dewcon4414

On 12/27/2022 at 8:02 AM, Dancer said:

I was working wet sand when some people walked by.    Bringing up the rear, a young lady wearing a head cover. After the routine questions about the machine. I asked her what country she was from.    Oman, a peaceful country in the Middle East she added.   Here's where it gets interesting.    In her country she doesn't need a machine. You can find Gold all over the place.    Best place, Women's Restrooms.   Than along the sidewalks, parking lots.  Gold is inexpensive over there so it's lost all the time. she claims.     Girl is going to college in Virginia, had no accent and spoke fluently.   Looking at my finds pouch with 31 cents , I said maybe I ought to fly over there for a week to hunt. "That would be very expensive," she said.       I'm thinking that might be the least of the problems.

Not sure what the punishment for prowlers in the womens bathroom might be 😂 

Well I believe more standard tones would help especially in the deeper water.  I’m waiting to see if any of the machines get better depth in the water where’s there is less trash.  Running in AM you get the pops rather than the false tones… to many tones and any machine can get chatty when run the way you can this machine.  
 

i agree it’s a very well made machine…. Thou I can tell you problems I’ve had….. none of which cost me a ton of money for repairs.  

On 1/3/2023 at 9:57 AM, Chase Goldman said:

You said you were eyeing Manticore as a backup.  My point was that I have not really seen anything from a performance standpoint that separates the Manticore from the 900 as far as jewelry and coin wet salt sand/water hunting is concerned to justify the $600 price difference.  The M-core 2D display seems to be of limited use at the beach unless you are looking for steel core coins, depth increase is incremental, EMI noise cancelling appears to be marginally improved but the Deus 2 appears to blow away both 900 and M-core in that regard, so if EMI is a concern, then D2.  All the ergonomics and beach hardware improvements of M-core (light weight but robust CF shaft system, improved watertight integrity) have also been incorporated into the 900.  I don't think M-core is a worse performer than the 900, just that 900 appears to be a better overall value so you will recoup the cost for essentially equivalent performance, quicker.  Especially if it is just going to be your backup machine.  Jury is still out whether M-core really brings anything significant to the table vs. 900 for wet salt sand detecting, I just haven't seen it demonstrated yet. HTH clarify what I was trying to say.

Good points of course.   Im hoping the manticore has value for dirt hunting if I ever get up home again longest to hit some of my old spots.  I don’t get nearly the EMI simply because I’m in the water mostly.  But if it chatters because of minerals a lot I’m out.  The Deus is quiet in the water.  But there’s a lot I don’t like about it and it’s not cheap either.   I seriously wish they would revamp the Xcal.  I’m afraid their flag ship if redone is going to again be pricy.  I like the CTX but at this point it’s hard to call it the flagship 

On 12/30/2022 at 1:50 PM, Geezer said:

 

You both make excellent points. If you were to hunt like I do, what might you use instead? There are so many new detectors out now I find it hard to keep up with what is good and what is hype.

The depth you mentioned is fairly easy to obtain by most machines.  Of course I need one I have the option of in and out of the water.  Next you have to consider what’s an acceptable loss for the targets you are looking for.  You then may need to look at one with more coil options especially for working in trash as well as reducing sensitivity, slowing down, keeping the coil low ( not that I need to tell you this) and possibly using a pattern occasionally.  In trash just changing it up occasionally can help.  I found in say parks …. Not running high sensitivity especially with a large coil seemed to pick up high conductors totally missed because the machine was trying to process so much material.  Plus you got so much better TID.  Go beach hunting I like an 11 or 12” coil.  But you lose some small gold.

On 12/31/2022 at 1:35 PM, Geezer said:

I never thought of this aspect before, my impression has been that Tarsacci was a private company consisting of Dimitar and maybe a handful of employees. 

 

This maybe is the detector Dimitar should have made, and probably should have been the upgrade if one were to be made. This one thing would have eliminated the most common complaint about this detector. 

