scoopjohnb

@Joe Beechnut OBN I haven't heard of anyone saying the audio is deeper than the screen. They are all looking at that little fishfinder located in front of them. The audio is slightly deeper 😉 And when in Beach Deep mode, it runs the recovery a little slower than the standard beach mode. You'll hear the slight repeatable changes in threshold just like a finely tuned Excal. She isn't built as robust as an Excal and I haven't figured out a set of decent beach headphones. But I'm getting there. The thing that is really grabbing my attention is there are more targets just flowing through the scoop. And there is a sweetnes about the signal it slams on a ring. A hint of Excalibur. Stubborn Excalibur hunters,... there is a good reason why 😉 There are no increments in the threshold, no steps, not too loud, not too faint. You can adjust it just wright!!

They have gone and done it. With the Minelab Manticore the stubborn Excalibur beach hunters have another option to the list of decent beach metal #detectr s. The secret sauce lies underneath the favourite mode and the action bar soft keys. Excalibur hunters like an All-Metal signal and they need to switch over instantly to the discriminator circuit. And here is where the Minelab Manticore shines. Program the Action Bar Soft Key to your favourite mode. Select Beach DEEP as a favourite mode. Add some salt and pepper (Threshold, Pitch, Recovery) till it is seasoned just wright. Now select Beach GENERAL and again adjust the settings to your liking. HEY PRESTO with one push of the button your switching between a very deep mode and a surface discriminator. Just what beach hunters need.

As a Minelabian from just over the Channel I would have to say. Yes it really offers you better depth and very dependable Iron disc. However there is a trick to not digging BOAT on the NOX 800. Swing away from the BEEP. And engage Ground Balance. Now casually swing over the suspect target. You will hear a tell-tale Low-high-low tone response. On the Manty you just have to watch the 2D screen and look where the splatter starts. If it starts in the ferrous regions. It is Ferrous, no mistake about that 😉 I May I attended a weekender in the Shepton-Mallet area. Didn't have any problems with the BOAT signals with the Manty. From an archeologists perspective. It's a great tool because you can tell it which Iron you like and which you don't. The Ferrous Limits are fully adjustable. Depth, well don't get me going about that. Since the update there is more than ample depth to the unit. Mostly we aren't able to use it to its full potential. Because there is a bit of mineral in the ground. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be digging hammereds a way bit deeper than you're use to 😉

My friend the Manticore Detexpert is on a crusade of his own at the moment. It's called "Facebook Users - Turn your Sensitivity Down" I started out with an Excal and all I could do was listen to it. Not a single screen in sight. And read Clive's book on the Excal. It took some time for the whole thing to click. Anyway, to this day if the machine hasn't got a decent All-Metal or pinpoint channel. It simply isn't fit for purpose. Every metal detector should have a Trigger. And a good book written by CJC 😉

Here is me taking the bait. I've got this spot in the backyard I'm trying to clear of all known targets. Every new machine or old one I revisit gets a shot at it. A very different experience than trying to find desired targets in the trash or at the beach. And the real eye opener is every detector always seems to spot some new iron and some new non-ferrous. The iron targets are getting smaller and the non ferrous targets are getting deeper. But I really couldn't say if my latest cheaper detector is better nor worse than my latest high end detector. But there are models I really enjoy using and it all boils down to personal preference. And I'm quite quirky in that way. So many people are wildly happy with a Nox or a Deus 2 and while the performance is there. They don't even register. I'm happy with my X-terra 705, Vanquish and trusty CTX. And for some odd reason I took to the Manticore like a fish to water. As for PI units I'm still making up my mind what I like and don't like. Not nearly enough hours on them for my brain to decide this or that. So the best detector out there, sometimes it's the new one in the box. Or quite simply one that feels like a comfortable pair of old workboots that just gets the job done.

