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Nokta Impact Vs AT Max


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It is too early to know for sure but I would think it would do as well as most similar general purpose detectors. The 13.6 kHz AT Max is not designed specifically as a gold prospecting detector. Like the 14 kHz White's MXT and others before it the AT Max is a general purpose coin, jewelry, relic, and prospecting detector. I expect some people will use it to find gold nuggets. I also doubt it will have any real influence on the general prospecting market in the long run. Detectors with similar performance have been available for a long time and most serious prospectors like myself use more powerful detectors already.

For instance, I use a Minelab GPZ 7000 for 98% of my prospecting. Many other prospectors use the GPX or even older GP series detectors. What VLF or LF detectors we might use is very much a secondary concern. In Africa and other less exploited goldfields lightweight less expensive detectors like the Teknetics T2 and Fisher Gold Bug Pro have been huge sellers, but Garrett has not been as aggressive it would appear in exploiting those markets.

The reality is the Garrett AT Gold has been on the market for years, yet few prospectors use them by comparison to other models. I see nothing to indicate the AT Max is better or even as good as the AT Gold for prospecting. Otherwise Garrett might as well discontinue the AT Gold and there is no hint yet they will do that.

I respect Garrett a lot and they do make good detectors. I can go find gold with the AT Max I am sure, or the Nokta Impact also. I simply do not believe either machine will have much influence in the prospecting world because they are not designed for or marketed specifically for that purpose. That does mean they are not decent, capable all around detectors. All I can say is I was a very successful metal detector dealer for over three decades and I have rarely been wrong about that sort of thing.

My advice with all new detector models to anybody is to wait six months to a year to see how reports from others play out.

I guess I am getting too old and to jaded to think any new detector that runs at only one frequency at a time is ever going to make a significant difference in my life. The technology is old and relatively simple. Thinking the AT Max is somehow magically much more powerful than the many other similar single frequency machines that already exist is just wishful thinking. The same can honestly be said of the Nokta Impact, which is only significant because it lets you chose between several frequencies. But so does the XP Deus and others before it, like the Eureka Gold. The Nokta Impact is designed to compete with the XP Deus. It was never intended to be a major player in the prospecting world. Expecting it to turn out otherwise again is just wishful thinking in my opinion.

Even new detectors that are made and marketed specifically for gold prospecting, like the new Minelab Gold Monster, are no more powerful than detectors that have existed for many years. The 45 kHz Gold Monster has roughly identical capabilities as the 48 kHz White's GMT and the several 50 kHz White's Goldmasters before that. I can do about as well with an old White's Goldmaster V-SAT as I can the much newer Gold Monster. White's could have repackaged the GMT years ago into a lighter more compact package but did not. Minelab beat them to it and so White's missed the opportunity. That's pretty much what single frequency tech is all about - repackaging existing capability in new a different ways. That in itself can be better even if it does nothing more than improve ergonomics.

One last time before I move on from this subject - single frequency technology in my opinion is old and fully exploited as far as what can be achieved. Expecting new single frequency detectors to be significantly different is not realistic in my opinion. The only thing that is nice is improvements in the overall packaging and feature lists, hopefully at attractive prices. The AT Max scores well in this regard.

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Thanks again Steve for having the patients for the second time this week, Great explanation.

Rajat, the only way you are going to see if either machine is going to do what you want is to try them, If all things were equal in this world by rights neither of these machines should be able to see tiny Gold but the fact is they can and do see it very well, And the reason they can see it is because the factories add Gain multipliers in to the software which turns a great coin machine in to a part time prospecting machine,

More than 70% of detectors can see Gold, But very few are set up to work for prospecting, You ask if the AT Max can see nuggets with a ground reading of 175, well I do not know of any machine that has number that go that high, But I believe or I wish that all detector should be able to read -100% to +100%, It is one thing that annoys me because there is not a standard measurement within the hobby for detectors,

Anyway please read this link and if you was to know anymore about the machines "CLICK" on the Blue writing and that will take you to each Review, ok.

I hope that helps

J.

 http://www.detectorprospector.com/gold-prospecting-guides/steve-guide-gold-nugget-detectors.htm 

 

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On 9/12/2017 at 8:32 PM, OregonGregg said:

Hi Steve,

Ya Monte & I are still beat'n around the old sites trying to scrounge up an old coin or two.

If you ever get tired of finding all that gold, come on up to Eastern OR. we have a few sites we can get knee deep in the iron and rusted tin and have fun. 

Hi Greg,

Sorry I did not respond sooner. That you for the kind offer. It would be an honor to meet you both. I learned a lot years ago reading every Monte post I could find about hunting in dense iron. I have to admit it is hard to tear myself alway from hunting gold to look for a coin in the midst of all the trash. However, I have been telling myself for years that I want to find a gold coin, and hunting those old sites is one of the few ways of boosting the odds of that happening. 

