Steve Herschbach

I ran Sharp as my standard setting in Alaska and only used mono coils. 18” NF round. It’s a powerful mode and in Australia DD coils would be a necessity in a lot of places to get it to run. But if ground allows, and mine did, Sharp plus mono will outperform.

The last thing I expect is anything related to any prior White's product.

6 minutes ago, Chesroy said:

Well done Steve I hope you really gel with it and you enjoy playing with your new toy, hope you have recovered fully from your operation, I had one hip done  so admiration for having 2 done at once.

I also take note that you kept people real on the Manticore frenzy with your knowledgable take on things.

Well more like two operations a few months apart, but long since over that now. A new lease on life and detecting for sure, thanks. 

45 minutes ago, Bob Sickler said:

Thanks Guys! I had fun doing that interview with Dick Stout back then. I was a bit younger looking for sure! 🙂 Kinda like being Rip Van Winkle in the public sunshine! It brought back some really great memories of my time involved writing and metal detecting in general. My time in the industry feels like when horses were abandoned for the automobile! I've witnessed the change from early analog to present digital, but the Induction Balance principle of detection still remains the same. Will we ever re-invent the "wheel"?... Only time will tell. At my current age and health, I'm blessed to still be able to get out and hunt most of the day. Glad I didn't head out today though, it's raining "14" searchcoils" here in NY! Even an AT-Pro wouldn't stay dry today!

Thank you for the praise on my artwork. To a life-long graphic artist and designer, that is very nice to read. I had fun re-designing the department headers for WE&T. It's not every day you get to use two of your talents at once. Writing my books was another great way to use two talents. Both were written, designed, illustrated and self-published from 1993 into the 2000's. Income from the books helped me start my own graphic design business which I have enjoyed for the last 28 years. Today I'm semi-retired, only writing on this forum, and spend more time outdoors when able.

Was this your work Bob? If so, one of the more famous illustrations in metal detecting. I believe I lifted this from one of the old Tesoro catalogs and repost whenever the subject of proper digging technique comes up.

I really appreciate good illustrations and graphic design, and it was the quality of your work in that regard that really helped set your books apart from all the rest.

On 4/11/2024 at 3:58 AM, Chesroy said:

Soooo Steve

Have you made your mind up ? I think from reading all the Manticore/Comparison threads and your own comments regarding not really gelling with the D2, you really underneath want the Manticore ! So have you bought one yet ! its been long enough now, time to dive in and make your own mind up about its performance 😁

Long story is I was an early prototype tester on the Manticore. The performance has never really been a question for me. I've worked with Minelab on various projects for over a decade but I had to bail on the Manticore before release due to health issues which made detecting out of the question for a time (got both hips replaced).

One thing I have told Minelab repeatedly over the years is that accessory coils should be developed along with the detector, so that all models have at least three coils on release. Small, medium, large. Instead, accessory coils get very low priority and take ages to come out. I get cranky about certain things, being ignored is high on the list, and swore I would not get a Manticore until the 5x8 coil was available. I thought and still think that coil will outperform on the Manticore... not that there was ever one to test before release. I dabbled with the D2 instead, but no, I am not a fan of a limited selection of wireless coils with zero prospect of aftermarket support. It may take forever but that does eventually come for Minelab models. I also favor the Minelab control/menu scheme as something I am more familiar with.

You are correct then in that I always knew I'd be getting a Manticore eventually as it just jives better with me and my style of detecting. But again, the lack of coils really irritated me and I basically boycotted getting a Manticore until that got resolved. Well that has finally happened and I did actually get a Manticore with 5x8 coil recently. Another reality for me however is that my PI detecting tends to have priority and so I have not been in any rush to get out and use it. I doubt I'll have anything to add to any of the ongoing discussion because other people have long since passed me up in knowledge and experience with the Manticore. My early prototype use does not even really apply as many changes were made between then and final release, and even an update since then. In that respect I'm as much a newbie as anyone with the Manticore.

My shiny new toy, not even peeled the screen protector off yet....

Funny, Andy Benson and I were just talking about this yesterday.

Since day one I have repeatedly said that with the Manticore, less is more. I don't pound my chest over being an original prototype tester on the machine but I was running this detector way before any of you ever heard of it. I tried to pass the knowledge won there on to early users who kept having difficulty with the detector. In every case the main problem in my opinion has been running settings higher than would be ideal. From this thread in 2023:

"Basically Manticore is a high strung Equinox with a graphic display and main way to tame the beast is reduced sensitivity until you get a handle on its high performance engine. This would be directly via the Sensitivity control, or through the use of lower power modes, or both together."

and

"I can only repeat so many times that the Manticore at 1/2 to 3/4 settings is like a maxed out Equinox. The Manticore has extra headroom, but only for locations and situations that allow it. Anyone with a mindset that they can drive a Ferrarri with the pedal mashed to the floor anywhere all the time is going to crash and burn with Manticore. It is imperative that people back it down and then work their way up. Again, target ID stability is a great tool for determining when you have good settings, and above that, well, yeah, it's going to get squirrely."

