Bootyhunter

On 11/28/2022 at 7:03 PM, Swegin said:

Pretty sure it's winter in the whole country 😀.  There were a few members who I really would've thought posted by now.  Maybe they ate too much Turkey and are still sleeping it off.

Its fall. Winter begins December 21st. 

I dont always post, but when I do I usually pi$$ someone off 🤣 so Id like to stay 🙂

I am planning to get the Axiom package with the 13"DD and 11" Mono. I dont really have a use for a Mono coil so if anyone wants to trade straight up a brand new 11" DD for a brand new 11" Mono, I will be happy to do so. 

I am going to get the package with the wireless headphones 13" DD and 11" mono. I wish I could get the 11"DD instead of the mono as the places I relic hunt have mineralized soil. But, maybe someone that gets the other package will be willing to trade even an 11" DD for an 11" mono. I do want the 13" DD and the wireless headphones for sure. 

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

There is no manual adjust unfortunately, on either the ground balance, or the frequency scan. I'd like both myself. Honestly, it always just comes down to a judgement call on what is needed, and what is too much. I advise, but don't make those calls. The frequency scan is god awful slow, but good news is you rarely have to use it. Or at least I did not. No doubt somebody will find some place in Arizona that really sucks, happens every time. 

Thanks for the reply. I sometimes attene group relic hunts and people wander through the area you are working with their detector. We learned on the GPX's to just manual tune to a clear channel as its faster than autotune. Hopefully this is something Garrett can add in a software update. 🙏 

Thanks for these!  I am very interested in this detector to replace my aging Gpx 4800.  One question, do you know if the operating channel or frequency can be manually changed?  The auto scan is nice if you are out hunting alone amd do it once or twice during the hunt, but if you are doing a large group hunt, as people wander through your area its nice to be able to change it manually like on the gpx. Waiting on that full scan multiple times a day gets old fast. 

3 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

I started using Minelab PI's (GP-Extreme) 20 yrs ago on Civil War Relic hunts in TN.  At 1st the guys laughed at me for trying to talk up a silly $4000 detector.  When the 1st trip was over, they were drooling at their missed treasures I came back home to Idaho with.  My 2nd trip to TN and a great ass whooping of finds again and I had guys trying to justify to their wives the $4000 cost of a detector.  Heck they were using sub $1000 units and having fun, but not knowing what they missed. 

I learned and taught myself the power of PI's in the mid 90's and how to use a DD coil in trashy sites to find gold nuggets out West.  Today at DIV hunts and many top CW hunters, the Minelab PI's are 1st choice.

Now take this new Axiom PI and it's ergonomics alone is a win.  Add the other features, options of coils (3 DD & 3 MONO) that are waterproof (Minelab coil prior to GPX-6000 are not), plus a better price point and I think we'll have a great new detector to swing across some fields.

I'm still out West doing the gold and so I know there are guys who will beat me to the punch on the CW sites.  Caution -  If you are not familiar with a Minelab GP/GPX using DD coil and Iron ID, I think you are not the one who should be testing the new Axiom.

Folks, it's about options being available to us and I'm sure liking that another brand (an American one at that) is providing us with just that.

If you like your current detector, then fine and stick with it and nobody will be mad at you.  Now you have an option, which was not there yesterday.

Thank You Garrett for giving us just that...a light weight, compact, easy to use, PI depth/performance detector.

 

 

 

Yes indeed, the form factor, weight, balance, wireless headphones, waterproof coils, rain proof out of the box, carbon fiber shaft etc., all of those are what Ive been wanting in a Relic Pi machine for years, now if the depth will be comparible to the GPX, it will be a no brainer for me. I will sell the 4800  and the coils and accessories i have for it and buy this machine. But I will need to see the proof before making such an extreme decision. The heavy, unbalanced, wired headphone, non-water resistant package the GPX comes in are all worth the hassle for the performance it provides. I really hope Garret has at least matched Minelabs older GPX line in performance, they have definetely surpassed it in form factor. 

