Steve Herschbach

You mean one of these metal blades has corroded completely off? Battery seat Minelab CTX 3030 and GPZ 7000 Presumably somebody way better than I could solder a new metal blade in place but beyond my skill. From http://parts.minelab.com/category-s/118.htm Bulkhead, Assy Control Box CTX 3030 with Flex Cct Part# 0705-0062

From Minelab Facebook page:

Wireless headphones offer a benefit. We don’t need to be physically connected to the detector should we set it down or walk away. Wireless coils confer no such benefit. As Dubious noted above the coil has to be connected to the handle anyway. Removing the cable adds the need for a battery that must be charged regularly and serviced periodically. Any weight saved removing the cable just puts the saved weight farther forward in the form of a battery, making detectors that are already nose-heavy even more so. Worst of all it adds significantly to the cost of each coil. I much prefer wired coils that cost under $200. However, even if wireless coils could be constructed for the same price, I would choose wired coils if offered the choice. I personally derive no benefit from a coil being wireless.

I have asked at clubs, and most detectorists claim not to spend any time on forums, Facebook, etc. The reasons are varied, but the fact remains all the online discussion takes place among a minority of detectorists. The forums themselves have been on the decline with the ascendancy of Facebook and YouTube. About half the forums I used to frequent are either now gone or ghosts of their former glory. I do also think in the U.S. at least we have passed “peak detecting” and are now facing a slow decline in interest that is playing into all that. So yes, I do believe the vast majority of finds are quietly made and known to few.

That’s too bad, many years of accumulated posts and knowledge, all gone.....

Welcome to the forum, always room for like minded people!

MX Sport did not make the cut for my list of 21st Century Metal Detectors due to the lack of built in wireless headphone capability. An arbitrary requirement on my part for sure, but one I think a lot of people would agree with. In my opinion it is past time that any top end detector include wireless headphone capability as a standard feature.

What features should be standard in a 21st century metal detector? Going forward I have a couple basic features I would like in any new detector model I get. Given the current state of the art, the detector may as well be waterproof. This used to incur a penalty by way of limited features, increased weight, or lack of coil options, but those days are past. And at this point built in wireless headphone capability is a must for above water use (hardwired phones are required underwater). The following detectors are all waterproof to at least ten feet, and all have built in wireless headphone capability. All have built in waterproof speakers and optional interchangeable search coils. Click chart for larger version. 21st Century Metal Detectors - Waterproof and Wireless Headphones 21st Century Metal Detectors (Waterproof & Wireless) Quest 40 Makro Kruzer 14 Minelab Equinox 600 Garrett AT Max Makro Gold Kruzer Quest Pro Makro Multi Kruzer Nokta Anfibio 14 Nokta Anfibio 19 Minelab Equinox 800 Nokta Anfibio Multi Minelab CTX 3030 All these models although waterproof feature coils that can be swapped out. Back in the day waterproof detectors usually came with only a single hardwired coil, but there is no need to settle for that now. All these models have three or more coil options available. If a detector is truly new, less than a year on the market, then I want it to have the ability to be updated via the internet. Once a detector has been on the market over a year this is not quite as important but still desirable. All these models except the Garrett AT Max and Quest 40/Pro may receive firmware updates via the internet. All the models listed have built in sealed rechargeable batteries, except for the Garrett AT Max, which uses removable AA batteries. Sealed batteries provide for better waterproof integrity, but eventually the batteries will have to be serviced. The operating frequency options vary with these detectors. If the detector is to be used in or around saltwater very much, do consider multifrequency as the preferred option for most saltwater use. The Makro Gold Kruzer is a special case, with a very high 61 kHz frequency making it more an option for gold prospectors, jewelry hunters, or relic hunters looking for very small non-ferrous targets. Because of this high operating frequency the Gold Kruzer is the least saltwater friendly detector in this roundup. Although all these models have built in wireless, they all feature proprietary systems with the exception of the Minelab Equinox, which has a proprietary system but also offers standard Low Latency Bluetooth. Right now proprietary solutions can offer less audio lag but at the price of being locked into using the proprietary headphone options, which tend to be limited. Low Latency Bluetooth is fast enough for most people and no doubt will be faster in the future, so look for proprietary offerings to fade away. 21st Century Metal Detectors - Waterproof & Wireless

Not Gerry but.... The TDI Beach hunter is just a TDI SL in a waterproof box. It is not new, and any performance questions can be answered by viewing similar questions about the TDI SL over the years (see link below). At most there may have been a tiny performance gain by going to a hardwired coil, but for all intents performance is going to be identical to the TDI SL. The TDI SL does also benefit from boosting the battery power via aftermarket batteries like the RNB Innovations (Reidman) battery packs. Thoughts On The TDI SL ? Dec 7, 2016 TDI Air Test & Battery Notes May 25, 2016 TDI Pro and The TDI SL Sep 4, 2015 Batteries And The TDI SL Mar 22, 2015 You can toss the "NASA Tom 40% rule" if it includes a provision requiring a PI to be better at hitting low conductors than a VLF. Most any VLF can runs circles around a PI when it comes to sensitivity to small low conductors. That only changes when mineralization gets so severe a VLF shuts down, and under those circumstances a PI can pull ahead, but only because a PI handles mineralization better than a VLF. White's TDI Information page

Glad to see you are out and about Fred. Just take it slow and easy

The part may last a lot longer than you think. I don’t know any way to reinforce the part. If it fails, replace it.

