Jump to content

Vanquish Updateable Or Not?


67GTA

Recommended Posts

There had been talk of the Vanquish USB port being for online updates. I just assumed since Minelab didn't showcase this as a Vanquish feature that it was just for flashing firmware, and it wasn't updateable like the Equinox. Aside from a couple of Russians spreading the rumor, it had died down. I just ran across this website which claims the author has personally spoken to Minelab USA. They have reportedly confirmed the online update capability. Didn't know there was a Minelab USA. As far as I can tell there is only a US service center? I still call bovine scatology on this one. As I said earlier, Minelab would have shouted that feature from the rooftops if it was a planned feature. Anybody know the author and his credentials? https://detectingquest.com/2020/03/13/minelab-vanquish-firmware-updatable-confirmed/

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I did learn something I was curious about concerning the recovery speeds. Relic mode is equal to recovery speed 2 on the Nox. Coin mode is equal to 5, and Jewelry mode is equal to 4. Wonder what the custom mode is equal to? Also the 5 freqs are weighted the same for each mode unlike the Nox.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, 67GTA said:

This is crazy. Was listening to podcasts at work today. At around 50:23, Debbie from Minelab says the Vanquish "IS" updateable. Wish Minelab could clarify this mess.

I know about the 'updateable' comment from the podcast before,  but not sure they have an 'update'; or that the service tech knows how to do it; or if they have a 'fix' for the Vanquish GB design glitch.  I've tinkered with the Equinox 800 a couple of times in the past .. briefly .. w/o making any adjustments to my friend's settings.  I was interested in the Vanquish 540 Pro Pack because I liked the looks of, and potential for, that 5X8 DD coils as a mid-sized coil for most sites I hunt to cover the 'fringe' area.  Also to be used as a 'scouting-unit'

I had reservations about the V-540 because it lacks Single-Frequency selection  and Ground Balance capability like the EQ-800 which could lead to a performance issue.  I bought the Vanquish 540 Pro Pack for the coils, the looks for balance and feel, and in hope of a decent 'general-purpose' detector to complement the other detectors in my 'Outfit.'  However, I anticipated a problem and it took me about 10-15 minutes to assemble the 540 and then confirm my suspicions and verify a 'glitch' in the circuitry design.  It seems they didn't circulate a prototype to anyone who knew much bout detectors, performance and Ground Balance related issues before production.

So, it arrived on a Monday and I spent a week hunting with it to learn it better and verify the glitchy issues and then a week later I sent it to Minelab USA with a 5-page hand-written description of what the problem was and how to confirm it.  I also included a sample rock from my seminar tote so they would have a mineral specimen to check it out there in the shop.  My initial impression of Minelab USA was positive as the phone was answered on the first try.  The gal was very polite and e-mailed me a shipping label.  All seemed good.

Yes, it has a design glitch, but for me and my hunting style and needs, I am able to work around it with my Custom mode settings.  I was sending it off for potential service, but was so impressed with the V-540 and enjoyed hunting with it, that I ordered another new 540 Pro Pack that afternoon.  It arrived the next week and displayed identical behavior, so I knew it was a glitch in their design and it wasn't just a one-time fluke with my initial device.

They had my model for a while now and it should have been an easy correction, either by internal trimmers, which I doubt it has, or done in 'software' to correct any GB issues in the different modes.  I called a minimum of 3 times a day, everyday Mon. thru Fri. and it went directly to Voice Mail and I never got a call back.  The next week I did the same thing.  One return call was made the day I was out of cell service for 15 minutes on the way to a hunt site.  I returned the call, and no answer.  Finally on the following Tuesday I got a call from a guy who oversees the Tech Dept, but isn't a tech himself.  He said it would be shipped back to me on Wednesday.  I asked for a confirmation and t4rackig number so I could be home, and also for the service tech to include a description of what was done to fix the issue.

