Dan(NM)

Just now, PSPR said:

The Quest equivalent of the Z-Lynk is only $100 for the transmitter and receiver suggested by Jeff.  You will also need a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter unless you are using phones with a 1/4" plug.  I'm not sure what tech they are using to transmit but it is probably proprietary.  The only downside it that now you have two more devices with batteries that need charged at about 10 hours. 

Some day when I finally get a Manticore I'll give it a try and see if it works OK. 

I was going to go with the Quest's,  but I have half a dozen LL APTX devises I was using with the Nox, so, I bought another transmitter for 28 bucks in case it didn't work properly. I'd rather have a Minelab wireless module, but, probably never happen anytime soon.

3 minutes ago, Rick N. MI said:

That's a lot of finds. A beautiful spot to hunt. With all the finds, there has to be gold there.

After 2 hours of trash.... I started cherry picking from 55 and up... next time I'll go for the gold targets.  I had the place to myself and it was in the mid 70's here in Central Texas.

I did a recon trip today looking for a new spot to dig. I did find a swimming/fishing hole that did produce a couple of good finds. The place I wanted to hunt was off limits to detectors, so....I went next door and dug. The earring is 925, I gave up on gold due to the amount of trash. I'll go back and chase the low and mid conductors next trip......Not a bad hunt , but I was expecting more.

The pulltabs depending on if they were complete.....mid 30's to mid 40's, broken one hit in the teens.  The lead hit mid 50's to low 60's and all the way to mid 80's if they were deep, small round ones hit low 20's.  The mercs hit 80-82, I thought they were clad dimes.  The .925 earring hit 55,. The bracelet hit 75,  appears to be copper.  Zincs were  mid 50's to mid 60's. Copper penny's hit in the 70's.  I was able to run my sensitivity all the way to 26 with a recovery speed of 6. Manual GB hit on 0. Since nothing was real deep, I dropped my sens to 24 and lowered my recovery to 3.

2 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

I didn't realize these were the same old tired APTX LL technology that is now obsolete.  I thought it was the new 5.3 LE.  As far as latency I'm willing to keep an open option if forced to change.  I can't just hook up the WM08 and expect it to work when it isn't compatible.  And unlike some, I'm not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Grapes may not be the sweetest but they are far from sour.  If I have to slow down my target investigation swings then I'll learn to do that.

And as far as needing two, well, would you please explain this graphic from the Amazon page?

 

If you have a set of fast bluetooth headphones or earbuds you won't. If you want to connect a set of wired earbuds or headphones like you use on the WM08, you will.

2 minutes ago, Chase Goldman said:

Glad they're playing nice together.  It's always a crapshoot with these devices.

I agree, I have half a dozen or more that were duds.    I used the 800 to verify the LL APTX, It's gone so.....have to see what you guys confirm from here on out.   I don't understand why Minelab won't just come out and say what the hell they are using.

1 minute ago, Chase Goldman said:

Yeah. You're missing the fact that APTX-LL latency used to not be acceptable for you - now it is?   Also, you will need two of these to make them work with any type of headphone (one for the detector audio out, and one for your headphones).  I've often recommended these types of receiver/transmitters for detectors such as the GPX.  Earlier in the thread I recommended a tx without a cord dongle that can plug right into the 900/M-core headphone jack.  Sometimes these Rx/Tx's have trouble pairing together in LL mode, so read the comments and fine print.

I used them both today and they paired just fine, one as a transmitter and the other as a receiver. Also used a set of wireless earbuds without issues. They  connected to my Wire-Free earphones that I used on the Nox, no problems. The volume on all 3 exceeded the ML85's, I had no issue with lag.

18 minutes ago, fishersari said:

Hi guys, I'm thinking to buy the bluetooth bone conductions headphone for the manticore. What question should I ask to the shop regarding the chipset.. i dont know... bluetooth model? that compatible with the manticore or should I bring the manticore to the shop and test it out 1 by 1 😁

Better take the manticore...if the bone conductors are anything but Bluetooth LE or whatever Minelab is using, not gonna work.  Make sure whatever your looking at is APTX Low Latency in case you have to use a transmitter as well.