Start driving Chuck - Carl will be waiting for you along with your new Fisher CZ-3D (Multiple-Frequency transmit, Dual Frequency Processing VLF Search 5 KHz and 15 KHz)

We are all rooting for you Carl. The problem will be that you have your own marketing people, and they also like to obscure facts. The T2+ and F75+ were not exactly examples of clarity in marketing, and honestly left a bad taste in my mouth. Minelab sure is not a box full of saints, but there is enough nonsense to go around from what I see. We have Nokta /Makro selling a selectable frequency machine as multifrequency, ignoring industry convention. How many people bought an F75+ thinking it really was an improvement on the F75? How many people are buying a Multi Kruzer thinking they are getting a multifrequency detector? Minelab is not an isolated party when it comes to making marketing claims that obscure the facts. If I were you I would not worry. There are plenty of pragmatists like me who will gravitate to whatever works, regardless of who makes it, to win the day. Lots of people really are rooting for First Texas and waiting for whatever you are working on. It just can't be the F75++

It is no different than making a deal with a claim owner to hunt their ground for a percentage, and then complaining after the fact about the deal that was agreed on in the first place. Or worse yet being a thief by reneging on a deal and sticking the finds in your pocket. And it is stealing, no other word for it. If making deals and abiding by them is an issue for some, then do us all a favor and get out of detecting entirely. It is the scammers that ruin it for those of us who honor our word and actually have some integrity.

Tesoro 9” x 8” concentric... 9x8" Concentric Part# 9x8C-LC-D 8' cable $149

If you read what Minelab puts out very carefully they state always that modes are choosing and processing frequencies from the ones available, but how many are used at any one time in any one mode is never explicitly stated. It is all carefully worded to let you all make assumptions and fill gaps with what you think is going on, but if you read it carefully it is not always saying what you think it is saying. What do you all make of this statement from here (emphasis added): “How many simultaneous frequencies?” you may ask, wondering if this is a critical parameter. Minelab has been carrying out detailed investigations into this in recent years. Just as you can color in a map with many colors, the minimum number to differentiate between adjacent countries is only 4 – a tough problem for mathematicians to prove, over many years. Similar to the map problem, it’s perhaps not the maximum number of frequencies needed to achieve an optimum result, but the minimum number that is more interesting. When it comes to frequencies in a detector, to cover all target types, how the frequencies are combined AND processed is now more important, with the latest detectors, than how many frequencies, for achieving even better results. I am quite certain myself that if it turns out Equinox works because there is a small squirrel inside the control box that makes all the decisions it will still continue to perform for me tomorrow just like it did yesterday. Good luck to all of you trying to litigate marketing statements with engineering reality. The fact is I sure don’t know how it works... I just know it works.

You could laminate the quick guide that comes with the detector.....

I guess when you ask if the day of single frequency has passed and it turns into a debate about the technical details of multifrequency that kind of answers the question. I had one engineer tell me he would rather saw his leg off than have to work on another single frequency detector. Boring....... Whatever, I will let you all sort out the technical details. I am just happy I lived long enough to see this phase of the technology kicking in. The next few years will be interesting.

If all Equinox brought to the table was multifrequency it would not be selling like it is. It it light weight, waterproof, built in wireless, and yes, multifrequency... all that and more for a killer price. What makes Equinox different is the complete package at an incredible price. The number of frequencies, how they are employed, etc. is all a sideshow. It is as simple as the features for the price, and the fact that the machine actually does perform exceedingly well for the price. The CTX versus Equinox debate for example almost always ignores the elephant in the room - $800 vs $2500. V3i? I have one and think highly of it for some uses, but stick one under saltwater and it does not work so well. What if the Garrett AT Max had offered multifrequency? They would have beat Minelab to the punch. What if the Fisher CZX had actually happened as planned? What if White’s had stuck the V3i in the MX Sport package first? The fact is there was a large pent up demand for a detector like the Equinox that has been clearly expressed on forums for years, and Minelab delivered first and at a price that borders on predatory. It will be very difficult for the competition to compete at that level, even if they can overcome both the technical and patent issues. That all said single frequency detectors will be around as long as I am alive at least. They do many things more than well enough for most people. The danger from a manufacturer standpoint is that anyone can make a good one now, and competition will demand a race to the bottom in retail pricing. Betting your company’s future on how cheaply you can make a single frequency VLF is a tough road to head down. The low cost manufacturer wins and everyone else faces a margin squeeze. Only on forums do people really care about all this under the hood stuff. As a past retailer I can tell you all most people care about is what the detector will do for a price and not how it goes about doing it. The hype and marketing only gets you so far, as in time people do figure out what works and what does not. Like it or not there are some things multifrequency does better than single frequency and so a large segment of the established user base is demanding it. The masses will just follow along. It really is that simple.