My experience with a loaner Manty was indeed a bit of false positive signaling. I certainly wouldn't have them change that. It keeps you curious, you investigate and indeed better to dig a "dud" than to leave a "Ding" in the ground 😉 False negatives are a whole other ball game. I had one such experience with my Deus 2 it called a good target iron when I disturbed the soil matrix with a few digs. I was tired and cold from a whole weekends detecting and couldn't get it to signal non-ferrous again. So left the hole as it was. Behind me comes a Manty user and from my hole get's a decent false positive non-ferrous signal. And pulls out a 2000 year old roman fibula from my dig hole. As you can imagine Deus 2 left the building at warp speed!! So I'm personally done with all this whining and moaning about Iron falsing and digging a few nails. Nail out of the ground,... better field of view for a decent target that was unmasked by the good old digger 😉 My biggest moan about Manty,.... don't get me started about that D2 unit!!!!

Getting to know and trust a detector takes a little longer than the unboxing video and quick start they run us through in these early days. I know a few detectors I’ve owned that let me know with the iron falsing that the GB was off. These machines I came to trust and they pulled some really nice targets out of the ground. It’s those machines that run silent nearly all the time you really have to watch out for. They are engineered not to annoy and lack depth with hair splitting discrimination. I like a good ground balance channel.

The Vallon is a very decent piece of kit. Fitted with the 20cm search head it will hit very small pieces of metal. Detecting igniters isn't any problem at all. Depth isn't such an issue with mines. The deeper they plant them, the more ineffective they are. UXO "Unexploded Ordenance" detecting is equally not about mouse-farts, more like elephant droppings detecting. And the units are mostly used to locate the ordinance. The side sensitivity of the coil is often used most, because you don't want to swing over the target. You are trying to detect it's perimeter. I use one for my beach hunting and they are built like a tank and weigh a tonne. Biggest benefit with regard to our hobby detectors is their unmistakable audio, vibration and LED bar. If it locks on to something,... you will know about it!!! Even in the most harshest environments. VMR3G this unit absolutely is something special. It will hit 1mm2 multi stranded stainless wire up to 15 cm deep in a wet salt. Price is "military spec" 😉 Last time I checked something like a few GPZ's for one VMR3G. Just try to tell the Wife you need one of those,.... She'll pack your bags for you 😉

People are really making a big fuss about it. The unit hits hard and deep on all things tiny. That goes hand in hand with a little bit of false. But actually it is a faint high whistle to draw your attention. You investigate with the coil and the signal instantly drops into the iron range. If it is a decent non-ferrous once centered the signal becomes bright and audible. You really don't miss much with Manty 😉 A pouch full of goodies and I'm just getting the hang of things. She's a keeper!!

As far as I can recollect,... today is another hunt. The adjustments weren’t making it come alive. It was just letting it speak a language I could understand. I hate full tones but really like a smooth threshold, nulling on small iron and a single tone with ample depth modulation and sharpness. Scanning a target from various angles helps me decide dig or not. The 2 D screen takes a little getting use to, as I’m a CTX guy. And good old sensitivity adjustments till it sounds off on the targets I wanted it to. And I was at 30% of its sensitivity capability. Still hitting coin sized targets with ample depth. Still picking out 3mm lead shot with ease. All with the 11” coil. What is really amazing it the machines ability to seperate non-ferrous from ferrous whilst its all is under the same coil influence and the speed at which it does it. If it’s falsing too much for your liking, you simply have your sensitivity set too high. It is telling you there is a part of this nail that’s interesting. But you can be sure that a non ferrous located adjacent to the nail at depth will come through with correct ID. We wanted something better than a Nox,... and we need to accept that and not want to turn into a coin shooting Vanquish or a ring hunting sunday driver slow CTX. We got a Manticore and need to learn how to use the depth/speed/seperation. Let’s talk some more with 50 hours on the counter 🙂

Hold your horses, assumptions, misconceptions, misdirections and wrong turns. Easy does it. Today I borrowed a Manty and just followed the preset straight out of the box and went detecting for about 4 hours. It has jaw dropping performance and instead of using a pinpointer. I was waving handfulls of dirt across the coil old skool style. Why,... because the pinpointer couldn’t see the target half of the time. And the other half the find just stuck to the pointer because the soil was muddy. Then my buddy who is a Minelab official detexpert involved in the Manticore being what it is today. Messed around with the settings, fiddled with tones, pitch, threshold and whatnot. And I was hearing ground minerals, small Iron nulling the threshold super fast, large Iron coming through, the occasional false and targets coming in loud and clear as if they were calling me out from the crowd with the familiarty of my wife calling my name!! Tommorow is another day, another hunt and I feel like my whole detecting experience bag has been ripped to bits and I’m puzzling with unknown pieces to make it fit. But DAMN THIS PUPPY HUNTS!!!

