Steve Herschbach

Just to be aware, lots of claims and private land out there...

Plenty of dealers have them so if they have been discontinued it’s news.

If you are looking at the Garrett Ace series the Vanquish is clearly intended to compete directly with them. If you think in marketing terms it’s all about price points. Three Ace price points, three Vanquish price points. Comparisons to higher priced detectors, while interesting, miss the intended product goal and are in any case not an apple to apple comparison. Other competition of note would be the new Simplex and of course the appropriate First Texas models based, again, on price points. As far as frequency goes it’s just a number in a catalog and a marketing hook. Machines either perform or they don’t, regardless of claimed frequencies. Vanquish either outperforms the Ace series or it does not, and Minelab would look quite foolish if they did not. I would however bet on a clear advantage on the wet salt sand or wading in saltwater versus single frequency units. Despite not being waterproof this machine will no doubt please anyone looking for a non-submersible beach detector at a low price. Not my cup of tea however so that’s about all I have to say about Vanquish. When an Equinox alternative appears I will perk up, until then I have some detecting to do!

The CZ is about as good as the Excalibur and has a higher depth rating. PI detectors do not discriminate iron as a rule... that is why everyone is waiting on the new Impulse. The Garrett ATX has a ferrous ID function that works on shallow targets and the tones help but depth is limited to ten feet. The new White’s TDI Surfmaster also is limited to ten foot depths, and outside of some tone capability relies on ground balance misadjustment to provide some crude ferrous discrimination. All PI options are such that I can’t really make a 100% recommendation on any of them, the best I can offer is that the White’s Surfmaster PI Dual Field is a solid performing PI with 100 foot depth rating, and very affordable. It has no discrimination.

My pleasure Jerry, thanks for joining the forum - welcome!

I’m really sorry to hear that Jason, and hope the gear is found and thieves collared.

Your CZ is a good detector. More hours in the water will probably work better than another VLF. If you do not have a PI then getting one also is worthwhile in my opinion. Since you have a good detector already, just a little more patience will eventually see the Fisher Impulse AQ to market. There unfortunately are many reasons a detector can be delayed. I personally prefer they take the time to get it right rather than rush to market.

You can believe me. The simple answer is the Fisher Impulse is a rumor, not a detector being made and for sale. You can’t but one yet. You will be able to get an Aquamanta someday, probably next year. Maybe sooner. Fisher does not care that anybody wants information and so asking them for it generally gets no response. My advice is just relax and not worry about it. It will appear someday or never, but no point in waiting around on companies. If I needed a detector now I would just buy something else personally. If you can afford to wait, then that’s all you can do.

I know you can’t get one.

Current price new is $466 but I doubt you’d see much if any improvement over your Tejon.

It’s an older model that was part of the lineup before most people here had ever heard of the company. That being the case I don’t think there ever were many in the U.S.

Some weekend as Detectival.

This was a rather large update. Not so much in any of my reviews but a major shuffle in prices which changes the equation on some units as far as desirability. Steve's Guide to Gold Nugget Detectors Here are the highlights. THIS IS NOT THE FULL REVIEW, IT’S THE CHANGES ONLY.... FOLLOW THE LINK ABOVE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW! The Nokta/Makro Gold Racer dropped from $599 to $509 putting it in direct competition with the Fisher Gold Bug (basic model $449) and Minelab X-Terra 705 Gold at $499 plus the Fisher Gold Bug Pro at $549. That's a killer deal for a 56 kHz full featured detector. All the Nokta/Makro models had serious price drops, as it appears the U.S. importer was keeping prices artificially high. Nokta/Makro stepped in and corrected the situation, leading to the decreases. The Nokta/Makro Gold Kruzer was reduced from $749 to $636, a couple bucks less than the Garrett AT Gold but the Kruzer is 61 kHz and comes with two coils. This effectively puts the AT Gold out to pasture as a “new with warranty” nugget detector option in my opinion unless Garrett lowers the price. Waterproof, built in rechargeable battery, wireless, 61 kHz and two coils... the Gold Kruzer may be the best package price available right now in a VLF nugget machine. The Tesoro Lobo SuperTRAQ was deleted from the list. Tesoro is out of business, and although a few of these may be on dealer shelves still the is no warranty on them so they are gone as far as I am concerned. The Nokta/Makro AU Gold Finder with two coils came down from $799 to $679, the same price as the now departed Tesoro Lobo. The Minelab Gold Monster went UP to $849! I still have it as a "Steve's Pick" but that could change to the White's Goldmaster 24K if White's gets more coils out. More and more users are giving the 24K a thumbs up. The 24K is $729 but do remember the Monster comes with two coils and the 24K just the one now that the Intro deal is over. My "Steve's Picks" are aimed at first time buyers so I am sticking with the Monster for now due to simplicity compared to other less expensive but more complicated options. The same reason I am still showing the Gold Bug basic as a pick - it's simple and effective. The XP ORX dropped from $899 to $795 with a $649 wired headphone option. At $649 it's a good deal. A note on the Minelab GPX 4500 - rumored to be discontinued soon but still on Minelab website as current. And finally Minelab SDC 2300 increased from $3750 to $3799 No doubt about it, competition really heated up in 2019 with lots of pressure on VLF prices. Now if we could get some competition going in the PI detectors in both price and ergonomics things would be great!

