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Came across a small circuit for relaying the frequency of a coil to a computer using a microphone jack and some software. I have a scope which will do the same thing but has to be hard wired to the coil or control board of the detector. What I liked about the circuit is it didn't need to be wired to the scope but the scope doesn't supply power to a circuit so I added a battery and then a couple leads to hook to the scope. I printed the little coil on my fdm printer and wound the coil on it. Layed out the part in pcb software and printed the circuit on some silicone transfer paper then transferred and etched my own pcb. Soldered in the parts and tested it. Lastly I was happy how accurate it was with just a small 2hz when powered on which could be the capacitor tolerance. What also is pretty cool is I can move the sensor away from the coil and physically measure the signal drop off. Surprisingly the signal will drop off pretty sharp. This is doesn't necessarily tell you how deep a detector will report an object it senses, just how far the coil goes. On my Multi Kruzer it showed the Superfly coil being a little out of frequency as the frequency was high which means I probably have a bad connection in the cable. The other coils tested fine and between 5,14, and 19khz there was little difference in range. On the Tejon I tested stock coil that came in spot on 17.5khz but the Cors Shrew came in at 16khz not that it matters that much on that machine. Apex was interesting. The Ultimate 9" was 12" and the Reaper 10x14 coil was 14", only 2" more. Now between frequencies and modes. The 20khz was the most followed by MF and MF and range dropped down as frequency was dropped in single freq modes. If I get my hands on a Nox and Legend would like to test those just for kicks. Anyways whole purpose was to make a little test device so I can keep working on my coils and test coils that maybe faulty. Just enjoying other aspects of the hobby. Enjoy!

I decided to hunt the woods of the property where I work. I’ve probably mentioned this before, but the property dates back to the early 1900s as a resort/vacation destination for folks coming up from the lowcountry area of South Carolina to the higher, cooler mountain air of the NC mountains. I was hitting the occasional shotgun headstamp when I came upon an area with a ton of iron signals. The old lock was about 12” deep and was ringing up like a silver half. Also found were two old pocket knives, part of a kerosene lamp, a button (probably from bib coveralls), various shot shell headstamps, a junk ring (probably more modern than the other finds as this area is pretty close to a walking trail), a clad dime and copper memorial. The 1903 dime was found on property about a quarter mile away from the other stuff. I also found a 3 merry widows tin near that dime.

Just wanted to drop a quick beware. Recently, while detecting in the Yuma area, I came up on two separate bee hives. The first was in a big gulch with lots of drifts in the bench. Fortunately, it was first light and still cool and as I was beeping near the mouths of the old timers mines. I saw a few bees and realized quickly what was in this placer drift. if it had been warmer, the screaming junk may have agitated this hive. The second was much more eye opening. I had made my way up a very narrow side gulch and hopped over to work back in another even smaller draw. I beeped my way down stuffing my coil under any bush and cactus as that was where I was having luck in this well detected area. As I came down I worked the old stone walls the old timers had made getting to the false bedrock. I had just got a nice .5 gram and was re-enthused. This area was sparse to say the least of vegetation. I came on a 4-5' tall creosote bush and was half way under the bush with my coil when I noticed what looked like a dark brown cowboy boot laying near the ground. As I looked a bit closer that boot turned out to be a bee hive. It was only 6" off the ground. I slowly backed off and shut my GPZ down and took 5 minutes to thank the gods for not upsetting that nest. This was a very small, very steep gulch that I would have had no way out of if they had decided to rain hate on me. It was hot that day and bees where everywhere in the air as the desert was in bloom. Damn lucky I was. Just wanted to share my lucky day and bring light to these tiny guys. We are always on point for rattlesnakes.... I myself have never been snake bit but have been messed up by bees several times in my life. So keep your eyes peeled as your working that coil this spring/summer. Deep Beeps