Getting more depth by using lower power modes and reducing sensitivity may seem counterintuitive but it is a reality when running in bad ground. The main benefit will be better target id stability and less false signals. When I say lower power modes I am referring specifically to ATHC as being the root cause of many problems. ATHC boosts the transmit power, which can create blowback in adverse conditions. This can result in less depth, target id instability, false signals, especially ferrous false signals, and reduced target separation.

Long story short is people tend to think that maxing out settings gets more depth, reducing settings gets less depth. This might be true in air tests and pure white sand or loamy conditions. Adverse ground and salt conditions changes everything and taming the beast by avoiding ATHC and running lower sensitivity levels will benefit many users. The use of small coils like the 5x8 can also really aid in the worst ground by reducing the amount of ground seen by the coil, which improves the ground to target ratio in favor of the target. Very often, less really is more.

On 4/11/2024 at 3:52 PM, The_Stalker said:

Steve,

  What is being offered by FT is the original Fisher Impulse AQ Limited.  No updates and all the warts of the original AQ Limited.  If you truly believe that an updated AQ will never be produced, I believe you should buy one now at a discount.  If an updated AQ is produced then maybe we can one day compete against OBN, but I doubt that anyone can compete against Joe.

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.

1 hour ago, DIG5050 said:

Some of my best finds of the last 4 years were made with my Apex. It seems to work well in my Ohio soil, at a lot of the old homesites I visit. 

Steve, how would you describe “more horsepower under the hood” of the Apex. What would you add, remove, change etc. 

I have my own ideas of what I’d like to see changed in the Apex if indeed the Storm was a refined Apex but would like to hear others ideas. 

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.

1 hour ago, Roger said:

Its only in the last few days I have been remotely interested (mention of ebay sale and reduced price) since when they were initially put on the market I made an enquiery and was told they wouldn't sell to me in UK. 

Regards,

Rog

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. 

3 hours ago, Bob Sickler said:

Awhile later, my pal Joe Patrick calls me and says, "Have you seen the new Garrett?!" I think I was in love at first sight! Sleek low-center of gravity control housing, a lighter 2D 11" elliptical coil, redesigned display and menu system - large and small enough to match my age, a wireless system with no discernible latency, integrated lithium charging, firmware updates, single/multi-frequency operation.... Yahoooo! OK, I lost my slosh and rinse capacity, but I never really cared because I never was a water hunter to begin with. But it is nice not to worry about water incursion. In short, a detector I could spend my time hunting with and not playing menu roulette.

In the interim I saw some good American metal detecting companies leave us. It got me to thinking how good and secure it was to be back with my roots and more satisfied than I have been in years.... Nut shell!

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!

44 minutes ago, Roger said:

I'm curious as to why it seems nobody has asked pertinent questions to FT before now

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.

9 hours ago, phrunt said:

The one timing chart that's missing is this one, this one I found easiest to understand before moving onto the more detailed charts.

Steve has a great collection of the timing charts here, however this one was missing.

 

It was acquired from this Minelab document, the document was the likely cause of Americans running around using fine gold thinking it was the best setting, because of this statement in the document describing the new fine gold timing, "Awesome in US goldfields! Easily finding 0.03dwt nuggets in heavily mineralized, “hot rock infested” ground, using the super sensitive Monoloop coil."

It makes me wonder if I should have been running around myself in sharp, and not sensitive extra like I did with my mild soils.

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.

11 hours ago, Roger said:

In this advert: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134989348535 the asking price is $1,999.00 and the shipping to the UK varies from US $658.19 (approx £523.81) to US $803.83 (approx £639.71) .

I have queried First Texas about the crazy shipping charges generated on eBay, but no response as yet.

Can you help me with clarifying a few things please?

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/

2 hours ago, bklein said:

What is it that is masking out some coins? Do you guys have a setup that seems to eliminate the problem - maybe at the cost of some other behavior?  I’ve never spent time on looking at this. I just know it happens and the design team thinks it’s a normal consequence of trying to have a gold sweet spot that no other detector has (???).

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. 

14 hours ago, jasong said:

My expectations are high for this machine. If it ever shows up. I expect a machine that obsoletes the SDC, 6000 and 7000 entirely. 

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”

On 4/5/2024 at 12:07 PM, The_Stalker said:

Here is the Ebay files showing the purchase for $1300 plus tax and no I am not upset or disappointed that Joe or anyone else can get it for a better price.  

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.

6 hours ago, Roger said:

Any ideas then as to what the single winding coil is?

Regards,

Rog

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/

4 hours ago, John-Edmonton said:

I was lucky.....I got the last one. 

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!!

On 4/4/2024 at 6:13 PM, Tony said:

especially as you say you notice quite a difference from 11 to 11.5

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..... ??????