ColonelDan

I really like Steve's predictions!  Whatever they come out with, I'm sure the technology will be ground breaking...it's the Minelab way.

My request of them however would be to avoid being "penny wise and pound foolish" like they were with the original thin CTX gaskets and the thin coil ears on the EQX.

My requests of Minelab:

If they advertise WATERPROOF to 10 feet, I want it WATERPROOF.

I also want to see much thicker, sturdier coil ears. 

Those two requests would save them many thousands of dollars in warranty replacement costs and many thousands of happy customers.

Just the view from my dreaming foxhole...

I received a text message from a friend yesterday telling me that one of our neighbors up the street lost his wedding band while playing on one of those large inflatable water slides.  He asked me if I could help.  Of course I said yes and my friend picked me up in his golf cart and we headed to the man’s house.

Our neighbor was standing by the water slide staring pensively at the ground--his face and body language told me the whole story. 😰

He pointed out where he was standing when he shook the water from his hands and felt his ring fly off.  He and his young son had searched the area for over an hour...even using a magnet in desperation--not very effective on a gold ring. 🥴

Fortunately, the suspected area was only about a 10 foot square.  I cranked up the EQX in Park 1, noise canceled, lowered the sensitivity since this would be a surface find and started to grid the area.  I hadn’t gone 3 feet when I got a nice solid mid tone.  I pulled out my Pro Find 35 and told him to look exactly where it was pointing.  He parted the grass, which was about 3-4 inches high and there was his ring.  The look on his face was one of total relief and incredulity.  

He couldn’t believe I found it that quickly (neither could I). I’d spent all of 1 minute at the most swinging the EQX before it sounded off.  

To say he was mightily impressed would be an great understatement.    He then asked me all about my equipment and detecting since he knew zero about any of it.  His wife came running out of the house and thanked me profusely saying her husband was no longer in the dog house!  

Quick find; quick return and all is well. 🙂

Good report!

Your experience tracks what I’ve seen the few times I tried to use a PI on our Florida beaches... they just weren’t for me.  Digging down 22 inches because a PI can’t discriminate well at all is not my idea of efficient detecting and at 72, I’ll stick with my VLF machines.

On 6/27/2020 at 1:20 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

My Tesoro Stingray II leaked on the very first use. Has a White’s Surf PI leak on very first use. My second Garrett ATX leaked... at least not on the first use.  A lot of full time surf hunters will tell you it’s not a matter of if, but when, a waterproof detector will leak.

Just have a backup plan, go detecting, have fun. 

Steve is right.  Beach and surf hunting is my life and I don’t care how convincing the advertisements are, you’ll experience a leak at some point during the life of that detector.

Colonel Dan's Detector Rack

Anyone who is into metal detecting knows what its like to pack your vehicle for a day in the field or at the beach. This is what my SUV looked like...and that was on a very organized day!

Two detectors, a shovel, a sand scoop, equipment bag and cooler

Not much room left for Miss Mary's suitcase or art equipment when she goes along. Not much usable space for anything else really except for a small area behind the passenger seat. I'm sure everyone has their own version of this load plan but you know the deal.

There had to be a better way. I experimented with different ideas that worked to some level of success but none that fit the primary Cavalry Principle of KISS. I wanted a system that was portable, i.e. easily and quickly installed in and removed from my SUV. It had to be solid and stable with some heft so my detectors could ride safe and sound without tipping over or sliding around back there. Secure vertical stacking seemed to be the solution for me. The question was how to do it.

I thought about several things I could build or re-purpose and finally settled on an unused truck gun rack. It was solidly built for my intended purpose, had rubber protection on the hooks to prevent damaging the detectors and had pre-drilled holes I could use for mounting it on a vertical frame. I decided to use 2x4s: easy to build with enough weight and heft to provide stability for my detectors.

I built a frame that was 20” in height, 24” in width with feet 8” long which prevents tipping over or sliding around when fully loaded with equipment. Padding on the back helps protect the sidewalls of my SUV and a layer on the feet adds an additional level of prevention against slipping.

My detectors finally have a safe place to ride—they're happy campers!

And my load plan now looks like this.

Much more available space for Miss Mary to use any way she likes! Life is good!

Did you have a protective cover over the control box...one that covered the speaker vents in the back?

 That happened to me while hunting on a hot day in the Florida keys.  Although mine didn’t read err 41, it started acting abnormally.  I removed the cover, let it cool down and all was back to normal.
 

After I got home, I cut the back out of my cover exposing the vents and haven’t had a problem since and I hunt in the Florida summer heat.

Although I never used a Whites, I hate to see this but the competitive market place demands that those who play the game keep up with the competition.  As Steve has said, they failed to move beyond the big box detectors and their competition out did them. 

I would like to have seen Whites successfully compete as that would have served the entire detecting world well.   Competition breeds better products at better prices....just the way of our capitalistic market place.

Too bad

👍  You'll be even happier with Steve's rod once you get your first opportunity to detect with it for hours on end!  Looks great.

7 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Hmm.  The bracing was put there for a reason. The dynamic pressure of the water could now put a lot of flex on the coil which could disrupt the induction balance effect and cause some false signals.  Maybe not so much of an issue light wading but not something I would do in surf.  Not personally a fan of having a fanny pack full of water and the screen at that angle just seems awkward so not my cup o' tea.  I'm usually carrying a scoop in my left hand and hanging on to the detector with the other so I like having the control panel within reach of my thumb with my right hand gripped on the handle for pinpoint and target interrogation.  With your setup I would have to let go of either my scoop or the detector to manipulate the controls.  But, hey, if it works for you, that is great.  Hope you get some rings and bling with that set up. Good luck, Rick!  