I haven't been keeping up with Minelab's progress now I'm no longer a share holder, fortunately I did get out at a good time, so this is a month or so late but interesting none the less. I took a few tidbits from the documents which can be read in full here: https://codan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2512906.pdf https://codan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2512925.pdf Starting with the Chief Executives introduction message. It's surprising to see how much Communications has taken over metal detection as the better part of their business, even in R&D they're spending far more on communications now reflecting that market performance I guess. Some bad news for dealers, they're investing more in e-commerse, we all know what they means, there will be more buying direct from Minelab and cutting out middle men smaller dealers like they've recently done in Malaysia and Indonesia with their own buy direct website - https://minelab.co.id/ You'll likely need to click on the images to see them in a readable form depending on your screen size. It's interesting the key markets for Gold Detectors are Asia Pacific, yep that includes me 🙂, not the USA though. The USA is in the treasure detectors category as a key market. Latin America is a key market for the Gold Detectors though. I guess not many Americans look for gold anymore by comparison to other countries. The near term strategy is just to focus on marketing and selling the new Manticore and Nox 700/900, so it doesn't look like we'll see another detector out of Minelab this year, the long awaited CTX and GPZ replacements are a long way away yet, although this was also interesting. See smaller dealers, increase E-Commerse penetration, they're wanting to do that into more markets! It will eventually be big box stores and E-Commerse (Minelab direct sales) They didn't consider the Equinox to be a high end machine, more of a mid range and this Manticore is considered a CTX level machine, maybe there never will be a CTX 4040. The best coin and treasure detector on the market they say, more accurate discrimination at depth they say....... not sure I can agree with that statement. Now lets have a look at performance..... Not looking too crash hot, it shows that gold detectors and Africa were vital to their good figures. Africa then.... and now A massive drop in sales to Africa. The USA is making up some of that slack with the treasure detectors, the Americans must be buying up Manticores and Nox's in big numbers. Not looking good at all, no matter how it's spun. So, I guess we won't see anymore new detectors this year, it's very unlikely, surprising the X-Terra didn't even get a mention although it's not a high profit detector, it's to remain competitive at that end of the market and won't be a big money maker regardless of sales I would think. Engineering investment is now favouring communcations where the money is being made more so than metal detection. Lucky for me I'm in no rush to buy any new detectors, in fact I may not buy another Minelab in quite some time, I can't see me buying their new GPZ when it comes out unless it's significantly better than my GPZ with X-coils and I have my doubts especially when I don't care about ergonomics, I'm not paying a massive amount of money for a GPZ on a diet. I doubt I'd even buy the new CTX unless there was some dramatic improvement in performance and the Manticore which I did buy isn't really that great big jump over the Equinox, and in many ways for my needs still well behind the CTX that's a decade old. Maybe their engineers have finally hit the wall when it comes to performance.

Ain’t that the truth Chase.... it certainly applies to my favourite button, found near a 1840’s era surveyor’s hut for a newly settled town. It is a coat button of the Protector Fire Insurance Co. of London circa 1830. A retired fireman in England is an avid collector of this firefighting memorabilia and offered me a tidy sum for it. How it got from London to the unsettled Aussie bush would make for a great read. The new owner has documented his collection in a catalogue. My find is item No.4 in this picture. I feel like I have made a tiny contribution to posterity.

I am super happy that I just got an absolutely "like New" Los Banos 1236X2 on eBay. It tickles the hell out of me now that I have what might be the only absolutely as new perfect los Banos 1236x2. This one is SN 90272. Likely never saw dirt. Came with unused coils...8", 5" and the rare 10X5 elliptical. I just ordered a new 10.5 coil for it to complete the set. While I was poking around on various forums about the 1236X2, I found this Hymn to them...by Keith Southern. Pardon if I am cross-posting, because I am not sure which forum it originally appeared on...but Keith The 1236-X2 might be the best detector ever built by fisher or any manufacture ..The Machine may not air-test the best or unmask in air-test the best but get it in the dirt where it counts and you will see it goes deep and pulls items out of iron with the best of them..It is a phenomenal detector.... I have pulled some real nice finds with mine and would never be without one...Get the 5 incher for the trash..run it in iron disc pre-set and by all means do not turn that silencer on... learn the language of the machine...If you run the silencer on you are basically running like any other machine out there... Remember quiet is nice but it kills masked targets and iffy deep targets...with the silencer off you will be hearing the targets that are discriminated out .. they will be pop's and sputter's and spit's..but not round sounding if that makes sense to you..what this allows is a good non-ferrous target to bleed through the discriminated out nail's (when set at the iron preset nails sputter big iron sound junky broken like) so you can hear the target with a nice audio response..these type targets will take awhile to get use to but once you hear the target a few times that is being masked you will know what to listen for...Also try to stay with the low ohm headphones like the stock fisher phones they replicate the detector sound so much better than the killer b type phones and such of high ohms they make it hard to discern a target...the audio which can speak volumes to you is best replicated at around 8 ohms or so..Deep targets have a fuzzy type sound that would be completely quite if the silencer was on..I have ran the 1236 against some big dog detectors in my personal test and the 1236 will hear deep targets just like the big machines but it has its own language...Again what is happening is the 1236 hears it all like ground noise and such and can report a target lurking below the mineralization..a lot of machines when canceling out the mineral also cancel the target since it cant break through the extra filtration of the signal going on from the ground reading..but the 1236 just blends it and you listen for the fuzzy round modulated hit.. Now the 1236 loves round targets be it low conductor buttons or high silver coins...I have actually found coins with the 1236 that I thought I would never find one being a 2 cent Piece out of a thick bed of nails that I had pounded on with probably 12-15 machines and the other being a 177? Spanish 2-Reale which is just about unheard of in my North Georgia area and it too was in a bed of nails.... I have found many relics with it also behind other machine's and in pure machine gun type iron... Once you get the language down and listen to some noise the 1236 is one hard machine to beat in mineralized dirt and it just can’t hardly be beat in nails...Remember iron sites are a important for making find's because where there is iron like nails and stove parts and horse shoes and busted kettles and such is the habitation sites and that where the finds are at but it is hard to get stuff out of these sites...and the 1236 is one of the better machines I have ever had at picking through sites like this....There's a couple more that will hang with it and they don’t have a meter neither.. Good luck with one of fisher's greatest

