Steve Herschbach

Like I said, I used my F75 Ultimate on my Gold Bug Pro and it seemed to run fine. Try yours before getting another.

And Felix called again today to give me the tracking number.... will arrive Thursday. Great service!!

We are still at version 1.61 of the update. The detectors shipped with 1.44. Minelab has added a note in the instructions about USB cables.... "Many Micro-USB cables that are supplied with electronics (including those supplied with the battery charger and headphones in the VANQUISH 540 Pro Pack) are "power only". To update your VANQUISH, you will need to ensure your Micro-USB cable supports data as well." I have never heard that before, but they claim that some USB charger cables only charge and will not carry data. Including the ones provided with the detector! Here is a very short video showing the cable connection being made. Start the installation software first, then plug the cable in, and the software will start the detector and do the install.

Very nice chunkies - congratulations Peg!

It's all about speed and efficiency. Use a Bigfoot or Cleansweep coil if they are not prohibited by hunt rules. Some hunts won't allow them as they are deemed to offer an unfair advantage. Which pretty much tells you the story on how well they work for scalping shallow targets.

Anyone who spends much time comparing targets with a Equinox and a Vanquish knows that a Vanquish will hit most targets an Equinox will hit. The performance is closer than people may want to imagine for most normal metal detecting, making Vanquish a genuine value. Vanquish came out with a different set of coils than the Equinox, to the chagrin of many Equinox owners, since they are not compatible. What is interesting is that the Vanquish coils are quite a bit less expensive, even in cases where they are physically larger than the Equinox coils. Part of this may be the windings and tolerances possibly being different. Vanquish coils seem thinner and lighter, and being able to keep the price down on them is critical to keeping the price of the detector down also. However, it is a mistake to think retail price has anything more than a loose connection to manufacturing cost. The rule is charge what the market will bear. And true story for anyone that wants to bother with the research - accessory items for expensive detectors often cost a lot more than the same accessories for lower price detectors. This is because most people who spend a lot on a detector are willing to spend more on accessories. Just ask any car dealer who sells both inexpensive and expensive cars. So while I do not know the exact details, the fact is Vanquish coils sell for les because they have to. Nobody is going to buy an accessory coil if it sells for as much as the detector itself. This adds to the value proposition however. Not only does a Vanquish get very close to Equinox performance for a lot lower price, but the accessory coils can be had for quite a bit less. I kind of get now why Minelab did not make a set of these coils for Equinox. Would Equinox owners be willing to pay about $100 more for the same coils across the board (even though they would be different coils)? People will say, no, just sell me the coils for the Equinox at the same price. But Minelab can't do that - it undermines the Equinox detector and accessory price structure. If that seems unfair, let me remind people the 11" round coil for the CTX 3030 sells for $349, a good $120 more than the 11" coil for Equinox! Minelab may have decided to simply avoid that can of worms by keeping the lines completely separate and distinct as far as the coils go.

You are welcome, and welcome to the forum!

I agree. And EMI.

Hi, Are you detecting in a location where gold nuggets have been found regularly by yourself or others? As I explain in the original post, I do not have “settings”, but instead have a methodology for arriving at the proper settings. The setting will vary with the location, ground minerals, trash levels, type of gold, and coil used. My iron bias normally resides at 0 unless I am forced to use more to deal with problematic ferrous items. The settings are laid out in the post and shooting a video of my control panel set to them adds nothing. 12-13 hits with nothing there are hot rocks/ground signals. There are multiple ways to go about dealing with them... modifying the ground balance, lowering the sensitivity, different single frequency options, modes other than Gold Mode, or even notching them out. The Equinox can overwhelm due to the large number of possible settings. Nugget detecting is the most difficult type of detecting you can aspire to, and if gold is lacking, then better locations are usually the answer. If you are not in a proven location then that may be the issue more than your settings.

The 19 kHz models are exceptionally resistant to electrical interference, and I think this is one of the things that gives it such stable target numbers in urban areas. A lot of new detectors seem to struggle with EMI, and a 19 kHz unit can be a secret weapon. Detectors that might normally outperform these models can really fall on their face in some locations due to all the interference.

