Steve Herschbach

Why controls on the side of the pod? The serve no purpose I can see from a manufacturing perspective, and only serve to complicate the design. Extra holes in the case, rubber chicklets that wear out. The main issue though is that from a user standpoint they really suck. How many people put the User Definable button on the Equinox to real use? It's a fabulous control, and we all should be flipping back and forth between settings to verify targets. At a minimum it's a great way to decide which mode works best, but it's the ability to quickly compare targets in two modes that is a real boon if used properly. Very few people use it at all however, and the reason is simple. The location is so inconvenient as to make us ignore it. Those who do use it have to jump through hoops to do so. The real crime here is there is no need for this. There is plenty of room on the front to put all controls front and center where they should be. It is too bad that Minelab did not take this opportunity to get it right with the Equinox 700, 900, and Manticore, perpetuating a poor design choice with Equinox into the future. Which would you rather have?........

Stock means the coil that comes as normal stock on the detector in the box, not accessory coils. The 11" coil in the picture at top would be the stock coil for both detectors. Retailer geek speak for the normal coil you will see on the detector under most circumstances. And not as a gold prospecting detector. 99% of the people out there are not buying these as prospecting detectors. 11" coils only - pretend nothing else exists. No gold prospecting. Get a real detector for that! What little being mentioned seems like Manticore all the way, with other stuff just being minor excuses for the Equinox about coils or very small low conductors. I know this forum skews to gold prospectors, but most people are hunting parks fields or beaches for coins, jewelry, and relics. Most detectorists never buy a single accessory coil. Go to any very well attended hunt and most people are swinging the coil that came on the detector. So setting aside the caveats about accessory coils and tiny gold sounds like a Manticore is the way to go.

Gotta disagree with you on that one Monte

There was a thread on Equinox vs Manticore for Gold Nuggets but when I just took a look I have seen about every comparison made but this one. One or the other, for just general all around metal detecting, parks, beach, fields, relics, coins, jewelry - what's the pick? Any thought yet on which is just the better rounded do everything for most people detector? And just to keep it clean, let's just assume stock coils only. This model with stock coil or that model with stock coil, which one is it going to be? And no other options please, just Equinox 900 or Manticore?

Obviously you can also just flip the coil on the end of the rod, but for me that’s hundreds of bends of the cable this way and back. I can’t say I’ve ever had a cable fail from that, but it’s something I prefer not to test, so putting the detector down upside down quickly becomes a habit for me with any coil that’s hot in the center.

Actually I’d say it’s not a bad habit to get into for all metal detectors, and as a rule I personally always do a factory reset with any detector I own after a coil change. Then I never need to wonder if I should do it or not. I just do it out of habit. So me, yes, I factory reset after a coil swap, only possible exception being the Deus and it’s wireless coils.

As long as you can hear the threshold and tune your ear to it, how you get there does not matter. If you want to “Hear Those Gold Whispers Missed By Others” slow down, then slow down again. Get the coil center closer to the gold by covering every square inch carefully and methodically, moving any obstacles (rocks, brush) while doing so. I have used lots of different audio options over the years, and for me at least it can be anything from external speakers to ear buds to over the ear headphones. In general all that matters for me is external noise. If dead quiet I prefer an external speaker. Any background noise, I go to headphones. My Sun Ray Pro Golds are my go to default when in doubt. You need something that matches your ear as far as any hearing loss issues. I need dual volume controls and enhanced high frequency output due to high frequency hearing loss, and partial deafness in my right ear. Everyone’s hearing is different so what works for me may not work for you. Simply try lots of options and use what you like best.

I assume you mean the Garrett version since the White’s one has obviously been around for a couple years. Not yet. It’s being remade as a Garrett product so is not an exact copy of the White’s coil using the same mold. That in turn has lead to it taking more time. I’m not going to be so dumb as to try and predict when dealers will have them, but now that Axiom is out they can devote more resources to just getting it done, so I hope it will not be too much longer. 85 nuggets at 11 grams found by Steve H in Alaska with Garrett 24K

I do it enough I’m going to put a strip across the top to make it a little less tippy when it rests on top of the pod.

I flip the detector or the coil itself to use the scoop on the bottom of the DD coil chasing the smaller bits. If you want edge sensitivity go with the mono coil. See this video starting at the 1:40 mark

No worries I’m just being a whiner As long as the info gets out one way or the other that’s all that counts, and simple reality now it’s mostly YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc that people look to for information.

Forum traffic increases in the off season, and drops off when people are actually out doing it.