All gold rushes eventually end, and it looks like the metal detector driven part of the African Gold Rush has collapsed. That's normal. Easy surface finds by individual prospectors always play out quickly, and then the big boys come in and consolidate the business of mining the harder to find gold. For Minelab though this means real trouble, as it will be very hard if not impossible to generate the kind of numbers that they saw with 6000 and 7000 machines. High price detectors with huge margins. No doubt the market there is flooded with used detectors and Chinese knockoffs making it even worse. Then add in the fact that anyone ignoring the goldfields playing out in Oz and the U.S. is just whistling past the graveyard. Add it all up and the gold prospecting juggernaut that Minelab rode for so long is now over, and no new whiz bang nugget machine is going to change that. They are instead trying hard to fill the gap with coin and relic, but $1500 detector sales will not replace $8000 sales. They face growing competition in coin and relic and so can't just name the price, but instead are pumping out low cost machines to compete. The real answer for Codan will be to continue to diversify away from detectors into other areas. The future is not bright for growth in metal detecting, more like a hard fight for lower margin sales with stiffer competition. There very well might not be a CTX 4040 as the ability to sell very high priced detectors may be at an end. What could another $2500 model realistically do that would get people to shell out the bucks? Will people really line up for a $8000 GPZ 8000 like they might have done in the past? I won't be in that line personally, and I'm not sure I'll be alone standing on the sidelines when the time comes. It's just too much money to dump into what I am sure will be a very marginal improvement at best. More ergonomic? Sure. Better on small gold? I doubt it. Maybe another inch on a 6 ounce nugget? Maybe. But are there really that many of those at depth that have been missed as people imagine? Not in my locations. I'm glad I'm not in the metal detecting business anymore, and sure won't be buying Codan stock.

Okay guys, not sure who else has done this but i wanted to share my story of how i used my noggin to take one deus 2 and turn it into 2 machines for super cheap. Okay, so i purchased my d2 for a great price thanks to rob with robs detectors ($1100 for a machine that was used one). Since i got the one w the 9" coil i also purchased the 11x13 coil ($311). I then purchased bone conduction headphones from a member here ($50) and purchased an audio adapter that allows you to plug headphones into the puck ($12). Now a second shaft ($100-$200) depending on maker. Attach ws6 puck adapter to ws6 puck, plug any 3mm headphones into headphone jack on adapter. Pair ws6 to 9" coil. This is setup #1. Attach bone conductor headphones to large d2 controller. Put controller on new shaft. Pair main controller to 11x13 coil. This is setup #2. Tested this out and the two machines work independent of one another. So... for a total of a little under $500 you can run 2 machines. A second high end machine for under $500, yes please. This is really cool if youre like me and had already purchased the 11x13, carbon fiber shaft, and bone conduction headphones for personal use. In my case i made ZERO INVESTMENT for this second machine but now can invite a friend to join me. This setup is also great if you are trying to extend out battery life if you forgot to charge up or dont have a battery charger as a backup. Anyone else try this setup to invite a friend yet? I dub this setup the manticore killer since you'll never get this kind of flexibility out of the Manticore.

That's how we got the term "hard ass". All sorts of cool relics, tokens, etc, but I was hoping the following find was an authentic alien artifact 😉 It turned out to be a newspaper ad printing plate for a vintage radio 🙄 Similar to this:

Complete early-mid 1800's Pod Auger in very good condition. Found at a inland riverport townsite.

