Steve Herschbach

Thanks for the advice, but no, I'll pass. I have plenty of detecting options and I am not competing with anybody. If I lived close to a shore it might be a different thing, but for me beach detecting is more an amusement for when I am not nugget hunting than the number one detecting priority. Sooner or later somebody will get it right, if not Fisher, then somebody else. I'll wait. But have fun with your new toy!!

That’s awesome Bob! Yeah, different ground means different results, a thing often forgotten on the internet. This is where I was detecting yesterday. That is not “black colored sand” - it is almost pure magnetite. Most PI models struggle in this stuff and what you see with a VLF is shocking for those that have never experienced it.

More horsepower equals more useable depth. Hit targets that machines like the D2 hit at depth with good id in my bad ground. The Apex either gets a poor target id on those same targets or misses them entirely. Close that gap. The Apex by all accounts, not just mine, is a moderate performer when run next to machines that cost 2-3 times as much. One might say that’s to be expected and in my case it is expected. So charge me for the 8 cylinder engine instead of the 6 cylinder - I’ll gladly pay for more horsepower. But it has to deliver.

Yeah, see that mirrors all of us. This really all started on April 2 when this thread popped up. I sure hope you get answers that satisfy you as I remember your frustration out of being shut out of the machine originally. Maybe it will have been worth the wait as possibly being able to get a better machine for less now. I can assure you the AQ is a real sweetie for actual performance, great depth, absolutely superb audio - very important for somebody like me that hunts by ear with a PI. I admit to being hugely tempted, thought about offering $1200, but to be honest I’m still pissed off they never released the upgraded drop in battery model as promised, and I don’t like rewarding bad behavior with more of my dollars. Maybe shooting myself in the foot I guess, but I get in a snit about stuff like that.

Mirrors my thinking exactly. Though to be honest I think the Apex lacks a little punch in my mineralized ground. With that being said if the Storm proved to be nothing more than a waterproof Apex with just a tad more horsepower under the hood, I might be first in line to get one. I really, and I mean really, like the form factor and basic control/menu layout. No side mounted buttons, everything within reach of a finger - thank you Garrett!

I can't answer for others. The main problem for me I guess is I am pretty sure I already know the answers so why bother? In my opinion FT is just pawning off the same machine they have been selling for a couple years now and any hope that this is some new improved version - let's just say I'm doubtful. Fact is I have zero intention of getting one of these machines so it is not a critical question for me and I have better things to do with my time. Practically everyone I might have asked in the past has been fired or quit the company. Also, the FT website and their push to sell this machine at extra discount is very new, and before a couple weeks ago there was very little interest from anyone on the subject of what FT is or is not selling now. Honestly, the question you are asking applies as much to you as anyone. Only now have you decided it's worth your time to ask, but I guess that still puts you ahead of the rest of us. Maybe @The_Stalker who originated this thread and appears to be the only person who ordered one at a discount recently might know.

It's right there in the main chart on my GPX timings reference page. What you are posting is derived from the full chart but the version you posted does keep it simpler as long as people know how to read it. The most important part is the methodology for finding the proper setting, which the full chart includes in bottom right. In general the paradox of PI is that as you follow the chart left, the settings are progressively less powerful. Yet they actually perform better in increasingly bad ground. Ultimately it is no different than what we have to do with VLF - AS CONDITIONS WORSEN, REDUCE THE POWER/GAIN/SENSITIVITY! A very simplified way of looking at the Minelab GPX timings scheme is to treat it as a base level gain setting. Minelabs recommended methodology is exactly what I have done with both VLF and PI for decades. Learn to tune the detector to the edge of ground feedback, and ride that edge, adjusting as needed when ground conditions change.

Actually all we can do is speculate, and have, at the link Tony provided. What FT is currently advertising in their website appears no different than the model originally sold three years ago. Ultimately the questions you are asking can only be answered authoritatively by First Texas themselves. I recommend you send your message to them to find out for sure what’s going on. Having an answer in writing from them could prove very useful to anyone thinking of buying an AQ at this time. If you get those answers I know I and quite a few others would love to hear what they are. Thanks.

Hi Bob, Welcome to the forum. I just wanted to say I think your books are examples of the finest ever written about metal detecting. Best wishes to you on over 50 years of metal detecting. https://stoutstandards.wordpress.com/2017/05/11/bob-sickler-the-detectorist/

My opinion, which people can take or leave as they please. It's not like I know anything about the goings on in the industry, so don't mind me Jason, I'm sure you've got it nailed.

