Steve Herschbach

Using advanced detectors need not be complicated at all. The presets exist for a reason - use them and I don't see why a beginner can't get going, then expand into learning the controls later if they want. Better that than buying a simple detector, then selling it later to upgrade. Surely most people can do this: I have a short Equinox tutorial here

900 is fine also - I was trying to keep it tight, not end up with a list a mile long. My comment in return is that if not Equinox 800 then go all the way to Manticore. But again, whatever, it’s splitting hairs over personal preferences. Let’s amend my list to Minelab Equinox, Nokta Legend or XP Deus 2 and leave the exact Equinox model up in the air. I’d be fine with any of them.

Welcome to the forum! Almost anyone need look no farther than the Minelab Equinox 800, Nokta Legend or XP Deus 2 for the vast majority of normal metal detecting - coins, relics, jewelry, and even gold nuggets. They will all get the job done and done well, and the difference between them is negligible. The Minelab Manticore will probably replace the Equinox 800 as the way to go once the software is finalized and coils fully available. It's probably a better bet looking forward for a really serious operator, but the Equinox 800 has bang for the buck that can't be denied. Outside of serious gold prospecting there honestly is no need to look at anything but these three or four detectors, and do rest assured they are all very good. Most of the debate on these forum boil down to hair splitting over the fringe targets, with all these models normally doing just as well on the vast majority of normal targets. Pick one that seems to be a fit for you for whatever reason, even if one just looks cooler to you than the others. Flip a coin. But if you get one of these and truly apply yourself to learning it and more importantly, putting in hours on good locations, you will do well.

33 posts over four pages here Upper right there is a search box. Enter your search term, and make sure the search is set for “everywhere”

Be sure when you search the forum that you are searching “Everywhere” or you won’t find stuff. I just searched Detech and Arrow and both worked. The search defaults to the thread or sub forum you are in and people not making sure it’s looking “Everywhere” is why things do not get found.

I really enjoy your posts with the trash and all - the real story. I’ll do the same myself with Axiom soon, thanks for the inspiration. 🙂

Sorry about that -fixed now!

If my Equinox ever quit I'd get a Manticore or Deus 2 or Legend, or probably something newer and better by the time that ever happens. There are people using 20-25 year old detectors and they are going strong. The Equinox is not old at all compared to a White's MXT for example, or the original F75s, or even the old Explorer. People are still using them. There will also be used Equinox available long after Minelab ever quits making them. Lose no sleep over this one.

It might help others to know what the fix was Chuck. That’s kind of the whole point of the forum.

Agreed. Great place to vacation and maybe find a few bits, but the glory days are well past for visitors having a chance at serious gold. The truth is there were far more serious full time detectorists in Oz than there ever were in the states and they did their job all too well. There are good finds left for the dedicated Australian prospectors but the odds for visitors are quite poor. I enjoyed my trips to Australia but I don’t see myself ever going back.

Honestly makes no difference to me Chuck, no worries and certainly no apology needed!!

Better to be called a novice than some of the things I’ve been called! Being a novice really just means a person has more to learn and I hope I’m always in that category. I’m not too worried about that as the older I get it seems the less I know.

It’s funny to have to hear about stuff like this on the forum. Don’t know that I’d have found out otherwise so thanks Chuck.

The subscription based Invision sites like Bill had are contained in a database hosted on Invision servers, and if Bill did not back up that database, and it sounds like he did not, then he has no copy of the information. I have no idea how long Invision would hold a database after a client stops paying the bills, but my guess is not long. This forum by comparison is hosted on my own leased server and I have backups on my home PC. As I posted earlier in this thread you can use the Internet Archive to access much of Bill's forum. Did you not see that? Here is a direct link to the Jim Straight pages that were archived. If you really care about them it's wise to make copies, as there is no knowing how long the archives will exist once the original service goes offline. https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://nuggetshooter.ipbhost.com/topic/22123-jim-straight-here/* A tip on using the archive for database created sites - the links on the pages found often do not work. You need to use the "Click here to search for all archived pages under this URL" function that pops up when doing searches. This usually is the main page with an asterisk attached as shown above. This gives a master list you will have to revert back to in order to access each page directly instead of the normal links on the pages like found on this forum or Bill's. The formatting may be hosed but the text can usually be recovered. It takes a little work - it's not a simple functioning copy of the website.