Well I’m certainly dreaming at the moment. Couldn’t care less if it was a 900, Manty, a Squish or even an old boot of an Excal I ‘d be swinging. Just dearly hoping for decent weather, either it’s freezing or there is a torrential downpoor predicted. A few rays of sun and diggable ground would be a godsend! A new CTX,... those sweet sounds, a slow sweep on an indian summers day at the beach and a deep digging scoop for a bit of bling. Pull out all the stops Minelab, just go bananas. We will pay for it! Ok wright,... cabin feever creeping in.

Very well said indeed. I bought a D2 and ran it for a year trying to outshine a Nox 800 in my dirt. Simply because Tom stated it was marginally better with regards to depth. Well that was a slight mistake in hindsight. Allthough the D2 performed adequatly, well I never had a single instance in which it outshined the Nox 800. Not for lack of trying though. I’m no engineer, detector or aerospace. But boy Minelabs do seem to look at the ground and figure out anything conductive out of the ordinary. Positive or negative with relation to the GB point. Just hunt with the Nox in GB mode and all will become clear. Xp D2 still seems to adhere to a principle where targets above the GB point are signaled and the rest is either silent or disced out. I don’t know for sure, but that seems to be the problem with regards to depth in any kind of mineralisation. The GB system is slow to respond when you do a grab. When you switch on tracking it’s way too fast and tracks out deep targets. Target ID is second to none. However if your after the deepies or the low conductors. GB needs some more work. What will the Manty bring to the table. I had a slight taste of it during my 2 hour stint with it. She signalled a steadfast 1 on the ID scale. No ifs and buts. It was there during cross swings. Take out a small bite of the dirt and it was gone into the mineralisation. The Pro-find couldn’t locate it. Probably was smaller than an ant-fart. My guesstimation is we’re going to like this one 🙂

Time to call it like I see it. I can’t name people or places. Suffice to say we hit a celtic, roman battlefield and worshipping spot under the guidance of archeologists. 10 seasoned detectorists battling 2000 year old inhabitance mineralisation. Detectors involved XP D1, ORX, D2 Minelab Nox 800, Manticore “approaching final development status wielded by official minelab Detexpert” I have known this Detexpert on a personal basis for 10 plus years. And can honestly state their isn’t a single sales pitching bone in his body. He calls it straight! My finds with D2 included 2000 year old celtic coins, roman artifacts, middle aged coins and artifacts, modern trash. With XP D2 I “enjoyed” nearly 2 days of ear bashing iron struggling to find depth and 1 way mixed signals. Got to try out Manticore for 2 hours straight tailored to my hearing and under the watchfull eye of the detexpert. When VLF discrimination is needed, when VLF depth is needed, when VLF speed is needed. At this moment in time. I will only hunt with Minelab Manticore. XP D2 is up for sale. And Minelab Manticore is on it’s way. Time to unlearn, time to evolve, time to adapt.

Frites in a bun with a piece of meat and some sauce. Over here they call it a “Mitrailette” aka machinegun. The manticore November thread, where people discuss worldwide culinary delights. I agree this new minelab detector release is something out of the ordinary 😂

Belgium,... the land that invented French Fries and where Manticores have been seen roaming in the wild 🙂 Look at it this way,... the sales guys from Minelab are foaming at the mouth to get this thing out the door. Only to be smacked in the face by that R&D geek with the taped up glasses who has found yet another BUG. Talk about a near death experience,... I wouldn’t want to be in geeks shoes wright now!! Just look at the facts and the timeline. D-Day is nearly upon us,... and then we get to wait till it takes on full charge.