24 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

Just what the Dr. ordered?  The Amazon site's videos and documentation show that it will work as either a transmitter or receiver (a switch on the unit allows selection of which mode).  Thus those of us with our favorite headphones/earbuds can use this module in receive mode, picking up the detector's BlueTooth transmitted signal.

I hope the latency is minimal.  If actually 30 ms, that might even satisfy some of us picky listeners....  All this optionality for $30?  Or am I missing something? I

I tried mounting it to the back of the speaker with a cheap 3" auxiliary cord. The problem was, I was getting a weird hum that would fade in and out when I ran a target under the coil. I decided to use the cable that came with the transmitter and move it away from the control pod and that took care the problem. The run time says 10hrs on the transmitter and 15hrs on the receiver. That'll be plenty for me.

This is what I'm using on the 900 until some Bluetooth LE phones arrive on the scene.  They connected to the 800 showing the plus sign and are suppose to be rated at 30ms.  I have tried to connect every bluetooth devise I have to the 900 and nothing will connect. So, I can either connect wireless earbuds  to the one plugged into the 900 or I can plug my wired earbuds into the other one and carry it in my pocket. The volume is loud enough that I had to drop my volume down. I find the volume on the ML85's too low for my hearing and I don't like the sound quality either.  Here is a link .....

https://www.amazon.com/MiiLink-Bluetooth-Transmitter-Receiver-Adapter/dp/B08G8Q7NXZ/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1JXKDK5E8806S&keywords=1Mii%2BBluetooth%2BTransmitter%2BReceiver%2Bdual&qid=1672233175&s=electronics&sprefix=1mii%2Bbluetooth%2Btransmitter%2Breceiver%2Bdual%2Celectronics%2C135&sr=1-4&th=1

4 minutes ago, Daniel Tn said:

The red lighted screen is VERY nice and pleasing to the eyes IMO.  The 800 was too bright especially for hunting the beach at night...light pollution takes away the natural night vision.  It has been a while since I've had an 800 in my hands but my memory has me thinking this 900 is a little more chirpy.  I've had to dial it down to around 20ish sensitivity with the 11 inch coil and into the teens with the big 15" CoilTek.  I do have the CoilTek 5x10 coil coming for it too.  I was planning on getting out with it this morning after work and before the Arctic blast hits but I wasn't planning on it to be pouring the rain like it is so that rules that out.

I'm looking forward to seeing what your first impressions are Daniel. I'll have to wait until Monday to take the 900 out again due to the artic blast rolling into Texas today.

7 hours ago, phrunt said:

I think those hoping the Nox 900 is a Manticore without the Target trace are dreaming.  There seems to be a lot more under the hood than just adding a software feature like Target trace, for a start one is Multi-IQ and one is Multi-IQ+, whatever that means 🙂  We are trying to work out if it's worth the price difference, they obviously do which is why the price difference exists.

Very much looking forward to the Manticore, I'm sure I'll be able to take full advantage of it's silver capabilities.  The Nox 800 is an outstanding detector, I once thought they'd not be able to improve it performance wise as it was such a leap from previous VLF's yet here we are, a better Nox in the way of the Manticore.  I figured the new Nox 1000 would be what turned out to be the Nox 900 just a 800 with the bugs fixed and expanded target ID's which everyone was screaming out for when the Nox first hit the market, I never expected the Manticore, they certainly took me by surprise and a pleasant one at that.

I'm sure you can't go wrong with either one.  I would have been very happy if the new Nox 1000 was the Nox 900 and the Manticore didn't exist, so I'm super happy it does exist!

I hope I don't have to buy both to get the best of both worlds, but if I do I can justify it to myself because of how much I like the Nox 800 and it's coil selection.

