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Got out for a hunt today in some of the worst conditions I’ve ever detected in, the wind was howling and the EMI was in machine gun mode so bad until afternoon when the atmosphere finally settled down it was impossible to detect. Then in the late afternoon the sky cleared a bit and my coil found itself over 6 little nuggets all found within an hour inside a 25 yard by 25 yard area, not a virgin patch but a patch!

Nope. Still have my 5000 and my 7000. If I average the two I have a 6000.

One of the things I like most about VLF's is their target ID's. I'm amazed with detectors being able to ID targets. Where I hunt I prefer to dig as few holes as possible so I heavily rely on Target ID's. My front yard is the most difficult place around my area for coin's to ID well, it has the EMI of my house nearby, the worst seems to come from my long range wireless router, I'm also abut 100 meters away from some high voltage power lines that carry power from the nearby windmills to the town. Once away from my front yard the results of this test do not change much, the ones that shine in this test are even better away from the EMI and the ones that struggle in this test while they do improve their overall performance ranking on Target ID's doesn't really change. What I've done with this video is tweaked the detectors the best I know how to handle the EMI with as high sensitivity that keeps them stable and gives their best hope of a good ID, some run fine maxed out in sensitivity while others needed high disc to operate. If I lowered the sensitivity anymore on the ones that are struggling with the EMI they would no longer detect the deeper of the two targets so I have to allow some EMI interference to get that deeper target. I've put white rocks on the grass where the two targets are located. The target on the left side is the deepest at about 8" while the right easier target is the same coin at about 6". They've been there around 2 years. Both are NZ $1 coins. 1 dollar coin specifications Alloy Diameter (mm) Weight (g) Edge thickness (mm) Edge treatment Aluminium-bronze 23 8.00 2.74 Intermittent milling Not all detectors are running equal coils, this is part of the equation of course on how well they perform. While the bigger coils get more depth and can accurately get ID's often better than the littler coils they do suffer more from EMI and also on the deeper target they're often more affected by the nail that is about 4" in front of the deeper of the two coins. The entire area of lawn is covered in roofing nails from when the roof was replaced some years ago. The roofers just throw nails down all over the place while removing the old roof. So this test wasn't to say some detectors are bad or good, it was just showing why I like certain detectors for hunting in my conditions around here, and why I think some excel over others in these conditions with the coils that I have for them. Each have the coil I find best out of the coils I own to suit this test. If I put smaller coils on some of the detectors they are unable to detect the deeper left target at all for example the 6" coil won't see the left target on the Nox at all. If I had to rank these detectors out of which will give me the best target ID's in the soils around here I would rank them as follows: #1 Vanquish so very close in performance to the CTX/Nox but just that tiny bit better as the Vanquish handles EMI the best. #2 Equinox / CTX 3030 are so close in performance I'd say they're about the same, although I have very limited CTX knowledge so far being very new to it. #3 Ace 300i (In this video it suffers the most from EMI but get it 100 meters away from my house and it shines with good depth and ID's ONLY with the Tornado coil giving it the #3 ranking) #4 Gold Bug Pro / Detech Ultimate combo, change back to any other coil I own and it's performance drops a bit. The AT Gold, and Teknetics T2 come in at the bottom, I'm not yet sure if the AT Gold is due to the smaller coil size or not, I only have that one coil for it, the T2 is a depth monster but it's ID's are poor by comparison I think, and the smaller coils on the Vanquish and Equinox easily give more accurate ID's on the shallower of the two targets than the AT Pro and even in the best conditions its ID's are nowhere near as accurate as some others when targets get deeper. Now please don't read into this in any way that I'm bagging out certain detectors or something, that's not my intention and while the T2 might be at the bottom perhaps in other conditions it might be on the top, I do not know. The AT Gold I only have the standard coil for so it's instantly at a disadvantage. What I'm doing is showing why I prefer the detectors that I do for the conditions I hunt in for my coin hunting where I rely on Target ID's for dig decisions. This video really shows why I like the Vanquish so much around here for coin hunts. I'm looking forward to learning more about the CTX it seems very promising and is doing well on silver coins in my local spots so far. Sorry for the Ace section, at 1:05 I switch to the deeper target, I was too close to the screen with the video so it is hard to tell when I switch targets, especially with the Ace giving similar ID performance on both targets. What stands out to me is I could tell a local person hunting in my area if they just wanted to find a bunch of coins and some rings or something without spending much money they could easily just buy a Vanquish or an Ace and do quite well, and not really be left miles behind over someone with something like a CTX, keeping in mind once you're away from my yard junk levels go down to next to nothing, iron junk is very rare in our parks and sports areas around here, with the main junk being bottle tops and pull tabs, and low value coins 🙂 Obviously this changes for people with very high trash or different soils or whatever variable makes it invalid.

