Jeff McClendon

Hi kac, anytime I find gold jewelry or nuggets, it's a really good day. Great find! Jeff

First, the video maker did not just swing over the silver object by itself so that the viewer would know what it sounded like and what target ID number was ideal. Second, the video maker is not swinging the center of the 11" DD coil completely past both sides of the silver object so very poor coil control (on purpose???). Third, those medium-high tones that he is getting along with the zinc penny and almost clad dime/copper penny numerical target IDs 18 to 23 are coming from the silver object. Depending on the quality of the silver, I would expect those big pieces of iron to drag down the silver numerical IDs and tones into the high teens to low 20s when using the Nox 600. I just replicated this test with a 3" Civil War Era square nail and a rusted piece of Civil War Era flat iron about 2" from either side of a mercury dime similar to his target layout. I am not dumb enough to put the recovery speed on 0 in this really tough situation. I left recovery speed on my Nox 600 in default setting and tested all six modes with sensitivity on 18. The Nox hit the mercury dime every time on every swing. I would probably assume it was three separate targets with a zinc penny being one of them in real world detecting. Also I use a little background threshold which lets me know a discriminated target is being detected. So in the real world I would have engaged the Horseshoe button and checked for iron in the vicinity. I probably would have dug the target anyway since pinpointing it would have given me three obvious separate targets. Why did he use Beach 2? Presumably he is a beach hunter. However, according to the Nox manual, Beach 2 uses the lowest power setting of all the modes for the transmit signal since it is supposed to be used submerged with conductive salt surrounding the coil not just underneath it. I can relate to his statement that he might not dig the target. I wish the Nox would not give medium-low tone and numerical target ID responses in the low to upper single digits (2 to 10) swinging over iron targets. I have learned to deal with it (by using a little threshold tone for iron nulling) but I wish iron would only false in the extreme high 30s as iron wrap around. Jeff

I have not had any major trouble detecting coins on edge at depths of 6" or more in my 4 to 5 bar Fe3O4 dirt with the Nox. The fact is my dirt is so bad sometimes in my area that I am lucky to even detect a 6" coin sized target with my other VLF detectors! If the Nox can detect coins on edge here at 6" including silver, and can hit coins with accurate enough target ID at 8" or more for me to know what is under the coil, I feel like I am way ahead of the game. Yes, the numbers do jump some the deeper the target, but I still know it is a copper, clad or silver high conductive coin and not a zinc penny or nickel. At more than 4" here my other detectors all read coin sized targets as high conductor big silver targets numerically or give no numerical target ID and just give the highest tone setting for an audio response. I did the update to 1.75. I noticed more accurate depth readings, better pinpointing and somewhat better coin on edge detecting. This may be a dumb statement, but ALL of the VLF detectors I have used have some degree of trouble detecting coins on edge, especially with DD coils. Am I missing something??????? Was there some advertising hype or stated expectation that the Nox would have no issues with coins on edge? Jeff

Hi strick, I'm not sure how something in my posts struck a nerve with you but I don't want it to go any further on my part. My apologies if I offended you. I really haven't noticed any more falsing with the Nox than any other detector I use and I use the 11" coil occasionally in tot lots. Maybe you have noticed a lot of falsing, so I'm not disputing that. Also, I wasn't the first person to mention Tesoros in this thread. I don't have a problem with the Garrett AT series. They are very good detectors. They just aren't the best detector for the kind of detecting I do. Just trying to learn and enjoy this hobby....... HH Jeff

Hi, I have owned several of the Vflex X-Terra series detectors and their younger detector user successor, the Go-Find series. If the Vanquish has anything close to the target separation, unmasking and overall speed of the Equinox (and we know it has some form of Multi IQ simultaneous frequency operation) it will be a BIG step up from the X-Terra and Go-Finds, regardless of what model Vanquish one looks at in my opinion. The target separation, unmasking and recovery speed on the Vflex detectors and the ACE/AT Series is woeful compared to the Equinox. A similar situation exists with the TreasureMaster and Treasure Pro along with the Fisher F11, F22 and F44 and the Greek series Alpha, Delta and Gamma (not the Omega, which has other issues) compared to the Equinox when it comes to overall speed, separation and unmasking. I look forward to hearing about and seeing actual results once the Simplex and Vanquish are released. Jeff

I hope both companies continue to do well. I like both companies detectors and don't pay any attention to their hype, how big they are (or not), whether they have government backing (like Nokta Makro) or what anybodies opinions are. I will listen carefully to facts and experiences. I like the looks of the Simplex, I just hope it is better balanced than the Kruzers and the Anfibios which just seemed heavy to me especially in the handle. The Vanquish looks, baboon butt ugly.........I would definitely be hitting mine with some subdued tinted spray paint if I had one. Jeff

