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Nokta Makro Pulse Induction Gold Prospecting Detector


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1) IS GPS NECESSARY/BENEFICIAL ON A PI UNIT? No

2) IS COLOR SCREEN MORE PREFERRED? ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES-Color screen isn't necessary

3) ARE YOU OK WITH AN EXTERNAL CABLE AROUND THE SHAFT? Yes

4) COILS - SIZES AND SHAPES (3 PLEASE) 10X5, 11" 14"

5) IS 10 FT WATERPROOF GOOD ENOUGH? Yes

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A GPS unit inbuilt would be nice....but not a 'deal breaker'. To keep costs down, don't bother.

Color screen unnecessary, as long as the greyscale screen has a high value backlight so its viewable in bright daylight. A clock would be great though!!!

Ext cable every time. Makes changing the coil way easier, lower cost and GPX compatible coils would fit.

Coil sizes (if solely for prospecting) all elliptical. 12x8 standard, 15x10 (both flat-wound) and a small mini coil for cleanup work, the 7.5x4 that NM already make could go well if bundle wound. If its to become an optional surf detector, a neutrally buoyant coil in the 10" range would keep those guys happy.  

The 10ft waterproof rating is more than enough, even if it were to become a surf detector as well.

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On 3/21/2022 at 5:42 AM, Nokta Detectors said:

 # 1 no

# 2 not really

#3 yes

# 4 a 10 x 5 is a must would be nice if was compatible with existing coils

5  10 feet would be great

Hello all.... copied all the posts in a word document and will go through them myself first and then share with the engineers.

A few questions - 

1) IS GPS NECESSARY/BENEFICIAL ON A PI UNIT?

2) IS COLOR SCREEN MORE PREFERRED? ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES 

3) ARE YOU OK WITH AN EXTERNAL CABLE AROUND THE SHAFT?

4) COILS - SIZES AND SHAPES (3 PLEASE)

5) IS 10 FT WATERPROOF GOOD ENOUGH? 

 

PS. Sorry if any of these were mentioned already in the posts.... did not read them all yet. 

 

 

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I would generally agree with what others are saying, But would advise you to go for performance first.

That means good depth, and sensitive to a variety of nugget sizes and depths.

That means good ergonomics -- Light Weight, Well Balanced.

Think Whites TDI with better depth, faster processor, and more refined target I.D with a visual readout on a high contrast Low Glare Screen either B/W or Color, and Bluetooth.  = WINNER.

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I'm very excited about this Nokta PI, gold prospectors desperately need it, even ones that are so stuck with one brand need it perhaps not even because they'll buy it, competition is a wonderful thing, their preferred brand maybe holding out new models for years as they really have no need to release them, why rush, they've got nothing to worry about now.  Nokta are not likely to beat them, but it's nice for everyone to have another horse in the race.

Competition drives innovation.  Nokta have proven themselves with the Legend, I had my doubts, they crossed the finish line in style, the Legend is better than I expected it to be, and I may end up owning one.  If they can surprise me the same with a PI I'd be so happy.

There is a detector made in a guys garage in Australia, one single person has made it, it's not a GPZ, it's not a GPX 6000 but the QED is a decent detector for a significantly lower price and it runs GPX coils, if one man can do this, what can Nokta do?  Even if they just made a QED with a quick track ground balance and a good build quality for the right price they'd be on a winner.

They have an opportunity here to make an affordable detector for the masses, a PI that people who detect occasionally can afford, lets face it the GPZ, GPX 6000 and even the GPX 5000 prices aren't really hobby prices for the normal user, from what I've seen most who buy one never even find enough to pay off their detector.  Nokta can and I hope will change that and it will shake Minelab to their core even if it's competition only to the older GPX series by performance, if it's priced right it's going to be a very good seller as it will be a detector for the average user with the average budget. 

It's a numbers game, what percentage of gold is missed by a Gold Racer user that's found by a QED user, that's missed by a QED user that's found by a GPX 4500 user, and missed by a GPX 4500 user that's found by a GPX 5000 user, and missed by a GPX 5000 user that is found by a GPX 6000 user, and missed by a GPX 6000 user that is found by a GPZ 7000 user and the story goes on.

If a Nokta Gold PI user can get into that queue in a reasonable position for a price that's affordable by most people they're on a real winner.  I really hope they succeed, there is a huge gap in the market for an affordable PI prospecting machine, I want Nokta to fill it.  A side benefit is they could further develop the line to include a PI for salt water hunters and also target the relic hunters.   They should not blur the lines, they need multiple PI's just like they need multiple VLF's, don't make a waterproof diving PI for prospectors, we don't want another ATX or SDC2300 design detector.

