Steve Herschbach

Good info Simon - thanks! I need to do a better job keeping up....

The problem with the NEL option, putting any performance concerns aside, is the lack of size availability. A 12" x 13" coil on the 2.9 lb X-Terra is not going to be a fun swing. The other thing is that the Anfibio Multi and also the Multi Kruzer (almost the same machine in a lighter, less expensive package) have numerous options and features the X-Terra lacks. Like being fully submersible and built in wireless headphones. The X-Terra 705 is a genuine bargain at its new, lower pricing, but look hard at the extra features here as they may be worth the extra dollars to you.

It's a shame the Gold Kruzer is not getting more press. It is one heck of a value proposition at $749 with two coils (a DD and a concentric!), submersible, and included wireless headphone system. The main thing I like about the Gold Kruzer is the sounds are very much like my old Gold Bug 2 - nice solid true threshold based all metal mode on this one. And yet you have full target id and discrimination options for general purpose detecting.

Here is a link to a terrific article about beachcombing with the Minelab X-Terra 705. Lots of great technical notes here so print out or copy to your computer before this external link expires. Beachcombing With The Minelab X-Terra 705 by Matt Renshaw

I was doing some Googling and tripped over this October 2006 article by Des Dunne. Des is an extremely knowledgeable detectorist who used to work with Minelab and had a key role to play in several models. Good stuff, print it out or copy to your computer before this external link disappears someday. http://www.minelabowners.com/xterratips.pdf Minelab X-Terra 705 Gold metal detector

You just explained the difference. With the X-Terra you are supposed to change coils to change frequencies since the coils are optimized for each frequency. Forcing one to work at another frequency can be done but you are not getting optimum performance at that point due to the frequency / coil mismatch. Minelab VFLEX notes The Nokta/Makro Anfibio Multi like most similar detectors use coils that are wound to work with a range of frequencies. This usually means one frequency is optimal for the coil. The other frequencies are harmonics that the coil will also work with but perhaps not in the most optimal fashion. The whole theory behind X-Terra was that by using optimised coils a performance edge was retained. Reality has shown that whatever performance aspect resides in this use of multiple optimised coils is not as desirable to people as the ability to use one coil but at different frequencies. Selectable Frequency and Multiple Frequency Explained

Welcome to the forum. I don't know what the sticker is made of. No there is not a lot of controversy about this. No doubt there are some who are trying to make it controversial. The Equinox has been out for over a year now and many of them have spent a lot of that time underwater. If leaking was a major issue you would have heard a lot more about genuine leaks by now. Imagining places where something may leak in the future is just imagining things. I suggest if you want your Equinox not to leak, don't take it apart unless it is absolutely necessary.

I have added the following Tesoro resources all found at the Tesoro Electronics Downloads area.... Tesoro 2007 Metal Detector Catalog - some info on discontinued models like the Golden uMax. Tesoro 2013 Metal Detector Catalog - the last Tesoro full line catalog I am aware of. Tesoro Metal Detector Information #22 (2010) - model information and reviews but also packed with generic information on interest to all metal detector users. Tesoro Lobo SuperTRAQ User Guide

Thanks for the extra details Doc - I fixed my incorrect note on the arm cup covers. Anyone near Las Vegas should contact Doc for their Minelab detecting needs - could not ask to meet a nicer more helpful person!!

Why not just link to it? I got a pair of Tony Eisenhower's but have not tried them yet.

Added.... Placer Gold Deposits of New Mexico Placer Gold Deposits of Utah Principal Gold Producing Districts of the United States Gold Placers and Placering in Arizona

Published by Graeme Stokes on Jan 22, 2019 - A brief introduction to try out the salt mode in the XP ORX metal detector using a 9 inch HF coil. I used the standard coin deep program. All you do the. Is hold down the # button for three seconds and your in salt mode. I wasn’t out for long and thought it was excellent, when I took salt mode off there was all sorts of feedback through the headphones. It definitely gets a thumbs up from me. Apologies for the dodgy camera work half way through!

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on getting out and making your first finds with your new Equinox! ?

Depends how technical you want to get. It is a scientific fact that the human ear can detect changes in volume and pitch easier than it can pick a faint noise out of a silent background. In total silence your brain will start making up sounds for you! So from a purely technical standpoint an ear finely tuned to a threshold has a better chance of hearing a tiny change in the threshold than hearing a faint signal against a silent background. That all depends on a persons individual hearing abilities and those abilities vary more and in more ways than we think. There is also practicality. If I tell you a threshold sound is better, but you HATE listening to a threshold sound, then your displeasure may override any tiny theoretical benefits to using the threshold. For me the threshold is telling me as much or more about the ground as the gold. On a manual ground balance machine changes in the threshold may indicate a neeed to ground balance. Since the Monster is locked in tracking at all times that issue is eliminated. The truth is for those not used to it, discerning the small threshold changes that mean gold from those that are just small ground variations can be quite challenging. It is all just noise. The Monster, since it is intended for people who have never seen let alone used a metal detector, went with silent search because it is easier to learn. From an absolute standpoint you can argue a threshold might have made the Monster better for some people. At the end of the day however all that matters is how well the Monster does versus some other detector. Most people seem pretty happy on that count.

While it does have VCO audio as phrunt has mentioned the Monster does not have a threshold sound unlike most nugget detectors. Worth noting since some people prefer a threshold. I run the sensitivity on mine high enough signals start to break through creating a sort of false threshold but it’s not the same thing exactly. Long story short is the Monster is designed to be a silent search machine.

Just to clarify. In metal detector land VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) audio refers to audio that increases both in volume and pitch when approaching a target. So it is not just a low tone that turns into a louder low tone, but a low tone that turns into a louder, higher tone. This makes for a nice mellow threshold, but the detector will literally squeak intensely on strong targets. Nearly all VLF nugget detectors feature VCO audio. Most coin machines do not have it to the point where lots of coin hunters have no idea what VCO audio is. Example Minelab Equinox. Park, Field, and Beach Modes - no VCO audio. Both Gold Modes use VCO. Some people hate VCO. Some people like it so much Minelab has been getting requests for a VCO option in the non-Gold Modes on the Equinox. I love VCO audio. It's what makes the magical "Zip-Zip" sound on tiny gold nuggets. Long story short, phrunt is right, the Gold Monster does have VCO audio. But since he only mentioned volume it triggered my "long winded explanation" mode!

Wow, nice haul!!

Love the last photo - you are a gutsy guy Tom!!! Tom, I just want to say how much I appreciate your keeping some direct communication lines open via the forums. It is a shame that White's will lose your enthusiasm and energy but I am sure you are doing what is best for you and your family. Hopefully you won't be a stranger here going forward, but no matter what best wishes to you and yours for a bright future. Take care.

The presence or absence of bears never changed how I detected, always used dual cup headphones. I never saw many at Chisana but they are just a fact of life everywhere in Alaska, especially in Interior. We ran bears out of camp at Moore Creek now and then. Plenty of them running around in the Sierra Nevadas also. As far as I am aware no person using a metal detector has ever been attacked by a bear. Anyway, bears don’t worry me much personally. Photo op. Do whatever you feel you need to do to be comfortable with the situation.