Steve Herschbach

Images in thread sourced from FFC public reports at https://fccid.io/KHS800-0353

My main problem with the Go-Find was the loose feel, which makes it feel like a cheap toy to me. If the handle locked firmly into place with no wiggle it would have made a big difference. Though for me to buy one you’d have to put a Gold Monster circuit in it. That would make for a great stuff in rucksack prospecting unit.

Your website is a very helpful and valuable resource - thank you Sven! I have renamed this the Compass, D-Tex, Tesoro, Etc. forum to cover all past brands. My old Compass Coin Magnum... and Compass Gold Scanner Pro...

Awesome mapping work! I wonder what some drilling would reveal?

Other than my minding the store here for historical purposes, the world is moving on. Soon Tesoro will be just like Compass Electronics... a fond memory for us old-timers. Hmmm, maybe I should change this into an analog detecting forum that celebrates all the old machines regardless of brand. Obviously just being a Tesoro Forum will run out of steam entirely as time goes on.

Hi Whitbey, I am sorry for your loss. Not one of us knows for a fact that we will even open our eyes tomorrow morning, and yet we act like we will live forever. I am very grateful to have made it this far, and try not to take a single day I have left for granted. It may sound weird to people but I structure my life now around the idea that I have been told I have 90 days left to live. It made me write some letters and do some things I would have regretted were they left undone, and keeps my life in sharper focus. I tell people that matter I love them a lot more these days. The now is all we have - don't waste it.

I’m betting you have a top performing detector Jim! Probably splitting hairs when you get right down to it. To be fair is the Pulsescan owner allowed to do the 18V mod to their detector? Modded machine versus modded machine? I do think most people want to use detectors off the shelf however, and not get involved in doing lots of mods to get the performance they desire. It would be nice if Whites put out a special line of hot rod TDI models. If you can do it, why can’t they? I hear excuses about reliability, but I’ve not heard of anyone yet blowing up an SL by boosting the voltage. And frankly if that were an issue, it would just call for higher quality components. So how about it White’s? Instead of a black or tan TDI how about one with flames on the side and a set of pipes!

You guys are wising up to the marketing. Most people would assume this means a new detector, and then assume super duper new flagship detector. Everyone gets excited, the anticipation builds.... and a new digging tool is announced. If it is a new detector let’s hope for something better than the slow tease offered with the AT Max. Manly men hiking over hills with barely glimpsed detectors over their shoulders, etc.

Been fun following your adventures... I wish you the best of luck in the new year!

There was no hint in the last Minelab annual report about any new gold detectors this year. The next report will be out in June, so we will presumably hear from this meeting first. People are of course assuming a meeting announcement means something this year, but given the lack of mention in corporate forward guidance you could very well be looking at next year. Given the track record with early announcements I’m not holding my breath on any of this. In fact based on recent history I’d have my eye set more on 2021 than this year as far as any shipping product, if any. Most dealers are still waiting for the Vanquish to hit their shelves, and it was announced way back in April 2019.

I don’t believe any one detector makes magical differences in my detecting. When I want to go detecting I use what I have. Waiting around for new models is a waste of time. You have an ATX and despite all the hype the fact is the difference between it and a BHID or an Impulse is not going to drastically change your life. Good locations and hours makes finds. So my advice is use what you have until something comes along you want bad enough to buy it. Which is exactly what you are going to do. The bottom line is if you want an Impulse AQ you are going to have to wait whether you like it or not. Fisher could decide to cancel the whole thing tomorrow since they have been careful to not say a single thing officially. And if it does arrive it will just be another metal detector, and life will go on. Two years from now the next magic wand will come along and we will do this all over. Go detecting, live life, don’t get played by marketers. Life is too short.

I agree. Highly mineralized ground in particular tends to flatten differences observed in coils while air testing. When doing actual detector comparisons all my tests are on actual found targets with extensive cross checking. But to each their own. I’ll still bet my dollar on the 14.4V big box vs the 12V SL with smaller coil for larger targets, which is probably the real issue at hand here, not the testing methodology. How I Field Test Metal Detectors - Methodology Using Air Tests To Gauge Detector Performance

Just depends on the models. In general I’d say yes, but then a Fisher F75 before DST was one of the most EMI troubled detectors I ever owned. It has more to do with receiver gain and frequencies than type of detector.

You are hereby forgiven! I'm the sort who looks for his glasses when they are perched on my head so gotta have each others back.

More won't hurt anything. Charging devices draw from the charger, the charger is not pushing to the device. Unless it is a cheap, defective charger.