Well, it didn't get shipped out until Friday.  And when it arrived they remembered to include all the parts and my test sample rock ... however, there wasn't a note or any paperwork form the service department or MInelab USA.  Nothing.  And the detector was unchanged and still showed the same glitchy behavior.  That who service thing after my first phone encounter left a lot to be desired.  It suggested there isn't a fix for the glitch, at least yet, or the service tech isn't to savvy of how detectors work, performance issue, and how to correct them.  Or, he doesn't know how to remedy a software issue.

Thus, I am not too keen on MInelab USA's customer service and device service, but I am liking their product ... for the most part.  I keep the 5X8 DD on my 1st V-540 as it gets the most use, and the 9X12 DD stays affixed to my 2nd V-540 for a quick-grab for hunting open areas.

And just to add to my Detector Outfit of 4 Nokta Makro and 2-Tesoro models, I bought an Equinox 800 last week w/6" DD coils to join my Vanquish devices to have  trio of Minelab's on my team.  My first goal was to work up some programs in 5-Tone to come close to what I get from my Vanquish 540.  Then I'll make corrections from there for any enhanced performance.

Monte

PS: I'm not a big fan of 'updatable' detectors as they ought to be designed and checked out in order to have a fine product at the time of introduction.  However, I'll watch for an 'upgrade' to see if they take care of this design issue.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, 67GTA said:

I did learn something I was curious about concerning the recovery speeds. Relic mode is equal to recovery speed 2 on the Nox. Coin mode is equal to 5, and Jewelry mode is equal to 4. Wonder what the custom mode is equal to? Also the 5 freqs are weighted the same for each mode unlike the Nox.

Thereis very little user adjustment on the Vanquish series.  On the V-540 you can change the Volume and Sensitivity, and that's about it other than switch from High Iron Bias to Low Iron Bias if desired.  Then you have the three factory-default modes with their own default-designed Recovery Speeds.

All the user can do to 'customize' performance for the 'Custom' mode or program is this:

1.. Determine which of the three factory Programs you prefer with regard to Recovery Speed

.. and ..

2.. Select the Discriminate segments you want to accept and then 'Save' those settings.

The Custom mode will then function similar to the selected default program, Coin, Relic or Jewelry, but with the Disc. segments the user prefers.  For example:  With my 1st V-540 using the 5X8 DD, I am usually hunting trashier places and I chose the Jewelry mode and Accept ALL except the first two Disc. segments.  This allows me to hear most Iron Nails and some other ferrous debris, but still reject some ferrous junk and eliminate ground signal falsing.

On my 2nd V-540 with the 9X12 DD, I used the Relic mode, Accepted all Disc. segments except the first two.

If you listened, and if I recall that was several months back, but my memory was that the Vanquish series use 3 Frequencies in their Multi-IQ design.  It was the Equinox series that relies on 5 frequencies.  I might have to listen to the podcast again in case I heard crooked.:huh:

Monte

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Monte, I am glad your first 540 made it back to you finally. Maybe the story is not over. In my opinion your "glitch" is part of Minelab's proprietary software information, so I have a feeling they did a lot of testing and sent the results in for further work, while sending your seemingly unchanged unit back to you. A letter of appreciation for sending it in and allowing them to investigate and document this issue would have been nice and should have been the minimum response. As I said before, both of my Vanquish units do the same thing as you described.

So, maybe that USB port will come in handy soon when Minelab fixes the "Monte Glitch" with a software update that was inspired by your inquiry.

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Monte said:

Well, it didn't get shipped out until Friday.  And when it arrived they remembered to include all the parts and my test sample rock ... however, there wasn't a note or any paperwork form the service department or MInelab USA.  Nothing.  And the detector was unchanged and still showed the same glitchy behavior.  That who service thing after my first phone encounter left a lot to be desired.  It suggested there isn't a fix for the glitch, at least yet, or the service tech isn't to savvy of how detectors work, performance issue, and how to correct them.  Or, he doesn't know how to remedy a software issue.

Thus, I am not too keen on MInelab USA's customer service and device service, but I am liking their product ... for the most part.  I keep the 5X8 DD on my 1st V-540 as it gets the most use, and the 9X12 DD stays affixed to my 2nd V-540 for a quick-grab for hunting open areas.

