Bill (S. CA)

Joe, your posts are an inspiration to all of us. And to me personally, a reminder that I need to get out more! Keep hunting and posting, Joe. Bill

Ah, Bob, I always like when a fellow Apex user posts. Problem is it seems to be just you and me most of the time. Like you, I knew it was pretty obvious that Garrett was focusing on the Vortex software, and justifiably so. While I agree with you as to your update suggestions for the Apex, I have to wonder if that ship has sailed so to speak. I don't know what kind of sales numbers the Apex has generated since its introduction but I would guess they are, at least not currently, all that great. You are correct, it could have been marketed better. What I would like Garrett to do is to dust off the Apex and possibly reintroduce it with a new update. Also maybe a price reduction. Something to garner attention since the multi-frequency market is really cluttered these days. I am currently on the shelf recovering from cataract surgery so I haven't swung a coil in two months. My return should be Thanksgiving weekend. Funny I was thinking of taking out the Apex just because I plain flat out like using it. But with out storms it may be the Vortex that, with the latest update and coil choices, is really growing on me. Always nice to see you posting. Bill

You are on another one of your runs, Joe. Keep those videos coming! Bill

What a neat ring, Joe! Are you full time with the AQ now for water hunting? It's still weird for me not to see you with an Excal. Keep the videos coming,they are so much fun to watch when I'm landlocked at my desk at work. Bill

George, You have done it again! I love seeing your collection additions. So what machines are still on your bucket list? Mine is much shorter than yours. Other than trying to locate affordable Tesoros (really want a Cutlass II Umax) the one machine that keeps eluding me is a Fisher 1220-X. All of the ones I find are trashed or way overpriced. I had one in the early 1980's and did really well with it. Keep posting your finds, George. They are really fun to see. Bill

I don't know this detector, George. How about a little background info?

Jeff's assessment of White's is spot on. Every so often the idea of bringing back White's machines comes up and the answer is always the same: it just isn't possible. You are talking about old code that has to be rewritten, finding people to do that, etc. There are three "p's" involved here: it isn't practical, it isn't profitable and it therefore it isn't possible. I've been detecting for 53 years now and have used most of those White's detectors. They had their day and it's over unless you want to do some nostalgic hunting. If that's your goal go to ebay and buy an old White's detector of your choice. In my opinion Garrett will never bring any of those detectors back and frankly would be nuts if they tried.

What coil were you using, Phrunt? I haven't run the update yet (huge heat wave here in S. CA has made hunting impossible during the day at our parks) but on the previous version i really like the Viper coil. Much more so than the stock coil. Better in the trash by far.

Your usual nuts and bolts, unbiased and honest report, Jeff. Well done and appreciated. Bill

Gosh, Bob, you had your hands in everything back in the day!

Haven't seen one of those in a long, long time. What year was this one made, George?

Hey Sand Hunter, anybody who still hunts with a Sovereign is okay in my book. I have a Sovereign XS myself and I still love it.

Hey Sand Hunter. I appreciate your posting this but as you can see it hasn't resulted in much activity. For me, and I think I speak for many others, this endless empty teasing of new detectors has just become boring. The rumor mill has run dry. When we get to the point that we are picking apart videos and statements looking for clues like we are researchers on Ancient Aliens I think the time has come to tell all of these companies to politely knock this nonsense off. How do we do that? By IGNORING them until they really have something to bring to market. Nokta, a company I really like, is the current example but they all do it. Just develop a product, for God's sake test it with knowledgeable testers and not YouTube shills and influencers, and then release it. It's not that hard. In the meantime, I have good detectors. I can hunt without needing the latest and greatest, whatever the heck that is.

First of all, my thanks to Jeff for his kind words. Also, Jeff is right, the Xterra Elite and Triple Score are very good choices. If i read your question correctly, you are asking how a Vortex would perform in dry sand. If you are a dry sand hunter any VLF will work just fine. It is in the wet sand that multi is king. A Vortex would certainly cover both wet and dry sand, but so would an Xterra Elite and a Triple Score. I happen to like the Vortex for its versatility and display/interface. It is a good performer inland and a very underrated performer at saltwater beaches. Version 9.09, which Jeff mentioned, is currently being tested by Garrett. I would anticipate it might be out sometime this month. Garrett, like other manufacturers, has learned that it is better to take time on updates instead of issuing them one right after another. I had the opportunity to try 9.09 this past weekend and target response is greatly enhanced. Also, the target lag that had cropped up on the last update no longer exists. I did not notice the issue that Jeff mentioned about the iron responses, but the dirt I hunt here in Los Angeles is very neutral.