I am excited about this new Axiom, but for a different purpose than most of you. Im looking at it as a Relic Hunting machine. I dont have any natural gold near me to search for, but in recent years (15 or so) typically a good pi gold detector is also a good relic hunting machine for mineralized soils. I have a Minelab GPX 4800, and while it is awesome for relic hunting in performance, it is a dinosaur in ergonomics and general form factor. I would love to have the Axiom with its telescoping carbon fiber shaft, rechargeable lithium ion battery, wireless headphones and being rain proof. It checks alot of boxes on what my GPX is lacking, the 1 unknown, how will it handle the toughest of mineralized soils?  If it has good depth in tough soil, it will be a game changer for me!

4 hours ago, calabash digger said:

14 inch nickel in wet sand with a 9 inch coil for one.. Deus will hit down to 17 with the 11 in wet sand....That coin is in holes where the water fills it up when you dig it...

 

Impressive!

8 hours ago, GhostLands said:

I know my Equinox 800 very well. No comments turn 

I did enjoy your video and I like your little dog, he's cool!  Nice digs by the way, watch out for those bores, they can be pretty mean!

2 hours ago, RobNC said:

Minelab will surely come out with something more expensive that will supposedly do everything, even to the point of their new "meteorite call signal" which in marketing words "signal meteorites to fall in your general area within a 1000 km range".. The Minelab Meteor 9500. Because they would want to charge $9,500 for each one. The sad part? People would buy it.

LOL

Well I agree when it comes to the Pi market and with "gold detectors", and the CTX before that, ML definitely doesn't mind to have outrageous price points. But, that said, they really changed the landscape of the pricing models for top of the line "coin and relic" detectors. The Equinox 800 at less that $900 USD was just amazing. XP Wants to keep that pricetag up around $1.5K for good equipment.  I hope ML spanks them for it with the Equinox successor. 

10 hours ago, calabash digger said:

you mean caught up and passed???? Xp that 

Copy

NM and XP have both released their smf detectors that seem to be "catching up" to the Equinox.  Minelab I expect has been working on the next big thing since the Equinox released....given that the CTX released in 2012 and the Equinox was announced in 2017, can we expect an announcement this year about the next ML detector??  I am sure it will raise the bar, thats one thing about ML, they dont just rehash the same machine with a couple of tweaks and call it new, when they release a machine, its usually got some revolutionary technological advances inside. So if the "other guys" are finally "caught up" to the Equinox, then ML comes out with something even better, what a gut punch that would be to the competition. I am very happy and satisfied with my Equinox 800.  I got it Feb 13 2018 and I have made most of my best detecting finds of 20 years in these last 4 years with it. And I know it well and am confident with it, I dont even know what else I would want to be honest, possibly a better pinpointing system and even lighter, more robust telescopic stem. Mayne a control pod thats easily removable for travel.  Some new tech that I cant even imagine that maybe would id the shape of a target somehow in ground, thus leaving even more junk in the ground and picking out symetrical items, which the audio clues are there now to do this for the most part, but a "little more" would be awesome!  I just am expecting Minelab to "zag" now that everyone else has "zigged".  I am putting some $$ back waiting to preorder, as I am pretty sure I will want one as long as its based on the Equinox and its tech. What else do you think we can expect from the next big innovation from ML and when do you expect it?

I am awaiting arrival of my 3rd Xp Deus.  I have bought and sold used ones 2 times before, and this will be my 3rd one.  Im getting the ws4 (i still have my quest headphones that the puck slides into which is as good as having the ws5's to me), Remote, 11" x35 and Eliptical HF coil. The same setup I had with my 2nd one. I have been an Equinox user since day one with its release, and still will be using it, I know that machine really well and have made many amazing finds with it, even made it into Andy Sabisch's revised Equinox book with one of them (over 150 Confederate bullets from a Ford). But, back to the Deus, I really do like the platform and the detector. Have nothing at all bad to say about it.  I do love the little hf coil for super iron infested sites, and the x35 coil is an awesome all rounder. I have and use many different machines in additon to my Equinox. I like to flog a productive site until nothing else can be found with many different machines and coil combinations. I just felt now was a good time to revisit the Deus as I have seen many good deals with the announcement of the Deus 2.  So I will be loading up Calabash Diggers relic Pitch program and a couple more cutom programs I like, and back in the Deus saddle again soon. The Deus is a fantastic machine and I look forward to having it at my disposal again, I have had some good finds with it in the past. Happy hunting!