Setup for disappointment if I ever saw one.

Given everything you have said, hot ground, small gold, no real detecting experience - Minelab SDC 2300. As easy to operate a gold vacuum as you can hope for. Don’t worry it will find big nuggets also but if you are using a 1/2” screen and getting nowhere near that I’d not be sweating depth on multi-ounce nuggets. Threads Tagged “Minelab SDC 2300”

Interesting. I merely looked at the eBay page for the AQ and got this email today from FT. I made no offer or anything, just viewed the page. Now it’s them making the offer, and I assume I could counteroffer. They are really trying hard to get rid of these.

By definition it is a mono coil. You have a Dual Field and a Mono.

As a watcher of all things metal detecting I think one thing is obvious. Detectors made by First Texas have long since stopped being part of any conversation of the latest and greatest. One of the basics of advertising is making sure that when people think of something (metal detectors) they think of you (Fisher, Bounty Hunter, Teknetics). That is simply not true anymore of the First Texas brands. Do they even advertise or market at all anymore? If so it’s not reaching me. In marketing parlance they have lost mindshare, to the point of being irrelevant. They have nothing remotely close to competing with the Equinox, Deus 1&2, Legend, or Manticore. Even something as basic as an X-Terra Pro obsoletes the entire FT lineup. Increasingly it is looking like when it comes to detectors the company will just milk existing product for as long as it sells, discontinuing models when they can’t squeeze another dime out of them, until nothing is left. Even if they wanted to sell out there is nothing to sell as far as the tech goes, so all they have to sell is the names. I can’t see anyone but a Chinese firm being interested as a way to gain entry into the market. It really does seem like game over for First Texas when it comes to detectors. As Simon has noted their interests as a company seem to lie elsewhere.

The advertising really leads one to think there is something improved on these models. No, the only plus is they got a new decal and came with a pinpointer. The ethics are pretty borderline. "This classic high-performance multi-purpose professional grade metal detector from Teknetics just got better. The T2+ includes all the legendary features plus an added Boost Mode for even more depth." Only problem as you note is the T2SE already had the added Boost Mode. You could argue that technically the T2+ has added the Boost Mode lacking in the standard T2 but you also have to ignore the T2SE had already done this. It boils down to this being a relabeled T2SE with a pinpointer included. There is not even a separate user manual for the T2+. https://www.detectorprospector.com/files/file/175-teknetics-t2-special-edition-dst-t2-user-guide/ https://www.detectorprospector.com/metal-detector-database/teknetics-t2-r94/

At $99,999 they actually only made one, you bought it, and they pocketed the $98,999 profit. Lucky you! Garrett Storm - Prepare For The Shock Of Your Life!!

he was pointing out that going from 11 to 11.5 is actually going from 11 to 15, so a bigger jump than the erroneous 11.5 marking implies. Assuming it is 15 uS which is all but impossible for normal users to know for sure. If it's something they said was done in the past but current photos and referenced user manual say different..... ??????

$1399 had me at least thinking, but no. $999 and I'd have to do it - somebody give me a poke if they see it happen.

Well, the question was what was the oldest thing YOU have ever found, not the oldest that any of us ever found. I was told the same thing at the time. Did nothing though and five years later looks no different than when I found it, except cleaner. Maybe the danger is overrated, or I just got lucky with the dry desert air here. Took this picture ten minutes ago.... Here are some in better shape

Well, like they say, a fool and his money are soon parted. Our entire system is designed to get you to give your money to somebody else. You either have some sense in these things or you will always be poor. Economic Darwinism at work. Luckily it's always those other people who are falling for the nonsense, because we are all smarter than that, right.

Bronze Age (circa 1500-1400 BC) cast copper alloy primary shield pattern palstave, dating to the Acton Park Phase (photo of Steve by Tim Blank with permission) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palstave https://www.detectorprospector.com/topic/10874-steves-2019-uk-adventure/

Could be - I was really just talking about T2 vs F75 and knew the Ltd had static AM for sure, not saying other models did not. The mix of F75 features changed so much over the years and diving into that was not worth my time.

No you had it right the first time. Large deep stuff.