I am used to the one I have, the best thing I ever had for bad ground. I will keep it no matter what comes next, as a used detector it is worth only a fraction of what I paid and an even a smaller fraction of what it is worth to me as a tool that still works just exactly how I wanted it to when I bought it.

It came at a premium price, hard to deny that, but takes seconds to set and go and I can operate it all day in a completely intuitive way without giving it a second thought. Not perfect, but well made and reliable.

I sold almost all my detectors within weeks of picking this up, all I kept was the Gold Racer and Mirage PI. Dunno what I keep them for, I have not used them even once since the Tarsacci came. I forget now exactly how long ago that was. I am thinking about getting an inexpensive backup to put one of those Detech Arrow coils on this Spring to cover open spaces in good ground as a sampler, maybe a T2 or Simplex, but do not want for much else.  

Random thoughts.

Dimitar has family members involved as well so it’s not a one man show.  All seem to be capable designers.

On 12/30/2022 at 5:03 PM, Chase Goldman said:

Dew - If you are considering a ML again, you'd be better off going for the revamped Equinox 900 for wet salt beach hunting, better value.  If you want to spend $1500, the Deus 2 would likely be a better choice than Manticore.

I have a friend who uses the Deus AND the MDT.  I’ve not cared for the ML multi unit in the water….. and I’m not jumping out there to spend the money on any until more info is in.  But most of us who hit the beaches hard consider performance over price since the machine pays for its self rather quickly.

I think niche to me means those who have kept them like me aren’t trying to use them as a multi use machine.  I’m a water hunter who cranks it up and used AM.  I don’t have any others detectors now because I don’t feel there is a better water machine for how I hunt…. right now.  If I was strictly a dry sand hunter I’d like pick up another machine.  I use the 12” coil for depth…. But the 11” is quieter in the water.   Water testing for depth isn’t easy….. and sometimes there just plain isn’t anything in that pushed up sand.   I’m watching the manticore as a possible backup…. But it’s been said this isn’t a flagship replacement.  I’m also wanting to see if it’s worth the money in the water.  I noticed Tom D has mentioned the MDT when comparing certain aspects of it.   The machine likes round.  I did find more micro gold with the Nox in the dry sand …. But a lot of tiny trash.  Most people down here rather they know it or not are ring hunting….. most of the time they are trying to cover to much beach so technique suffers.  No I’m not a fan of the tones nor the digital readout.  I do wish we knew what Demitar is working on.  

I’ve no insight either.  Thou I like some of the suggestions.  That machine he did with the different tones I liked.  Nice to have the new battery box thou I’ve had no issues.  I prefer SteveG’s thinner shaft…. I might be wrong but I think he made a deal that you could add that in lieu of the standard on new machines.  I could be wrong but it seems the testing is being done out of country to keep things as you said close to his vest.   Personally I like leaked info as to what he’s thinking for improvements…. Just a taste.  I’m still surprised only the Legend has “barrowed” his salt balance.   Has anyone had an issue with the red on your buttons completely disappearing?  

Chase Did I read the Nox phone won’t work with this machine?   Wonder if they will give us those darn yellows for water hunting… of course at the $150 extra?  They need to give people a choice between phones.

So what headphones are you using?   I never really had an issue with the volume on the Nox but I used Tony Eisenhower and phones I made.   Just curious why you didn’t seem to like the volume 

On 11/29/2022 at 12:40 PM, Gerry in Idaho said:

If all goes well, I will be sharing pictures of Manticore finds from in the salt water.  Hurry up Santa, Gerry's Detectors has places to go.  He also has customers patiently waiting.  It looks as if the wait time could be pre Christmas for a few.  Let's just hope us dealers get a good allotment of units the 1st few rounds.