I hope they replace the GPX with something in the form factor of the GPZ, waterproof, more ergonomic and not costing a war pension to buy it. And maybe a ctx/equinox hybrid with a color screen and maybe target trace option or something similar, and they need a GOOD pinpointer, that will integrate wirelessly with wireless headphones, like Nokta Makro has done with the pulse dive and their headphones, that setup is such a pleasure to use. 

2 hours ago, Tom_in_CA said:

I love it.  I just love it.   I will point out this quote to my friend.  And chide him : "Tsk Tsk".   Just to watch him pull his hair out, haha

 

Ok  he will ask :  "Pray-tell :  What settings did I do wrong ? "   

 

Because, mind you, it's never the machine,  right ?  It's always the user, right ? 

Not "always" but,  most of the time, and unless you were checking exact same targets with both machines then luck was and is always a factor. 

20 hours ago, Tom_in_CA said:

Dan you say :  "...this was before the V3 update had come out."

I'm glad you added this final sentence to your paragraph.  Because for a moment, I thought you were going to try to say that this duel-result would-be-the-same, regardless.  But since you added that last sentence :  Then I'll hold-open the hope that my buddy's horrible results were the result  of  the V3.

But this doesn't solve the dispute/debate on whether or not he can spank an Explorer, with NO v3 update.  All we can do is for him to take off the v3, and do  a re-match.  But at this point, it's sort of pointless.  As we are both now assuming that this area, is *simply*  not suitable for the Nox, no matter WHAT the settings, and no matter WHO the user is.   If you disagree, and think the Nox can spank the Explorer II here, then  bring it up 🙂

And I  don't doubt your personal tallies improved when you made the switch.  But .... I'm not so sure that the SE is the same as the II.   They had differences, as you  know.

You say :  ".....So, your Explorer was purring like a kitten the whole time during your hunt? Not a hint of EMI? What sensitivity were you using on your Exp?

Yes.  Stable.  But I suspect there was interference below the audio level.  Because sometimes a 6" deep wheatie or silver was "tough signals". And as you know, 6" is a cake-walk for explorers of any incarnation.   But on the other hand, no, no audible chatter.   

My  sens. level on the II was 18.   I'm not sure if that corresponds with the scale of the SE pro or not.   

You say:  ".... At most of these sites I’ve been hunting with my Nox, I’ve managed to pull many more silvers/wheats."

With this quote, I can imagine my friend "pulling his hair out".  It is what I predicted that , sure as heck, someone (with the V3 update, no less) could/would say "You're not doing it right", or "you must have the wrong settings", and "you need more practice".   Trust me:  For a good 5 hrs he tried everything in the book.  And to the extent that he could make one of my signals come in, yet, that was the moment that when he went to swing anywhere else, a symphony of chatter, that is indistinguishable from the signal he just coaxed out of my flagged spot.   Doh !  

So you would NOT be able to convince him that ANY Nox user (not even the mighty Dan) is going to magically come by and get a totally different result.   I would love to see my friend's face, when he reads this quote of yours.  

You say :  ".... I doubt it...EMI is the variable!! It can be downright nasty at times, then somewhat manageable in the same area you’re hunting...."

This is true.  There are times, at certain sites, where even something like my Exp. II just suffers, for seemingly no  reason.   Then another trip, I get deepies that present no problems.  Thus, sure, it's *possible* that it was just a fluke  night.  Like where someone in a nearby apartment left their blender or router/transmitter on, or the Muni bus line was doing electrical upgrades, blah blah.  Who knows ?   But .... at what point does anyone eliminate this as an excuse  ?  3 trips ?  4 trips ?  10 trips ?  At SOME point, 2 people are going to  have to conclude :  "This machine sucks  here", and "This machine will not spank  an Exp. here".