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On ‎9‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 8:32 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

Hi Greg,

Sorry I did not respond sooner. That you for the kind offer. It would be an honor to meet you both. I learned a lot years ago reading every Monte post I could find about hunting in dense iron. I have to admit it is hard to tear myself alway from hunting gold to look for a coin in the midst of all the trash. However, I have been telling myself for years that I want to find a gold coin, and hunting those old sites is one of the few ways of boosting the odds of that happening. 

Steve H.,

Oregon Gregg's invite to visit us here in Eastern Oregon would definitely be an invitation to hunt some very ghost towns that present a lot of dense ferrous debris in many parts of them that can challenge anyone, not to mention challenge any detector/coil combination they pick to use.

There are three old-structure free gold mining ghost town sites I can visit on a 97 mile round trip from my driveway here in Vale, Oregon.  We have seen one very impressive thumb-size gold specimen (quartz and gold with an ample percentage of gold) that a fellow found at one of the locations back in I believe the very late '80s or early '90s with a 6.59 kHz White's model, but I am pretty certain these were all hard digging locations to work out any gold.  Most people I have seen searching the largest of them were all using a Minelab PI or ZED.  So along with having a bit of fun 'Relic Hunting' these old town sites for older era coins, trade tokens and other interesting small artifacts, you could also put your very trained raw gold hunting skills to-the-test.

Since it is mid-September now, and with most 'weather guessers' predicting another winter of heavy snow and very cold temperatures, we might only have a month or so left this years before the old townsites get whitened and that will mean a wait until about late March to mid-April of next year before they will be huntable.  Plenty of time for you to get bored with the same-pld looks of your same-old  sites and want to work in a springtime adventure.

:unsure::nugget: You just never n=know what you might find unless you look with the right equipment and skills/techniques.

By the way, the evaluation Nokta FORS CoRe I bought from you early-on is still performing well as the #2 CoRe in my Regular-Use Detector Team.  I keep the small 'OOR' on my original CoRe and just swapped the stock coil to mount Gregg's new open-frame 5X9½ DD from Nokta to check it out at an old CCC and Japanese Internment Camp that is also close to us, and that first venture out with it I nabbed two silver Mercury Dimes at about 6"-7" that sounded very good and gave a very worthy visual TID as well. 

As all good Nokta detectors do it performs excellent, and the only change I made was to have the middle and upper gold or black rods of both of my FORS CoRe devices stripped and powder coated an 'Edge Red' to come close to the color scheme of the side decal coloring.  My three FORS Relic models I had stripped and powder coated an 'Edge Blue' to complement the side decal coloring Nokta used for the Relic model.  Arm cups are the matte black and it makes these units stand out in a crowd of detectors. :cool:

My two Nokta Impact's, however, are staying their standard color and distinctive physical design as they draw enough attention just as they are, and all of my :nokta: Team wear different coils and are ready to do service at any site I encounter.  So, if you ever happen to adventure up this way for a couple/few days of fun and are only stuck with a Minelab or other brand model that isn't a good fit for these challenging sites, I am sure there's a loaner you could use.  Of course all you would need for non-nugget hunting would be your Impact with a 5" DD or the new 7" Concentric coil.  Either coil teams up to work just fine in the dense debris sites.

I guess I'll head off to Gregg's today and take his loaner coil back to him. :sad:  As for me, all I need to get are a 5X9½ FC24 for a CoRe and FR24 for one of my Relic devices and I will have a more versatile detector/coil set-up ready-to-go.

Until your travels bring you north to Eastern Oregon, I wish you the best of success in your searches as we progress through what might be a brief Fall and the pending Winter ahead.

Monte

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Thank you very much Monte. No way I can make it that way this fall as I am way too busy right now, but you never know about next spring. I am glad to hear that CoRe is still working for you.

I just want to say again thank you for all your many contributions to metal detecting over the years!

For those that do not know Monte has a organization and website with forums - the American Heritage Research & Preservation Society. He is also the inventor of the now famous Monte's Nail Board Test

Welcome to AHRPS

American Heritage Research and Preservation Society (AHRPS) is an organization providing services for the metal detecting community. Our specialities include:

  • Education and Hands-On Training
  • Discover Metal Detecting (101 course)
  • Exploring Metal Detecting (201 course)
  • Discover Site Surveying
  • Discover Artifact Preservation
  • Research Case Studies
  • Regional Shows
  • Metal Detector Sales

On our site you'll find:

 

  • Educational tutorials in our Tips & Techniques section
  • Discussion Forums:
    • General Metal Detecting
    • Traditional Coin Hunting
    • Relic / Old Site Hunting
    • Buy / Sell / Trade
    • Announcements
  • Historic site updates
  • Metal detector demonstations and product reviews
  • Free-to-the-public Detector Owner Rendezvous gatherings
  • Competition hunts
  • Annual, open-to-the-public 'Welcome-To-Hunt Outings'
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