On the flip side lots of people on lots of forums got plenty sick of hearing about the Equinox for months on end. Minelab marketing and the “single frequency obsolete” statement makes the Equinox a rather obvious target for those vying for eyeballs in the YouTube world. If you want eyeballs, just make “Equinox versus anything else” videos and the viewers will follow. Which is all fine. It’s not like anyone has to watch the stuff anyway. Like movie reviews you have to figure out which video reviewers are worth watching, and which you can ignore.

From https://www.facebook.com/Garrettmetaldetectorsusa/ Garrett ATX Information Page

Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - 10:15 A+E Networks® UK today announced the commission of a brand new series, River Hunters, from Hello Halo Productions for flagship channel HISTORY®. The 8x60’ series pairs US YouTube sensation Beau Ouimette, a river detectorist with over 30 years’ experience, with presenter and keen swimmer Rick Edwards, as they search the UK’s waterways for archaeological finds. River Hunters will see Rick and river-searching expert Beau, visit some of the most historically significant sites across Britain: covering iconic events and battles including Roman Briton, the Wars of the Roses, the Reformation and the English Civil War. Their searches of these unexplored rivers and waterways unearth treasures from the past which reveal how our various ancestors used to live. As the artefacts surface from under layers of silt and rocks, the duo will meet with local archaeologists and historians to unearth the stories and people behind the finds. Spanning each river’s layered past, the new series will offer a fresh perspective and even redefine our history as we know it. Using state-of-the-art technology, archive maps and contemporaneous accounts from the period, Beau and Rick perform the first underwater archeological digs in some of the most exciting and iconic historical sites in Britain, often in dangerous and fast-flowing water. River Hunters was commissioned by Dan Korn, VP of Programming for A+E Networks UK. Diana Carter, Commissioning Editor for A+E Networks UK, will executive produce the series for HISTORY. Dan Korn said: By delving into Britain’s unexplored waterways, this series offers a unique glimpse into the passages of history which shaped our Island Nation and the ways of life of the various invaders and occupiers down the centuries. Some of the artefacts are truly breathtaking and shed new light on the richness of British history, and Beau and Rick’s blossoming partnership over the course of the series is a delight to behold. Rick Edwards commented: I’m delighted that we’re able to put to bed the idea that it's just shopping trolleys and old bikes in the UK's rivers - we found some truly extraordinary artefacts, bringing whole new perspectives to the stories from our rich past. I also got very cold. Wendy Rattray, Managing Director of Hello Halo, developed the series with Head of Development Natalie Hill, who is also Executive Producer, with Julie Grant as Series Producer. Natalie Hill said: With rivers largely unexplored in the UK, but integral to our rich past, this is a unique opportunity to find treasures long forgotten and untouched – from discarded and lost items, to offerings to gods - each river will tell a tale never seen before. The new series will air on HISTORY in the UK in 2019. HISTORY is available on Sky, Virgin, BT and TalkTalk. Source: https://www.aenetworks.tv/news/history-takes-rick-edwards-and-youtube-river-hunter-beau-ouimette-mission-find-underwater

Like everything in the metal detecting world the coil is a little more sensitive than the 6 x 10 DD coil in most ground but that may not be true in the worst of ground. I don’t know how a person puts value on that. For me the whole point of getting a super hot detector is for it to be as hot on small gold as possible. Like a lot of Gold Bug 2 owners I almost never ran anything but the smallest coil. I would normally be doing the same with the GM24K and for the same reason - to get that small edge. For me it’s just automatic when using detectors like this to get the smallest coil made for it.

I guess that is a new word! According to Minelab "Detexpert (noun) – those who embrace the thrill of the hunt and know that nothing is ever truly lost, just waiting to be found. They use their thirst for greater detecting knowledge and skill to benefit not only themselves, but all who love detecting." There are already a half dozen "Detexperts" on the Minelab Meet the Detexperts page. You can apply to be a Detexpert yourself although Minelab makes no case for as to why a person would want to do this. Interestingly enough one of the questions is "Why do you want to become a Minelab Detexpert?". Why indeed Minelab? Looking at the pictures presumably a free t-shirt is part of the deal. My guess is they are looking for people who are on all or at least many of the social media outlets and who are interested in representing Minelab in some fashion. Anyway, if you have dreamed of being a Detexpert (even if you never heard of it until now) this is your chance to apply! Minelab Detexpert Logo

It is not the rod so much as the elliptical coil in this case. The pointy end makes for an easy rollover compared to coils that have a flat rear end bearing surface. Having used the elliptical coil my preference if buying one of these new would be the 9” round coil option. The elliptical has the edge for the smallest gold in difficult ground but I think the 9” round coil option offers a better all round balance for detection of both large and small objects.