My first impression of the 900 is ....it's a 800 in new clothes, really nice clothes.   I hit a spot yesterday with the 900 using my 800 settings and it was pretty much identical in performance at this spot, on the day .  EMI is bad here and I wasn't able to run the 900 any higher than the 800. I had almost 5 years on the 800 and I don't think the 900 will hit anything the 800 won't. To be fair, this was only a 2.5 hr hunt, first outing, mild soil, not a nail infested site and no 800 to compare side by side the EMI on that same site.  The 900 is a great value for a first time Nox user or like me, replacing an out of warranty 800.

Well, the shipping weight of my 900 was 7 lb, that means approximately 1200 detectors were on that shipment. I wonder if my name is on one of them :-)

5 minutes ago, Badger-NH said:

Lots of bat grip choices on Amazon.  Thanks for the tip.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=bat+grip&i=sporting&crid=NNV5LHCSSOK&sprefix=bat+grip%2Csporting%2C103&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_8

 

Your welcome, the stuff really holds up a longtime tool

2 hours ago, TedinVT said:

Really great info and pics, Dan. Very informative. It looks like replacing failed 800 control pods with a 900 pod is out of the question.

Thank you... Until someone makes a replacement bottom part.

13 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

That will be nice for letting someone else hear what you're hearing.

Still kinda concerns me that Aptx-LL devices aren't working despite the claims of support. Did you "initialize" the device before pairing it to the Equinox? Some APTX-LL stuff has to be "unpaired" before pairing it to another device. 🤔

I agree it's a cool feature, dual audio support. I tried six different Bluetooth devices, not one would connect to the 900.  I couldn't get the headphones to connect to my phone either. My phone detected the ml85s but would not make a connection.

Here's something I found out for myself today. I can use the wireless headphones and connect my wireless transmitter plugged into the headphone jack and connect the wireless earbuds at the same time. I think this may have been mentioned about the Manticore.

12 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

Yikes, it may show things down a bit that they use more proprietary process for attaching the control unit, but I gotta say that we have at least one clever individual who will find a workaround. 😉 That mount may even turn out to be an Achilles' Heel. Thanks again for interesting detailed photos. 👍

I agree with Badger, that tape looks cool. 😎

  Thank you. Somebody is going to come up with someway to make money off of this setup I have no doubt lol

21 minutes ago, Badger-NH said:

What did you wrap the grip with?  It looks like a good way to protect it from discoloration.  The grip on my 800 looks ugly after two years of use.

 

That's baseball bat grip wrap, I bought it at Walmart. I put the zagg invisible shield over the entire face plate of the pod. That stuff is virtually scratch proof, I bought that off of eBay and I simply cut it to fit. I was able to use the same armrest cover that I used on the Nox.

It looks like Minelab has ended the aftermarket shaft business with the new pod design. I'm assuming someone will design an aftermarket bottom piece for the pod soon enough though. There's not much to not like about the new shaft, but I'm sure some will find fault with it 🙂

  The bottom piece is attached to the upper shaft, I'm gonna guess epoxy. I was going to have a look at the battery, but, wasn't confident enough to take it apart like I did the 800. It looks like there is a plug that has to be pulled out to get further into the pod.  Anyway here's a few more pictures for you guys.

6 hours ago, unox said:

Thanks for the write up Dan, looks like a nice upgrade good luck with it mate.

Your welcome and thank you.

2 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

Great photos and comments Dan! 👍

Kinda odd that Aptx-LL stuff doesn't work, that's going to disappoint a lot of people. At least you have a workaround for your earbuds. 🙂 Perhaps that thinner lower would be good in shallow water.

Thank you. That's my only gripe, no wireless module, minor issue for me. I didn't think about the smaller rod gliding thru the water better. I only hunt inland lakes and never had an issue with the 800 in that regard.