It will stay in Australia! Congratulations. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-08/perth-mint-buys-king-henry-gold-specimen/100196356

For those of us in the USA, the coin Simon is using would basically equal two US quarters stacked in size and weight. The first time I found an NZ $2 coin I thought it was going to be a shallow aluminum can. It was about 2" deep in a local park. Totally blew my headphones off my head.........I think I was using an XP ORX. The Vanquish are really amazing detectors for coins and larger jewelry. If that was Minelab's goal, they really got it right. The simplicity of the often maligned "compressed" target IDs of the Vanquish and Equinox is one of their best features in my opinion. When they lock onto a tone and number and the target is non-ferrous you can count on the conductivity range being dead on no matter how deep the target is.

Have one on order. Waiting like the rest.

I'm all in. Already paid and still waiting.

I myself being new at this will not get a 6000 at this time because of several reasons. I am just learning the metal detectors that I have right now is the main reason, but the second reason is the price tag. I am not saying that the price is out of line for what it may be able to do, but it is to high for me as a younger person. I have a lot of expenses that I am working on paying off first before I indulge in that type of expense for any hobby. Last but not least I think that my 800 will do fine for what I am looking for right now, and when I get a new coil for it I will be able to find better gold with it. So there you have it and can count me out on one right now, but maybe someday down the road I might be looking for a new machine.

Six Thousand dollars to put out on anything is a large investment to make . I just wonder how many of you have committed yourself to buying the 6000 already? I’ve had a long talk with one Minelab dealer and he has been told that the 6000 may slow in coming to the US because of the high volume going to other countries. That’s due to the gold rush is there not here. For you that live in gold country it may be a easy discussion but for those of us that don’t we may have to think about it a while. I myself don’t have a bass boat parked in my drive with a big motor and trailer so this year I’m going to be good to me . I will have a 6000 as soon as I can get my hot little hands on one. How about you is Santa going to come early? The Best! Chuck

I heard supposedly the main flow of units will be in July. We can hope...

Bass boat in drive way here...It would be nice to be all stocked up on diff gold detectors but having the 7000 and the 2300 seems enough for me at the moment..plus I really need to examine my hunting style after my last gold hunt 3 months ago. Buddy took me to a new spot and gave me the pointy finger and proclaimed "they got gold down there" so down there I went...second target close to 2 gram nugget...thought this is too easy and I was right...trash every 14 inches not fun with the 7000...up the raving was even worse...kinda like going duck hunting with a 300 Win Magnum...If I were to go back it would be with Nox and give that a try...all I need right now is a more sensitive detector. But never say never strick

Got one paid for. Biggest fear is the body is starting to go FAST (legs mostly) and by the time the 6 arrives it may be too late? Heading out shortly to further explore a new to me drainage I stumbled into a couple days ago where I scared up 7 smalls....hopefully the rain will hold off today?

We’ve had lots of discussion about the ORX detector and how great it is. I myself personally have one. ORX detector that is ! The other that would be like a dog chasing a car 🚗 in what I’m going to do with it when I catch it . It may be best we put this post to bed before Steve says Enough is Enough guys! Chuck PS I think I’ll dream about that 6000 I’m going to buy.

Really good test. Usually you can hear the emi as a flutter if you have an all metal mode. I think the emi basically interupts the signal so the machines have difficulty settling in on an id. Higher frequencies help. When I ran the Gold Racer 56khz it was pretty much immune to emi and very handy. The Orx seems very emi resistant as well and for me the Kruzer is the most sensitive to emi with any both coils I use but the Nel coil seems just slightly less sensitive and smoother. Of all my machines I think the Orx is the surpising one where everything on it is wireless and how smooth it seems to be.

I’m going to go watch reruns of She Detector on YouTube, you guys sound like a bunch of old bird watchers and mailmen at happy hour!😆

When I was about 20 and surfing chasing some good waves I stumbled across a nudist beach on the Sunshine Coast in QLD/Australia. I saw things nobody deserves to see, the image I had of nudests and the reality of the nudists were two very different things, damn well scarred me for life. As we got there at first light there were none of them there, by the time we came in for some food they were everywhere, we had to navigate through them to get out of there, dodging all sorts of things. I wouldn't even consider taking my detector to a nudist beach with what I know now, also, with no pockets for the coins to fall out of they're unlikely to lose many coins anyway 🙂