My guess is a common stone with a weathering rind.

Maybe not the greatest shaft in the world but certainly priced right for those who want a spare. This is one of the least expensive shaft assemblies I have seen from any manufacturer. Used to be you could spend this much for just a Minelab lower rod! Minelab Equinox Shaft Assembly 3011-0400

I don’t attach much value to “things”. I love the hunt and the finding. I like the stories/memories and therefore the photos if I want to show people items I have found. Which outside of this forum is never, so everything I find is eventually sold or given away. It pays for these trips! If it’s got real monetary value, like the gold, it’s in the safe deposit box until sold. Keeping something locked away is worthless to me personally. A replica would mean nothing to me. I am not saying that’s all not great for other people but it’s just not me. If I was not married everything I need would fit in a closet as I really don’t like “owning” stuff. By fashioning this into a new wedding ring it would both be useful and have a story. Right now I am wearing a plain 14K band I found on Kauai and this would replace it. Otherwise I’d just sell it. If not that then when I croak my wife or kids are just going to run it all to the nearest pawn shop anyway. Not a lot of sentimental types when it comes to “stuff” around here! On a scale from Hoarder to Zen I am way over on the Zen side of things. Our whole economy would collapse if it consisted of people like me. The only genuine treasures in my life are my family and the few friends that have come and gone over the years. Get me going on my “three little girls” if you want to see my mushy side! Lilly, Eleanor, and Fluffy... ❤️

Well, the wheels turn slowly, but some progress made. My find is not going to be acquired by the museum, and so now goes to the disclaim stage. The British Museum has to write to the Coroner to ask for an official Disclaim notification, and the find can only be released after 28 days have elapsed since the date of the Coroner’s letter. At some point I have to negotiate a price with the property owner. While I’d love to get the find back I have found enough gold in my life that I’m not going to go crazy over it, so if the property owner thinks it’s worth too much they can pay me for it instead. That’s what keeps the system honest... they can’t ask any more of me than they are willing to pay me. I would not mind getting it back though, and if so have decided I will have a jeweler friend make it into a ring for me. I could almost do it myself and still may since I used to do a little jewelry work myself. It just needs to be wrapped to fit, and maybe a spot of solder on the inside but I doubt even that is needed. I will probably never know exactly what this item is. The initial guess was a Celtic votive offering but it’s also been said to possibly be a Roman cloak clasp or earring. The initial report to the museum indicated a possible Early Medieval time frame which coincides more with late Roman occupation. Maybe 1500 years old, maybe older as Celtic would be more like 2200 years. Only a detailed composition analysis of the gold could nail it down better, and the find is not remarkable enough to warrant the expense of that. I’m going with Early Medieval about 1500 years old unless the museum disclaim notice sheds more light on the matter.

Yes, I suspect the earring is being discriminated out. The reason I posted the link to my article was for the settings I used to be duplicated, which includes dealing with the discriminations settings and such. No point in recreating the wheel here.

The Equinox is an excellent detector. The problem is the target - a small white gold item has little measurable conductivity, and basically that is what a metal detector does - measure conductivity. More money does not equate to better performance on this type of target. A Fisher Gold Bug 2 with 6” coil may do a little better on this type target for a little less money. Many people would consider the Gold Bug 2 as good as is possible for this type target. Other alternatives are the Minelab Gold Monster and White’s Goldmaster 24K. But I would again caution you that the difference is small and best obtained by an expert operator, so just running out and getting a Gold Bug 2 will not be a magic solution. Frankly, a rake and a screen plus sharp eyeballs is as much a viable option for this situation.

Forget the obsessing over detector models and “depth”. The real game is to have a detector appropriate for the task, know it inside and out, put yourself on good locations, and put in LOTS of hours. Don’t look for reasons not to dig, look for reasons to dig. To be successful you need to be metal digging, not metal detecting. Most of all, enjoy what you are doing, or find something else to do!

You do great work Steve - works of art really!

Unfortunately that is a near impossible target for most metal detectors. With the Equinox I would want the 6” coil and be tuned up as if I were hunting small gold nuggets, and even then would only expect an inch or two at most detection depth. I know the Equinox with 6” coil will detect this type of target because I have tested mine on a small 10K white gold earring post. About the only machine that has a good shot at doing better is a Fisher Gold Bug 2 with 6” coil, and having run both head to head the improvement is minimal to the point where I sold my Gold Bug 2. I hate to say it but you are going to be extremely fortunate to find the earring. It would challenge an expert operator let alone a novice. If it dropped into the gravel even just a couple inches it’s basically gone. Good luck though, hope you find it!

No worries, that's not old at all. Welcome to the forum!