For Equinox and Vanquish - the service center will only test and replace faulty hardware which means straight up replacement of a faulty coil/cable, control pod, rod/stem/cuff, associated headphones and wireless audio accessories,  or Equinox battery (if defective within the first year).  Everything is surface mount, microelectronics now.  Gone are the days of detector tuneups and tweakable potentiometer, variable capacitors, and inductors.  It is a throwaway electronics world now which has both upside and downside.  As "repair" technicians, not software designers, they have no authority to alter the software/firmware in any way.  That has to come from the Factory in the form of an all user firmware update.  Who knows if ML will update Vanquish at this point.  All we know is that it is technically feasible for the end user to do it provided they are given the appropriate update interface program and firmware.

Regarding the Vanquish, I am with you Monte.  ML was a hair's breadth away from completely knocking it out of the park - three things would have made this detector truly great and should not have increased the price one iota - 1) ground grab/or manually adjustable GB (Simplex has it - so this is not a cost driver), 2) Replace the custom mode slot with a single frequency mode - at say 10 khz,  and 3) simply make the 3 Multi IQ modes remember their custom discrimination settings after power down, just like the Equinox does, obviates both the need and limitations of a single custom mode slot.

Would like to see some kind of sw fix for the GB issue, but I doubt it will come to pass because what you really need is ground grab or a manual ground balance setting and I don't see that happening without some accompanying change to the physical user interface.  Hope I am wrong.

PS - I also want to say that while ML may not have "hit it out of the park", it IS a helluva detector for the price and the included coils make the 540 PP worth the trip.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

... nothing is impossible, I heard that the Vanquish V 540 on the pre-production test software was able to tune off the red brick when turned on / if the coil was placed on the brick ... when the detector was turned on ...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

Monte, I am glad your first 540 made it back to you finally. Maybe the story is not over. In my opinion your "glitch" is part of Minelab's proprietary software information, so I have a feeling they did a lot of testing and sent the results in for further work, while sending your seemingly unchanged unit back to you. A letter of appreciation for sending it in and allowing them to investigate and document this issue would have been nice and should have been the minimum response. As I said before, both of my Vanquish units do the same thing as you described.

So, maybe that USB port will come in handy soon when Minelab fixes the "Monte Glitch" with a software update that was inspired by your inquiry.

Jeff

Jeff, as I stated here and on other forum posts, the Vanquish, especially the 540 Pro Pack, is a very decent general-purpose detector that does a lot of things quite well considering its design and very limited operator adjustable controls.  I have worked with numerous detector manufacturers over the many years I've been at this, starting with the first prototype I worked with nd then wrote their tuning instructions for them since theirs didn't work.  That was back in '74.

I've ben provided prototypes to evaluate and report back on prior to production so the manufacturers could address any needed changes or correction in design.  I have a feeling, however, than many people provided a sample device only think of it as a free unit and don't go out of their way to actually check them out and report back.  No doubt, as I know a few, some are not into detecting that much to even be able to realize some design errors or performance issues in the first place.

In this case, with the glitchy Ground Balance issues in all the factory default programs, it makes the use of the All Metal Accept 'Horseshoe' button close to useless as it just will not work properly.  I have friends who had other MInelab models and it took a long time to get them returned, and several times the problem was not resolved.  So Yes, I was definitely glad to finally get it returned, but I was / am totally unimpressed with the lack of any notes or comments or even a sheet of paper confirming it was in for service and what was/wasn't done.

I was told they forwarded my notes and issues to Minelab's head office, but I'm still waiting to hear anything from them, and I am holding out hope they will resolve it with a software update.  Until then I'll continue to use  my two Vanquish 540's and both supplied coils with my Custom Disc. settings.   The V-540 works fine for a lot of the places I like to hunt, and in some ways is doing so better than the Equinox 800 I bought last week.  One more day with it and I'll know if it is staying, like the Vanquish team, or if it's going down the road.

Monte

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...