Steve Herschbach

For you Facebook people, there is a new Facebook User Group for the Apex. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ApexGarrettMetalDetectors/ This was posted there: "I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be receiving a test unit of the Ace Apex tomorrow, along with some other testers. We will be testing these units and giving our feedback to Garrett. The plan is to release videos in a few weeks after much testing. We will be posting finds discovered while testing the Apex detector as soon as possible."

Can't go wrong with an Equinox. And realistically outside of true detector nerds most regular folks out there can't go wrong with a Vanquish. OK Chuck, orders from Dr. Steve. No more looking at new detectors and wanting new detectors, waiting for new detectors, or buying new detectors. I am officially diagnosing you with new toy syndrome! The cure? Use the detectors you have or are about to get and go out and metal detect and find stuff! And I do believe I will take my own advice on that!

Great minds thinking alike! I sent him a link to this thread.

I am one of those people who have always found the armrest of the Garrett Ace and AT models to be just a hair short for my liking. This would include what I’m seeing on the new Ace Apex. Years ago a guy was making and selling an item called the Garrett Gizmo, a machined metal extension for the armrest. It not only made the armrest longer but acted as a counterweight making the detectors less nose heavy. Unfortunately he must of machined up a limited number, as there are no recent internet references that I can find. It seems to have disappeared. Does anyone know where to get one of these or something like it? If not, here is an accessory sales opportunity for somebody. Garrett Gizmo

Forum = Gossip

All coils are a compromise in some way. This is not a coil designed for max depth. It is designed to cover ground well while being a bit hotter on smaller targets and with better recovery speed than a coil with a larger diameter. Yes, good for trashy sites. I personally like it but people wanting maximum depth on coins in relatively open ground with sparser targets may want a larger diameter coil. This coil helps keep the weight and balance in line the what Garrett seems to have been wanting to achieve.

Well if you can talk Garrett into letting testers speak I'm all for it. Id just be surprised to see it happen is all. And no, I was not one of them.

Of course it’s been tested. However, if you are wanting what most people would call unbiased reports you will need to wait until after the release in July so that users who purchase the detector can report on it. Garrett Ace Apex Data & Reviews No, I’ve done stuff for Garrett in the past, and I am sure others have.

Nice report, thanks!

The ground here will cut depth by up to 50% or more compared to the ground you run in Simon. You are blessed!

That would probably not only need to be a different forum, but somebody other than a White’s dealer doing the video. Jim is a super nice, fair sort of fellow, but still, that’s a bit much to ask. No way to win in that kind of a situation. As a person who owns both I can say it’s not a slam dunk win for either, which is why I have both. My dime store opinion is the Equinox offers more versatility, the 24K is more focused on and physically better designed for nugget detecting only.

It’s no secret for many years that Dave has been locked in the FT dungeon working on multifrequency. I do hope the old boy is well.

Not necessarily since the unit is not submersible. But I hear what you are saying. It is quite possible the capability is there and Garrett does not want to publicize it.

Well, John Bortscher (John-Edmonton), a longtime Garrett booster, says no update facility, and he would probably know. So basically this is one of those do you want to be first on your block, with a decent probability you may need to mail your unit back at some point, or wait a while and see if any bugs crop up situations.

The Nokta/Makro AU Gold Finder is on sale currently at at least one dealer for $499.00 with two coils. The 56 kHz AU Gold Finder is a retro knobs style detector somewhat reminiscent of the Gold Bug 2 but with more advanced discrimination features. In what has become a rarity it can be hip or chest mounted, making it feather weight on the arm, and suitable for deep wading in water, especially with the water resistant control box. I'm not sure if this is a clearance price or what, but for $499 with two coils this is a good deal for anyone interested in a full warranty VLF nugget machine at a great price, especially if you like old style knobs. There is nothing over 40 kHz priced even close to this. I had one of these around for some time. It is a very capable machine, but when I did a house cleaning of my detectors a couple years ago I gave it to my brother, who still has it. As an FYI all Gold Racer coils are compatible with the AU Gold Finder, so there is quite a coil selection if your count aftermarket. Just be aware that Gold Racer cables are shorter and so not as suitable for the hip mount feature. AU Gold Finder More Information AU Gold Finder Straight Shaft Modification

If you mean Evo coils, all Minelab SD, GP, and GPX coils are compatible with SD, GP, and GPX models with only the rarest of exceptions which you can safely ignore. The SD 2200 is considered obsolete by Minelab and they will not service the detector, even at a cost. Original batteries are so old they would probably need to be replaced (SD and GP use same battery, GPX battery is different and not compatible). I would pay almost nothing for an SD model, and doubt I would even consider anything older than a GP 3500 myself. I really did not like the old SD/GP lead acid battery system however and so in reality I would not get anything used other than a GPX model, i.e. GPX 4000/4500/4800/5000 just to get the updated and much better Lithium Ion battery system with built in audio booster.

