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Modified Monte's Nail Board Results: Time To Sell The AT Max?


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I don't know which coils you were using. To do best in iron sites and nail board tests you need small coils. With the AT Max the 5x8 coil would do a lot better. To do even better with the AT Max use a Nel 3.5x6.5 or 5" coils.

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1 hour ago, Rick N. MI said:

I don't know which coils you were using. To do best in iron sites and nail board tests you need small coils. With the AT Max the 5x8 coil would do a lot better. To do even better with the AT Max use a Nel 3.5x6.5 or 5" coils.

I have no doubt a smaller coil would help the AT Max. But then I'd need to put a 6 inch or 5x10 coil on the Equinox to make things somewhat "fair."

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So the answer is yes? And the F2 as well?

I have a somewhat similar detectors as you. Equinox 600, Vanquish 440, Fisher F22. The Ace 300 other than being a Garrett probably doesn’t compare to AT Max in frequency and coil type but I do have a Simplex that should be closer in specs. I’ve been wanting to do similar comparison testing with mine this winter. 

But so far this year, all I know is I have been defaulting to the Vanquish a lot and it does find the goods just like the Equinox without having to think too much about the settings. 

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1 hour ago, nickeldNdimed said:

So the answer is yes? And the F2 as well?

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you're asking?

If you're asking about selling the AT Max, then yes, I'm most likely going to sell it. If you're interested in buying it, let me know 😄

As for the Fisher F2, no, I'm keeping that one. It's a very sentimental gift and was my first metal detector.

I'm not surprised you're gravitating to the Vanquish. If the Vanquish could ground balance, I'd probably never have sold my 540. For shallow hunting in my highly mineralized soil, it does fine (for the most part). But if I want to go deeper than 6 inches or so (depending on the soil profile), it struggles.

I love the look and feel of the Vanquish, especially with its cam locks. I've been brain storming how to somehow replace the control box of the Vanquish with the pod of an Equinox without it looking too janky.

I know some people mock the Vanquish's red color, but I like it! I don't like how Minelab can't get their plastic dyes to be consistent, but that's the cost of a cheap detector having MIQ, I guess.

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I agree with Steve and use the old iron cut nails. Modern nails have other metals in them like nickel, magnesium and chrome so they will ring in much higher. Also modern nails are less prevalent when hunting old sites.

In the field old cut nails will also have a halo to spice things up. In those conditions and if I know there is a lot of iron trash I will just use a concentric. 3d masking almost become a non issue at that point as the targets mix so anything above iron is worth investigating and I can generally use my threshold discrimination and ignore all iron nail range and lower.

As for buying a Nox you would certainly like it, probably do better with the 5x10 on it, I would still hold out and see what Nokta has up their sleeve.

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   Great Job on the 3D nail board!! I was working on a similar version myself, as the "single plane" was the only thing I didn't like about the original! 

   I think it would be easy enough to make the nails/coins more or less interchangeable to accommodate different conditions! But overall, that may be splitting hairs for a standardized portable test platform! 

   As far as trying to replicate any "Halo Effect" or soil conditions in a portable platform, it's possible, and time consuming, but again, would probably not give you much more information than you can already acquire with that setup!!👍👍

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14 hours ago, mh9162013 said:

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you're asking?

If you're asking about selling the AT Max, then yes, I'm most likely going to sell it. If you're interested in buying it, let me know 😄

As for the Fisher F2, no, I'm keeping that one. It's a very sentimental gift and was my first metal detector.

I'm not surprised you're gravitating to the Vanquish. If the Vanquish could ground balance, I'd probably never have sold my 540. For shallow hunting in my highly mineralized soil, it does fine (for the most part). But if I want to go deeper than 6 inches or so (depending on the soil profile), it struggles.

I love the look and feel of the Vanquish, especially with its cam locks. I've been brain storming how to somehow replace the control box of the Vanquish with the pod of an Equinox without it looking too janky.

I know some people mock the Vanquish's red color, but I like it! I don't like how Minelab can't get their plastic dyes to be consistent, but that's the cost of a cheap detector having MIQ, I guess.

Yes, nobody seemed to have answered the question in the title of your post with the obvious answer : )  

I occasionally struggle with nostalgia about a detector I wanted as a kid and never bought but it would just collect dust. I kind of get that but I guess by the results and the rest of your tools....

Check out Sea Ghost housing if you have not.  Probably no cost effective solution but pretty neat. He makes for various detectors. 

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7 minutes ago, nickeldNdimed said:

Check out Sea Ghost housing if you have not.  Probably no cost effective solution but pretty neat. He makes for various detectors. 

I have, but I'm not 100% confident about placing the order with the maker, especially since (based on my understanding), I'd have to mail him (her?) the control box/pod of my metal detector. Then there's the language difference and international nature of the transaction. Not sure what kind of buyer protection I'd have if things didn't turn out well.

Still very interested in it, though...

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Remember 1 important thing ..... The standard "Monte Performance Nailboard Test" uses new nails precisely because ... because it is a standard test ..... and everyone around the world can test their detector or coil ... exactly according to the same test as a main user at the other end of the world ...

    For your own control ... you can also use your old corroded nails in this test ...

Otherwise I have to really thank and praise ... colleague MH9162013... for performing a really excellent and educational test ..... in 2D and 2.5D separation ...👍👍:smile:...

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23 minutes ago, EL NINO77 said:

Remember 1 important thing ..... The standard "Monte Performance Nailboard Test" uses new nails precisely because ... because it is a standard test ..... and everyone around the world can test their detector or coil ... exactly according to the same test as a main user at the other end of the world ...

I think people understand that. If people want their test to be compared other peoples tests then this is important. My question is who is compiling all this comparative data - link please?

Unfortunately sweep speed, exact height and angles, and settings used, all matter, and I rarely see consistency there, even if the board itself is perfect. All I'm saying folks is take it all with a grain of salt, and don't let any one test determine if a detector is any good or not. 

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