Oh I hear you Joe D if my wife seen some of the Bull I shoot on here it wouldn’t be enough of me to have a funeral. But until then tell that girl it’s lots of coins to be found at the nudist beach down the road. Chuck

This is what the vest looked like before she made the mistake of washing it in hot water . Guys you got to remember beauty is only skin deep but ugly is to the bone. At my age it’s no such thing as a ugly woman. It’s just some look better than others. Chuck

Hey Phrunt I'll put on high heels a wig and even some lipstick if you take me to that ball field you been hunting lol 😍 strick

Anyone up for a two weekend Vintage Metal Detector treasure hunt? It would be from one Sat thru the Weekdays and ending the following Sunday. You must dedicate yourself to using a vintage detector(s) at any location(s) of your choice. BFO, TR, IB, OR, VLF/TR type. You will post all of your finds found using the detector(s) you used. All based on the honor system. It would show folks that vintage detectors are still alive and kicking finding treasure. If there's interest. I will work up a hunt. Date probably June or July. Detector would have to be no newer than 1985?

Geof, you obviously went to the exact same beach I did 🙂

Yes these NZ $1 and $2 coins are simple targets, they're similar to the Aussie $1 and $2 coins except we got ours around the right way with the $2 being the bigger coin than the $1, they made their $2 the small one 🙂 EMI is a depth killer, I've noticed that a fair bit in the past, I know if my detector is being bombarded with EMI not only are my target ID's messy I'm also losing depth. The Vanquish for some reason handles local EMI conditions better than the Equinox. I've displayed this on video in the past. 5kHZ is a troublesome frequency for me with EMI, I wonder if seeing Minelab were experimenting with 4kHZ and released that 4kHZ update for the Nox that for their Multi-IQ variant on the much newer Vanquish they used 4kHz instead of 5. Just a thought. I've always said the Vanquish is better with EMI as I really believe it is. I guess it could be the elliptical coils helping? I really like the Vanquish/Nox ID's too Jeff, The T2 having more ID's and so jumpy makes me far less likely to dig in a park situation when I don't want to dig many holes where I rely on ID's more for dig decisions as I can be more confident the target is good on the Vanquish/Nox, if it's jumpy on the Multi-IQ machines for me it's less likely to be a good target. If it's jumpy on the T2, it's either good or bad 🙂 If the Vanquish or Nox lock onto a target, life is good especially these $1 and $2 coins as they're such easy picking. You do have to do some pinpoint size tests sometimes as you can mix them up for a buried coke can. 🙂 If I left the CTX in Auto sensitivity it struggled on the deeper of the two targets, manual sorts that out. In my nearby park I can run the CTX in manual 25 before EMI causes me trouble, as apposed to 16 at home. I don't have recovery deep turned on due to the nails, once in the field I have it turned on. I'm finding the CTX outstanding for depth so far, beating the Nox in default park 1 gain of 25. My little 6" coil should arrive for the CTX today or tomorrow, that'll be the depth tester as the 6" on the Nox will not hit the deeper of the two test targets in this video. Will the 6" on the CTX? I hope so 🙂 The idea of my post wasn't to say detectors are better than each other or anything like that, it was just showing how well a new to detecting person could do using even entry level detector in my hunting grounds, the higher end machines with their extra features isn't really going to be much of a game changer for them. It's a shame the coil the Ace 300i came with is relatively useless on these deeper targets as it would be serious bang for the buck if it came with a Garrett made Tornado alternative and I'm sure there are plenty in Europe that would agree, those Europeans are who inspired me to get a Tornado for the Ace as based off their forums and Youtube it's a very popular Ace coil for deep coins. These coin depths I've got the coins at are quite shallow compared to coins I usually find, I would say 10 to 11" would be near average around here for coins. The reason I've put them in a little shallower is the EMI from my house. I should put another in at 11" and another deeper one I guess for my challenging tests but when I need to know that I just take the detector for a spin and the local field and let the detector show it's stuff. I'm not big on buried target testing when so many coins are available in their natural habitat so close to home 🙂

I just bought a pair but they have the 1/4 plug with no adapter. I have a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter laying around somewhere..This is my third pair of sunrays they are my favorite and use them when hunting with the CTX and 7000 I think they are the most comfortable headphones I have. Also have killer bees and one pair of grey ghosts water proof. strick

EMI is so much more. If one is able to hear the EMI pulses there is much more of a malfunction than just Id of the target. Depth will be severely limited as well when EMI is heard in the detector. Tom speaks of silent EMI. I would like to say it is there [not totality silent] but most people won't pickup on the subtle hints. As in, the only time you hear the EMI on the Equinox is in the all metal mode with an acquired target. Then slight pules can be heard when over the target. Even with this silent or slight EMI, loss of depth happens.