Go ahead and make my day!! If you pull your order, that’s one up for me,... Yeeaahh. Take a few days off from windowshopping about the all singing, dancing beast of a metal detector. Have a little fun with the Legend. A little metal detecting gimmick that teaches an awfull lot about detectors in just a few swings. Pick a nice spot in the backyard just a few square yards and just hunt it to death. And by that I mean untill it’s totally devoid of any target with your current machine. Not a single blip iron and all. When the new kid on the block arrives, hunt that patch of dirt again. It will either make you laugh or cry,... but emotion garanteed!!

Indeed according to most countries a manual has to be supplied. And I guess the getting started quick guide just doesn't cut it with regards to safety measures, regulation conformities, etc. etc. When the manual is available online, it will wing it's way to the printers and they can start boxing the production units up. That's how marketing works these days. Leaks, field testing units being spotted, demo's to test the waters for hungry fish, pre-orders, manuals and boxes out the door to early adopting customers. When the first units hit the ground, you'll have a flurry of social media activity saying it's better than sliced bread. Then after serveral months the grudges and gremlins come out of the shadows. I'll probably add one to the arsenal,... but in the mean time I'll happily chug along digging left and right till fishing season starts. Anyway I booked my place at one of those demo days. French fries, Stew and Beer. A bunch of like minded detecting geeks. And we get to have a swing with a Mandy. Same with fishing shows, rods & reels. God they feel awesome when you first get your hands on them. The quality shows when at the end of the season when you rinse everything down and still have a smile on your face 😉

The Demo sessions are rolling out here in Europe. All kinds of decent metal detectors are being traded in. Mandy hysteria is reaching a boiling point. I think the manual will be available shortly, so we should have something of interest to read.

Welcome to the dark side 🙂 D1’s are great dig it all units. Tune your frequency to the desired target size and your away. The sounds take some getting used, they provide much more audible intelligence. You’ve got quite a hoard of different machines at the ready. Eventually those numbers will dwindle to a few tried, tested and approved units with their own quirks. Then you can get on with the business at hand,... Targets 😉 Have fun with the new setup!

I had one of these large coils on a Deus 1,... it’s an excellent dry sand coin hunter. Very decent coverage and pinpointed recent drops with ease. It was a real scout. Digging modern coinage got pretty boring, pretty fast 🙂 I guess as the width of the coil isn’t much larger than the 11”, depth is marginally better for coin sized targets. The bigger the coils the more they should pay attention to designs that have the ability to slide more easily over the ground. Sharp edges all around hang up much more frequent.

In dense trash I found the target trace to be fairly useless on the CTX. With single targets it helped to figure out what was iron, what was stainless. In loud environments it also is a helping hand. But dense trash or easy to dig dirt/sand. Just carry some masking tape and go by ear. If they engineered it to just go BEEP in stead of ramp up/down. Then they've made a screen watchers detector and that consumes far more time and is equal to less finds in the pouch then dig, look and on to the next target. Target count per hour is what it's all about.

It's not all about a Deeper Beep, it's the whole package that needs to fit. I love my D2 with that 9" coil for sifting through iron in the field. It is really light, maneuvers through the maize stumble with ease and pinpoints like a dream. On the beach it's a whole different ball game. I can walk a fair bit without a single target and will probably attach the biggest coil they offer on the MC. It just needs to have a better tonal response than BEEP. Because at the beach I'm scooping not pinpointing. Anyway I'll get some more popcorn in the mean time.

That’s about the easiest way I can describe it. The PI-s I’ve used are slow units that tend to cancel out local ground and signal on targets above and below that value. The VLF machines non gold prospecting have an absolute ground discriminator signaling on everything above that value. Hands on experience indicates a bit of both in FBS2. Slow, deep unit, great ground handling and reports on changes of signal rather than absolute value’s. And somehow seems to generate target ID. Hates fluffy airy ground just like a PI. It seems to need that ground signal to work it’s magic.

Manticore is different flavoured ice-cream: depth wise, seperation wise, performance wise. We probably won’t see huge differences between D 2 most reputable detectors. It feels like a rushed marketing job now that several other competitors are in the same race.