Nothing cynical about it. Testers will have signed NDAs and there will be nothing forthcoming until after the release, certainly nothing you might want to describe as "unbiased." But maybe between now and July we will see more Garrett sanctioned videos. I don't need any videos. The Apex is a metal detector. It will beep and find stuff. It will do so as well as many detectors on the market, and not dramatically better than detectors that already exist on the market. This stuff has been splitting hairs for years now guys, and it's not like the Apex will be a total fail or on the other hand somehow change your detecting universe unless you own a complete piece of junk. FYI Chuck when testing prototypes I think I only ever shot video twice to show something I was seeing. In fact it is often prohibited to be taking photos or video. Too easy for things like that to leak. Plus shooting video is a waste of time. I test stuff and write up reports. So assuming there are piles of tester video out there would not be reflected in my experience. Any video of unfinished product would never be released, it is only the final product that matters, and Garrett may at this point in time still be doing final testing and tweaking of the software. So buck up and wait, no point in holding your breath. Look for true user based videos after release in late July, not before.

Technically there is no such thing as recovery speed in a true threshold based all metal mode. All targets and ground respond continuously. However, the threshold autotune is always trying to smooth the threshold, so you do have varying rates of threshold recovery. White's of course pioneered variable self adjusting threshold (SAT) long ago, and now many other manufacturers have followed suit on modern detectors that feature a true threshold based all metal mode. Threshold Autotune, SAT & V/SAT Recovery speed or reactivity is a function of a disc mode, with most disc modes having a "gated" audio response. This is where each target response is distinct in length, and must complete itself before a new audio response can commence. Like opening and closing a gate. If the response is too long it can mask new targets that are so close as to be within the time-frame allocated to the first target response. Recovery Speed, Recovery Delay, And Reactivity The key thing to remember when discussing recovery speed or reactivity is that what you are talking about is the ability of a detector to separate targets that are under the coil at nearly the same time. However, a coil is seeing everything that is under the coil at the same time, and can combine / average the results for everything under the coil, delivering an inaccurate target id result, or, a stronger target under one portion of the coil will override (mask) another target that is also under the coil. Therefore it really is coil size that matters here more than anything, and a detector with a slower recovery speed and a small coil can easily do better than a very fast detector with a larger coil. In an ideal situation you have only one target under the coil at any time, and in the event of multiple targets under a coil some sort of inaccurate target id or masking is almost inevitable. It is the nature of how the detectors function, and no magic recovery speed setting can change that. The Deus is renowned for its recovery speed, and rightfully so. However, due to a lack of small coil options many other detectors can easily equal or exceed the Deus for target separation by simply employing much smaller coils than are available for it.

I’m not sure it’s really a jewelry or coin thing, though beach hunters can get frustrated with bottle caps. To me it is more a personal preference setting having to do with each persons tolerance for trash. When I started as a prototype tester for Equinox there was no iron bias. It got added later. Most iron targets reveal using 50 tones and so I kind of cut my teeth on 50 tones and no iron bias. I really have no use for it except for rare circumstances and as a rule set it for zero unless I forget and am using a mode that has reverted to a preset that has some iron bias dialed in. I also have a high tolerance for trash targets. Other people do not like 50 tones as too busy, but fewer tones forces targets into a handful of tone responses so ferrous tends to fake you out more. Or people just hate digging trash, period. So they opt for higher iron bias settings. There is nothing at all wrong with that. This is supposed to be something we do for fun, and if iron makes you miserable, find the setting that works best for you.

Yes. See White's MF detectors for examples. I have a 6” concentric for my V3i. Whether Garrett does it or not is another question

The Apex is a look at what the V3i could have become, and maybe still could. The question is whether White's even has anyone left on board who can take what is on the huge V3i motherboard and cram it into an MX Sport housing. White's V3i Sport metal detector

The grip and rod looks lifted directly from the AT Max. But the real thing is the electronics - all new. There is no "Ace" inside the housing. Assuming this will not outperform the AT series when run equal coil to coil is a pretty poor bet in my opinion. That may seem crazy but not if Garrett is revamping and retiring the entire old line over the next year, as very well may be the case. That's what I'd be doing if I were running the show, and if it proves to be true then my respect for Vaughan will increase immeasurably. Up to now I just assumed he would do what most kids do when they inherit Dad's business - run it into the ground, like Tesoro.

Updated the link and this old post really needed to come back to the top anyway.

This was my attempt at putting it is a pictorial form..... F2 goes both higher and lower than the original setting. The F2 setting of zero is as close as you can get to a true zero setting. The only reason to use the original iron bias setting is you get finer resolution in the mid-range.

You ask, people answer, then you argue with the answers. A waste of my time even bothering, but hopefully somebody else will find the information useful.