Steve Herschbach

OK, forum database upgrade/move completed. Gallery has been deleted. Menu selections at top or in right corner for phone users have been clarified (I hope). I want to add an advanced help section for subjects like posting photos and such later on. I decided against deleting inactive accounts since that ends up creating tons of "Guest" posts and probably lots of missing pictures in old threads. With what I have been doing the savings are not worth the disruption of the old threads so I'm leaving them be and who knows - they may come back! Performance seems to have picked up and I have actually reduced my costs by a small on-going amount so looking good for now I think. I am going to look into a new service that distributes the website across multiple nodes in the U.S. for even higher performance but will tackle that later. Thanks again everyone for your patience.

And what number is that? What tone setting are you using... for instance 5 tones or 50 tones? You are giving so little information all we can do is guess. Simply based on what you are saying it sounds like you are getting a low target id number with a low tone to match. You say it is not a false signal. So you dig and there is a target? Did you follow my advice at all about resetting the detector and lowering the sensitivity? Unless you give more detailed information about what the actual problem is I don’t know much else what to offer. Did you buy this from a dealer? Are they refusing to help you?

I’m not too worried about First Texas or Garrett. They are going concerns with good markets and engineers and should be able to adjust. FT in particular just brought a new modern facility online. If anyone stands to lose at this juncture I’d say it’s White’s. https://www.detectorprospector.com/forums/topic/4942-waterproof-metal-detector-comparison-chart/

No, they won’t nor will many other detector headphones. That’s why I recommend the CTX version of the Pro Gold... it’s why they make them, to work on Minelab detectors where the older version did not. Thanks for the note I guess maybe I was not clear on that.

Easy answer. Look at machines like a Gold Bug Pro or Fisher F19 and tell me what you think it actually costs to manufacture one. Might not be the Simplex is priced low but that we have been charged a lot for too long and think that’s the way it should be. It costs no more to make a $499 F19 than it does a $219 F22. You are paying for features, not manufacturing costs. They were actually charging $799 for the F19 not too long ago. First Texas in particular was playing that game of selling the same detectors that you can buy as a Bounty Hunter or a Fisher but changing the rod or maybe just the decal and charging you extra by calling it a Teknetics detector. Literally charging for the brand name. Looks like Teknetics is now morphing into their factory direct discount brand. We have been supporting really, really nice profit margins that are now getting competition. Finally. Thanks Nokta/Makro!

I can understand the Monster maybe, but the SDC I would have thought was due for a price decrease after all this time, like to $2999. Sales must be going stronger than I might have guessed if they figure it needs a price increase. Interesting. Gold Monster 1000 Price Now: $799 Coming Price: $849 SDC 2300 Price Now: $3,750 Coming Price: $3,799 Rob Allison mentioned earlier the GPX 4500 is also being discontinued and that current stock would probably be the last.

I used E6000.

I’m sorry to hear that Fred. It is a quandary and my having so many dogs it’s been tough too many times. It’s just a reminder though that no matter how many days we are given it never seems enough in the end. So cherish those in your life, two legs or four or none, each and every day. When the time comes it seems impossible to not regret having not given them even more love while they were here.

The last time I put a 6” bullet on a hose it was on aftermarket oversized hose. I used a hand rasp and a lot of elbow grease. I am sure there is grinder device a person could use but that’s what I had. It worked.

The only “issue” I have had with the Pro Gold is the leather has a shiny coating in it. With enough use this will start to flake off over time, and the muffs look a little rougher. But mine are still original muffs, never replaced. And I have used these phones in the rain in Alaska for many days, no problem with that ever occurred. The switches are short and I’ve never had an issue with them getting flipped by accident even in dense brush. Really can’t recommend these headphones enough. Personally I love the included wireless phones and use them pretty exclusively with my Equinox, so different folks and different ears like different things. I have a set Minelab sent with a prototype before the Minelab branding got added. I even ran over them and broke them, super glued back together, and am still using. I have a Minelab branded set but keep them for backup. Compared to the complete junk shipped with many detectors over the years Minelab did well with these I think, but that’s just my opinion.

I’m glad to hear it and thanks for the report. I always recommend the CTX version of the Pro Gold since they work properly on every detector I have ever tried them on, unlike most other headphones. That one feature makes them worth owning but great audio, dual volume controls, and leather muffs seal the deal. My all time favorite phones, I have two sets just in case one eventually fails. Most detector headphones are wired or have a switch to work with stereo and mono detectors. Minelab however requires special wiring to insure the external speaker is shut off when headphones are used. Many aftermarket headphones fail on the Minelabs, but the special version of the Sun Ray headphones are made to work with any detector, including all the Minelabs, the Sun Ray Pro Gold CTX version.