Anker is good stuff, I have several of their devices, in fact one just like yours David for my travel kit. At home I got tired of wasting time looking for chargers and got this one from Amazon. Been happy with it also. 【8 USB PORTS】- With worldwide 100-240 volt AC input voltage, the USB charging station supports 8 Ports Charging to charge 8 devices at high speed. It’s a great multiple usb charger compatible iphone, ipad, Samsung, LG multiple smart devices etc. Only one USB Charging Hub with 40W 8A high capacity, which is great and enough for family to use. 【LCD DISPLAY】- The USB charger can quickly detects and displays the current and voltage of different ports. Perfect design with LCD display, provide the fastest possible charge up to 2.4 amps per port or 8 amps overall. 【COMPATIBLE】- This multiport USB charger is compatible with 99% of electronics devices in the market. Works with Phone, ipad, Samsung Galaxy, other cellphones and tablets. The portable charging also works with cameras, headsets, speakers, drones and kindle. 【WORLDWIDE SAFE】- This 8-Port USB Desktop Charger is built in overheat, overcharge, overcurrent, overload, surge, leakage, lightning, short circuit protection, greatly improve the lifetime of battery and protect your devices. 【PORTABLE DESIGN】- Compact design, detachable USB charger cable with multi port for travel. The USB Charger weighs only 9.88 oz. Compact size makes this multiple USB desk station a real travel companion. It comes with a standard US plug. 30-day money back guaranteed, 18-month limited product warranty and 24*7 easy-to-reach customer support for your purchase.

I have used just about anything and never had any issue except the time to charge. Note below. USB 2A charges in less than 4 hours but they also say you can use a 0.5A and charge in 18 hours. In other words, don't sweat it but more is better. You can't overpower it as it will only draw as needed. You won't find any 100A USB ports no matter how hard you try. By high quality all they mean is stay away from super cheap stuff that may have issues. They misspeak in the warning box saying mid-capacity. Capacity has nothing to do with it. Don't use mid to low quality chargers.

Air tests are not useless, they simply have to be used wisely. There are those who say detectors can detect deeper in the ground than in the air, and I'd not argue this is impossible in rare situations. However, you can generally assume that testing PI to PI or VLF to VLF you are not going to see detectors exceed what they do in the air under actual field conditions. Air tests are a good way to get theoretical maximum depths under very mild ground conditions. Where people go wrong is in comparing PI detectors to VLF detectors in air tests. VLFs by nature air test great, but also by nature lose the most depth in the ground. PI detectors do not air test so great, but lose depth far less quickly than VLFs in the ground. So air testing PI to VLF is deceptive - keep it apples to apples. Long story short I would not air test a big box TDI Pulsescan against a TDI SL of any version, and expect that in the ground the results will flip. In this case we are talking a 14.4V Pulsescan with a 12" round Dual Field coil versus a 12V TDI SL with 8" x 12" Dual Field. If you used a higher power battery on the TDI SL and the same size coil it might have a fighting chance on relic type targets that Joe is after, but the HI-Q coil is more a nugget hunting coil so leans better performance on small stuff. Between the smaller coil and lower power battery what Joe is reporting is exactly what I would expect.

Nice looking coil. Good luck!

When White's took the TDI design on from Eric Foster I fully expected it was going to be the starting point for a line of ever more powerful detectors, something that would give Minelab a go for the money. Instead, the SL watered the original big box version down. Now it was lighter and less expensive so that's all fine. But then White's discontinued the big box version instead of introducing a more powerful version, in effect actually going backwards in performance. People now do circuit modifications and battery upgrades to the SL models just trying to get back to the performance we had in the original TDI back in 2008. I really like the TDI SL for what it is... and light weight, well balanced, affordable PI detector. But I think I speak for a lot of us when I say I am disappointed that White's never accepted the challenge and pressed forward with the TDI as a Minelab alternative. The excuse I was given was that there was no more room to grow with the Foster platform, that it was maxed out. I kind of accepted that, but now it appears that Fisher is going to release an upgraded version of the Foster design in the form of the Impulse AQ this year. It appears there was room for improvement after all. Long story short, no, nobody with a big box TDI should get an SL model, even the latest, and expect it to outperform what they already have out of the box with a 12V battery.

Oh oh, Norvics on to me

You should do that Simon... it would convince nugget depletion is a real thing. Nobody is saying all the gold is gone everywhere. Yes, some people are still doing well but they are getting rarer every year. Places like Africa and such are newer fields but if nugget detecting has taught me anything it’s that it’s amazing what a few thousand people with metal detectors can do given a little time. The gold lasts forever but the cream of the crop goes away in a stunningly short period of time. Not long ago finding an ounce of gold a day was not that hard for me. Now I’m really happy with an ounce in a week. Anyway, I’ll shut up now. I don’t want to be that old guy raining on the parade. Lots of gold out there for sure, just ask any metal detector dealer!

The owner's guide for the new Goldmaster GMX Sport is available for download here. White's Goldmaster GMX Sport waterproof metal detector White's Goldmaster GMX Sport Specifications

Yeah thread title says 6” coil, and F2-0 setting indicates the latest version of Equinox firmware. Great finds!

If I target known ground I almost never get skunked. Yet these days hitting known ground is getting lean results. There are indeed undiscovered patches out there, but anyone who tries it knows the normal result is many days with no gold. It’s a worthy goal for sure and can result in a big score, but tests the limits of how much time you want to spend finding little to nothing. Here was my last attempt, there is some good commentary about the subject on the thread. I do believe I will give it another go this summer.