abenson

I don't prospect as much as most, mainly a winter activity for me. But I can tell you I've done better at beaches finding jewelry than I have prospecting for nuggets. About 6 years ago I recovered over 200 gold rings in one season. On average they were 10k and weighed about 4 grams each. That's 800 grams at 42% gold. That same year I bet I found less than 5 grams of gold prospecting.

Jeff sounds like similar experience with the Apex as I had performance wise. I've had a few people tell me I didn't give the Apex enough time and that I didn't know how to properly set it up. Ok then.......enough said on that subject. Funny thing is I just picked up one the other day at one of the local clubs. I just couldn't pass up the deal and figured I could make money on it worst case scenario. $435 for the Apex with headphones and 3 coils. So I'll be running the Apex through Parks, ghost towns, military camps and the beach this Fall and comparing it to the Simplex and Equinox specifically. I'll report back periodically and shoot some video.

Had two Mojave's, one bought brand new the other used, I think new they were $285 if I remember right. I can't imagine paying more than about $300 for one no matter what the condition. But that's just me. Beep and digs can be both fun and frustrating. I'm all for the new tech now, Target ID, wireless headphones, multiple target tones, etc. I don't think I could go back.

I've heard the same thing only it was supposed to be earlier in the year like in July. But that obviously got pushed back.

I had absolutely no issues with the headphones coming unpaired unless I was too far away from the unit. One time I walked back to my truck and left the Apex sitting about 50 yards away. Of course it lost the connection when I got too far out. But as soon I was back in range it paired right back up.

When I had the Apex I mostly compared it to other metal detectors in it's price range on video. I also did my own comparisons to the Equinox but I knew that wasn't the market Garrett was going after. The amount of coils available for the Apex is amazing! I also hear the recent update has solved a few early issues. I didn't have a lot of the issues others have complained about such as uncontrolled chatter and jumpy ID on targets less than about 5" deep. I've even contemplated buying another Apex but at this point with Nokta Makro, XP and Minelab slated to come out with new models. I figure why bother.

Yea western ghost towns tend to have the targets laying on top of or just below the surface. So the 2D test is very relevant for those situations. Hunting a ploughed field is a different story and in that scenario I've found that some detectors do well while others don't. Mineralization also plays a big part and can often mask targets just like iron does.

I own a 4000 and have put 1000's of hours on it. But have also borrowed the 4500 and 5000 from friends on multiple occasions. Never saw the need to get either the 4500 or 5000 because I was never after the small gold in bad ground. That being said I have played with the different timings and noted that certain targets switch from a high tone to a low tones and visa versa. If I'm relic hunting and there is a lot of small wire/nails I will usually run the salt timing and it will knock most of that stuff out or make it sound broken with a DD coil using iron disc. I've had a lot of relic hunters say they will run enhanced timing in the Virginia soil so that most all the targets (buttons and bullets) they are after sound the same. I would assume they are also losing some depth running that aggressive timing. I will usually run normal of sensitive smooth since that VA soil isn't bad enough to run aggressive timings IMO. Kind of makes me want to get a 6000 so I can experiment. If it proves that it can be used effectively for relics/beach hunting I just might get one in the future.

I don't have the GPX 6000 but if I did I would definitely be experimenting. One question Steve. On the forth set I find it interesting that the quarters, dimes, etc move to a high tone on difficult, the same as the foil and small gold. Seems like it would remain a low tone. It's almost like it wrapping back around. Can you explain why it's doing that? Or maybe there is no explanation. On the 4000-5000 I always just used Salt, Normal or sensitive extra for beach or relic hunting. Most coins would always stay a low tone. I never used sensitive smooth or fine gold as the ground has never been bad enough to use those settings. But maybe the older GPX's do a similar thing on the difficult ground settings.

I think anymore just because it's SMF doesn't mean it's better. We can see this in the Apex, CZ and DFX platforms. Yea they handle salt water beaches better than a single frequency machine. But it's now about the signal processing and what's happening internally. Minelab is decades ahead of the other manufactures in this regard. No other manufacture can process out the ground signal (and other variables) and deliver as accurate ID as the ML machines can or as deep. Yea the ML machines struggle in tough iron infested sites, we have other machines that we can choose from to fit that bill. It's going to be tough for NM to top that with their first attempt IMHO. As seen with the Apex, regardless as to whether they were trying to give the Equinox/Vanquish a run for the money or not, makes little difference. That's what many perceived was happening and that's what the Apex was/is measured up against. I think it would be to NM benefit to they make sure they get it right the first time and delay introduction until thy are happy with the results. We already see it being/hoping it's competition for the Equinox and we don't even know when it will be released yet. For NM to release it and it not being able to compete with the Vanquish/Equinox platform would be a mistake IMHO.

I've dug 4 now with the Equinox 800 and all of them bounced between 17 and 18.