Companies like Minelab, Nokta and XP (don't know much about Rutus and no one that I know of sells them in the US) have made the leap and investment to produce VLF detectors that: can handle most terrain, most soils, most beach conditions, are waterproof, have wireless audio, simultaneous multi frequency with selectable single frequency, are lightweight, can be used by beginners to experts of any sex, size or strength and these detectors will work just about anywhere on a wide range of target sizes and conductivities. If that is polishing the cannonball, okay. Maybe I am in the USA minority, but for me that is also getting good quality detectors into the hands of intermediate to expert level detector users that needed better detector performance and features in just ONE detector so that I don't have to own half a dozen USA brand detectors to remotely try to equal the versatility of that one detector. I am crazy enough to currently own four of those "do it all really well" SMF detectors that I can quickly switch into selectable single frequency if I need to. Some of these like the Minelab Equinox 600, 700, Nokta Legend and XP Deus 2 Lite are very affordable compared to the prices being charged for new Garrett and FTP intermediate to expert level detectors that don't come anywhere close to those being offered by Minelab, Nokta and XP when it comes to features and performance at least where I live. The USA detector currently being produced that remotely comes close to that kind of versatility and performance is the Garrett APEX and as much as I like that detector's concept, it is not an intermediate to expert level detector for really tough inland conditions and it's not waterproof. I would love to still own a Whites MXT, MX5, MX7, MX Sport, DFX, V3i, Fisher F75 or F19, Garrett AT series and some Tesoros. However, I would never use those detectors just like I would never use a Minelab X-Terra 705, Nokta Racer 2, Multi Kruzer, Anfibio or a Deus 1 anymore. I can't afford to own detectors that I will not use and I don't want to keep a detector museum in my home.

Yep, did that months ago, created a WS6 Master rig with the original Deus shaft, and put the remote on SteveG's fabulous CF Deus 2 shaft. 😀 Got the 13" and remote on the CF, and the 9" on the original. Even made it so I can dunk the 9" up to a few inches below the puck holder with a piece of coax. 👍 I have 2 pairs of WSA II headphones, one for each. I'll use the bone phones with the remote occasionally.

We must be getting very close to the update release because more Youtubers are getting chatty about it.

I have one since 03/22/3023 and I use it exclusively on the beach... Very good mechanics, the scuare shaft is a success, the coil no rotates during the hunt. The original coil is precise and very light ideal for wading and surf. I have tested it with the original 11' Nox 800 coil and the 15' Coiltek, it works perfectly. But I am doing the learning with the stock coil... Impressed with the battery life, more than 12 hours of search using shoft light on (I have 4 full charges). The stability on the beach is amazing, I think it's above my Nox. The fact that the coil enters and leaves the water is much better solved... The tones are clean and clear, it does not suffer from false signals. It is light and comfortable, you can hunt a lot of time without fatigue. I thought that being 8 kHz it would be good with Silver, I've been wearing 3-4 rings for a couple of nights. ID 72-84. But, it's also good with Gold, three pieces!!!. I don't know how they did it... Like a coinshoter has no rival, our best coin (2€) now goes to id 62-63. Much better than before with the compressed ID's. Pul taps have migrated to 31 and it's easier that way. I've come to hate 12-13 Nox. And if you don't dig it, there's no gold... For me, the extended identification it's better. In dry sand you can use Park 2 on 15 kHz also. Very effective, it reminds me of Gold mode, which I also use in dry sand, more reactive and with metallic audio. And now what I like least: - The bottle caps have gone up with the silver, - From 6 inches deep the ID reader simply does not work (normal in a SF). So far pleasantly surprised and very happy with the X-Terra. Who was going to tell us that it would cost less than €300... Thanks Minelab. 😉

I'll clean brass to get obvious loose dirt off, if it can bring out more design detail, help with identification and the risk/consequence of damage is low. Otherwise, I've found that leaving something like that as is helps preserve the patina and character of the find, especially if it is uncommon and if I don't want to risk damage. I also tend to not "repair" damaged finds, preferring to leave them as I found them. Here are two examples: a split Eagle Breast Plate and a fractured pure silver shoe/sash buckle. I was just happy in both cases to retrieve all pieces of these relics from the field. BTW I consider some relics unusual not because of what they are but because of where they were found. Here's a Two Cent piece I found in the fill sand on a public beach that certainly did not exist in the mid-1800's (probably was dropped wherever the fill originated from). Was totally unexpected. Here's a First Republic of Mexico 1830 Half Reale I found in an Eastern PA cornfield: Here's a CW Era Navy Button found in a random VA cornfield far from any Navigable body of water (perhaps dropped by a previous landowner who served or a sailor who was participating in the CW engagements in the area). Similar Story with this North Carolina Regimental Coat Button found in Virginia's Northern Neck far from any CW engagement activity. Sometimes I wish these relics could talk so they could tell us how they came to end up in the places where they were found.

