Cal_Cobra

20 hours ago, chicoquadcore said:

I ordered an 800 from Cabelas on Tues and just got an email today saying my status was changed into "shipped"... no tracking number yet but it did change.

I got all that as well, they even said my item has shipped, The hen late yesterday I get another email from them that said it was back ordered until March 31 - what a joke!

As Steve pointed out, if another company one up'd minelabs technology, say a company that consistently listens to their customers,  regularly communicates with them, and has excellent customer service, many would jump ship.

There may be one such company with the ability that pull it off.

Thanks for the report.   I may have missed it, but what search mode/settings were you using? I'm very curious to see how it runs in the gold prospecting mode for relic hunting, I'm thinking it might be killer in mineralized nasty soil with nails and iron. 

HH,

Brian

Thank you for your order for EQUINOX 800 METAL DETECTOR. The vendor has advised us that the item is currently out of stock and has been backordered. They are expecting to ship approximately the end of March. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused & thank you for your patience.

I've been buying electronics since I was a kid, I have never in my life seen such a cluster muck as this.

Thanks Steve for posting this!

Are they downloadable to listen to while traveling?

I once dug an Asian 24K gold mens signet ring that read right at zinc penny on my F75 LTD, and the only reason I dug it was because I was at an old site and thought it might be an IHP.  It was a pleasant surprise  

17 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I have no doubt Minelab has a binding contract that was signed with Cabelas long ago before there was any thought of the Equinox release and what might happen in a shortage. The deal probably gives Cabelas access to a certain number of detector’s based on some formula. Whatever the deal was nobody was complaining about it last year ordering any other Minelab models from Cabelas. Then along comes an unanticipated situation and boom, we have an issue. The assumption always is evil intent or maybe at best benign negligence but the real story is usually far more boring.

I remember some powers that were at White’s years ago lamenting a deal that was cut with Kellyco ages ago that was later felt to undercut the main dealer base. Some crazy maneuvering went on over that but I won’t go into details lest I get somebody in hot water. Suffice it to say things are not always what they appear to be.

That makes sense Steve.  I never thought it was anything cynical, but it certainly created an interesting situation, and for those that pre-ordered in September,  cast a shadow of doubt on ML, but I suspect you're right, it's likely a benign contractual obligation. 

That's a nice hot rock all right 

I wouldn't buy another detector that DID NOT have adjustable iron audio. 

I was first introduced to it on my Racer 2, and there's no doubt it's a valuable tool, particularly for those of us that relic hunt iron infested environs. 

HH,
Cal

4 hours ago, Thegoldenone said:

That just gave me a great idea!

Thanks!

Wondering if you had the same idea I did....I still plan to honor my dealer order....and someone will likely get a great deal on a "slightly used" EQ800 in the "Bargain Cave"....just sayin'......shame that ML takes care of their regular dealers the way we've observed, not to mention those of us that had pre-orders in with our dealers since September.

I pulled the trigger on an EQ800 yesterday AM when they showed up, and the status now shows as shipped. 

Not sure how much time I'll have to play around with it for a while BUT the nice thing is Cabela's has a 90 day return policy (even includes a postpaid return shipping label) so you get 90 days to bond with it.    AFAIK that's something no dealer on the planet offers.

Nice job JP, that's the kind of vids I'd enjoy seeing until I get mine!

Are you in San Diego?  I'm in NorCal, so am looking forward to hitting HMB, Santa Cruz, etc., to see how it does.  This winter has sucked for beach erosion though

Follow along as I hunt the Spanish Trail and find OLD SILVER, a RARE BUTTON, interesting relics and more using the new Makro Multi Kruzer !!
 

3 hours ago, Thegoldenone said:

I want to thank you for your lengthy explanation of corporate greed! I've been in this Hobby off and on for 45 years... I guess I was just remembering the days when the manufacturers had somewhat of a relationship with the consumers. And from what I know Minelab is the most hated manufacturer! That has no loyalty to their customers (dealers) by allowing Cabela's to sell machines that were already spoken for!

There are still a few, very few, metal detecting manufactures that form a good relationship with their customers, definitely not what I'm seeing from Minelab.

