Vanquish/ Wm08 Module

[Tometusns]

Has anyone else tried to pair up the module with their Vanquish. Thanks!

[Steve Herschbach]

It can’t work. Vanquish is Bluetooth only, and WM08 is Minelab proprietary WiStream technology, not Bluetooth.

 

[Dances With Doves]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

It can’t work. Vanquish is Bluetooth only, and WM08 is Minelab proprietary WiStream technology, not Bluetooth.

I like having the wm08 option on the equinox.It with the Tony E. custom headphones made me gel more with my machine.The vanquish was a great move by  Minelab and Bluetooth for such a inexpensive machine a big plus.They     put a lot of candy in the  basket for the price. You    can say the same for the equinox . To be able to use 1 machine  for most of my hunting is a big plus.It is a great machine that  does   most things very well.Only in blacksand that would make my x-terra  overload  would hamper it.

[Chase Goldman]

If you want to use your favorite headphones wirelessly with the Vanquish, just get a bluetooth APTX LL receiver/transmitter.  They are the size of a matchbox and cost about $30.  Plug in any headphones/earbuds that have a 1/8" mini jack or use an adapter to plug in 1/4" plug detecting phones.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EHSX28M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B4W40VC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Nevada Brian]

5 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

If you want to use your favorite headphones wirelessly with the Vanquish, just get a bluetooth APTX LL receiver/transmitter.  They are the size of a matchbox and cost about $30.  Plug in any headphones/earbuds that have a 1/8" mini jack or use an adapter to plug in 1/4" plug detecting phones.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EHSX28M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B4W40VC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Chase, do you notice any additional hum/buzz while using this receiver/transmitter with earbuds? 
thanks,
Brian

[palzynski]

15 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

It can’t work. Vanquish is Bluetooth only, and WM08 is Minelab proprietary WiStream technology, not Bluetooth.

 

Just for info , I have an issue when using the WM08 with my Equinox 800 , I has quite frequent audio cuts off ( short blanks in the audio ) in certain situations . For example when the detector is laying on the ground and I pass ground under the coil to find the target .  Very disturbing ...

So I did not use the WM08 any more,  and only use the ML80 headphones  . I am not the only one having this issue , others users have mentioned it on internet  , google search with the "ML80 cuts off" keyword ...

[Chase Goldman]

5 hours ago, palzynski said:

Just for info , I have an issue when using the WM08 with my Equinox 800 , I has quite frequent audio cuts off ( short blanks in the audio ) in certain situations . For example when the detector is laying on the ground and I pass ground under the coil to find the target .  Very disturbing ...

So I did not use the WM08 any more,  and only use the ML80 headphones  . I am not the only one having this issue , others users have mentioned it on internet  , google search with the "ML80 cuts off" keyword ...

The WM08 is very position sensitive vs. bluetooth.  Blocking the transmission path between the control head to the unit even with your body (e.g., having the WM08 strapped to your belt on your left side but swinging the detector on your right side) can easily cause dropouts.  A lot of people I know who use the WM08 use a very short audio cable to their headphones and clip it to their hat or to the headphones themselves to elevate the WM08 above any obstructions.  In fact the Equinox user manual acknowledges this with the following note on page 56:

Quote

Attach the WM 08 to the same side of your body as the detector to ensure the most reliable wireless signal.

9 hours ago, Nevada Brian said:

Chase, do you notice any additional hum/buzz while using this receiver/transmitter with earbuds? 
thanks,
Brian

I have only tested it once using regular headphones as a proof of principle on my Equinox but did not encounter scratchy audio (though I have encountered scratchy audio with certain models of BT headphones).  If you are using an adapter to connect the headphones to the transceiver, make sure that that all connectors are fully seated or you will get ground loops or static.  Test the unit with other BT sources and various headphones to see if the issue lies with the Equinox, headphones/earbuds or with the transceiver.

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

The WM08 is very position sensitive vs. bluetooth.  Blocking the transmission path between the control head to the unit even with your body (e.g., having the WM08 strapped to your belt on your left side but swinging the detector on your right side) can easily cause dropouts.  A lot of people I know who use the WM08 use a very short audio cable to their headphones and clip it to their hat or to the headphones themselves to elevate the WM08 above any obstructions.  In fact the Equinox user manual acknowledges this with the following note on page 56:

Quote

Attach the WM 08 to the same side of your body as the detector to ensure the most reliable wireless signal.

I can confirm the 'body block' experience.  I keep the WM08 in my shirt's breast pocket.  If I set the detector down and walk away (e.g. to the car), when I turn around I lose signal even when I'm within a couple meters of the detector.  When I return I pick up the signal at about 30 meter distance.

I swear by the WM08 and the only problem I've had is when the (damn) 3.5 mm male to 1/4" female adapter (not the crazy expensive ML version) wants to make bad contact.  I've strongly considered buying the new Gray Ghost Gold Series headset from Rob just so I can have a high quality headset that comes with a 3.5 mm jack.  (But my Sunray Pro Golds just sound so good with the Equinox....)  To you do-it-yourselfers out there, would it work to cut off the headphone's 1/4" plug and replace it with 3.5 mm?  If the cord is shielded that can be trickly to reconnect (and minimize RF leakage), in my experience.

I always wear shirts with at least two breast pockets when I'm detecting:  detector in left hand and WM08 in right breast pocket.  Right side for WM08 so that the headphone cord doesn't interfere with my sweep.  That combination has never given me audio transmission dropouts.

[palzynski]

4 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

The WM08 is very position sensitive vs. bluetooth.  Blocking the transmission path between the control head to the unit even with your body (e.g., having the WM08 strapped to your belt on your left side but swinging the detector on your right side) can easily cause dropouts.  A lot of people I know who use the WM08 use a very short audio cable to their headphones and clip it to their hat or to the headphones themselves to elevate the WM08 above any obstructions.  In fact the Equinox user manual acknowledges this with the following note on page 56:

Attach the WM 08 to the same side of your body as the detector to ensure the most reliable wireless signal.

Thanks for the info Chase. However even when clipping the WM08 on my headphones on the same ( right ) side as the detector I have the issue. To me it looks like a design pb , perhaps the WiStream signal is too weak. Never experienced such an issue with my Deus or the Orx . Hopefully the ML80 APtX headphones works perfectly , even if a little less reactive than the WM08  .. And the ML80 also works very well with my Vanquish 540 ..

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, palzynski said:

...Even when clipping the WM08 on my headphones on the same ( right ) side as the detector I have the (loss of transmission) issue.

Have you eliminated a bad connection on the downstream side of the WM08?  Even for headphones with 3.5 mm jack you have that connection to deal with, and if you're using an adpater (like I do) add one more.  I probably have 500 hours on my WM08, about 50% with earbuds (3.5 mm direct connection) and the other 50% with headphones (1/4" connector requiring the adapter).  For most of that time I had no problems with connections but recently I've noticed dropouts when using the adapter, which I've associated with a bad physical connection.  I haven't been able to isolate the exact location of the problem.  I actually have a backup WM08 so I'll see if swapping that in changes anything.  Right now I only have one adapter.    Covid-19 restrictions are being loosened starting today/tomorrow here so I'm going to hit a local park soon.  I'll report back if there is any change.