I was raised in Alaska in a subsistence lifestyle. My father was young and trying to raise a family. Store bought food was imported and expensive. Fishing, trapping, and hunting helped support the family. I did not eat beef until I was quite along in years, with salmon, caribou, and moose plus garden grown vegetables being the daily fare. That being the case my father favored hunting dogs, and it was he that started the Golden Retriever trend. A well trained Golden rivals the Labs when it comes to obedience. They are not just good hunting dogs but wonderful family dogs. Unfortunately they can’t find gold! I also ended up with three large English Bulldogs at the same time we had Kirby. Yes, four large dogs is a bit much. That was my wife’s doing . They are not good for much but lots of smiles. Hugely lovable beasts, I miss them, Teddy ❤️ in particular. After all the large dogs passed we moved to Reno and downsized both in home size and dog size. Made the shift to miniature dachshunds, both long and short haired. These are my little girls and I spoil and dote on them to no end. They are Lilly, Eleanor, and Fluffy. Lilly is a Daddy’s Girl and rules the pack, Eleanor is a double dapple rescue dog and the clown of the pack, and Fluffy is the lookout/protector. I prefer dogs to most people being quite an introvert myself. My girls all have distinct personalities and bring joy to my life every day. Anyone that gets to know dogs the way I have can’t help but love all animals. They have lives and emotions and “animal” does not do them justice. They are living beings. If there was only one thing I could change in my life it would be to give back the lives of the large number of “animals” I wantonly killed for sport or pleasure when I was younger. I am a bit horrified by that now looking back but it was just the environment of the time. Mind you I don’t question hunting to put food on the table. But I will never again kill another creature for sport for as long as I live. I simply would not be able to pull the trigger now and prefer a camera instead. Lilly, Eleanor, and Fluffy

You guys are too kind. Right now the Google Ads cover the direct costs, pay me $0.10 an hour for my labor, and enough left over to pay my water bill. I actually have thought about “what about when I croak”? It’s easy to be complacent there but hey, could happen tomorrow. So I need to make some sort of provision in my will about what happens then. The website has value and so worst case is my wife sells it to somebody with the caveat it keeps running. Don’t know, for now just hope I keep ticking! My father is 88 and could probably out hike many of you and Mom 80 going strong so the odds are decent I will make it until next year. Knock on wood!

All you are telling me Rick is it’s not done if they are still able to make decent gains in performance by simply having a little more time. I’d rather they wait and get it truly tuned in rather than rush to market and have to mail it back later for the almost inevitable upgrade or bug fix.

Well, seems snappier so far. Fingers crossed.

I had to laugh GB as I am not quite there yet! In fact, my post got me to thinking. Once I find my new mate for my Equinox, QED or....??? then an Alaskan adventure may be in order. I can drive up and go to a dozen places I always wanted to go where there is gold and I have never detected on the road system alone, and that's just off the top of my head. Were I willing to invest in some bush plane time my prospects are essentially unlimited. I am going to be thinking that over hard. I am not done with Alaska yet by a long shot. There really are a bunch of places I always wanted to go and never got around to and that's kind of crazy. Alaska still has many opportunities for somebody like me with as many connections as I have up there. And yes, the conditions I was describing are not an exaggeration at all so it's not for everyone. I never could get JP to Alaska just over the bears! Equinox with 15" coil believe it or not would be one of the most effective tools possible in Alaska. Due to ground cover issues 99% of the detecting up there takes place in old mine workings/tailing piles. Deep trash abounds and digging two foot plus holes all day for nails and deeper for cans etc. really is the norm with a large coil PI. A good discriminating VLF with a large coil has actually been the better solution for many locations in Alaska. However, Alaska is HUGE and so mineralization is all over the map, literally. There are places a good, lightweight, easy swinging PI type machine would be a real plus. The QED for example would be very good for many places in Alaska where there is mineralization but rarely ever anything so bad as Australia or Northern California. A lower cost unit than GPZ is a plus also... I really worried my last trip about my truck being broken into and the GPZ stolen. I have the Equinox and so am set in that regard. Now just waiting to see what happens before next year with PI type options. But I can see another month plus trip to Alaska happening next summer or 2021 latest. I would only go back to 18 if I could take what I know now with me. My 20s were a real sh*tshow I would not want to live over without knowing what I know now. I am way happier in my 60s than I was back then.

OK, bit the bullet and did the database move and nothing else yet. That will be interesting in itself to see what happens. Sorry again for the downtime but progress being made!

No. Nobody should have to do anything at all. It’s all on me and my end to fix The forum is simply growing and I need to take it up a notch. There are far larger forums that this on the internet with zillions of users. My discussions with the hosting folks revolve around the forum being here for the next 20 years so I want to make a big jump now so I don’t have to fuss with it for at least the next 5 years.