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Lunk on this forum (Keith) may be a consideration for a tester for a Nokta Makro PI. He is one of Gerry's instructors with dedication to serious gold detecting throughout the year and writes well detailed reports. 

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Keith/Lunk would be a great option, frankly better than I at this point. He gets around more to more locations, detects more these days, and really knows his business. Gets my vote for sure.
 

A few answers - 

1) IS GPS NECESSARY/BENEFICIAL ON A PI UNIT? I find using a GPS to be incredibly beneficial, and having it in my face continuously as part of the detector even more so. I was also very surprised how paranoid prospectors are, how many think it is tracking them or sending info somewhere, and so refuse to use it. So while I’d love it, time and money probably better spent elsewhere. If it is implemented, make it compatible with Garmin software export/mapping options, instead of doing some proprietary thing.

2) IS COLOR SCREEN MORE PREFERRED? ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES Not needed. Even a screen is optional, unless GPS implemented.

3) ARE YOU OK WITH AN EXTERNAL CABLE AROUND THE SHAFT? I prefer this. Internal cables create more issues than they solve. Anyone who has cable snagging issues, needs to learn how to wrap and tie a cable properly.

4) COILS - SIZES AND SHAPES (3 PLEASE) 6x11, 9x14, 13x17 (roughly)

5) IS 10 FT WATERPROOF GOOD ENOUGH? More than enough, and not needed if it adds weight and expense. Rainproof is all 99% of genuine prospectors actually need.

Benchmark to match or exceed GPX 4500 performance in less than 5lb total under $2000 package. The GPX 4500 last sold for $2699, and Minelab could move fast to reintroduce a stripped down version under $2000 to stymie perceived competition, should they choose to do so. The 4500 weighed 5.3 lbs, but that did not include the 1.7 lb backpack mounted battery. Balance is extremely important for large coil options, so a rear mount, under elbow, straight shaft configuration desirable. And ability to adjust both control box and handle location to get good balance with any coil is a plus. Even then, and optional harness and bungee would be a good idea for 12 hour days with a large coil.

I’ll echo that Minelab GPX coil compatibility would be looked on very favorably by a large number of people, making a switch over, or purchase as a second detector, a more viable option.

Straight up, I have a GPX 6000, but am in the market for a detector that more or less matches the GPX4500 not just in performance, but ability to handle certain hot rocks and salt ground, places where the GPZ and GPX 6000 struggle in various ways, and that the 4500/5000 handle with ease. I simply do not want another detector with separate battery and no speaker. Even an ATX would do what I need, if it were not a boat anchor. It’s just a matter of time before I have a Fisher, Garrett, or N/M model to complement my GPX 6000. It’s just who does it first. Unless Minelab beats you all to the punch, which at this rate is not impossible either.

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14 hours ago, Aureous said:

A clock would be great though!!!

This is a small thing, but one I totally agree with nowadays. Especially if the electronics are sensitive enough to require shutting my phone down like the 6k/7k are. I'm always wishing I had a easy to read clock with my phone shut off, and I don't want to wear a watch.

On the phone subject and to add to the GPS discussion - it's not that I don't personally find GPS useful, in fact I find them critically important. It's that the functionality needs to be modern enough for me to find useful and that means to me having the capability to import .kmz, .gpx, topos, and aerial imagery (and a screen with good resolution to display them) since my phone must be shut off and that's where I store such things. Having it on the detector would be useful if done right, and prevent me from turning off/on my phone so much and losing detecting time. High resolution (unlike the 7k gps) is necessary to accurately track gridding too IMO. But adding such robust functionality to a detector might increase the cost unacceptably, and cost will be the major factor that sells a detector like this, which is why I just defaulted to "no gps". 

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Lunk for sure.  I'm puzzled why I didn't think of him in the first place. 

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A few questions - 

1) IS GPS NECESSARY/BENEFICIAL ON A PI UNIT? NO, keep weight, cost, software complexity and battery resources to a minimum

2) IS COLOR SCREEN MORE PREFERRED? ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES - TBH I don't need any screen

3) ARE YOU OK WITH AN EXTERNAL CABLE AROUND THE SHAFT? - preferably

4) COILS - SIZES AND SHAPES (3 PLEASE) - 8" round, 14 x 9 and 15" round

5) IS 10 FT WATERPROOF GOOD ENOUGH? Plenty, something I can hose off after a dusty session, and something that will survive a sudden downpour of rain is great. I would very rarely actually take it in the water, but if it worked at the salt beaches then I probably would. 

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