MineBlab

3 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

The ability of a detector to give you enough information to make a reliable determination of trash vs. treasure is about so much more than visual target Id's generated for various trash and treasure sample targets in a controlled single-mode air test.  That information is useful to have, to be sure but to extrapolate from that information and make conclusions about detector capabilities is like making conclusions and car buying decisions based solely on published government mpg data. 

You need to understand the audio signature, what happens when the coil crosses the edge of the target, mode settings, ground conditions, site conditions and context, and a host of other factors. 

You can't make solid conclusions based soley on partial information be it, pictures, text, diagrams, or from watching videos.  These are all pieces of the puzzle but you really need to be swinging the machine under real world conditions to make a credible assessment of detector capability. 

So when this information is graciously provided upon request, IMO it should be taken at face value and restraint should applied to making extrapolated conclusions (positive or negative) or criticisms until you have the machine in your hands and can confirm or refute your expectations on your own terms.

Just my $0.02.

It's all been said a thousand times. Never hurts to hear it again because in the heat of the hunt it's easy to forget.

I also like the fact that they didn't print anything on the buttons. You're not going to wear all the "pretty" off of them because....... there ain't no pretty.

The use of vibrate underwater might just preclude the use of headphones. Neat feature.

What frequency Beach hunter?

All you have to do is keep the coil tension set to a point where it's not floppy but can be shoved flat when you set the machine down. You can do it while still holding the handle and not touching the coil itself. That will keep the machine upright even on a slope. Then when you stand up you can also shove the handle and set the coil to the right angle. Really a non issue.

2 hours ago, Mike Hillis said:

Charting is useful when you first start out.  Chart everything.  Treasure and trash.   Chart every type of target identification feature you have available to you.  Chart close, chart far away.   But when you get through charting everything, you'll find that all you really need to chart are a couple of reference items.   

For me,  I only chart nickels and dimes.   Oh..I'll do depth testing with a quarter and a half and a dollar but in reality, if its a high conductor it doesn't really matter what the number is, it gets dug anyway, right?  So the dime is the number I look at, and I want to know stable and fringe depth audio and number response.

For low conductors I really only need the nickel number for a known reference point and then knowledge on how well it holds a nickel id at depth.   Below the nickel is small rings, above the nickel is large rings.

The only other thing I look at is the ferrous / non-ferrous break point.   How soft is this boundary? Is it sharp or is it 6 numbers soft?   

But starting out is always best to bench test the crap out of a detector.  

And then the ground throws it all out the window, of course.   

HH
Mike

 

+1

The first question I saw posted about the new Makro was about what their term "multi-frequency" meant exactly. What you say is certainly true but, due to the Eqx buzz, I don't see near as much interest in auto ground balance or all metal mode. For the moment anyway.

I think maybe it's time for some additional terminology. We now have more and more machines with one single freq, some with with multiple single freqs, and some with multiple simultaneous freqs. There seems to be some confusion when using the term "multi-frequency" as to whether it means "more than one" or "several at the same time". Even machines with one-at-a-time multi-frequencies are sometimes referred to as being single frequency. Saying "simultaneous-multi-frequency" is more than a little cumbersome I think. "Multi IQ is proprietary and soon there will surely be more machines coming out from other companies with simultaneous-multi-frequencies. I have tried but so far I can only come up with silly suggestions like "1F", "MF", and "SMF".

If you agree that there is this problem with confusing terminology then I'll bet many of you can come up with much better, compact, catchy terms.

2 hours ago, Bayard said:

I've heard from acquaintances that the V3i lacks depth.  What's the deepest silver dime you've dug with the V3i using an 11 inch or smaller coil?

Mine will hit a dime, in my mild soil, at 10". It won't ID that dime, but you will know it's a good target once you know what to listen for (like any machine).

The only results that mean anything are side by side comparisons of two or more machines on the same target BEFORE it is dug. Any machine can follow any other machine after the fact and find things the first one missed due to differences in path taken, approach angle, soil moisture content, even the users attitude at the time. AND the most important variable - how well the user understands or "clicks" with the machine. So it usually takes a good deal of time to filter out the better machine. I have witnessed newer machines beat by BFO machines when the operator of the older machine really understood how to run and listen to it.

But, like most of you, I have an 800 on order and I can't hardly wait. !!!    

I just hope I can settle down and make intelligent comparisons.

I think it's probably similar to the silencer adjustment on a Deus. Sensitivity to iron independent of disc setting. Would also be related to reactivity and maybe swing speed. If I'm right then overall detecting depth would be adversely affected by too high a setting.

Or not.

You replied 2 months ago and I can't even find an Equinox yet let alone all that other stuff.

Bullet hole for sure.

I'm not sure about that but it could be.

Thanks guys.

What is a GPX 4000 in good shape with 3 coils and other extras worth (no warrantee)?

Wow.....that thing has everything !!!

But........There are no fields with Dutch windmills where I hunt. Guess I'm S.O.L.

If it's electronic......buy it today and it's obsolete tomorrow.

4 hours ago, johnedoe said:

While the air tests are impressive... a coin in an open hole is not indicative of a buried coin in the same mineralized ground.... JMHO.

I thought the same thing.

My 11" is no more than 1 inch deeper than my 9" round HF in my mild soil if that helps. Frequency doesn't seem to matter except that 55khz is not quite as deep as 14 & 28.

I am lucky enough to have both and they really compliment each other. When I'm in the proper mood to hunt an average site the right way I use the CTX, low and slow and analytical. When I just want to cherry pick I have programs set up on the Deus that allow me to do that, or I can also use it low and slow but with tones instead of looking at the screen. The subtle tones are where the Deus is at. Deep ID is where the CTX is at. Perfect pair.