That’s fine then and I’m sorry you are frustrated. Please slow down, be patient, and don’t wander off. Let’s work on this until you get it sorted out. My suggestion is do a full reset of your detector. If out of the water use Beach 1. If on running water or in water use Beach 2. DO NOT modify any other settings, leave it alone, except for the sensitivity level. If the machine is erratic lower the sensitivity until there are no false signals. Do not worry at all about where that puts you, just do it. If the machine is set too sensitive for your location you will get false signals and erratic VDI (target id) numbers. Doing anything else other than this will cause more problems for you as a novice. The stock settings are very well researched and are truly the best place to be when starting out. Stay with them and use lower sensitivity. Remember, you are trying to learn the machine and playing with too much at once is not going to help you. If what I am suggesting does not work, your detector may need to be serviced.

Yes, that is by intent because the forum has to adjust automatically to work on a tiny cell phone or a 28” PC screen. There are either multiple images stored and served depending on the device, or one large image that is sized down to fit all devices. Small images would upsize and look really rough. I use generous photo limits for the same reason. People post large photos, and they look good on a phone or a PC and that’s good... I love pictures. It is a big reason I chose Invision as I was having real issues on my own trying to code the site to work properly on a zillion different devices and browsers. It’s gotten crazy and now Invision handles all that for me. Many things like that are built into the forum software and I don’t want to modify or mess with that much as it causes me more issues down the road when Invision upgrades, which is several times a year normally. Sticking with their base offering with as few mods or add ones as possible prevents things conflicting or reverting back due to overwrites when future upgrades occur. I do keep an eye for large images but in my case that means ones 1MB and over and more realistically 4MB and larger. Actually it’s not a bandwidth problem so much as a concurrent connections problem mostly. I have huge bandwidth limits I’m not even close to. I like having all the bells and whistles stuff and am willing to pay for the server horsepower to drive it. I am mainly looking to clear deadwood; unused stuff. The main problem I believe is being on a shared database server and I have no idea who else is on the server and how heavy their database use is. So that has to get fixed first before I can even really get a serious handle on other stuff. Bottom line is it appears Wally has more constraints he has to work within, which is why everyone there has to use a separate photo service, and I don’t have that problem. Mostly I have been lax in housekeeping because of that and now it’s time to catch up and clean house. Sometimes stuff like a photo gallery seems like a great idea, but if it’s really not getting used then I may as well ditch it. 80/20 rule at work, where can I save the most with the least effort or impact to the areas that really are seeing member use. But I really do appreciate the suggestions. I don’t want to sound like a know it all and that I can’t use those!

Nobody knows and Fisher is offering no clues. I thought it would be this year but at this rate next year is getting to be the safer bet. I was interested in giving it a spin up at Lake Tahoe. Problem for me now is I am busy for August and September. By October snow is getting close at Tahoe, so I may as well wait now for spring. Given the FT track record with new releases and no software update facility waiting may not be a bad idea anyway.

What’s up is if you don’t want to use the forum leave. If you want help via email contact the person who sold you the detector. If you want help via the forum use the forum. Repeated requests to have people email you raise red flags with me as scammers do hit this site. You may be completely innocent but you are only seeing your perspective. People here are happy to help you unlike whoever sold you the detector apparently, so copping an attitude does not get you far with me. I almost banned you just now but will see how you respond first.

I and probably many of you have been experiencing forum connection issues recently. Some of it was a database server crash, and part of it a corrupted file due to the crash. However, the forum database is also getting large, over 2GB now. I May do a prune of all members who have not logged in or posted in over a year. This has not been done in years so there are thousands of inactive accounts taking up space. If you have not logged in or posted in over a year now is the time, otherwise your account may disappear. You can see the forum without an account though you can’t download files and such. Bottom line is if you are not logging in or posting you don’t need an account so I will be cleaning that up very soon. I figure a year is long enough to be reasonable but if anyone thinks that’s too little please speak up! I am also going to delete the photo gallery. It gets very little use but is a resource hog. 90% of the photos there are mine, and I may move them to my personal website then link there. Almost no members are using the Gallery and it is a separate module I pay for on top of the other forum costs. I suspect most members don’t even know it exists. So that’s going away unless you all rise up in protest! Simultaneous members online at once has been climbing rather rapidly. 133 on the site as I type, and that alone may be causing connection refusals due to the forum being on a shared database server. So concurrent with the above I am working with my hosting service to move from a shared database server to my own VPS dedicated database server. This will help protect the forum performance from being impacted perhaps by other server users (and them by us), and allow me to isolate and more easily diagnose any issues here. Add all this up and we should all see better forum access and speed very soon. To anyone experiencing these issues, my apologies. The good news is that this is all because the forum is growing while most seem to be shrinking, so in a weird way I’m happy to be bumping into server limits. Just wanted to let you all know I do pay attention to this stuff and try to do what is needed to keep things humming along smoothly.

What you need to do is metal detect in an Alaska summer with long daylight, so 12 hours detecting, in pouring rain, with mosquitoes so thick you can't breath without a head net, in thick brush full of bears. Maintain your concentration day in and day out while digging deep nails for a few weeks straight, and after that anything else is a piece of cake! The funny part is I kind of miss it. No place like home.....