dewcon4414

Nuke....... you are dreaming there. the Safara and Xterra maybe...... but people like their ET/CTX hard to beat the smart screen and adjustment ability. It could take a few years to even know how this plate form will do..... but this will be the building block. Right now people still use a lot of the older machines....... why they have them and they are still highly capable.

I suspect Pete Anderson will have a better straight shaft. That again would displace to much water for me. As far as the CTX having a short lower shaft...... you do know Pete has a travel shaft that is 4" longer?

Why wouldnt they develop a platform on this tech Nuke? And i agree...... something is going to go away. That was the same reasoning they had for the Exp and Sovs demise...... both excellent detectors. Im certainly not questing its ability as a water machine..... i was impressed with the coin video.... and have been told its an excellent wet sand machine.....not a lot changes in the water from the oat meal except solidity of the salt maybe. Im not a nay sayer at all ........ i see this as a good replacement for anyone using an Xcal in disc mode. It wont swing like a 2X4 (CTX)..... faster with sweep speed setting, Notch disc, maybe more sensitivity to smaller gold .... we dont know that yet..... but definitely a total beach machine with some real potential for small gold in the dry sand. .....and i just cant get over the price difference from the CTX...... wow.

The charge rate surprises me. Considering the RNB battery (3000 mah) for an Xcal charges in about an hour....... so that tells me we are working possibly with fewer batteries and higher mah ones. Must be a pretty good drain rate to the coil. Also, the slower charging hours would reduce HEAT while charging. Big advantage on lith...... the charger checks EACH cell to ensure they are charged equally. If for some reason your battery goes .... first thing id try is NOT using the charger and slow charge from another source. Sometimes these smart chargers wont recognize a battery when it gets drained to low.

Ill be dang Steve........ some do use that speaker lol. I dont know ....... with the usb cable you might consider something behind the cuff. https://www.minelab.com/accessories-1/by-detector/equinox-series

Steve..... you have to admit the initial CTX for water hunting makes us want to proceed with caution..... especially for the initial cost. i agree it seems we watch every video and comments from a tester....... taking a negative stance. Many may be thinking...... once the first batch is out..... will their be changes needed and they wont get them without additional cost. As a water hunter im more willing to say so what....... it will pay for its self after a few times out and ive come to expect repairs. That video is about as simple as it gets...... but speaks volumes when you consider its at the waters edge in the oat meal and a good 10" deep. I know no one has the yellow phones to dunk the machine...... there lies the question about its ability to me..... and thats not a negative statement its just how good will it be?

If those were found .......and either at 5" this could be a serious dry sand machine. right now that would have to be a piece of copper to be found that deep on the beaches i hunt. Im told it will pick up small chains buried in the DRY sand at a reasonable depth. Thats a huge bonus over the current Multi freq machines having the ability to switch out of the water. I have no doubt they will continue to improve on this tech..... which may well lead to in the water improvements.

Is it possible the tones may sound different Steve because of the phones? CTX is an odd bear when it comes to getting the best out of them to the phones and may well be the cause of the hollow response. Ive heard these phones are an upgrade. Possibly they went from 3 pins back to just 2 as well. Ive notice more of a clipping of the tones ...... maybe because the CTX processes signals faster. I was sure hoping they stayed with the CTXs ability to use those bins for tone adjustments. Ive heard good things about the EQs use on wet SALT sand, but not in the water yet.

Obviously the PRICE...... going from the CTX ...... to this machine that offers a lot didnt hurt sales. So i wouldnt bet on any deals for some time. BUT....... id be surprised if you dont see some on Ebay at a crazy price initially. Im on the list...... but still interested to see how soon they use the tech to develop a platform. You comment did make me think....... if you order today. So...... you believe anyone ordering now isnt consider pre-ordered and that number is already fixed? May be a lot of disappointed folks...... wonder if ML expected this kind of frenzy? I think most are impressed with what they have heard ...... so i dont see them dropping like flies on their order. I believe most are going to get what they paid for and others will order once more reviews are out. If this machine also reduces repairs....... winner winner. Dew

Ted...... i hunt IN the water almost all the time so that wont work out there. that does work well in the dry/wet sand thou......i just dont use it very often since my dry sand hunting normally is an hour or so before light and i then get in the water. With this being a lighter machine fewer may not be using anything to help them swing....... may be a good thing that screen saver is there.

What will drain the batteries quicker will be your settings. Most machines have a pretty regulated drain to the coil ect. Wide open AM........ back lights........running with no headphones ... to much sensitivity causing chatter..... PPing and checking targets if you spend more time at it. Dew

I use the CTX as well and have had no issues either with my screen protector. Ill tell you where i have the the biggest issue hunting with a TID screen in the water...... its the dang scoop. Ive been so used to using the Xcals and i rarely let go of my machine when checking the basket. Im pretty good at getting most of the material out of the scoop before it breaks water...... but its still heavy. Out of the water i had a tendancey to move the scoop over the detector and look inside........ cant tell you how many times i banged the screen or side of the box........ i have nicks as reminders. Now i let go of the handle and catch the side of the scoop ...... BEFORE i bang it. Every thing takes training. I think it will be another learning curve NOT to bang the cable going from the box to the shaft on the EQ.

I dont know as a beach hunter that you can go wrong with this machine. I dont see it NOT working. Even if its not a CTX.......in the salt water things get a little more equal......and at this price its sure going to pay for its self FAST. Many of us will pay for this machine with finds in a month or so. There is just a lot about this machine that says........ its going to be a great wading machine with the ability to find things we just cant right now on the dry sand. Its an inexpensive all around machine ...... especially for a person who just occasionally wants to gold, field or beach hunt. You may already be to late to get one of the first...... but as a beach hunter id get in line.