You make valid points about advances in machine versatility and I too would not pull out my MXT or F75 (I still have them collecting dust) instead of my D2, Nox, or Legend, either. But that cannonball comment was in the context of fundamental detecting technology advancements (the detection technology principle), so yes, I stand by it. In that context, my view is that we are basically squeezing what little juice is left in the induction balance principle base technology that is the basis for hobby discriminating metal detectors. I honestly have not seen anything progress significantly other than bells and whistles and price points after Equinox was introduced 5 years ago. What Equinox brought to the table was incredible versatility vs. raw capability (a true all terrain, all situation detector that performed just about as well as any other detector out there) at an affordable price point. It ushered out the era of specialized niche detectors for hot dirt, gold, and salt water. But there was nothing really new in detecting technology other than a further refined iteration on SMF (been around for decades) and finally taking advantage of processing speed and embedded signal processing and user interface capabilities that have been present in phones and personal computing devices for a decade or more. Oh and manufacturers seem to be paying more attention to ergonomics. Since then we have had Garrett attempt an entry level SMF that was barely a blip on the radar screen. Legend which is just an iteration on Nox with affordability that, yes, makes it more accessible to the casual detectorist, and Deus 2 which is a hybrid of the Nox and Deus 1 that is still outdone by Nox in some respects. Manticore is also just an incremental evolution of Nox, to be honest. The advances have been mainly cost, terrain versatility, user interface enhancements, and ergonomics, not necessarily a step change in capability or fundamental technology. So with respect to recovering targets with the classics like the MXT and F75, experts with those machines still can hold their own against the Manticores of this world on nominal terrain. Sure, there is some hot ground and wet salt sand advantages to the latest machines vs. the Fisher and Whites standard bearers but again, that's improved versatility and reducing the need for specialized machines like PI's, Gold Monsters, eTracs, and Excals. Yes, we need fewer "specialized" detectors now, and that's a good thing. But if you are a long-time detectorists with a classic machine primarily looking for spread targets in mild soil which is the norm rather than the exception in the US, the case for upgrading from an MXT or F75 is not necessarily there. In other words, if Nox or Legend or even Apex did not sway you, what will Garrett do to make a dent now that the market is saturated with 4 generations of Minelab Multi-IQ machines, a dirt cheep selectable frequency machine, the Legend, a forthcoming Quest, and the higher end Deus 2 and Manticores. In other words, how does Garrett make a splash with the holdouts who have not seen the need to upgrade from an F75, MXT, or AT Max over the past 3 to 5 years?

An option for Codan is to sell off Minelab. Would we consumers be better off if that were to occur? There seem to be a couple themes that pop up here occasionally: 1) "buy American!" and 2) "how do we save metal detecting"? 1) In 2023 how much does it matter where a detector is designed and (separate issue) made? Is country of origin more important than product quality and performance? Product price? I doubt it matters much in most of the world. Does putting importance on that actually help a company survive/thrive in the long run? I think most of us prefer competition. I don't see how assigning importance to nationality helps that. One could argue that the demise of USA detector manufacturers was partly a result of this traditional viewpoint, but that may simply be a convenient, unrelated piece of information. 2) I have multiple interests that share something in common: 'membership'/motivation are dominated by old people. We revert to when we took up the endeavor (many of us were young then) and how much fun and excitement were part of it at that time. We then (possibly) mistakenly think that young people today would have that same experience. Taking off the proponent hat and standing back looking at the situation objectively, it doesn't seem as though that is the case. The detector manufacturers have to deal with the above when trying to build/keep a profitable business. Those who have other forms of income (parent companies Codan and First Texas being examples) sometimes seem to be out-of-sync with some of our wishes but they have different priorities and IMO it helps to understand that.

Minelab pre-Covid released one of the best VLF metal detectors of all time with the Equinox 600/800 and quickly followed it up with the best beginner level VLF simultaneous multi frequency detector of all time with the Vanquish series. Those two detectors are still really hard to beat. Minelab has "improved" (not sure yet since the Equinox 600/800 and Vanquish are really great detectors) on that success with the release of the Manticore, Equinox 700/900 and X-Terra Pro this year. Next years market report will be very telling as far as whether those three are good sellers or not. Minelab's venturing into more e-commerce..........is that more to boost sales or is it because that form of business has already proven itself to be very lucrative for Minelab. GPX 6000 sales. I wish there was a breakout in their report for that specific detector. I often wonder how much forums like this one actually influence sales.