Disregard the previous post by me. Sold my Deus due to lack of ID normalization with the HF coils and I could barely see the mineralization bar which I want to be able to see when I'm gold prospecting. Also I just don't like the Deus audio. I know it tells me a lot but it is SOOOOOO scratchy and ugly. That's just me, for the rest of you it may sound absolutely beautiful!. I had XP seller's remorse and picked up the new ORX. I have been struggling with the audio on it too. I ditched the supplied wireless back phones since they hurt my big head after about 45 minutes. I have two sets of Deteknix/Quest wireless modules and head phones which are much more comfortable AND mellow the ORX audio enough for me to detect all day with them and the ORX. Also, I sold the HF elliptical coil and went with the new X35 9" coil. It is definitely making the ORX a better coin and jewelry detector since the X35 has the much more versatile five different frequency ranges instead of the three on the HF coils. It may just be me but the X35 coil seems to have cleaned up the audio a bit and also seems a little hotter than the HF coils. So..........in my opinion (I still do not like the audio by the way) -----The ORX is a pretty good coin and jewelry detector......... -----The ORX is an excellent relic detector in heavily infested iron sites, in open fields with or without lots of iron in Coin Fast, Coin Deep or the Gold modes. I am finding out through testing and two days in Colorado gold fields recently that the ORX with the X35 9" coil is a very good prospecting detector. It has no trouble hitting hard on small gold .2 grams or slightly less down to about 4" here and will hit hard on larger gold and non ferrous targets with the 27.7 kHz setting on the X35 9" coil. I have compared it in the field with the Equinox 800 and the Makro Gold Kruzer. At 27.7 kHz, in Gold 1 and Gold 2, the ORX does just as well as those two excellent detectors in their Gold Modes (NOX) and Gen mode (Kruzer). By the way, don't hesitate to use the other three discrimination modes on the Gold Kruzer for prospecting if you have one. I have seen very little difference in depth of detection for small gold nuggets between all 4 modes on the Gold Kruzer except for the Boost mode which is a beast for gold prospecting!!! Like the Nox, those three discrimination modes on the Gold Kruzer have lots of helpful features for gold prospecting that are not available in the Gen mode. There are several methods of iron recognition on the ORX for prospecting. You can hunt with Iron Volume OFF, Iron Amplitude Rejection on ZERO and just use the numerical target ID numbers 0 to 15 or so and the iron probability bar and all ferrous and non-ferrous targets will sound similar depending on depth and size. You can turn the Iron Volume ON, set the IAR to 1 and listen to the iron grunt along with watching the TIDs and the probability bar. This basically makes the ORX a 2 tone detector in the Gold Modes. You can turn the Iron Volume ON and set the Iron Amplitude Rejection on 1 to 5 and the iron grunt will be minimized more and more the higher the IAR is set. At the highest setting (5) it is possible to discriminate deeper non ferrous targets however, depending on size, depth and amount of mineralization. You can also turn the Iron Volume OFF, set the IAR to where surface to shallow small iron targets or large deep iron target audio responses will just start to crackle and split (usually around setting 2 or 3) compared to non-ferrous targets which will sound really nice and use the target ID numbers and iron probability bar to help determine if the target's distorted audio response is signaling a probable ferrous target. In regard to Steve's earlier review on page 1, the iron tone break point is only available in the Coin modes. It is movable throughout the entire target ID range. In fact, the ORX entire 3 tone audio system is somewhat similar to the Teknetics G2+ and the F19 in how it operates apart from not having any notch features. The low iron tone can be silenced by turning OFF Iron Volume. Otherwise, Iron Volume does not have an adjustable volume control in the Coin Modes. Iron Volume can also be turned ON or OFF in the Gold modes. The Iron Amplitude Rejection settings do turn the volume down by default on the iron grunt somewhat with Iron Volume ON. So, the IAR acts as the Iron Discrimination settings adjustment in the Gold modes. There is no changing pitch -raising or lowering the tones to different pitches- adjustment for any of the three tones in any mode on the ORX. All the audio is similar to VCO in the Gold modes and sounds (to me anyway) like pitched VCO in the Coin modes. The ORX with the HF 9" round coil and the X35 9" round coil is very comfortable to swing. With the X35 coil you can literally take the coil and lower stem off of the rest of the telescoping shaft, put the controller in your pocket if you like, and sweep the coil in all sorts of places like sides of washes, tailings piles or down into deeper crevices and holes that would be awkward with the coil attached. You can't do that as easily with the HF coils due to the battery falling out of the stem if you aren't careful. I like the round coils better for putting the ORX down in uneven terrain too, since the shape of the coil will help the ORX not fall over. It is next to impossible to keep the ORX with the HF elliptical coil from falling over even on perfectly flat ground. I haven't run into any areas that the ORX ground grab ground balance could not handle yet. In my area, IAR set at 3 takes care of many of the hot rocks too. So, if you are a dry land prospector, relic hunter or occasional coin and jewelry detectorist and need an easily back packable, extremely light weight, very good detector with plenty of features, AND you aren't grossed out by the squawky, farty audio, the ORX is a great choice and if you shop carefully dealers are letting some bundled versions of these go for less the $600 brand new if you haggle. Jeff