I look forward to your water review.  Do ya know if those crappy yellow phones were upgraded?  I sure hope so.  For the price we should get an option… or it’s an added cost.   As an old smart screen user and CTX user I really like the add.  You almost never dug a bottle cap you didn’t want to.  Side by side targets not IDed properly it helped there too.   Not quite dive ready.  ML hasn’t introduced a new flagship machine …. These machines are out performing their current one.  I’m waiting because of price to see how it performs in the salt water…. Hopefully not a lot of reduction to have it run smoothly and transition in the surf is good.  Really want to see in the near surf how it does on those difficult gold pieces.

Targets pool this time of year.  We have a much larger tide swing and winds start coming out of the North.  These negative tide cause more waves at low tide hitting th built up sand dune or rises.  Good to hunt by watching the wave line in the water … just it front of it you get a lot of movement and you tell the cut ins best.

Sooooo how’s the hunting going?   Not been out much but the red tide was out a bit.  I heard someone had a heart attack on one beach because of it.  Tomorrow maybe a beach day to see if it’s moved …. Heard it was all the way up to Holmes beach.  As far as the ring it was a giveback with no reward ugh.  Personally that diamond had to be awfully awfully good because the ring was very simple

On 11/1/2022 at 5:07 PM, The_Stalker said:

I was able to get to the beach for three days last week.  It should have been 7 days but appointments and dinner engagements made that impossible.  Targets were not very deep and I was suprised to see competition on the beach.  I guess everyone thought the hurricane earlier would cause opportunity.  Here is the picture of the final digs.

Are those cobs?  Dats a lot of digging … but some nice heavies.  You don’t always get what you might expect from these storms.  Sometimes a month after will surprise you.

I use the tones only after locating a target….. I prefer not to hear all the distracting tones when it falses much like any other machine when it’s maxed out.  I prefer the quick pops to the pings and pongs.  I’m not a numbers guy especially since there can be a lot of bounce with a sensitive machine 
 

lot of targets dug… oh my aching back 😂.   Nice batch of heavy targets too. Was the cross gold?  

Take a mole hole or any disturbed soil…. many detectors don’t function well.  They can even see a dug hole rather than the target at the bottom.  When moisture is removed the ground becomes pores signals get weaker because water and salt tends to light up targets … a good bit from target bleeding

The MDT has its place when working around difficult moist areas and water 

On 8/31/2022 at 2:51 PM, Denny said:

Tarsacci goes deep but audio is terrible.  
Once had a issue where I could not turn off machine and had issues with machine resetting itself.  Sent back to Dimitar to get it checked. He said he found nothing wrong.   Machine still reset itself on one occasion when I got it back.    Not worth the $1500 price I paid.   I now use the Deus2 and finding more success with it compared to tarsacci which started out great but faded fast. 
Yes, XP Deus2, legend and Manticore  will slow sales of Tarsacci.

Denny ….it sound like an issue me and Cliff had initially.   It’s not making contact.  Remove the screw to the plate and put a thin SS washer behind it.  It didn’t help when someone released a video with more standard tones….. I think we all liked them MUCH better.  
 

to answer Steve’s question…. absolutely.  It’s real competitive with all the U-Tubers/influencers who wants to be the first to introduce a new machine.  New machines is like chum to sharks.  Right now …. There are some very good choices for someone wanting a multi use machine ….that may do other types of hunting only occasionally but like me needs a good niche machine as well.

On 8/31/2022 at 7:03 AM, Dancer said:

The machine has done very well for me where I can take it.   The biggest advange for me being water proof, and very dependable.   No drips no leaks no send backs.    I truly believe take all the machines mentioned above (including Tarsacci) on most any beach.    The biggest difference in overall finds will because of       1.   the hunter     2. luck         As in all good hunting   it's the site, the hunter , than the machine  that counts.      Gold and Silver started drying up a while back, now  finding  coins on most beaches is getting horrible.    Ain't no machine gonna fix that.    

It's true though lack of marketing is a mystery.