'Gold Prospectors' were listed on both slides (Recreation and Gold Mining). Presumably the split has to do with amateur vs. professional use. Have the resources that interest the pros been depleted in North America vs., for example, South America? Thanks for the report of the report, especially for distilling it down to the key pages. Seems their profits on the metal detecting side are down considerably comparing first half of FY23 to first half of FY22. But will the release of the three new IB/VLF's (deep into first half of FY23 before they even started trickling in) make up for much of that deficit? I suppose FY22 included the early sales of the GPX6000 which may be a higher profit detector (unit price and count) since it is sought by both amateurs and small-scale pros alike. As always, "time will tell".

Jeff, I appreciate you taking the time to start this thread. I’ve only been detecting for a little over a year now and although I’m relatively new to the hobby, Ive learned a ton during this short period of time with my D2 and Legend. It’s folks like you and Phrunt (plus many others) that provide wonderful guidance through this forum to users like myself that need a little assistance now and then. This is my first ML machine and unfortunately I am having the same issues discussed by you and Phrunt with my Manticore. I mentioned this in another location, although not anywhere near as skillfully. The reaction was quite intense and got immediately flamed by one person in particular, which quickly got off topic and didn’t solve anything. I’m going to try to incorporate some of the suggestions from this thread to see if it helps. If not, the Manticore will continue to sit in the corner, patiently awaiting an update, while I use the D2 and Legend.

Yes, it's already paid. The vibration function is remarkable in the water (and you can cancel ferrous only). Keypad backlight! ...whoever has a Legend knows what I'm talking about. And pinpointer mode finally works. The wedding band rang out in a clear and solid 22-23. From the beginning I knew it was there. The audio is really good and now you got All Tones (At) and Deep (dP), what more could you want ?!?!... I reserve the test on the beach with the 15' Coiltek coil for a little later. I think it will be awesome! The €1 coin over 12 inches. Perhaps the new X-Terra Pro will be the next game changer...

All I can think of is that a day detecting with both klunker and Sourdough Scott must be like going detecting with the Marx Brothers.

Heavy cast brass breastplate, era unknown, 3 human figures with some sort of animal cavorting below a bearded head with outstretched hands.

I got back to my roots yesterday at the local river for a dig. I am just amazed at how much gold is lurking in those plant roots from the upper flood plain when I wash them. Most people ignore them, so often times the gold has been building up for many years. The drop riffle design is a perfect fit too. You can wash them in the hopper, and what roots that get loose in the sluice just roll over the drop riffles. They do plug up the classifier screen a bit, but a quick scrub with a brush cleans them up quickly!

Today I´m preparing for tomorrow dive in my usual and devastated gulf spot... After the shaft accident with the new toy the last week, Ive been captured by a stupid doubt... What about the use of a single frequency on the Ctx ? I know, this thing isn´t possible due to the kind of machine with an FBS range continuously at work, but somewhere I found a text related to the noise cancel channel and the different frequency in use... So In these years, I think the succesful use of a frequency among 15 and 20 Khz in salty environment it is not a secret anymore but what about this particular machine stated at 1 to 100Khz? So tomorrow morning I want to try all of the 11 channels and manual settings for sensitivity and noise cancel, adding the ground/coin separation that for sure is the more stable giving a less jumpy target ID... Feel free to laugh at this post but I feel like a child again...

That's OK Jeff, you can visit mine, or better yet, Simon's!! I was just saying to someone that I like old, dusty detectors, with no warranty!!🤣👍👍

To that point regarding TID, Chuck, you can also see where things take take a step backwards even when we think we are moving forward. Reference the TID stability issues that have been noted on the Nox 700/900 compared to the Nox 600/800 and even Manticore is wrangling with TID stability to a certain degree. This probably just illustrates the "no free lunch" adage as Minelab opened up the TID scale to provide better mid-conductivity target ID differentiation, but so far, it has come with a cost - less TID stability overall.

Nuggets The same thing happen to me with a new detector and it was a Minelab. So now I carry extra batteries extra detector and extra anything just in case. My trip was over a thousand miles. Chuck

I don't know if Steve, or anyone else here, threw Whites under any busses! And you have some valid points! But besides the fact that he knows the business inside and out; he's a big boy, and if he feels the need to justify anything here on his forum, I'm sure he will! All I can say is keep it a clean fight!!🤣🤜🤛 And thanks for some interesting conversation, I haven't posted this much in a while!!😂🍀👍👍

AT Joe D... Monte, Yes that is sad, Always liked his input to the hobby. (Joe) "Good or bad, everyone can make there own judgment, but most like the leading edge, and excitement of new machines. (Me) I can't see "The leading edge" being so far ahead, Light weight, I can see that as a big selling point. Again my type of detecting (Relics and the era of very old coins) makes for different quality's/abilities desired. I'm sure there's many (Old time) detectorists who don't even look at the forums anymore. I just recently just started stopped by. Hey everyone, Thanks for the comments.