Wow, amazing to find a gold coin that deep. The CTX on the beach will locate a piece of gold about .3 grams...... and that aint being real deep.....not to mention jewelry has other metal like copper a high conductor mixed. Also near targets and tiny pieces just get missed its not like the Xcal or Sov that has a bit longer response. We may be getting off cheap on this one........ id grab it. Hopefully we get the same programing used to find that piece of gold in the final product. What the tester use isnt always what we get. Ive seen what machines like the Aqua Sound (single freq 14khz) that Tyndell (Nautilus) designed can do in salt water given the right conditions. So ive got high hopes we are off to the races with this line. Being able to hunt 12 mos out of the year........ i hope to get my hands on one. Dew

Quite a change in footprint at depth between the coils. Each handles mineralization a bit different as well. The cone shaped vs the scanner style. You dont have to do quit the over lapping with a DD coil...... thou it does loose about an inch on each end at depths. Its not quite as deep thou. For most beach hunting i wouldnt recommend a concentric coil...... just drop down to a smaller one in trash.

Same for my water hunting Steve....... beep..... a brief second to think..... and dig. Its really not brain surgery for water hunters. Its about getting over the target, knowing what the machine just told you, and learning things change at depth....... not everything that sounds like trash is trash in the water. The hunters who leave with the mumbles...... normally just havent had enough time in the water. Because the machines now ......makes it more about the person using it. Recent targets now is more about who gets over it first.

Gerry........ ive got to ask, i know its not likely the first batch wont sell for MAP..... but after that ..... if someone say im not military but would you discount me that 15% if i buy one...... would you? With this being a ML discount youd be dealing with less discounts out of your pocket..... and now days, we all like to deal. At this point Ammie im sure ML USA had a distribution plan. So.... ordering now may not get you one for awhile. Rumor has it Kelleyco has a 1000 on order. I know its business, but wonder how ML and Kelleycos relationship is? Ive got one on order...... if i dont get one of the first..... that might not be a bad thing. We'd still be in line, BUT would have more information for our specific area of hunting. I didnt have to pay anything to get on the list....... that might not be a good thing lol. I have Xcals and CTX and im not expecting to get over run by the EQ on the beach YET.

It obviously has nothing to do with the processing speed or target ID......or it should have a better rating. Im guess most of you are right, but id also say it has to do with the ability to get very specific when designing dis patterns and tones. Cal...... im with you. What the testers use may not be what we get...... a lot of times it aint. Its going to depend on what the designers vision is for where he wants it to shine. Right now it seems the high conductors. So........will ML give us a somewhat watered down version this time so it can be upgraded down the road? Steve may be able to tell us once they come out and he can compare it to what he tested.

Im a wait and see guy when it comes to any water machine that comes close to the Xcal.... especially one that can use true AM in PP mode. Ive used the FBS....... all of um on the beach. The Exp and ET on the wet sand doesnt have the target separation that the Sov does..... target and mineral can sound a lot alike. The CTX change that with the ability to designate tones...... and it faster with the ability to really design a program. both the FBS and BBS will pick up a piece of gold about .3 gram. On the dry sand...... honestly most are moving to fast and looking for recent drops....... so all that depth is wasted. I forsee a lot of those AT pros that come to visit here in Fl every year and find they werent the best choice for in the water hunting ..... will be grabbing these up as a good all around machine. They may not out perform the TOP machines designed for a specific purpose, but those machines may not do what this machine will do in other areas. In the salt water...... the Xcal is top dog still, but will we be able to tell a difference......... again, compare the price of an Xcal and a CTX which at the end of the day most will say there isnt a huge difference to finds.

As a water hunter Steve ..... its way up there on mine. So i wonder why they didnt go with SS which they use on the Xcal? Thats looks more like brass than gold. Little tuffer than copper/gold. Steve is there a cap that goes over it once its charged? We have to use a rubber gasket on the Xcals ...... i assume for a reason? Im also thinking about those cables coming out of the back. Much like the coil cable coming up and being attached to the shaft........ if you attach it to high you get vibration on the cable that can lead to early coil failure. But we cant guess until its been out there a bit.

My apology for the PM instead of using the Forum. I was the one who asked ...... who uses the external speaker? Been at this 25 years and traveled full time for 5 in an RV doing nothing but detecting and had never used it. As a salt water hunter now i could only see it as a possible leak issue. Im disappointed it wont function in a PP mode like the Xcal does......... really leaving some targets out there. Not certain most water hunters will notice any depth differences in the water...... targets move around daily out there so depth is what it is. No doubt theres someone water hunting with it........ dont want another CTX issue. This machine has a lot of potential as a water machine in so many ways....... most of us have modified our Xcals and id dare say more us it as a wader than a dive machine. Not having to open a box to change the battery in a big plus too. Lighter and thinner shaft will be so much easier to swing than the CTX in the water. Cables maybe the only real issue to watch. But Ron Delgado is working on something there. It will be interesting to see how the 2 multi freqs work and just which works best and why. BUT.....it will work of that im sure. Ive gotten to like the CTXs smart screen.......... that i will miss. However, i do just as good with the tones. Looking forward to this machine and its potential. Dew

Just curious Steve......... with the fast recovery where you are finding masked targets...... is the single digit screen jumping all over the place? Whites used to drive me nuts........ so yes i was a tone hunter. Bottle caps very so much the deeper and ruster they get........ and corona and bud light added some copper so they are hard to walk away from. I agree..... we will miss the smart screen....just a lot of information there. But..... for water hunters simple seems to work best as long as it has depth and sensitivity........ it all comes down to tone. Dew