Rattlehead

That was a great video.

In another thread, steveg suggested trying ATLC at sites that have a lot of iron to help cut down on falsing, so I tried it out last week, paired up with the Silver Shooter pattern and it worked great. Very quiet, stable and no falsing issues whatsoever. It also allows running a higher sensitivity. Definitely a big difference compared to ATHC, and seemed even quieter than ATG.

If you’re having issues with falsing iron, this is worth trying. It will still tag high conductors very well, though not quite as deep as ATHC. Like I mentioned before, the ID may also be a little more jumpy, but still very usable.

The more I use the Manticore, the more I like it. Scored two more silvers with it today. I haven’t been able to get out a lot lately due to all the rain but my Manticore silver count is up to 13 (15 FTY overall).

A few days ago I ran ATLC at one of my sites that has a lot of iron. I set the upper limit at 10, recovery speed at 3, and had the disc set up as a US coin pattern. It ran very quiet, stable and allowed more sensitivity than ATHC. No issues with falsing whatsoever. I agree, it does seem a little quieter than ATG as well. I didn’t dig any super deep targets but at this particular site they tend to only run in the 5-6” range. 

Just noticed that. Not sure what shipping costs from there but I imagine it’s not cheap.

I’ll be ordering one. Thanks!

I agree, though I have to admit that I do find some of the bickering entertaining. 😆 On one side you have a group of users who constantly hype up a certain brand or model trying to convince everyone else of its sheer perfection, then on the other side you have those who feel like their detector is an extension of themselves and get butthurt over any negative comments about it. Watching the fireworks from the videos calling each other out, and the constant forum battles is more entertaining than most of the TV shows I watch. 

Nice finds Jeff. Love the big silver ring! 

Thanks for the info, Steve. I saw similar results with ATG vs ATHC. Sounds like ATLC may be even better. I'll give it a try. It actually sounds very reasonable, since running Fast on the D2 also allows higher sensitivity than Deep HC while remaining stable, and works great for coin shooting.

To me, the ID seemed a little less stable when running ATG vs ATHC. Did you notice the same when running ATLC?

You know its going to be a great day when you get a LC 30 seconds into the hunt. Nice Barber too!

An amazing site with some awesome finds. Especially that silver button! Nice ending to the day as well!

Couple of nice finds Jeff! Looks like that Equinox 900 is working well for you.

5 hours ago, F350Platinum said:

Interesting, I tried the hip route and they were always beating the crap out of me. 😀 Out of likes but 👍

It’s all in where ya mount it. Mount it close to the T handle and it’ll beat your ankles constantly. Mount it 8” down the shaft, GTG! 🙂

1 hour ago, F350Platinum said:

What are the clamps for on all your shovels? I'll bite... 😀

Those are Hip-Clips. It’s a little bolt on clip I came up with for belt carrying long handled shovels.

I tried my hand at a homemade shovel as well (far left). Didn’t have the 4130 so just used 11GA mild steel. It was strong enough but way too heavy. 

I like the ones from Predator Tools. I have the Phoenix, Spartan and Barracuda. Most of the places I hunt have thick or rocky soil, so the Spartan is my go-to. I rarely use the Phoenix.

I'm not a fan of the side buttons for the reasons already mentioned. Just makes more sense to have the heavily used buttons within thumbs reach. 

16 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

I use a set of wireless headphones that accepts the WS6 or the WSA II. They're called "Wirefree", Serious Detecting advertises them on their site.

They don't sound all that great but I rarely wear them, like CPT writes, "make good earmuffs". 😀

And, they're about half the cost of the WSA II XL.

If I wanted to I could use the screw in headphone adapter sand use the same APTX-LL headphones I use with the Equinox. Just plug in the transmitter and go.

Thats the ones I have. I agree, the sound quality isn't great but the fit and feel is better than the OEM WS6 backphones. I can't stand those things.

I'm just putting 2 & 2 together and realizing that some of the channels I watch belong to fellow forum members. Great channel abenson! I've been watching but didn't realize it was yours.

Checked the weather this morning and saw that I had a little over an hour before the rain moved in, so I headed back down to the old ball field for a quick hunt. Didn’t get anything spectacular, but I did score silver #13 FTY, a ‘51 rosie. 

Anyway, I noticed a couple of things today. Unlike my other detectors, the noise cancel on the Manticore seems to actually work. I started getting some bad EMI on the far end of the field, so I held down the noise cancel soft key until it settled on a number. Released the button and it was dead quiet. Nice. Hope it works that well at other locations.

Also, on one of the deeper signals (penny at 9”), I lowered the sensitivity down one digit at a time to see how low I could go and still get a good dig-able signal. Started at 27 and took it all the way down to 19. Surprisingly, it still sounded pretty good even at lower levels. Below 19 it started to fade a bit. That was using the Depth theme, so even the deeper targets tend to sound off pretty well. I need to test it again using one of the more traditional audio themes with some modulation to see how that sounds at lower sensitivity levels.

2 hours ago, George Kinsey said:

Nicely done. On point. Thanks for your insight.

Thank you, George.

3 hours ago, Rob in (ca) said:

Great write up…..Thanks for sharing 

Thank you, Rob.

24 minutes ago, Redneck said:

Thanks RH.   I love your vids!  I really appreciate you showing the 2d screen and explaining whats probably going on there.

I'm more visual, so Im getting a Manticore.  

 

Thank you sir. Good luck with the Manticore!

Here are some Target Trace screenshots, along with a description, taken from my videos:

1) 7" silver Rosie with 3 nails in the hole.

2) 8" Merc with some contamination.

3) 8" wheat, clean signal.

