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I'm confused, does carbon fiber have metal in it?

It is not so much a stress thing John as realistic customer feedback about what works and is not working in todays marketing environment. I'm a huge Garrett fan but I do them no good blowing smoke up their posterior when I see them doing things I think are counterproductive. I worked in marketing my entire life and I very much am interested in and certainly want to know what is working and what is not. The fact many people are turned off by this kind of drip tease is valuable information for Garrett, not something to play down and suppress as wrong headed. It's nice you sit back and see it as entertaining but I don't think you have a right to tell others how to think and feel. It's obvious you don't like anyone to ever criticize Garrett in any way. Nothing but happy thoughts, right? The customer is what is important however and a lot of customers do not like this approach. That's born out by even a casual review of responses here and on Garrett's Facebook and YouTube channels, and Garrett would be wise to make note of it in future releases.

The Garrett Aurora -

It's been many years since I first purchased a Radio Shack detector. Anyhow, detector manufacturers have disappeared, some bought out by large conglomerates, new ones have come to market and some companies just keep going. I can't count the number of new metal detectors which I have seen come to market. There were some great winners and some losers. So, any new metal detector release just doesn't release my stress hormones anymore. You kind of build up a tolerance. You can only hear "deepest, best technology, new technology, find more, will make others obsolete so many times. Yet here we are. Yes, we have made some accomplishments even though only measured in inches. An extra inch is good, but not a new revolutionary technology. Just, sit back and look at all this hype as pure entertainment.

Interesting. Sure enough, I checked my Manticore lower rod and it signals with a pinpointer. But unlike what you are seeing Gerry, my Equinox 800 rods, Axiom rods, E1500, and even steveg carbon fiber rods all also signal with a pinpointer. I'm surprised, to say the least but since it appears to be a common thing with all my detectors I'm not in a panic over it either. More investigation needed, methinks. As far as the original question, my next nugget hunt in a trashy location I will be using the Manticore.

Medium Mineralization, your medium might be better or worse? Any good Target ID VLF Gold detector is better than just having a PI. I've proven this over and over again through the yrs with so many different VLF detectors and hundreds of ounces of Au finds. 1st was the Gold Bug-2 mostly in trashy tailing piles. Then the MXT as it had even better Iron ID than a GB-2. As technology improved and my Field Testing backed it up, I found that X-Terr 70 and then the 705 to be slightly better, but also lighter in weight. It was quite some time before I found a big enough improvement over the X-705, but Garrett came out with a 100% waterproof VLF and it was also pretty ergonomically designed. The next tool I enjoyed was White's again with the 24K. What made it better than the X-Terra's and AT Gold, it's higher kHz and greater Sensitivity to crystalline gold and smaller bits. I still feel the 24K is the top performing "Gold Only" VLF detector on the market at this time. It came out 2018 around the same time as another proven winner. It's now sold by Garrett. Also in 2018 was the Minelab Equinox 800 and that my friends became a game changer in many ways. A couple of my Field Staff/I were able to see early versions of the Equinox in 2017 before it's official release. We were quite excited to see 1 detector with so many options, features and applications for someone who literally "hunts it all". As soon as we could get our hands on one and in the field to hunt gold, we started learning where this detector shines over the competition. And boy does it really shine. The Target ID system is probably the main feature I enjoy most. But the ability to easily do Auto GB or Manual, adjustable Threshold, Compact, 100% WP, Wireless, Salt Water capable, ergonomically designed and under $1000. Win win win all around. That detector alone has produced so much more gold than the others out there, it's really not even close. The ID systems is the meal ticket. The Equinox is also fantastic at identifying high grade ore. For some reason I can't find my pics of Success on an ore dump pile, but the gold was hardly even visible. I have been able to hunt such piles and not even have to dig bullets, blasting caps and 22 shell casings. It's such a time saver. You folks now know the EQ-800 is being replaced by the EQ-900 and I really don't see any Prospecting benefits of the 900 over the 800, other than value (comes with 2 coils) and the improvements of leaks/breaks. But performance wise in Pros Mode, their neck in neck. I do wish Minelab would go back to a non-metal lower shaft like they have on the 800. The 900 is not as stable and I think it's the lower shaft. Yes, I have found gold with the EQ-900 but realize the Manticore came out before it, so that has been my go-to machine the last 2 yrs. My 1st gold find with the EQ-900 below. Today and for the last year and a half, I have pretty much been swinging the Manticore. It has a little bit more depth vs an Equinox and D2 ID system is better, if you spend time learning it. Do I think the extra price is worth it for most folks? No, not your average detectorist. There is an issue I have known about with the Manticore for some time now and I have been waiting for Minelab to address. Seems they don't care since it's been out now for almost 2 yrs. It's the same issue with the Equinox 900. The design flaw in the carbon fiber lower shaft. Sure, they're going to say it has no issue or interference at all. I'll call BS until the day I die. The Manticore chatters every time I put it on the ground, It chatters more when bumping into rocks and brush, it chatters more when I swing it fast. I actually think it chatter more than the EQ-900. I suspect that could be one of the reasons why they did not stick with the small 6" coil that's already been out for years. It's too sensitive. I run the stock 11" coil and get away with it slightly. I put in the smaller M8 coil and can tell the difference in extra chatter when in real field use applications.. I just feel the small 6" would be even worse? Sure, I can tape a quarter to my coil and go hunt with it. And it will find treasures just as it's supposed to. But in the Prospecting Mode, one loses a little depth and sensitivity as I can't run the Gain high enough to enjoy the Manticores extra power. Yes, I used to run detectors that had metal nuts and bolts holding the coil to the shaft (back in the 70's). Come on people, you're better than that. Right now in my shop, I can take my pin pointer and test my GB-2, my 24K, my AT Gold, my XT-18000, a Eureka Gold, MXT, GMT, Gold Monster 1000, Equinox 800 AND NONE OF THEM will scream like a stuck pig...but my EQ-900 and Manticore sure do. Why Minelab, why? Don't waste your breath Minelab, I know what I know. Please just give us a non metal lower shaft or Steve's Rods can step up to the plate. Here's the bottom line and why I think nothing will happen with the lower shaft from Minelab? Just as is with the CTX 3030 and GPX-6000, they too use Carbon Fiber lower rods. Only difference is the CTX 3030 can't see and won't respond to much of the gold I find. It's not designed to do such, so I give it a pass. The GPX-6000, it's a PI and so it also get's a 1/2 pass, but I wonder how much smoother a GPX-6000 could run and if I could up my GAIN a little more with a non metal lower shaft. The EQ-900 and Manticore are used by so many folks and MOST (the masses) are using those 2 models of detectors for Coin/Relic/Beach hunting. How many folks actually use them for true Gold Prospecting? Probably not even 2% of overall sales, more like 1% worldwide. Then of that 1 or 2% of the users who do Prospect, how many of them even know what I'm talking about? Very very few...and that's why we'll probably never see a change? Now, I also wonder if Minelab Field Testers even notices it, or even the Engineers? After all, how many of them spend the time my Field Staff and I do in the Gold Fields with a variety of detectors all the time and trying to get the best possible results out of a detector. Me personally, I'll accept a couple more ounces of weight if a lower shaft with no metal can be had. Now back to VLF detectors being used in trash areas to find gold. So many options of good proven detectors, but I feel the EQ-800, EQ-900 and Manticore are all Tops. And especially for a guy like me who also hunts in salt water, chases old coins/relics and is always needing a compact detector to carry on the plane with no issues. Enjoy the hunt and have fun my friends. Gerry