I've found that the 5kHz frequency on both the Nokta Impact and Makro multi Kruzer is unusable at 8 out of 10 sites that I detect. 5 kHz seems to be a very noise susceptible  frequency.

6 hours ago, Thegoldenone said:

This speculation is ridiculous Minelab should just come out and tell us how many are coming and when!

 

Certainly wouldn't kill them, and it would likely stop a lot of animosity on the forums.

On 2/13/2018 at 7:54 PM, JoeRivers said:

Really I’m just over it if it comes it comes if it don’t  it don’t and if the Makro multi I ordered gets here first Minelab can keep it 

Kind of about the way I feel.  The Makro Multi is already shipping, they've landed in Europe and should land this upcoming week in North America.

8 hours ago, Geotech said:

What would that look like?

Look at this, Carl calling me to the carpet  Kidding, and actually Carl I'm pleased that you asked.  First I know you've only been there a short while (well according to Linkedin, 3 yrs 10mos), so their current state of affairs isn't your doing.  

That said, for starters a less ambiguous statement then "huge game changer" that carries zero substance without context.  As Steve H. pointed out, that's the same blurb that's been used for the past 5 years or so.  Sharing anything about future plans would be 100% more the what FTP has shared with us in the past.  I have no doubt that FTP is working on something, nobody invests money to build a new state of the art facility for not.  

We just witnessed a "huge game changer" release, and Minelab wasn't making claims four years ago that their deathstar was almost operational.  Nobodies asking FTP to release their source code, secret sauce, or any proprietary information, but the silence has been deafening.  How about product road map?  It doesn't have to be a five or ten year road map, start with something within grasp, like two.  Again, something is better then nothing, which is exactly what's been delivered basically since the F75 was released (not counting all the mid to lower end machines that've effectively been derivatives of other models). 

No offense, but IMO saying "One is that it gives competitors a heads-up and allows them to react quicker, maybe even preempt our efforts." that's a cop-out.  I've been working in Silicon Valley as an engineer for the past 20 years, and been involved in many large product projects from inception to release (think six digit data center & core switches), and all of the projects have one thing in common....customers.   Nobody is releasing the PRD's and functional specs to the customers, but sharing a basic road map is a good place to start.   I hate to see the American detector industry following suite of the American auto industry, and although I doubt FTP will be on Capitol Hill with their hand out any time soon, as I'm sure they sell plenty of machines to afford that shiny new facility, yet you can only sell a K Car for so long, at some point, people are looking to you for a Viper , but instead we get minivans.

Carl I realize your not the CEO of FTP, but right now, simply put, the overseas vendors are running circles around FTP.

OK, we now return to your regularly scheduled programming

Smoke and mirrors.....what would be a huge game changer is if First Texas was a bit more forthcoming and transparent with their customers.  I was a FT fanboy for years, the CZ series was great in their day, the F75 family was pretty good, but going on 20 years and 10 years old, respectively, their long in the tooth now, and there are far better machines these days.   I hope FTP all the best, but I stopped holding my breath and listening to the rumor mill claiming they were on the verge of releasing a game changer years ago.   

IMHO with machines like the Makro Racers, Makro Multi Kruzer, Nokta Impact, XP Dues, and the Minelab Equinox, First Texas has a LOT of catching up to do, so it best be an epically ginormous game changer at that 

On 2/10/2018 at 3:20 PM, Dakota said:

Is anyone going to get the new Fisher F75 Plus? They sure put together a nice kit at a good price.  thanks  Bill

Have had one for about three years now......sadly it's been sitting in the closet collecting dust for the past two years while I use my better performing detectors that actually are new.

4 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

After all, they could have kept their promise (machines were done) and sent them across the lands.  Then a month later we are all up in arms with new info and possible downloads.  Heck people, they make a wise decision and are offering us even more machine at the same price we already paid.  Why be upset with that?

Gerry thanks for taking the time to write that (lengthy) post.  I don't disagree with most of what you said EXCEPT that considering these machines are in fact user upgradable, I fail to see the issue if they'd shipped them earlier, continued working their upgrades, and then provided a software upgrade. 