4) 7" Barber quarter with 2 nails and other bits of iron.

5) 10" silver Washington quarter, mostly clean signal.

6) 13" Tax Token, clean signal.

7) 6" Mercury dime, some bits of iron in the hole.

3 hours ago, Redneck said:

Thanks for the review, and the excellent vids.  On your deep and iffy signals,  would you have been able to hit those coins with the D2?

Thanks! I can't say one way or the other on the targets in that last video (Deep & Iffy Coin Signals), but the other video attached to the first post of this thread shows us comparing signals at this same location. We compare the Manticore with the Deus 2 & 11" coil. It was able to hit all of the deep signals we compared that day. I think they're very close in performance, with the Deus 2 having an advantage in nuanced audio, and the Manticore having an advantage in visual ID. My gut feeling is the Manticore may be a little deeper, but not by a lot.

3 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Agreed. But I don't think any metal detector magazines are left now.

 

A master class in reporting - thanks for posting! 

 

 

1 hour ago, Digalicious said:

I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again: Superb write up Rattlehead.

17 minutes ago, CPT_GhostLight said:

Excellent write up, Rattlehead! Like your write up on the D2, this is the kind of matter of fact reporting I like to see without bias or outside influence. It doesn't try to sell or unsell me on a product, just gives me the kind of useful of information I want and need to make informed decisions. Well done and thank you!

Thanks guys! Much appreciated! 

On 2/7/2023 at 12:15 AM, geof_junk said:

Rattlehead your report is an Encyclopaedia, it cover everything that I can think of. 

 

3) Minelab has always mounted the shaft in the center of the coil on most of their detectors. This is how it should be, in my opinion. It just balances better and it’s easier to keep the coil level with the ground. For whatever reason, they moved the mounting point slightly to the rear on this one. Not sure why manufacturers do this, but I am not a fan.

Most likely they off-set the coil mounting is it enables them to reduce the length of the unit when fully collapsed, by folding the long end towards the control box. I prefer a centred mounting myself. 

Thanks! Yeah, I'm sure they have a reason to do it that way. Personally, I could do without the inch or two that it saves when collapsed, in exchange for the better balance and usability while detecting.

On 2/7/2023 at 12:38 AM, EL NINO77 said:

 Rattlehead......How would you compare the CTX3030 with the large 13x17" coil to the Manticore with the 11" coil?

That question...really...is...drilling...in my head..

Otherwise... You have nice videos of detection and testing of detectors in real detection... and immediately after that you dig up the target... which I like very much... and I consider it really correct and fair...  👍

...Thank you for your review of the Manticore after 50 hours... and its evaluation in detection because I am a strong supporter of the use of increased TX on detectors... as a significant element of improving the depth of detection especially with multi-frequency detectors..

I only used the 13"x17" on my CTX for a very short time before I ended up selling it. That thing was just too heavy for me. I can't say for sure, but my gut feeling is that the Manticore with the 11" coil is probably as deep or deeper than the CTX with the 17" coil.  

Thank you for the comments on videos and review! 🙂

On 2/7/2023 at 1:04 AM, Hunterjunk said:

Excellent review Rattlehead   .  Yep that non indexed 3 piece shaft with 2 camlocks becomes a PIA when both are undone .  I have had the coil bolt issue too , posted my cable tie solution in the Manticore section coupla weeks ago .  Enjoyed your vids and will set up a silver slayer program similar to yours for our pre decimal coins here . Thanks .

Thanks Hunterjunk! I will have a look at your cable tie solution. Thank you! My bolt has come loose at least 4 times now. Not a huge deal, but a little annoying.

On 2/7/2023 at 1:27 AM, palzynski said:

Great vids thanks a lot Rattlehead , a very serious and honest field test + side by side comparison between the Mcore , the Deus2 and the CTX .  

Well it looks like depth perfos are almost identical between the Mcore and the D2 set on DHC ,  this can be seen on the 1st vid at 2.22 on the Mercury dime , where both detectors are at their depth limits  .

I would say that the Mcore goes slightly deeper than the D2 , but the D2 is much lighter than the Mcore and the D2 WS6 master "Lite" version is half the price of a Mcore ...

Then I have no concern for XP they will sell their D2s 🙂...   The same for ML and the Mcore which seems to be a very good detector too   🙂...

Thanks palzynski! I agree with your assessment of the depth capabilities. I haven't done any head to head tests to confirm, but my gut feeling is the Manticore might be a little deeper. Not really enough to matter much to me if I were in the market to buy one of these two machines. Its close.

On 2/7/2023 at 4:44 AM, F350Platinum said:

Excellent review! Nothing I like better than plain honest talk and expertise with technology. 👍I don't have the "intestinal fortitude" to do videos, and am glad that you are out there. I know how much time it takes to edit.

Thanks for your Silver Slayer program for the Deus, it's a great tool to use when all else fails, and I can count on it.

I don't want to disparage the M-core and certainly not the CTX, but let's just say your review rang a few bells for me. 😀 I'm hoping the coming update doesn't change a lot, a consistent remark I've seen for the Deus 2 is that people are happy with the current version despite its quirks, no matter what version. 😎 

I'm convinced that the coil offset is for keeping you from detecting your shoes. 🤣

Thanks F350! I'm happy with .71 on the Deus as is, even if it does have a few quirks. I'll try the update when they release it but I hope it doesn't change the performance much on my favorite programs (Fast and Deep HC).

Maybe the offset is to keep from detecting my shoes. lol! I can hear the detector picking up my long handled shovel when I swing to my left side!

On 2/7/2023 at 6:27 AM, D&P-OR said:

Thanks for the EXCELLENT report Don---much appreciated.

Thank you Don!