Legend - First Impressions

[Jeff McClendon]

On 3/19/2022 at 1:17 AM, JCR said:

Jeff,   Are you still running the stock programs or have you customized to any extent?

Park multi 1, ground discrimination setting, adjusted the tone breaks for iron, small gold, US nickels, zincolns, clad dimes/copper pennies, and quarters so each coin has one tone and isn’t straddling a tone break and adjusted the pitches to my classical music liking. 

[Pedlar mills]

George and chase please post about your results in hot dirt. Here in amherst virginia my dirt where I hunt is 4 and 5 bar most of my spots, I have to turn the nox down to sensitivity 14 speed 4 to cut out some of the ground feed back. So really looking for the best hot ground vlf and not seeing alot on these new detectors in hot dirt

[George Kinsey]

Should be interesting. Good luck.

[George Kinsey]

8 hours ago, Pedlar mills said:

George and chase please post about your results in hot dirt. Here in amherst virginia my dirt where I hunt is 4 and 5 bar most of my spots, I have to turn the nox down to sensitivity 14 speed 4 to cut out some of the ground feed back. So really looking for the best hot ground vlf and not seeing alot on these new detectors in hot dirt

I live south of Culpeper so not as hot. I only use a PI in Culpeper or my Blisstool.

[George Kinsey]

On 3/19/2022 at 8:08 AM, Chase Goldman said:

George, can't wait to hear how it does.  Taking mine to Culpeper next week to see how it does against Equinox and D2 all with 11" coils.  I opted out of the 6" round, not my cup of tea.  Waiting for NM to release the planned 10x5 coil which is IMO a great form factor for hot dirt relic hunting (small footprint to counter ground noise effects but with decent coverage).  Let us know how it goes.

The basalt base never has liked a multi frequency. Neither does the Legend. Reads 60 when it gets close to the surface, However I only use detectors in the Goldfield mode at these sites and that did the trick using 20khz and Fi disc. pattern. I dug one impressive target that was at pinpointer length with the 5 inch coil. A parasol ring came up. Did not dig any target with a number under 30 as these are mostly foil and small lead. Thats about it for now. Whoever thinks the detector is to slow to react in wall to wall iron certainly needs some more time using the detector. Hope you did well. Let us know. Thanks

[George Kinsey]

Central Va. is all about the Geology. My crushed basalt driveway goes right to 60 when you place the stock coil on it. Another slab, (Not basalt) reads in the low 20s but when you GB it GB at 81. When I GB the crushed driveway it reads 3. Nice. Enter the wet beach program. Seems to handle the bedrocks allot better after the initial ground balance which was zero. Oh my. My next trip I will use the stock coil and use Wet Beach. Did those tube people every here of turning down the sensitivity?

[George Kinsey]

I'm tired.  Time to go away until I learn more. Take care.

[Jeff McClendon]

I did some modern USA coin medium depth testing today just to see how accurate the Legend target ID’s were by comparing surface IDs to 7” IDs in moderate mineralization. I also did some Steve’s Bic Pen tungsten tip testing for you micro jewelry and small gold prospectors. I was able to use a small hill in my mother’s back yard to plant targets horizontally with minimal ground disturbance by taping coins to 12” long thin wood shims and I measured the depth to the tip of the shim with a 12” skewer that touched the shim at 7”. 

This ground registers 3 to 4 bars of Fe3O4 iron mineralization on an F19 and half to 2/3rds full mineralization on a Deus 1. All of these targets were taped flat to be consistent. 

I tested the Legend with 11” coil in default Park M1, M2, Field M1, M2, and the Gold Mode M with preset “Ground” discrimination pattern, sensitivity at 25 of 30, reactivity 5 and ground balanced each time I changed modes and multi setting. Ground balance readings were 61 to 63.

US nickel surface ID in each of the five different modes was 25. At 7” all five modes registered the nickel between 24 and 26.