Nice conditioned finds, and impressive depth of recovery. The brass shotshell case was meant to be reloadable by the shooter with Black powder. It is pretty special to be able to hunt your own history.

One is a pocket knife with the sides splayed out. The other one is a part of a shell, and I wasn't sure what that little pipe was.

Very nice. Glad you all had a good time. What are the 2 smaller iron relics below the patch at 4 o'clock? One looks like some sort of 2 piece wedging device.

Medium mineralization sounds like it might cause you problems using a VLF with discrimination. This might fit into the category of we don’t have a good detector that can do both challenging ground handling and discrimination yet. The Algoforce does have conductivity if the gold is evenly distributed and has close conductivity from one specimen to the next, still a long shot though and it would still be very time consuming using the pinpoint mode on every piece of rubbish if in a heavily infested situation. Hopefully a good multi-frequency VLF will handle the ground conditions there, if not then it’s most likely back to the dig everything concept with a PI.

It appears that being among strong wine and dangerous women really pays off for you Skull Diver. 👍

I'm glad you and Van had a good time together & were able to give the Versa a good trial run. Hopefully you two can get together again soon when conditions are not so rough. It sounds like the Versa did well for it's initial trial. Did you ever try Park Mode Multi M on the black sand? The Versa does handle EMI very well & I think there is room to increase the Sensitivity range on the unit. I know Rutus is currently working on further improvements for the NC 3.7 software. We will see. Thanks for the report.

Very true words. I'm due for one of those days this summer.....I've been putting in the hours. My turn! 😛

Manticore hands down! It is a no contest!

Oooh, I think you’ve mentioned this spot to me?? I’ll bring the Equinox 🤣 Re: which is best, not sure. The 24K certainly gets rave reviews. Or maybe an Axiom? Or a Manticore? @Gerry in Idaho this is probably a question for you.

WOW! Nice haul for the week!

I realize that discrimination is depth limited, but in a ferrous metal littered alluvial worked area (gold rich), what would be the weapon of choice? We are talking about throw outs and specimens lost in oversize. Not my normal field of interest, but when it adds up and puts gold on the scales, why not?

Earlier this week we traveled south to the civil war area to go detecting. We had a great time, with all of us finding something interesting. Here are my finds.

It's those days that serve as support for when the bad streaks come. In my opinion, location and timing are 90%... Perseverance and hours, many hours. And some days... - 14 October 2022.

Very nice ! Lucky you have a family property to hunt with that sort of history . Hope there is some more finds to come . No names on the compact ? Just a note : your shell will be almost certainly brass , not copper .

Weekly wrap up... Tired and satisfied for an half, but this its been the fish for this week... Monday and Tuesday in two different spots, a no show Wednesday due to strong surf and yesterday and today back again with nothing more to add... All in all 12.2 grams of 18K and Manti's ROI next to come 🏴‍☠️ Have a great weekend You all!

A little update... Monday and Tuesday I've been lucky enough to search in two spots with M8 where I pulled up two pieces one day in a spot and two pieces another day in another spot... Wednesday the waves were too nervous to stay firmly on the bottom so I skipped to enter... Thursday back to the last spot with the M8 and nothing new...Back again today, same spot this time with M11 and nothing new again... End of the story is, even covering more space and with some more inches, when I'm done, I'm done... I've been really tempted to but another toy, but as for now, I'll pass...Still can't believe what the M8 it has done there...Clean area now...

It looks like a fast detector. 🙈

I am just waiting for the Sun-Shine. 😏

And the 100 gold bucket challenge continues. Filled up another 4 buckets. Classifying from 7/16" down to 1/4" takes a little longer to fill up a bucket, but you get more gold per bucket. Hit the 40 bucket mark today. 60 more to go.🥱