I've owned all 3 and used all 3 enough to know the in's and out's of them. Of the 3 I still have a Simplex. But of the 3 I would recommend the Vanquish 540 over the rest. The only reason I don't have the 540 anymore is because it's too close in operation to the Equinox and I already have the 800. IMO and from the feedback I've received from those I've lent them to. The Vanquish is the easiest to operate and you dig the least amount of trash. The target ID on the Vanquish is very accurate to almost full depth and that's in my mineralized soil. They all have their pluses and minuses. The Apex is a great feeling and well packaged machine. But honestly the audio is a little tricky for a beginner and the modes available don't really give it that much versatility compared to the modes on the other 2. I let one of my friends that has been metal detecting a bit try out the Apex when I had it and his comment was this thing is all over the place with the audio. We were at a park and he was really having a hard time isolating targets in all the trash. The Simplex is waterproof has all the latest features like rechargeable batteries, wireless audio, etc. just like the others. But it's a little nose heavy and the lower shaft is a noodle so upgrade to the carbon fiber if you get it. The ground balance and modes available on the Simplex give it great versatility as well. It's Really simple to use and all a beginner has to do is change modes based on the site conditions and hunt. No need to change a bunch of settings to make it work. Great in iron trash (the best you'll find at the price) and respectable depth. The Vanquish 540 lacks ground balance but I never had a place where I felt like I had to have it. The modes available are a lot like the Simplex, it's very versatile, even more so than the Simplex in some cases (Saltwater beach hunting). It struggles a little in iron trash at separation. But when it locks on to a target it really lets you know and the ID doesn't get dragged down as bad or the Simplex or Apex. The Vanquish is a little nose heavy and the overall appearance looks dated but overall I feel like it's the best choice for a beginner.

If I'm reading your post right. When you use discrimation on the Tarsacci and run it above zero it becomes a notch discrimination. It notches out 4 numbers at a time.. So if you run it up to +30 it's going to disc out +28 to +30. If you run it up to +10 it will notch out +8 to +12. So when you set the disc at a number all targets within a plus or minus 2 will be silenced. Also everything below zero will also be silenced.. Hope that helps.

Yes Gregg it was going seeing you as well.

Thanks Jeff Yea the Simplex is quite capable at most detecting scenarios and handles iron well. I just prefer the more accurate ID of the Equinox when park hunting. Most of the old coins I'm digging are at about the 6" plus range. But otherwise the Simplex will handle parks, just not my preference.

I probably would be horrified at what you toss. But I'm sure coins and token make into your pocket LOL. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Had to cut a lot out so it wasn't 2 hours long.

Tom we'll have to meet in the middle sometime. Would love to hunt with you.

Spent 4 days in Nevada last week and hit 4 different places that consisted of a Military Fort and 3 ghost towns all on private property. Found a nice assortment of stuff. Coins are pretty crusty but should clean up OK. The holed looking coin turn out to be a ration token that has been counter stamped a bunch of time. It reads U.S, Subsistence Department on the one side and had One ration on the other.

Got permission for a construction site to dig bottles over Memorial Day weekend. The bottles were dating from 1860 to 1900 most of them 1880's. We dug over 60 bottles, I came home with at least 2 dozen decent ones. Had a great time with my Brother-in-law and a few friends. picked up a few wheat pennies in the waste piles and my Brother-in-law was lucky enough to find a valuable token. Sorry don't have a picture of it. Video below if you want to watch it. Sorry the audio kind of muffled in spots.

Try cleaning the contacts with alcohol where the charger attaches. One of them might be dirty.

I will give them that. The Garrett pinpointer and wireless headphone system is excellent and hard to beat. I use the Garrett wireless headphone system on my GPX and Tarsacci, excellent system IMO. Integration with the wireless options on the Apex work very well too, never have a problem with them pairing up or cutting out, unlike some other systems out there.

I'll have to agree. I didn't see any difference in recovery speed when changing modes. Maybe the update changed that. But for the most part changing modes only changed the discrimination pattern which often times hampered the performance of the Apex in trash.

It's possible I had a bad machine/coil I even said that once, so maybe the Apex didn't get a fair shake from me. But that's Garrett's problem, don't put out a machine until you got all the issues worked out. And there were clearly issues with a lot of Apexs. Based on the machine I had it wasn't evident that it had issues. But who really knows as I sold it. Some people love the Apex and its performance. I truly loved the feel and features of the Apex. But performance in IMO was not up snuff with other detectors in the same price range. I won't name brands since it's a Garrett forum. I think for someone with a budget the Apex is a fine choice for modern coin and jewelry hunting. But for me it ends there. I'm a relic, beach and gold nugget hunter. So the question I have to ask myself is; would I reach first for an Apex at any of my current sites? And the answer is no. Will i ever own another Apex? Maybe, once it's clear Garrett has all the issues worked out. Sounds like the latest update is a step in the right direction. At least they saw all the video's people were putting out and are making steps to improve. I think the dumbest thing a detector company can do is put their products in the hands of users and then not listen to criticism. I look forward to seeing what Garrett does with an AT series Apex.

I've had both but not at the same time. Got rid of both too. Although I didn't compare them head to head at the same time. I do have a coin garden I ran both of them through and spend hours changing settings and modes to optimize depth. In either case the bigger coils got very little depth advantage over the stock 11" in my soil on a dime sized target. If I had to chose I think I would go with the ML 12 x 15 coil just because it's a little lighter. The only reason I can see getting a bigger coil for the Equinox is for ground coverage. Unlike a PI, I generally see very little depth advantage with bigger coils in my soil. I have not used the bigger Equinox coils on a beach. But I would assume they would act similar to the FBS machines in that low mineral beaches you do see depth advantages but black sand beaches you see very little and sometimes worse performance.

Simultaneous multi frequency would seem to be the logical choice, given every other mfg is coming out with them. Now if they made the coil attached with a cable and 100% proof that would be awesome.