Hi Idanox. I have done similar testing as Chase in the past in sand and recently in pea gravel. Both times I noticed a fairly steady .25 inch difference in each sensitivity increment in default Park 1 except for sensitivity 25, with the stock 11" coil on a clad dime, maximum depth was 11.5". So the difference between 25 and 21 was 1 inch. 21 to 17 was also 1". Same with 17 to 13, etc. So from sensitivity setting of 1 to 25 was about 6" difference.......... I do have a lot of EMI in my area and very mineralized soil. Jeff

Hi Chuck, I don't know about sales. I think the whole XP line of detectors have been way overpriced at least here in the USA and the soon to be released Vanquish and the Equinox series have certainly cut into the multi frequency/all terrain VLF market. Like many have said, for certain detecting scenarios like relics in iron trash and relics in general, the Deus and Orx are fantastic. In heavy aluminum trashy parks it is not a lot of fun however, where numerical target ID is important since that is the weakest aspect of the Deus and Orx. Its pretty good for gold prospecting and like you said, the lightweight sure gives my wrist a welcome change from my heavier detectors. It sure is easy to backpack it too. I'm still really struggling with my dislike for the audio on the ORX and Deus. I just don't like to listen to really scratchy audio for hours on end. In areas where there aren't many trash targets I am okay with it. After listening to dozens to hundreds of buzzy, scratchy tones, a good target does sound fantastic. Jeff

Since early August, XP have started selling the ORX with the 9" and 11" X35 coils as a stock option for less than $700. The package deal comes with the wired back headphones. Some online dealers that have these in stock are selling this bundle for substantially less than the lowest advertised price or adding in incentives if you ask. Personally, I never enjoyed using the ORX wireless back phones. I have a really big head and those headphones hurt enough to distract me after about 45 minutes no matter what I did. If you are looking at an ORX and the great all purpose frequencies provided on the X35 coils now would be a good time to investigate these deals. Jeff

Hi Strick, I hunt around monkey bars and play structures all the time with my Nox 600. I just turn the sensitivity way down and get right up close. The Nox doesn't false any worse than any other detector that I've used or owned. As long as I get a single tone and don't approach the metal pole with the tip of the DD I'm good. Lot's of people praise Tesoros (me too) for their good detecting ability around fence posts and metal poles but most of those results were with a concentric coil. Jeff

Be safe Calabash, you and your family. I have lots of family evacuating from the Georgia coast. It's going to be a rough week. God Bless. Jeff

I agree with you Chase. All of your points as usual are well taken. We could discuss VLF detectors with a smaller DD coil advantage over larger DD coils in highly mineralized dirt all day, along with lower frequency vs higher frequency in highly mineralized dirt. Where I live Kac, if my detector is operating at less than 18 kHz or so, it is not going to penetrate the mineralization very well. Forget about detecting here at 5 kHz........ This is where the Equinox, Kruzer/Anfibio multi and X35/HF coil Deus/Orx really are an even bigger advantage over the AT Series than back east in milder soils If you need to go deep. Otherwise, depth will hit a brick wall at about 4". I haven't hunted with Calabash yet but I hope to someday when I'm in North Myrtle Beach which I visit a lot. He is definitely not a beginner (She Detector is moving into the experienced level too by the way) and is very proficient with the AT Series. He is a very USA patriotic guy and would probably like nothing better (like most of us) than to be using a great, modern, all terrain, full featured (as in Nokta/Makro Minelab features) wireless, selectable or multi frequency American detector for his main workhorse. Hopefully somebody will make one here soon that does not cost over $800. I'll buy one if I'm not dead yet. Jeff

Hi Chuck, I really like the display on the MX Sport/MX7 too, even more than my Equinox. By the way, two other things that the Equinox does not do as well as the MX Sport/MX7 in my opinion are the depth indications on the MXSport/MX7 display and the overall pinpoint function on the MXSport/MX7 which is WAAAAAAAY better than the pinpoint function on the Equinox. Otherwise, they are both excellent but very different detectors in an apples and oranges, kind of fruitless to compare them way. Jeff

The Equinox will also give you lots of options for settings and adjustments that help determine what you hear and what you see on the screen (if you can see it submerged!!) which can help give you hints about your target's identity. Excal is tone only for all possible target identification information. So, like Chase said, your hunting style and preferences matter. Do you like tone ID more or visual ID or if you are like me, do you like all the information you can get! Jeff