The First Texas 19 kHz series of detectors include the Fisher Gold Bug, Gold Bug Pro, F19, Teknetics G2 and G2+, and the Bounty Hunter Time Ranger Pro. These detectors are all designed specifically for DD coils. However, a lot of the F70/F75 coils will plug into the 19 kHz models and work, some better, some worse. You can't harm the detector doing this, but the coils may not ground balance properly, or have inaccurate target id. Others may be fine, due to the slop in coil manufacturing tolerances. From this thread we have this commentary by FT engineer Dave Johnson: 1. F75 and F70 searchcoils are interchangeable. 2. T2 coils are their own animal, will not work at all on anything else (or vice versa). 3. F5 uses the "Greek" ("Fratbros") searchcoil series. These are wired the same as the F75/70 searchcoils but are electrically different. Even though some customers have tried searchcoils from one series on a machine designed for the other series and decided that they "work", the factory is not going to say that they "work' because we know there is performance degradation whether or not the customer knows (or even cares) about that. 4. The legacy BH coil series was also used on the Fisher F2 and F4. Although these may plug into F75/70 and Greek/Fratbros machines and actually beep, performance is severely degraded. 5. The 19 kHz machines (Gold Bug and others derived from that platform) are designed specifically to use the DD searchcoils of the Greek/Fratbros series. Depending on the individual searchcoil, a concentric may work fairly well or not at all or anything in between. 6. In general, plugging the wrong searchcoil into a metal detector is not going to cause any damage to the detector although we cannot guarantee a thing like that. Long story short I have this Time Ranger Pro sitting around that I've basically done nothing with but invest in a NEL accessory coil. Back in the day I ran the 13 kHz Detech Ultimate coil and 4" x 6.5" concentric coils from my F75 on my 19 kHz Gold Bug Pro, and they seemed to work fine. But as noted above it is a crapshoot. Anyway, I got to wondering about a small concentric on the TRP, and looked into rounding up the 13 kHz 4" x 6.5" concentric for the F70/F75 to give it a go on the 19 kHz TRP. This is where I was reminded that First Texas has redesigned the housing on some older coils, including the old 4" x 6.5" elliptical. The new design replaces the old design, and it is important to note that scuff covers for the old version do not fit the old version, and vice versa. I ordered one that has a picture of the old design, but frankly I have no idea which of the two coils pictured below will show up. At some point I'll let you all know how this coil runs... or not.... on the TRP.

Well, you be amazed at how some old guys would not be seen with a pink detector. Some folks would not use it is you gave it to them, just over something silly like that. I have an admission also. Much as I like the FT 19 kHz models, the fact is compared to 21st century detectors they are an odd duck. Both digital and analog controls, and a unique/somewhat convoluted control menu. Adding too many controls to a detector meant to have few controls meant some oddball design decisions. The 19 kHz frequency kills on lower conductors, but is merely very good on silver. And the VCO audio is a real love or hate it sort of thing. Finally, a lot of people only ever used it with the 7" x 11" coil, and that's not the best coil for the machine if you are in dense targets. I like the machine because of its oddball features, like VCO audio. However, I can surely understand how for a lot of people, especially new people to the hobby, are not impressed but the lack of tone options, lack of multiple notch capability, etc. As much as I like the machine, I'd in general not think much about it anymore if it was still overpriced. But at $299 - $399 it's a good buy for those who like VCO, low conductors, and a solid performing true threshold based all metal mode. Just tossing that out there for any newbies reading all this and wondering what the fuss is about.

Funny you mention that Rob. I always liked the Walking Pick, especially in Alaska where I worked on a lot of very steep slopes. I have one Hodan pick that is already on it's second handle, and I decided to convert it from a shortie to a walking pick. All you need is an Ames 2036200 handle.....

A target id of 1 normally indicates a very small low conductor, like a bit of aluminum foil, or a tiny gold nugget. Such targets are normally detected at a few inches tops. At two feet depth it’s highly likely this is some kind of false signal.

As long as one test setup is used and is identical for all detectors a person is testing, then it really does not matter. It is only when people are trading results that consistency is so important. And frankly you’ll not see much of that from what I have observed on the net. I in fact promise my normal nail test board is not standard. It’s about four feet by four feet, and has an assortment of ferrous stuff plus hot rocks with multiple target setups. Custom made as needed. Montes test is too limited for me, as nails are not really my problem anyway. It’s all the stuff that creates false signals, like flat steel, any hardened steel, washers, etc. plus hot rocks. The only nails that trouble me in the wild tend to be broken square nails or bent nails. Separation matters but I am also testing for a propensity to accurately identify ferrous objects that create false non-ferrous readings. Nobody seems to test for that, but it is a rare detector that will accurately identify a simple round lid from an old steel can. It's not always the detector with the best separation, that's for sure. A Steve Test Board....

Just wanted to wish you a speedy recovery Dave. That's scary stuff, and I am happy you survived it. And yes, follow the doctor's orders! 👍🏼

FT has historically had low turnover, though I think they did some house cleaning recently. Felix has been there forever, and does a great job. He was the guy I talked to ages back when I still lived and worked in Alaska. It's a good thing to have continuity in the service dept especially. The Gold Bug in question is one I sold to my sister brand new back around 1990. She only used it a couple times, but did find a 4 dwt gold nugget with it. It sat in her garage for over 25 years and died in the process. Probably a bad capacitor. So she gave it to me a few years ago. I got it to fire up at least, but very intermittent at best. It came with the old two piece rod assemble and white lower rod originally, but somewhere along the way I had upgraded her to the three piece assembly with black lower rod. The 3.5" coils are a couple I picked up along the way many years ago, and due to the extreme rarity are one of the few hardware items I have held onto all these years. So she sends me the detector with 10" coil, and I have these two ancient coils that will work on it. It will be fun to get it up and running again, and a big impetus for my doing that is those tiny coils. The machine might actually prove useful for crevice work due to those tiny coils. Steve's sister with 4 dwt gold nugget she found with Gold Bug