US zinc penny surface ID in each mode was 41. At 7” all five modes registered the zinc penny between 39 and 43.

US 1957 wheat penny surface ID in each mode was 45. At 7” all five modes registered the wheat penny between 44 and 48.

US clad dime surface ID in each mode was 45. At 7” all five modes registered the clad dime between 44 and 47.

US memorial copper penny surface ID in each mode was 44. At 7” all five modes registered the memorial copper penny between 44 and 47.

US clad quarter surface ID in each mode was 50. At 7” all five modes registered the clad quarter between 50 and 53.

The results in the dirt at this site show that the Legend exhibits minimal up averaging down to 7” in its multi frequency modes. 

I have tested other single and multi frequency detectors in this dirt at the same depth with the same methods. The Equinox and Vanquish are also able to correctly ID coins at the 7” depth with minimal up averaging. I have tested other Nokta Makro detectors including the Simplex, Multi Kruzer and Racer 2 at this site along with the F19 and Deus 1. Those detectors lost target ID accuracy and severely up averaged targets at the 3 to 4” depth level. These detectors are mentioned here for reference purposes and are not meant to be a comparison or to reflect negatively on them.

Obviously, Nokta Makro have developed some very capable SMF tech in the Legend.

I also did a version of Steve’s Bic Pen test in the same dirt by burying a Bic Pen vertically with just the tip being exposed at the surface. Target IDs for the tiny 1mm Medium tungsten tip were 11 to 13 in all five modes. Detection distances with consistent 2 way hits and target IDs were: Park M1/Field M1 = .5 inches. Park M2, Field M2 = 1 inch. Gold M = 1.5”

The Legend has already found micro gold jewelry for me. 10K opened hoop earring which I haven’t had a chance to weigh yet.  

Still in Georgia with my mother who is totally amazing. Her physical therapists cannot believe the things she can do on one foot at age 91. Neither can I. She is scooting around the house in her wheelchair. Standing on one foot, doing dishes, cooking, doing laundry (with the help of a sturdy walker and some support bars I installed) and is progressing very well towards a prosthesis in about 2 months. She makes at least 30 transfers a day from wheelchair to standing or sitting on something else with ease. Never a complaint even when she is experiencing phantom pain from her amputated foot.

[GB_Amateur]

10 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

The results in the dirt at this site show that the Legend exhibits minimal up averaging down to 7” in its multi frequency modes.

Excellent study, Jeff.  3-->4 bars on the F19 is more mineralized than my typical ground and I see VDI degradation on all single frequency detectors before getting down to 7" depth.  The Fisher F75 won't do it.  Minelab Equinox in 4 kHz single frequency mode (only SF I've tested in my garden) won't either.  So far the Legend is living up to its pre-release claims, IMO.

Sounds like your mom has the right attitude.  Heck, you could take her detecting.  I think I'd wear out before she would.

[Jeff McClendon]

10 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Excellent study, Jeff.  3-->4 bars on the F19 is more mineralized than my typical ground and I see VDI degradation on all single frequency detectors before getting down to 7" depth.  The Fisher F75 won't do it.  Minelab Equinox in 4 kHz single frequency mode (only SF I've tested in my garden) won't either.  So far the Legend is living up to its pre-release claims, IMO.

Sounds like your mom has the right attitude.  Heck, you could take her detecting.  I think I'd wear out before she would.

Thanks Chuck,

I am trying to just report what I find in the limited hunting conditions and targets in the area I am in. I am headed back to Colorado this weekend and then on to Montana to meet my first grandson. I will take the Legend with me for sure. So far it has proven to be as advertised for coins and jewelry by my testing and hunts which means it is a direct and viable competitor of the Equinox in moderate mineralization.

My mother is pretty fearless but at the same time she rarely gets too upset by any challenge. However, rolling a wheelchair on wet, uneven ground is already something that she has declined to do. Maybe in a few weeks she will be able to get outside more.