I understand what Simon was trying to convey! Good or bad, people wanted lighter machines with a broader range of usable conditions, that kept pace with the technology! And the demographic has changed too! Many younger people grew up in a "disposable electronics" world, and don't mind chucking something after a few years of use! Take a look at any charity shop, flee market, etc... and you'll find many "gadgets" that still have life left, but look klunky or dated! Trust me, while I appreciate my TDI SL at the beach (it's well balanced, considering its weight), it's not waterproof, or really saltproof for that application, like some of the newer machines, and has zero warranty now!😵 Same with my Tesoro's! With the exception of my Sand Shark; but no lightweight, and no warranty! Like I said before, obviously White's made some bad decisions, as did Tesoro, etc.., build quality wasn't the final straw! But I do appreciate an ultra lightweight machine that i can swing all day, if the conditions warrant, and not feel like my elbow and shoulder are going to explode! Aging sucks, and so does the fact that finds are not what they used to be; at least in the US anyway! So for the companies still left, their catering to what "most" detectorist say they want; young or old, newbe, or seasoned, prospector, or one or two time users! Or else they will fold too! Also, the surviving companies have learned to diversify! Some long ago, like Garrett, who "could" survive just fine without the hobby division, but have invested much recently to keep it alive! And I'm happy they did, as the last, real US competitor in the game! One final note, just to keep me on track with the post title, is while those older machines still do the job, they are just not relevant in many forums, as far as people talking about them much! Good or bad, everyone can make there own judgment, but most like the leading edge, and excitement of new machines, and if that's what keeps the forums alive, than "it is what it is"; my favorite saying BTW! Even on forums that tend to "cater" to the older machines, the posts tend to be few, and far between! Monte's😔 (RIP) Forum, AHRPS.org, Is a good example! Even there, they have had to relegate all the defunct companies into one heading now, for lack of posts! And he was a diehard "old detector user"! It is what it is!!🍀👍👍

I guess I'm having trouble wording it, I certainly don't see quality as a bad thing, but when you combine quality with detectors that are being left behind by the competition then it's a bad recipe, You clearly think your 5000D Series 2 can keep up with a modern detector, I'm sure plenty disagree with that and voted with their wallets but it's not about that, it's about if you have one of those machines, even the XL Pro from the 90's and the MXT from 2002, all decades old machines. Once you own one what else can you buy off Whites to keep the cash flowing into the business to keep them alive? An example of how to make money is Minelab with the GP then GPX series, best gold detectors on the market at the time, they could have sat on them forever like Whites did with it's "competitor" the TDI but then sales slow to a crawl, instead they went on to compete with themselves releasing newer models to compete with their own models seeing they had no competition, now they're decades ahead of other brands and only recently has Garrett came into the game with a competitor to the GPX but Minelab already released a GPZ in 2015 which is still well ahead of the Axiom and the GPX series in many ways. They kept innovating, kept improving, kept people wanting to buy the new models, and stayed in business making big money by doing so. No matter how good your machines are, unless people keep buying new ones off you then your business can't survive.

Yes you need a scope. Here is the circuit and pdf to etch. Single sided copper on bottom. Freq Sensor.pdf

That 1 khz has a big change in EMI, 4 seems much better than 5 Khz. 🙂

White's had multiple problems! There was not just one thing that did them in! But there "new" old stock is sparse these days, and there is a healthy used market! I have three of some of their best i bought used! Unlike many others here, I had a large gap in my detecting years, so the analog and digital "play by ear" models appeal to me, and always will; among other modern one's i have! Steve and others "in the know" have gone over all the issues previously, with those companies that are now defunct, and I won't second guess their near half century of wisdom on the subject! I'm in it for the fun, and I like the people I've met along the way, while doing it! Just sorry I missed the really productive years, and great innovations, when they were new! All good things have there time, and end! Nothing new there!🍀👍👍

I've done almost exactly the same but with an extra XP lite shaft instead.

Which ever you want will work with piezo’s.