FTP is not giving dealers anything to compete with the latest and greatest. Then they have had some drastic price decreases, which kills people with older inventory. Then they feed models to big box stores, and finally start selling detectors direct via the Teknetics website and Amazon. Nobody likes competing with their supplier. Add it all up, and FT is not giving dealers many reasons to carry the product. This thread and the impetus behind it is a good example. FT is selling the G2+ Ltd direct for $299 and free shipping. That undercuts every Gold Bug and F19 variants that First Texas makes. By a lot. Stuff like that will make a dealer take a hike. Bypassing dealers completely on the Impulse AQ Ltd may have been the final straw. I would not be surprised if First Texas goes 100% big box and online direct sales at some point. Cutting out some middle men allows for lower prices, which is about the only arrow in the quiver for First Texas these days.

The test is actually almost the opposite of a depth test. Detectors with very fast recovery speeds in a 2D test probably are not set up to punch very deep. The emphasis is separation of adjacent surface targets, and ground may or may not be involved at all (board on ground, or on box above ground). Ground effects can affect the results. And people love putting in their own nails or coins. I prefer some rusted nails as I never detect where people spill clean, new nails. My board in simply Monte's test printed out and on cardboard, with tie strap loops holding the nails. I don't use this much, as I prefer head to head field testing*. But it comes in handy at times for a quick coil comparison, or to see if I can duplicate results seen online if they seem suspicious. *I take two (or more) detectors into the field. I use detector A to locate a target in the ground and note the responses. I then check the target with detector B and note any differences in target response. I recover the target after attempting to predict what it is. I then find a target with detector B and check it with detector A, once again noting signal differences. I repeat this over and over, alternating detectors each time, one as the "finder", and one as the "checker". I am looking especially for weak targets that one detector can get and the other will not. Something that defines a difference in the machines. If you do this a lot, you will find most modern detectors will do just as well on the vast majority of targets. It's actually difficult often to get a clean decision between two machines based purely on how they are doing on "found targets". Often it boils down to one detector simply sounding and feeling better than the other, and that is so subjective two operators might come to opposite conclusions in that regard.

The nail board test tries to create a standard at least. It provides a data point for consideration. People put too much faith in it, however, and I would never consider any detector to be good or bad based solely on this test. Which is easily gamed in videos, by the way. People like them though, and it’s all in good fun. Certainly helps keep forum threads going!

As close as is required to get the best result from each detector. There is no requirement they be swung at the same height or speed.

Ground balance numbers do not equate to how bad the mineralization is. It is a guide to the type of mineralization, not the amount. It is the amount that matters most, and that is what a Fe3O4 meter measures. It is common on quite a few First Texas and Nokta/Makro models. For other models with a manual ground balance, you can get an idea from the way the ground balance acts. Low mineral ground is easy, and will ground balance well over a range of the setting. As mineralization increases, it will be harder and harder to get a good ground balance. In the worst ground, just one number off either way, and the machine reacts. Plus, you get the balance perfect, but move two feet, and now it has changed. It is also common to have to reduce sensitivity in very bad ground just to get the machine to balance at all. Too high settings will cause overload situations to occur - an obvious indication of bad ground. In mild ground one setting works great everywhere. You may not even need to ground balance a lot of mild ground. In bad ground constant ground balancing is required, and eventually ground tracking is beneficial due to this fact. Finally, drop a small, powerful magnet in the loose soil. If it comes up looking like a spiky golf ball, you’ve got serious magnetite iron mineralization. Not all bad ground is magnetic, so lack of magnetic mineral does not really prove it is low mineral ground. However, Fe3O4 is the formula for magnetite, which is common enough to be the problem in many locations. In Australia the offending material is more likely to be maghemite. As far as coils go, all I will note is that if the ground really is bad, going to a larger coil may not provide much benefit, other than ground coverage. In the worst ground, a large coil may actually get no more or even less depth than a smaller size coil, especially when dealing with a VLF. PI detectors are less affected by ground mineralization, to such a degree that coils can be far larger on a PI and still be effective. Super magnet covered with gob of magnetite....

Got a call from Felix, only been a week, nice! Going to be $65 for parts and recalibration, including return postage. I'm very happy to pay that to get an official calibration from the factory. I should have it back next week. Big thumbs up on FT servicing a thirty year old metal detector. 👍🏼

That first nugget is the hardest, so hang in there. And welcome to the forum!

Good for you, I'll be interested in seeing what you think about it for your particular location and hunting style. I'm still plugging away with mine now and then when I have time.