I'd say that sums it up perfectly. Nothing helps flagging sales like a new model!

I think the real question is if the Manticore at $1599 is really any better at nugget detecting than an Equinox 800 at $899? Personally I have my doubts and I can’t see anyone getting the Manticore primarily for nugget detecting. That said, if a person had one anyway, there is no reason not to use it for nugget detecting. Coils? 5x8 for the little stuff and 12x15 for covering tailing piles or other large areas for depth in the big chunks. Or just go 11” as the best all around compromise it’s designed to be. I’d be getting the 5x8 myself if I had a Manticore and might prefer it over the 6” round on the Equinox, if only Minelab made such a coil for the Nox. But my Coiltek 5x10 has it covered for my Nox and none of those on the radar yet for the Manticore.

The prices have already been posted, and Gerry, a top Minelab dealer, hopes to have coils by Christmas.

No it has nothing to do with the need to have just one post to maintain a valid account. That has nothing to do with being logged in or not. You don't get disconnected for not having a post - I delete your account manually on review after a period of time has passed. If people post about stuff like this also telling what device you are using (PC, Android phone, iPhone 10, etc) plus which browser you use on that device (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc) can really help actually define if there is an issue or not, and what is causing it. "I'm having a problem" tells me nothing that solves anything. Nineteen times out of twenty it is not the forum but the persons device, browser, or internet connection that is causing the problem. I constantly switch between a Chrome on PC and Safari on iPhone and iPad every day. Sometimes switching devices will require me to log in again, but never if I use one device consistently and am sure the "stay logged in" box has been checked.

I admit I’m surprised. I figured 2023 as year of the coin detector, made sense to go back to gold nuggets in 2024. But then again if the gold nugget market is tanking, Minelab already sells the best you can get for that market, and they can simply milk it. Maybe lower prices on existing product as sales decline. More time to get whatever is next ready is not a bad thing if it helps them avoid the face plants done on recent product releases. Or maybe they sussed to the fact that we actually read these things and decided it was not wise to tip their hand this time. There, a ray of hope some can still hang their hat on.

Minelab Vanquish V8 coil $99 Minelab Equinox 6” coil $179 Minelab Manticore M8 coil $239 Vanquish V12 coil $139 Equinox Eqx 15 coil $239 Manticore M15 coil $329

Except Garrett does not tape the coils so you are blaming them for the prior owners action. Best bet if coil covers don’t fit properly or wireless is not up to snuff is to just sell the detector and move on. Life’s too short to deal with such things when some other detector would be less aggravating.

Works what way? Did I say how it works? The quote was just lifted from their website is all. Actually it does work but it’s hit and miss Clay. I know a bit about computers also, it’s not like you cornered the market there. Different snapshots collect different posts so I’ve had to look hard to find some old stuff - I have used it a lot. But yeah, for database driven forums a lot of the content simply disappears and is lost. It depends on the software used and how it’s delivering the content. Whatever, it’s better than nothing, and that’s why I provided the link. There was no promise that it would deliver absolutely everything anyone wants by me.

Search the history of over 823 billion web pages on the Internet. https://archive.org

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc is where the eyeballs are these days. That said I’ve seen no real change in traffic here in the last three years, as far back as my report runs. Around 7000 views a day. Been up to double that when new detectors release but always settles back down around 7000-8000. The main thing that helped here is I saw that nugget hunting was dying out so branched out more. The XP Deus 2 and Minelab Manticore are big traffic drivers at the moment, along with the Nokta Legend. And hate to say it but as other forums die off a few of the people end up here so these is some consolidation going on in that regard. Bottom line is it’s a bit of work keeping these things running and for dealers in particular if they are not generating revenue than a waste of resources spent better elsewhere. Bills YouTube channel is probably bringing him more sales than his forum and that’s kind of the bottom line in business.

A good habit to get into is anytime you change anything, ground balance again. Takes seconds, can't hurt - why not?