Deteknix Quest Gold Metal Detector

[Steve Herschbach]

Deteknix first made their name with their XPointer pinpointer. The products are made in China and the company has a U.S. office in Covina, CA. The website is at http://www.deteknix.com/

The first detector by the company got a lot of notice prior to release based on photos showing a relatively simple and modern design. Key features were a straight shaft, light weight, built in rechargeable battery, built in wireless headphone capability, and supposedly waterproof to 3 meters. However, the new Deteknix Quest Pro got savaged pretty bad on release. http://www.dankowskidetectors.com/discussions/read.php?2,98160,98881

The brand was also discussed back in April on this forum at http://www.detectorprospector.com/forum/topic/1904-new-deteknix-metal-detectors/

Then Findmall set up a forum at Link deleted since Findmall Forum update broke all old links for the new brand. it only has a few people posting but one caught my eye - George Kinsey, who goes by woodchiphustler. George has been around and I have found his opinions to be of value. I thought it interesting that despite early bad reports he seemed to not only like the units, but had interest in being a representative for the brand. My assumption is new brand/new model teething pains but otherwise looking good enough to get more than a passing glance from George. I can't say for sure having never been even near a Quest Pro.

The main reason for this post is that the company plans a similar machine but aimed at gold prospectors - the Deteknix Quest Gold. It is to be a 19 kHz machine and except for the frequency appears to be a general purpose detector. There is no release date at this time for the Quest Gold or another planned model, the Quest Diver, a waterproof unit.

The company does make a wireless headphone setup with a transmitter module you plug into any detector, and a receiver module that lets you use any headphone you want. Looks good on paper, but again some initial issues reported with lost signals, etc. I assume that will get sorted out.

Anyway, no real reason for posting other than to keep people alerted to possible new prospecting detectors. I can't say that I personally have any real interest in yet another 19 kHz single frequency detector. There are too many now as it is, and no new one is going to do something that existing models can't do also when it comes to detecting gold nuggets. It really is just the design itself that is interesting more than what the machine can do that is interesting. That, and the Chinese finally making a credible attempt at entering the market by at least opening offices in the U.S. You might think this would mean more low price competition but the Quest Pro at $599 will not put much fear in the competition. The Quest Gold is rumored to be about $100 more than the Quest Pro.

The Quest Pro was supposed to be waterproof to 3 meters. Some websites selling the unit still say it is, but the company website only says "All Terrain Structure Design" so I am not sure just how waterproof these units are.

I think single frequency VLF is now at commodity stage with the number of new names producing models seemingly growing by the day. This can't go on forever and we are seeing some hints of a coming price war.

[GB_Amateur]

On 6/10/2016 at 3:23 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

The company does make a wireless headphone setup with a transmitter module you plug into any detector, and a receiver module that lets you use any headphone you want. Looks good on paper, but again some initial issues reported with lost signals, etc. I assume that will get sorted out.
 

They make variations of these wireless headphones, all costing around $90 in the US:  all have transmitters and receivers.  The variations are:  1) 1/8 in. male plug, 2) 1/4 in. male plug, 3) Garrett waterproof (AT Gold and AT Pro) plug.  These three models come with compact on-ear headphones.  The 4th) model -- the one you mention -- is a 1/4 in. jack transmitter + receiver where the receiver has a 1/4 in. (I think; maybe it's a 1/8 in.) female jack that allows you to plug in your favorite set of headphones.

I did read some online reviews which are varied.  Most are positive but there was one thread (don't remember the site) which started a shark feeding frenzy on lost signals.  I bought the 1/8 inch + on-ear headphones set which comes with a 1/4 in. male to 1/8 in. female adapter.  So far they are working fine.  I'm headed to Colorado this week for 3-4 days of detecting so I'll know better when I get back and will report here their results.  My biggest concern isn't the lost signals, which I suspect have either been fixed or are just the typical online squeeky wheel looking for grease.  My concern is that the on-ear headphones don't drown out background noise coming from flowing water, automobile/truck traffic, etc.  Again, I'll know more in the next couple weeks.

[Steve Herschbach]

I may buy the version with no headphone included. I don't like being locked into specific phones and do not like the headphones that are included with most wireless systems. So I would be interested in a report for sure.

[PhaseTech]

Hi Steve, I've been selling the universal WR set here and they are very popular. Built in batteries which charge off USB. Long press to turn on, short press to pair, very simple. The receiver unit also has a volume control which is nice, and on max volume you get a little bit of a boost on faint signals. Unlike bluetooth systems, there is no noticeable delay, and no degradation in sound quality. Drawback for some may be the estimated 6hr run time, but the great thing is you can just plug your headphone back into your detector and keep hunting. 

The drop out issue of the original headphones was quickly sorted by a software update, and the original magnetic contact charging method was changed to a plug in USB. It is now a very good stable plug and play set-up, but most are waiting for the full ear cup headphones from Deteknix. 

[Steve Herschbach]

Thanks for that comment Nenad. I had myself half talked into buying the universal WR setup. Then I realized the only two detectors I have that do not have wireless capability built in are the ATX and DFX. The ATX gets nearly all its use underwater, and so making the purchase came down to something for only one detector and so not really worth it to me.

I see the next unit out for Deteknix will be a Deteknix Quest Pro MK II which is basically a Quest Pro with suggested improvements incorporated. At this rate a Deteknix Quest Gold will probably be next year.