector on the beach, in marshy areas, or anywhere water might be a potential danger. Touch screens can be used through the pouch. I tried it in the sink at home at first with a piece of paper before subjecting my phone to possible damage, and even when completely submerged the pouch remained airtight. There’s also a handy lanyard that you can clip onto the pouch to wear around your neck, to ensure that you won’t drop your phone and have it pulled away by the waves. 

This metal detector also comes with two different skins that can be applied, one in green digital camo and one with the same pattern in blue. My kids decided they preferred the green as it reminded them of Minecraft, and we applied it without much difficulty. 

One accessory that I do wish the Minelab Go-Find 66 came with was a carrying bag. It folds very compactly so doesn’t take up much space, but I’m concerned about the coil getting knocked around and possibly damaged if we don’t keep it stored in a padded bag. It’s an awkward shape so I think it will require a special bag made specifically for metal detectors, so I’ll have to search one out and find it. Right now we are keeping it safe in a large shoebox from a pair of boots which is doing the job nicely protecting it in storage, but it’s not very portable so I think we’ll wait to bring it to the beach again until I can purchase a carry bag. 

Putting the Minelab Go-Find 66 Together

After opening the packaging, we got to work playing with the Minelab Go-Find 66 and understanding how it worked. The instructions for assembly were mostly clear, although I did spend a couple of minutes trying to figure out the trick for expanding the stem of the metal detector before I realized that you simply had to pull on it to expand. The handle has a red button with a lock on it that you need to engage to pull the handle up so it can be used, and I was looking for another button to press to expand the stem, but it’s even more simple than I expected!

The range of sizes that the Minelab Go-Find 66 accommodates is impressive. When fully collapsed, it measures 21.9 inches; fully extended, it measures 54.5 inches. This means that it could comfortably be used by everyone in our family, from my five-year-old who stands THREE FEET TEN INCHES tall, to my five-foot-eleven husband. It was a bit unwieldy for my five-year-old to handle, but two other kids – ages eight and ten – were easily able to maneuver the metal detector in a slow sweeping motion from side to side, and understand how to use the controls on the LCD screen.  

As we set our metal detector up for use, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the detector takes AA batteries – I was expecting it to require something heavier duty, like a D battery, but we keep lots of AA batteries on hand so we’re able to pop them in and try it out right away. 

Using the Minelab Go-Find 66

The MineLab Go-Find 66 has a ton of features that allow treasure seekers to get the most out of their searching. Four find modes and five levels of sensitivity plus a pinpoint location feature will help locate treasure, and the Treasure View feature lets you know if you’ve found trash or treasure. If the LED lights flash red, what you’ve found has mostly iron in it and is probably a pull tab from a can or some other trash; if the lights flash green, you’ve found something exciting like coins or jewelry. Sadly, ours flashed red most of the time. On a few occasions, we had green lights, but we might not have dug deep enough or pinpointed the location close enough because we turned up nothing. 

The first time we took our metal detector out for a spin was in our backyard, and the alerts began going off immediately. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that the kids found it hard to dig in the grass and so we switched our efforts to an area under our deck with gravel cover. Again, alerts began going off quickly, but I realized the sensitivity was turned too high so it was picking up objects that were likely buried fairly deep. We turned the sensitivity down lower so we were only searching close to the surface, so the kids could dig up anything we found. After a few holes were dug, the kids were thrilled to unearth a couple of old nails. It wasn’t quite a treasure, but it was very exciting nonetheless! 

We are lucky to live nearby the beach, and so for our next attempt, we brought our metal detector with us to try it out. Digging in gravel and dirt had been tough going at times, so I thought it would be easier for the kids to dig in the sand. 

It was a hit at the beach – as I had suspected, the kids had a much easier time digging in the sand, and the metal detector quickly identified several potential targets for us to uncover. We didn’t find much aside from a few bottle caps on our first time out, but we’re avid beachgoers and have many hours of treasure hunting in our future. And we weren’t the only ones interested in our search at the beach! While we were there using the metal detector on a stretch of sand away from the big crowds, almost everyone who walked by was interested in what we were doing. Beachgoers of all ages stopped to watch and ask if we had found anything interesting. It’s clear that a device like the MineLab Go-Find 66 is a great way for everyone, kids and adults alike, to indulge their inner treasure seeker and have fun. 

Conclusion

You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t agree that learning how to play an instrument is hugely beneficial for everyone, from kids to adults, but this isn’t a skill that comes easily to everyone. Learning chords, finger positions, and tabs can be intimidating when you haven’t got much of a musical background, but Donner’s educational materials do a great job of laying it all out in a way that is easy to understand for a beginner.

Whether you’re looking for an easy way to introduce a child to the world of guitar, or you’re an adult starting at the very beginning, the Donner Tri Pop Miniature Guitar is an excellent introduction to the instrument.