Very spot on.  It’s a niche machine to me for water hunting.  Some I know have already moved on to the newer multi use machines…. But they still have the machine.  Partly because they aren’t easy to sell much like an aqua sound that got some what popular here years back.  It’s difficult if you don’t have a crew to make changes quickly and can’t do updates by computer.  Some things needs to be changed but there is a bit of resistance maybe because it can’t be updated and of course there is the cost.  Much like a PI for beach hunting….  Not as many want to use them even thou they are deep.  I’ve sold all my machines but the MDT and I’m keeping an eye on the new ones.  The future is hear …. Most everyone wants a multi use machine…. It’s a matter of which will serve their purpose.

“It's build quality and waterproofing has been improved, significantly”

This is yet to be determined IMO.   I honestly don’t think the Nox was tested in the water… it was assumed the sealed casing and universal IP ratings made it waterproof.  If it’s being made in the same factory using the same mode process with the same quality control…. Then it’s a wait and see for the water guys.

ML has very good marketing staff.  Well played on waiting hoping to do the same thing the Nox did…. Stall all sales of other detectors.  But this times …. I’m not sure it will work with the quality of machines out there.

2 hours ago, palzynski said:

Looks like the answer is 50% more depth ... at least for our local dealers ... 😀 :

 

Minelab Manticore - Détecteur aux performances incroyables - Pré-commande (lutece-detection.com)

 

Détecteur Minelab Manticore : Le plus puissant des multifréquences (maisondeladetection.com)

No one should take that dealer seriously.  

SteveG I agree with you on a lot of that Ferr/con.  I more often than not watched that smart screen then checked out the con digit.  We all learned the silver tinkle watched deep coins like nickels move to points no where near an air test coin.  Took me some time to realize what weak targets were… I really gained a lot of depth once it clicked.

So are there videos of it in the water with the screen about a foot down?   Wondering how they set it up, how it moved (Tom already said those fins displace more water) and how much water comes out of that speaker?  I’ve always plugged those.  
 

that cuff had best be good because it’s not likely an aftermarket one will be out soon.  So with a sliding cuff and no screws/button spring clip…. The end of that shaft could have been used for a cheaper larger battery that doesn’t take but a few hours to charge.

that extra power could come in handy in the water here in Fl.  Once the coil hits the salt water it more about the saline than EMI.

On 9/1/2022 at 7:03 AM, steveg said:

Dew -- I assume you are considering a Manticore, at LEAST to fill in as your "new" backup to the MDT?  Better waterprooofing (if true) should be right up your alley...

Steve

I for one never had a water issue with my Nox…. and mine got wet.  I consider any detector that can get used in the water.  I wasn’t happy getting it thou and they didn’t even have waterproof headphones for months which told me it hadn’t been tested much.  So Tony made me phones and I tested um.  Seems I’ll be able to use them.   ML knows what their issues were… let’s hope all were fixed.  Not sure why they couldn’t waterproof more like the Deus and their warranty didn’t increase.   I assume Steve you are working on a new shaft?  I always like ML so if 90% of the development did go toward the dirt guy on this one for here in Fl it may be a good beach machine as well

8 minutes ago, steveg said:

I believe I have seen Mark Lawrie say "50% more power going to the coil," than the Equinox, and Tom Dankowski said that if you somehow were to wire an Equinox coil up to connect to the Manticore, you would essentially "blow out the coil."  So, I am fairly sure it's just all a "marketing gimmick."

(Just to note, I am NOT saying 50% more depth, nor 25% more depth, nor even 10% more depth...of course not; I'm just saying that there is apparently 50% more power going to the coil, and not just a marketing gimmick where the extra power is going to the backlight, keypad, flashlight, etc. -- each of which probably use very little power, i.e. flashlight being LED, etc.)

Steve

 

Steve I read that as well from Tom.  He also mentioned Carl ant that 50% would equate to less than 7% increase in depth.  I get good depth here in Fl so I’m more concerned with eliminating EMI and TID especially at depth.  Obviously here most are recent drop hunting and getting 10” means they get a good many of them. There also comes a time when gold targets are just beyond reach no matter the machine.