Hey Guys, Last weekend I tried them out for a few hours and they worked great. For the last 10+ years I have been using most DetectorPro headphones, such as Nuggerbusters, Gray Ghost and Black Widows. However, a friend about a year or so mentioned I should try the Sun Ray Pro Golds, so I did and love them. They fit my head better and not as tight and allow a bit more background noise to be heard. These new Universal Sun Rays are better than the original and have the ability to use on all 1/8 and 1/4 inch headphone jacks. I have about a dozen customers using them now and hope to hear their feedback, which I’m sure will be great. Now you can have “one” pair of quality headphones to use on you GPZ/GPX and you Gold Monster/Equinox!! Rob

I think your right Chuck. I have an older pair of SunRays and have always liked how the cushion pads fit. With their ability to keep sound out better than other makers pads.For those who have multiple machines or like me when on the tractor [1/4" jack ] Seems like lots of bang for the buck and they have upped their game on keeping ambient noise out.

Valens Legacy It’s done been proven that the Nox 800 can find gold. I can tell you for sure that I won’t leave home without it . Even the very best metal detector can go belly up on you and I don’t want to make that long drive for nothing. The Best To You when as you said that time comes. Chuck

That adapter plug is just a small part of what you’re getting for your money. Be sure to read from being to the end of the post on what else these headphones have to offer you the buyer. Chuck

On that best sellers list, did not see an APTX LL compatible and compact speaker. But the JBL Clip 3 on that list is compact, has a clip, and has an aux input so it could fill the bill if connected to an APTX LL RX/TX unit as I described above.

Nice article and great information on the detectors, with that said all I can say now is thank you for the information.

So it was my yearly visit to talk and basically train some new field school students about metal detecting. I do this pretty much every year and it's just some basic training and some hands on digging and pinpointing. Just very basic stuff. This year's students numbered about 20 from all parts of the country, and I must say they were a pretty enthusiastic bunch. Nice to see the youngins showing some effort. 😄 This is one of my favorite spots to detect, as it is a Native village site that dates to the 1630's and happens to be one that the English attacked on their withdrawal from Mistick Fort on May 26, 1637. This place just keeps giving up artifacts and by the time we are done there, it should give an extremely detailed account of how they lived and worked. Of course everything is documented by archaeologists and added to the collection and we keep nothing (except 22 bullets 😡). Hey free lead 😁 I didn't get pictures of all the scrap brass I found that day but did get this picture someone took of a signet ring I found. Almost looks like some kind of bird (or Thunderbird?) of some sorts. Any ideas anyone? It's not a beach, but still fun to detect.

I like the Superfly too. It is more comfortable to swing than the Utlimate and Tornado. Also, in my opinion, the best Garrett coil is the one you have that comes with the AT Gold. Otherwise, I would stay away from the other Garrett coils.

Phrunt Some years back a woman got caught walking out of a store with a small TV stuck between her legs. I’m not sure but I think I’ve seen some that could have walked out with a refrigerator the same way. Chuck

I detected a nudist beach once! Wasn't intentional! No really!!!! I don't know what kind of image I left them; I was clothed! But I had some images I'd rather forget!🙈 I got good quick, at keeping my eyes on proper coil swing, and speed! And didn't stay long!!! And yes, I told the wife when I got home!! Actually I think I called her, after I made it back to my truck!🤣👍👍

I'm out of likes too! You all crack me up! RR, I've learned the hard way! Cold water for everything, and when in doubt, no dryer! The wife's at least got that to sink in, when I wash anything of hers!🤣👍👍

June is looking good already. Size 5, 1.8g, 18K & PLAT, 2 diamond and 1 Sapphire ring. Working the wet into the surf. Equinox 800, Beach 1, sensitivity 23, AM. Also got two small silver bands but they are not as photogenic as this little pretty thing. Oh, I found my name again. CUNIAGAU