As a matter of fact, I think they'd been seen in a far better light then the "mum's the word" approach they took because:

1. People would've received their detectors earlier, and that would've placated much of the negativity on the forums.
2. Minelab's track record for detector firmware upgrades is poor at best, providing an upgrade with the features that held up the machines would've been seen as an impressive step in (a) listening to their customers and (b) demonstrating that they actually have their upgrade act together by providing value added software upgrades, thus providing an incrementally better product.   

In this fast moving modern world of advanced software and hardware products, people are used to software upgrades, else we'd all still be running iOS 3, Android Cupcake, oh and lest not forget Windows ME. 

6 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The detector is a minor detail though I am sorry yours was not one of the early deliveries. More to the point Brian, congratulations to you and your wife on your new addition to the family!! 

Minelab will have missed out what with your hunting and video skills.

Thanks Steve. 

I'm sure once the kiddo gets old enough, we'll have a new detectorist in the family too (maybe the Equinox will be out by then...sorry, couldn't resist

I'm thinking about canceling my pre-order. 

My dealer let me know that he was receiving a whopping TWO units, and that I'm #8 on the list, and likely will not see it for some time. 

Not anybodies fault really, but I'm starting a new job next month, and it'll be an exceedingly time consuming job for the foreseeable future, and my wife and I are expecting our first this summer, so that likely will put my detecting on the back-burner until fall.  By then, hopefully, the Equinox will no longer be a unicorn.   Until we started observing that the receive date was such a moving target, I had really anticipated receiving it by some time in January, or at least February, certainly not in March or April, although as the pieces of the puzzle started to land into place, that picture was becoming more in focus.   Hope it works for everyone as much as we are anticipating it will.  

Took a field trip to field test the new Makro Multi Kruzer on the Spanish Trail:

I tested the 2-TONE, 3-TONE and 4-TONE search modes exclusively.  Out of these three modes, the 4-TONE is hands down the hottest, with 2-TONE and 3-TONE about tied.   4-TONE is extra sparky, and does it LOVE silver!  

I mentioned this in another post, but I did previously run into EMI issues on a consistent basis at one of these sites when I had my F75 LTD, and even after upgrading to the F75 LTD2, EMI was pretty noticeable, but tolerable. I was running the extra sparky 4-TONE mode on the Multi Kruzer, and it ran flawlessly, not even a hint of EMI (except when you set the machine down to dig). 3-TONE mode handles EMI better then 4-TONE, but 4-TONE is more powerful and hence, more susceptible to EMI.  I had a great time,  and I'm amazed at what was found from our "hunted out" sites.   The Multi Kruzer in 19kHz 4-TONE mode is a confidence builder in that you do not feel you are not leaving targets behind, unlike I've experienced with some other detectors.

Funny story - The site I dug the seated dime you'll see in the video isn't really a big secret, a couple dozen period coins (British gold coin, reales, seateds, IHP's, etc.) have been recovered at it.   It's getting tough, the last time I was there prior to this trip, I didn't get any period coins.  It has sea of nail environs, with myriads of shotgun, riffle and small arms shells to weed through.  Just a few days before I went on my trip, Tom got a call from one of his detecting acquaintances that he saw the site and asked if he knew anything about it. Ended up that he and another guy detected it with a CTX and a Dues XP and got no coins. I went in and hunted right behind them (I could see their dig holes, as unfortunately they didn't even bother to fill them in) and managed to pull out a nice seated dime.  The icing on the cake was that the dime was only a couple of feet from one of their dig holes

Spanish Trail Multi Kruzer Road Trip Wrap-Up Video

This is the same site I tested the Makro Racer 2 when it was first publicly released:

HH,
Cal

11 hours ago, dewcon4414 said:

He had the machine for several months and was in phone and Email contact routinely suggesting changes that the engineers listened to.   It wasnt just one version he had a hand in..... takes time to test and rewrite..... then get it back out to him and the testers.   This was a very good move for ML and will in fact give us an even better machine.

Agreed, just curious about the start of the clock of said 6-week delay.....