I agree with Chase's reservations on this one.  I would also add a personal note in that I wouldn't like the cable dangling in front of me that way.  Knowing me, I'd get tangled up in it. 

Also, I'd like to see your report on any falsing you might get due to that loose cable flopping around.  Securing the cable to the shaft is done for multiple reasons/benefits.

Just the view from my foxhole...it may work fine for you.

Thank you Steve for the kind words and fixing the upside down photo!  Well done...

Anyone interested in a report on the 440 can find it here:

https://www.kellycodetectors.com/pages/field-test-minelab-vanquish-440-metal-detector/

My hunting buddy Gary and I collaborated on the report for Kellyco and they published it on their website.

We found this a very impressive machine for $279 but you can read the report and judge for yourself.

Note: Gary and I are not employees of Kellyco nor do we have any financial interest in or relationship with Kellyco.

Comparing a VLF to a PI machine for depth is like comparing a hammer to a screwdriver.  They're designed for different jobs.  The PI will always win out on a depth scale but can't discriminate as a VLF machine can....just the nature of the beast. 

But...if you want detection of very small targets with a discrimination capability, keep the Equinox.  Keep the Sea Hunter for a solid underwater machine where trash may be minimal.  Having said that, prepare yourself to dig everything and at considerable depth...as you've seen.

Bottom line: No one detector does it all.  Choose the best tool for the job at hand...don't try to turn screws with a hammer or drive nails with a screwdriver. 😉

Just the view from my foxhole.... 

10 hours ago, FloridaSon said:

Hi Colonel Dan,

Want to turn this into a tutorial?

Do you dial it in for a certain conductor? Or is it to prevent certain conductors from sounding off as much?

Thanks for you articles! 

FS,  Don't know that you need a tutorial from me 😁 but I use my test sticks (seen below) to optimize the EQX performance for the particular beach I'm on at the moment.

The first thing I do is a noise cancel.  I then bury the 10K ring and ferrous bolt at approximately 7-8 inches and adjust the recovery, sensitivity and F2 to a point which gives me the strongest signal on the ring with the least interference as well as the best separation between the bolt and gold ring.

It's my assumption...and experience...that the strongest signal on the mid conductive gold will also be optimal for high conductors.  Ergo, I don't see the need to test silver as well as the gold for that beach.  I've also found that the optimal setting on one beach won't necessarily be optimal for another beach even if the second beach is close to the first one.  Beach conditions can change within a few hundred yards....i.e. mineralization and composition just as an example.

Testing only takes a few moments but it pays off...at least for me in that I go forward with more confidence that my EQX will be better prepared to sniff out the goodies.

Again, and as I always say, that's just the view from my foxhole...

10 hours ago, FloridaSon said:

 

Outstanding!   Great recovery...

Agree with Steve,  the counterweight is a true game changer. 
Over the years (since 1970) I’ve used many different shafts; stock, aluminum, carbon fiber etc.  and none compares with Steve’s Detector Rods.  If you’ve never tried a shaft with the counterweight, you’ll be shocked at the difference in perceived weight.   All Steve’s work is well designed, thoughtfully engineered, precisely constructed and perfectly balanced.  I’ll use no other shaft...period.

I was hunting at the beach yesterday and did my usual "dial it in" routine...adjusting F2, Recovery and Sensitivity using my test sticks to optimize my EQX 800 performance for that particular beach.

As I hunted, I got a strong tone of a high conductor and started to dig and dig and dig. I couldn't see or find the target but I knew it was still there...somewhere...the EQX said it was!

I finally narrowed it down to a certain pile of sand from the ever growing hole. Still couldn't see it but it was there among the brown sand...somewhere. Finally resorted to my Pro-Find 35 pinpointer. It rang up nicely but I still couldn't see this high conductor! I started to test small hand fulls at a time and finally...finally I saw a minuscule piece of wire on the edge of my hand. Could this be what all the fuss was about? YES. I measured the depth of the hole with the Pro- Find 35 and saw that it was approximately 8 inches!

I brought the wire home specifically to post this story about the importance of adjusting your detector to meet the conditions. When we change beaches, I "dialed in" my EQX again for that new beach and had to change the settings from that first beach where my EQX sniffed out that piece of wire. Conditions change and so must your settings....one size DOES NOT FIT ALL.

Chase, yes, relicman.com.

Again, you nailed it straightaway.....

On 5/16/2020 at 9:11 AM, Chase Goldman said:

Makes sense Dan, that looks like an 1820's "Jacksonian" era (i.e., Andrew Jackson) Federal US infantry button.  Sweet find.

Chase you were right on target!  Jacksonian....We found the maker!

My hunting buddy, Gary,  found this button yesterday at the Seminole Indian War site we've been working. 

Any assistance in identifying it would be most appreciated.

We think we can see CHI  and ARMY on the back but we're not sure.

Thank you.

Just now air tested a 1943 S war nickel...solid 13

I have a 440 specifically for use by my grandkids.  I can size both the coil shaft and arm rest to suit those little arms.  It's an accurate and very easy to use detector for children, those new to the hobby and visitors.  Since we live close to all the Florida attractions and beaches, we get our share of visitors from up north.  The Vanquish is perfect for them.

Just the view from my foxhole....

10 hours ago, okara gold said:

I'm still running the 1.7.5. I am most interested in overall depth in wet salt and saltwater and don't mind digging bottle caps. Is there any  depth benefit in the 2.0 update? I was led to believe there isn't. Thanks!

I did not see any depth difference in the test I ran but again,  my test objective and set up was not focused on depth.  I was interested in stability and separation.

I leave my wallet in the car.  I place my key fob in a thick zip lock bag and then put the bag in a waterproof dry box that I carry with me.  

I can't lay claim to anything clever or imaginative...it's just a reflection of my former life long ago!  😉

Super!  Congratulations.🎉