Yes this is not representative of all turf.  It could be a fluke (and exist 100% of the time there).  So to  be fair, my friend and I know a park in nearby Oakland, which is flush  with  easy pickens.  Albeit just 1940s/50s wheaties/silver (ugly orange wheaties, and common newer silver).   Perhaps my friend would want  a rematch there.  And in my experience, this park more accurately mimics low-rise anytown-USA type turf.    But better yet:  Get your  duff up here !  haha

You say :  " .... Has there ever been a time at a site you’ve hunted where the EMI rendered your Explorer useless (even to you, being a master level Explorer hunter)? "

I've been in places where I suspected that I was "not in tune" with the place.  Like ... I can't  find  silver to  save my life.  Might be the machine  (the Emi) at levels below audible.  Or it could be my personal mood.   But @ a single location, a freak event happened at a relicky site :   I started getting chatter, no matter what settings I chose.   Thus I assumed I must  have a frayed chord.  I hiked back to the truck, and made some coil swaps.  But the problem continued.  So I thought:  "Must be in the sun-ray  probe connections".  So I hiked the long way again, and swapped out the probe.  TO NO AVAIL.   Thus yes, something had happened on that singular night, that never before , and never since then, has repeated itself in that spot.   

Hence, yes, I  know what you're saying.   But at the spot in question for this topic :  It's an ongoing thing.   And only got worse once he put the v3 on there.

 

Sounds like user error with the person running the Equinox. Ehh, depends on sites and what you are hunting for. I know for relic hunting in old iron and highly mineralized soils, the Equinox SMOKES fbs, fbs 2 and bbs machines. SMOKES THEM. No comparison, your mileage may vary in your conditions and what you are hunting for, to each his own, thats why there is a mirad of detector choices. I dont get into "x is the best detector over y" because y may be best for you while x is best for me. Too many variables, but Ive owned and mastered the Etrac, CTX, Excal 2, and the Equinox is hands down much better than all of those for my type of hunting in my sites. Again, to each his own. HH!

Nokta/Makro Enigma 

Kind of the opposite spectrum from "Simplex", and its mysterious and complex. Nm please feel free to use this, I only ask for a free one and accessory coils in return for the name!!  

Well I read through this entire thread. I have owned the Equinox since February 12th 2018, one of the first ones in the US, I was a CTX user for 5 years prior, but worked out a trade with my dealer for the Equinox, both 6 and 15" coils and WP headphones in preorder when I saw the Equinox debut at Detectival. Best decision detector wise I ever made, as Im a relic hunter and the CTX while a great machine, is just too slow to work well in heavy iron and mineralized soils, where I do my detecting. So anyway, rambling aside, I did the very first Equimox update reluctantly, but I wanted those on edge silver coins, the update was good, but it shifted the vdi numbers on civil war bullets slightly. I never did the 2nd update as bottle caps are not an issue for me.  The only thing I dislike about the Equinox is the pinpoiny feature, its the worst attempt at a detecror pinpointer I've ever seen, and I have owned many many detectors. I wish they would rework it in an update, maybe have it display in inches/centimeters the depth while in pinpoint mode and fix the issue where you move off target hit pinpoint, but it doesnt "take" and you have to repeat. I dont use pp often because it mostly sucks on the Nox. I rarely use single fx mode, but I do sometimes, so I think I will do this update. Wish they had gone witb 2.5khz instead of 4khz. Seems a small change fro. 5khz to 4khz, I have some detectorpro units that run at 2.5khz and those things are coin and ring vacuums. Even work well in salt water as a single fx machine. I guess I can roll back if I dont like this update. I just hate to discover I have some detriments with no real benefits to my type of detecting. Sidebar, on the Simplex, you have to have the latest update to use the new coils they came out with, and their new machines cant be rolled back to the original 2.68 version software as it bricks the new machines. Just an fyi, not saying the new Equinox's would suffer that fate, just an interesting (to me) anecdote. Thanks for reading all of this if you have lol. 