I am chasing some advice, I recently swapped my QED PI detector for a Garrett AT Gold. I basically never used my QED and it was gathering dust and wasting cupboard space which with my growing collection is becoming an issue, I've never gotten rid of a detector before, I even have my first detector from when I was about 9 years old but I decided the QED had to go. I offered to give it to a friend but after trying it out in my backyard he decided detecting isn't for him as it was too complicated 🙂. An opportunity came up to swap it for an AT Gold to a guy in Australia who offered to swap his AT Gold plus some cash for a QED, I just took the direct swap with no cash involved to keep it simple so I jumped on it and sent the QED on it's merry way on an international flight the next day. So now I have an AT Gold, I've messed around with it and the gold performance is not near the VLF detectors I prefer to use for gold more on par with my other 19kHZ detectors from other brands that also spend their life in the cupboard and nowhere near the performance of the higher frequency VLF's that I do use so I figured I'd get a bigger coil for it for coin hunting, not because I'm expecting it to compete or compare to my other coin detectors but just to give it another purpose as I'm unlikely to use it for prospecting, although maybe the odd creek trip being waterproof might be in it's future. It's in tidy condition, the owner was a GPX 4500 guy and in the land of OZ with high mineralisation so the AT Gold was a cupboard decoration for him too. He sent the Garrett headphones for it too but I have a phobia of headphones so they're stashed away now never to be seen again. So, what should I do for coil options for it? The Garrett NZ dealer only has the coil I've already got for it in stock and the 9" x 12" PROformance Concentric Search coil, I am in mild soils so perhaps this concentric would serve me well for coins? I prefer aftermarket coils in general and especially in comparison to standard Garrett coils that I've got with my Ace 350, 300i and now the AT Gold, so would I be better off getting a Detech Ultimate, Nel Superfly or Tornado for it? I have both the Ultimate and Tornado for other detectors and really like them and I love that I even have the option of getting these coils with the Garrett as it is one of the things I absolutely despise about the other brand that doesn't allow aftermarket coils. I've tested the stock coil on it and the target ID's are pretty poor on my usual coin digs, my Ace 300i with Nel Tornado is giving me deadly accurate Target IDs on deep NZ coins at 6+ inches in depth and the AT Gold with stock 5x8' is all over the place on the exact same targets, very unreliable ID's and won't even detect a 8" coin that the Ace 300i hits on with ease with the Tornado. Yes I know, big coil, little coil.... this is what I want to improve. On Ebay there are a brand of coil I've never heard of available for the At Gold, Magic Coils, made in Russia and they look quite good, Youtube personalities like The Hunter GT have left them very positive reviews but I can't find too much info on them, I'm always willing to try new things though, you never know when you'll discover something special others aren't willing to try. Here is one for sale for the AT Gold https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/292834716248?hash=item442e4f2a58:g:ijgAAOSwkB5b~EMv So what's my best option from people using one of these higher end Garrett VLF's, Nel? Detech? Magc? or the good old trusty stock coils? if so which one? As at the moment for coins my Ace 300i is flogging it for target ID stability and depth using the Nel Tornado vs the 5x8" Garrett DD on the AT Gold, even on shallow coins the ID's are more stable on the Ace. Also, is it worth getting a Nel Snake for it to get a decent little gold coil? I have one for my GBP's and it works well, again no match for the higher frequency detectors I prefer to use, has anyone used a Snake on an AT Gold? I don't expect it to compete with higher frequency detectors but even if it handled hot rocks better or anything it might be an option worth considering.

Imagine rolling that specimen back to the group campfire.....”boys, I decided to investigate that ground noise after all”......... I think I will go take a look this weekend......Mission Impossible style 😎

I went to a nude beach near Noosa Qld by accident. It was uneventful as the wife said they have no pockets to lose any coins, I agreed before any evident showed that I thought it was a nice beach.🤣

Great article and glad I had the opportunity to read it, so thank you for posting it.

Not yet but thinking about getting it from Rob . I think it’s 149.95 . They sure looked good and with the adapter plug you can see it won’t be a problem the way they fit together. Chuck

Thanks for the info.

It rang up 8 and a quick dig before the next wave hit. Actually, I think it was the third wave/scoop before I finally got it in the scoop. LOL And yes, it was a solid 8.

Just out of curiosity, because I haven't found a thin woman ring like that with the nox, what did it ring up ad? Was it a solid vdi?

I really like the Nel Superfly on the Anfibio. It's so light and performs very well and would be a good one for the AT Gold. The Nel Snake would be good one too. I had it on a T2 and never took it off. I didn't try these coils on the AT Gold I had. Hopefully someone posts that has.

Look out no got dog Eat you.

You know that it is a staged picture, if she was really metal detecting a beach she would have been in a bikini.

That is a nice ring...the kind my wife would take from me immediately lol strick

I just checked Sven’s website and per the field tests he linked to, My factory Hip-Mount Teknetics Mark 1 was introduced in 1985, so I have a “qualified” machine. Here’s a link to his site...lots of stuff on vintage detectors....https://www.treasurelinx.com/tk.html

Great idea! I’m in as long as I’m in town at the time. I would be using a 1970s era White’s Goldmaster Alaskan (the one in the bottom of this ad).