I think if anything Steve and others are disappointed Whites could no longer survive as a business. The reason for that is people stopped buying them, it's really that simple. If they sold well they'd be here right now, but they didn't. Loyal Whites people mean very little, having people using their 10 year old Whites detector doesn't keep a business alive, businesses need sales and to get sales they need to be innovative and provide products people who own older models want to upgrade to. If you make a great product in a small market like detectors that's great, you will sell a lot, what happens when everyone who wants one has one? your business dies. Tesoro = Lifetime warranty? Great way to kill your business. Forums don't hire people, in fact they're insignificant in today's market when it comes to advertising, Youtube, Facebook etc are the home of paid promoters, not forums. You are part of Whites failure, happy to run a decades old detector because its built well, and works well enough to keep you happy.... how do they make money off someone like that? They can't. The only detector businesses that survive right now are the ones constantly striving to bring new better models to market, maybe their performance doesn't improve all that much but they add features and other benefits to make people want to buy them over their existing detector. The moment that stops they will gradually die too and there will be the last few companies standing that can afford to keep going, possibly propped up by something other than detectors. Whites worst enemies were it's devoted customers using their decades old detectors content with their old long lasting well built detectors not wanting to buy the newer model.

now you're just showing off 🙂 Cool detector, well before my time and look like a Gold Bug 2, It certainly does look pristine, congratulations on the find.

Wow, looks like they did a dodgy solder job on that one.

The bedrock in that area is primarily Mississippian age limestone formations with a capping sandstone member all overlaid with Quaternary alluvium. Surficially, your stone has the appearance of a desert rose (selenite or barite). While there are apparently gypsum and anhydrite beds in the St. Louis Limestone which could be the source for selenite crystals, western Kentucky is not the right environment for the formation of desert roses. However, the area around Muldraugh Dome is known for geodes. Quartz geodes up to a third of a foot in diameter are common. The Kentucky Geological Survey does say selenite and barite geodes are possible. So, try to scratch it with your fingernail. If it scratches with your fingernail then it very likely is selenite. If you can’t scratch it with your fingernail but you can scratch it with a copper penny (not zinc so use a penny before 1982) and it feels relatively heavy than it is probably barite. If it won’t scratch with a copper penny, but the stone will scratch glass, then is a quartz geode.

I think that in the last 10-12 years, American detector manufacturers underestimated European detector manufacturers,,, who produced really good detectors that equaled and even surpassed the detectors of American manufacturers.....mainly after lateral unmasking in iron,,but also deep separation.. . what does it mean to find other new targets on the explored terrains... This eventually translated into the results for the companies m Tesoro and Whites ..which ended their activity.. As one of the Rutus Atrex testers, I know where the current technological level is... European manufacturers... and what results such detectors can achieve... even though I have a sufficient number of American, European and Australian detectors in my portfolio /26/ ... Minelab also realized this... did not underestimate it... and came up with the development of Equinox, which turned out to be a successful detector... I think that American manufacturers still have a chance to succeed... if they start working seriously on improving their detection technology... but it's high time to start doing something...

I have used alot of detectors, and over the last 20 years i have found more rings and money with the MXT than any other detector i have used. I have two MXTs now and if i find a good deal on a used one i will buy it. The last ones i am trying now is the Anfibio, Vanquish 450, I had a F75 and sold it before i used it. Now i am looking to get another one. As long as i detector i will always have a MXT. I do alot of treading and selling, that is fun for me.

Anytime I brought up reporting problems like this to the law Jacob became angry. He had no use for the law & didn't trust them anymore than he trusted the hooligans. He was old school and figured he could handle things his own way. Like I said before, he was an outlaw.

I guess it seems maybe I am the only one who seems to think it is a fun unit?? What I mean by fun is this....It doesn't break the bank and it finds targets. Good ergonomics and large nice display. I do not know if the software can be upgraded in the future. Maybe it can. But as a detectorist that started out with beep and dig machines from the 70s and 80s....it is a good unit. Yes it is a neutered eq600..... But with that said, it still gets good depth and finds things in the ground. I already know with the 6 inch eq coil on the xterra pro is way better that the original xterra 50 with the 6 inch 18khz coil from my experience.

Nice Glenn.... yeah I love those old makers plates, real stories attached to them. Here is one I unearthed in an old farm site. Coach builder’s plate.

Found this item at old coal mining camp in southern Colorado. Just think if it could tell all the stories it heard while miners were playing pool.

This is a 17th to 18th century tobacco pipe tamper (above a fancy colonial flat button) with a hand grasping a scroll symbology meaning the pipe bearer was likely highly educated.

That must be why it is bent.

Our gold areas are full of briar rose from the Chinese miners wanting their rose hip tea, they're nasty and can easily poke into a coil cable, and they damn well hurt! They attack me every time I go detecting. It's rare I don't come home with holes in my clothes from them, the thorns are very tough. They're an invasive pest plant, and they entirely cover areas, gradually taking over the land, JW often cuts them down and has benefited greatly doing so by finding gold in places no one can get to.