Well you know what Bill, I think that is a worthy challenge. I think I'll just go detecting, and post finds, and call it good. Stay away from "look what this detector found" and focus more on "look what I found". I mean really, is it the detector finding the stuff, or me? You'd swear we are all mindless tools used by the detector to read most posts, not the other way around.

It was used on the ATX. I noted to Garrett that it is critical for people to know about these coils, as people just think they are standard DD coils. I made quite a big deal about the fact this coil has been around for awhile, but that Garrett has never bothered to explain it to anyone. I mean seriously, when do companies pass on touting something new and coming up with new acronyms for it? I was calling it the Bullseye DD (Garrett now owns the White's rights to that name) but they just recently settled on Focused Core. Probably did not want it confused with the Bullseye pinpointer. But yeah, I'll take credit for this finally being explained as an exclusive Garrett option. I did chuckle over the brand new thing. Yes, the name is new but not the design. I've explained this all in detail previously months ago, including the ATX connection. Mentioned it in several threads. Went out of my way to highlight it as a must read, pinned it to the top of the forum, you name it. Just proves nobody actually reads my stuff... I have kind of a why bother feeling about that. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Maybe if it is not posted on YouTube it's not real, so I've added the new video to my past posts. And added "Focused Core" where appropriate replacing my previous Bullseye moniker.

I highly recommend new Axiom owners or anyone just interested review the Essential Information on the Garrett Axiom pinned at the top of the forum. Some of the information is quite critical to getting the best results out of the Axiom. Anyone can just pick it up and do well, but knowing things like the difference in the Garrett coils gives you that extra edge.

If you are talking about the Axiom, the Focused Core (FC) DD is the only kind Garrett makes for it. You should know this as I’ve explained it at length previously on the forum and gone out of my way to highlight the fact. Axiom Focused Core (FC) DD Coils from Garrett Metal Detectors on Vimeo.

In general it seems there is more and more talk about detectors on the forum, and less and less talk about their actual use. Tons of opinions. Videos are test fests with boards and styrofoam or this versus that on planted targets. Posts by people making actual finds from Australia have all but disappeared on all forums. Is it finds depleting, or people getting more secretive about their detecting? Probably both. Personally I’ve not gone detecting since October and probably won’t start up much until April. I do plan on using the Axiom near exclusively this year for coin hunting in parks, beach detecting for jewelry, and of course nugget detecting. As soon as my nearest park thaws I’ll be digging soft low tones looking for silver. Tahoe beaches soon after that. My target gold areas are at 6000 feet in the Sierras so that is later. But hey, it’s a Garrett, and so uptake is slow due to skepticism, and an unfortunate exchange rate fueled price penalty overseas. It’s a good detector and pretty easy to like, but the reality is the “performance at all costs” crowd more than likely will stick with Minelab. Then you have to hope the Axiom buyer is even the type of person to find forums and post. So I expect it to just be me and a few other go against the flow types that post here now and then. I mainly was trying to put out as much as I could about how to get going with the Axiom, but at this point I have covered all the bases I intend to and unless there is some new question it’s mostly a matter of referring people to posts I’ve already made. I have no desire though to be Mr. Axiom though so hopefully some more of users do show up sooner or later and post their thoughts and experiences. Anything I post always is tainted by that “oh he worked with Garrett on that” smell so I’m as interested in what others think just as much as anyone. Maybe more so.

There are a zillion options to choose from. Camelback style bags with built in water delivery are very popular. I use one myself but it is a small one that just contains my needed gear, not the detector itself, which goes in a separate travel bag. But one pack to act as travel bag and backpack is certainly an option also, or anything in between. The Deus 280 at 26 inch length should be able to hold a 17" CTX coil no problem. I'd be more concerned about the 13.5" width of the coil. Looks like a really nice pack but for $150 there are lots of others also.

I weighed all my detectors on postal scales when I used to do my detailed reports on them, and I often found manufacturers understated weights. That's the nice way to say it. Some did it more than others. Nokta/Makro was a common offender in the past at least.

One for sale in the forum classifieds right this minute, but you would have to buy a GMX Sport to get it.

That’s not what Condor and I am seeing here as it surprised me with actual gold nuggets found in the field. But what we are talking is matter of degree. I’ve already acknowledged the Deus 2 is not the number one pick for a nugget VLF, and if you think it’s far worse than I do in that regard I’ll not argue it. Maybe it sucks worse than I think on small gold, and maybe I’ll get around to double checking things some day based on what you’ve said. Or not. Kind of moot for me since I use a 24K with 6” concentric for tiny gold. For now what you say is good enough for me. I withdraw my comment.

Said every older person for the last couple thousand years.

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