I understand people own detectors out of production, I own and use a Tesoro Stingray 2 and it’s a great water machine, but I knew that machine hadn’t been made in years when I bought it, but to buy one that barely has expired it’s warranty period and they’ve already discontinued it is kind of unnerving in that one that was made for 10+ years there’s lots of parts been made and units to get parts from, but one that was only in production for a couple of years parts will become scarce quickly. But oh well I bought it to use and while my Minelab Equinox is my go to machine, I still use the relic to go over the same sites and as a back up so that’s how I will continue using it. But I didn’t  pay anywhere near $679 bucks for it, not even close.  I snagged a 10x6” coil from eBay awhile back for $35 bucks for it. So I have the 2 that come with it (11x7”, 5” round) and the 10x6” for it. I like the detector a lot. Hate to hear it’s production run is over. 

Wow that was a short life span for the Relic. I picked one up for a good price used awhile back. Wonder if such a short production run might make them worth something some day?  I like the detector as a back up to my Equinox. But now if something happens to it I suppose it won’t be easily repaired as I have to think parts will be unavailable. Kinda sucks for me and really sucks for people that paid full price for one. 

2 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Thanks for the post, the story and the great pictures.

What detector were you using for this hunt?

Thank you. I was using my Minelab Gpx 4800. Pi's are about the only thing that will work in the red mineralized soil there and get any depth. 

Wow lots of Steves/Stephens!  No,no you didn't scare me away, I totally understand. One of my best relic hunts was last fall in Culpeper Virginia. This is where the Battle of Brandy station occurred during the Cival War. It was a 3 day weekend hunt. On Friday I got into a small fire pit and recovered my first Eagle Breast plate, on Saturday I got into another put and recovered the remains of a pocket watch. Then on the last day, Sunday morning I found what all relic hunters have on their bucket list, a US soldiers Identification Disc!  The soldier was from the Rhode Island 2nd infantry, was wounded at the Battle of Chancerlorsville, survived the war and lived until Christmas Day 1926 where he died in his native state of Rhode Island. The ID disc has a small machined hole in the top of it to wear on a pin or a chain, but it has a larger unnatural hole near the center. The soldier was injured by artillery and this damage possibly occurred then. The disc is a little convex as well. We had a huge group lunch on that last day where all the relics are displayed and everyone mingles and talks.  After lunch I went back the field where I found the ID disc and found my 2nd Eagle Breast plate!  That was a weekend to remember for sure!

3 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Ok, it's true.  I can't think for Steve.  haha  I'm really surprised he has enough time to keep up with all his testing and all the forum entries also.

Is that Wilma?  Nice picture.

Bootyhunter, I'm Mitchel and what is yours?  

Perhaps you have made a product that will let us get our 'old' equipment out in the wet to look for some nuggets.  My present equipment of a 3030 and a 7000 is water resistant to a certain degree and if I got rained on I would worry more about me than the detector!

I still have a 5000 and I may have bought one of your systems to protect it from moisture if it was my primary detector.  

I beach detect and nugget shoot but do very little relic detecting.  I do understand that if you are relic detecting in England on a guided tour you MUST detect rain or shine.  Most of us nugget shooters stay at home until a better day if it is too wet or windy.

Mitchel

Mitchel, my name is Stephen. Nice to meet you and everyone on the forum.  I've never been to England, but some of the relic hunts I attend are on Civil war grounds on huge farms in Northern Virginia. Some of these hunts are pay to attend as the land is leased from farmers for a weekend or 3 days. So you kind of have to hunt no matter the weather because there are no refunds or rainouts!  

Thank you. Nice picture and a perfect example, lol. Before registering I honestly thought this to be purely a prospecting forum. I do see the other topics and intend to read and post in them just as I do the other forums I'm a part of.  I certainly don't want to be considered a spammer, I did consider the classifieds but a lot of forums you must have a number of posts before you can post in the classifieds, not sure if it's that way here, and more importantly, unless folks are looking for something particular they probably wouldn't see it.  This is one of those things that you don't know exists, but once you see it you understand the merits of it and some will want.  Thanks to the other poster for explaining about the masking in wet weather for gold prospecting, I wasn't aware of that as I know absolutely nothing about gold detecting. Again I apologize for getting off on the wrong foot, and I appreciate you letting me remain here. Good luck to everyone, that's the one variable that remains constant in all types of detecting!