I got the 900 and it's a step up from the 800 no doubt in several areas.   The coil ears are beefed up and molded different than the 800 coil. I'm not sure how the threaded ear is going to hold up though,  we'll see. The balance feels very good even when the shafts are fully extended, did not feel nose heavy to me. The arm rest is top notch, lots of adjustment and fast to readjust when needed. The lower shaft is smaller than the 800, I  measured 17.5mm vs 20 mm on the Nox. The lower and  middle rod when extended to the red line on the shafts is 36" There is about 4 inches past the factory red line on both the lower and middle rod, so you could extend out 3-4 more inches if you needed to. The magnet on the housing charging port has been upgraded, it has more bite on the charging cable than the 800.

 Wireless, it's not standard bluetooth, I have 6 APTX Low Latency devises I used on the 800, nothing will connect. I tried the WM08 and it's a no go. I even tried to pair with my phone, it listed the headphones as Minelab ML85's,but, would not connect.  I have a transmitter mounted on the bottom of the armrest, wired into the headphone jack that will allow me to use my wireless earbuds.  I have another transmitter on the way for the Manticore.

The headphones paired up in a couple seconds, no waiting like the 800.  They sound much better than the ML80's, very clear and crisp and very little delay in response time. I will use them when its cold outside, but I prefer earbuds otherwise.

Not much difference navigating the menu or controls, basically the same as the 800.  The battery was almost dead when it arrived, so I wasn't able to play around with it much today, plus it was raining when it arrived. I have a day off Wed before the big freeze moves into Texas and will take it to an old sports field here in town and give it a test run. 

44 minutes ago, schoolofhardNox said:

A quick Manticore hunt.... really quick 😄 Took it for a test drive in my (modern) back yard. I just couldn't wait until it was charged, so I took it out for about 10 minutes. It only has a slight charge of about 10 minutes before it shuts down. First impression on its build quality? For us old timers, all these new machines feel flimsy, and this is no different. I guess we are still lugging them old metal boxes around in our brain!  The Manticore is solid even though it feels very thin and light. I don't think there will be any problems with the build but I wouldn't use it to prop yourself up off the floor with it. It's not a cane. Nice and smooth and better built is what I get from it. The screen is nice and basic navigation is not a problem. I have not read the manual of had any directions in operating it yet. So it is intuitive. Now about those complaining about the nails reading like non ferrous targets? Yes they do  and that is because of the nature of iron. You can not preset a machine to knock out all the different iron encounters you may come across. But that is something that will involve some effort on your part in using the iron adjustments available for the advanced user. Just a guess, but I'm thinking after tweaking it, you will get better iron rejection from it. Also pinpointing the target to match where you heard the target will tell you if it's iron. If it pinpoints away from where you heard it, think iron. You will be using the 2D graph a lot to tell iron from non iron. I'm thinking if it's a solid line from a non ferrous number that continues to the upper iron section, then it's iron and its falsing component. If it were a non ferrous target near an iron target the I think you would see a break in the line between the non ferrous target and the line going upward into the iron section. My recommendations would be to go for the more solid hits that make a decent blob on the non ferrous line before trying to find those very iffy targets. So far I'm liking what I see. I hope I can at least get one decent day above 40 degrees to try it out before the massive cold air hits us here in New England. The only program I tried was the high trash one. If I get to a beach I will try a trashy one where I can get a lot of targets in a short span. That's it for now.

Congratulations on receiving your new toy. Thank you very much for posting and we look forward to your progress and your evaluation.

4 hours ago, phrunt said:

It ended up snapping off, this was a couple of weeks old at the time.

Mine broke at the weld, I was able to repair it thanks to a neighbor.

9 minutes ago, longbow62 said:

I'm trying to remain calm and not get to impatient. I ordered the first day you could pre-order from the dealer I used which was Aug. 27th. So I have to be very near the top of his list. I'm guessing top five at least. I was hoping to have it by the first of the year. My desire to detect with the Nox 800 has even kind of waned since I ordered it. It's like I'm saving all my hunts for the Manticore. 

I'm basically in the same boat you are. Ordered the first day they were available, number one in line. I am so close yet so far away LOL. Like you my desire to hunt with the 800 has fizzled out. Saving up my mojo for the new machine :-).