Jeff McClendon

bigtim1973, I think you made the right decision. Deus 1, ORX and Deus 2 with just the WS6 can definitely get just about everything done really well. They would not be my first choice for full-time water hunting or frequent gold prospecting but otherwise they are really hard to beat when it comes to ergonomics, speed, separation and now target ID accuracy with Deus 2. If you are like me, you probably have a ton of XP accessories like three sets of charging cables and coil charging clips, a couple of waterproof pouches, several antennas, coil bolts, other odds and ends.etc. If you get the itch to try something new just PM me again, I will probably have already tried it out!!!

I have used the Legend the least amount of time at saltwater beaches/surf. Having input from StarVatrex, and from you and Bill using the latest software version would definitely help complete the picture. Hopefully I will get some more beach time soon too.

Before software version 1.09, I would not have recommended the Legend as a gold prospecting detector due to its fixed iron bias setting of 8 which was way too high and created unnecessary small non-ferrous target masking in high iron mineralization. Now that user adjustable iron filter and iron stability settings have been added, the Legend with its iron bias set as low as possible is now a very good substitute for the Equinox 800. Setup to fit ground condition, both detectors perform very similarly. I wouldn't hesitate to use a Legend in Goldfield Multi running version 1.09 or 1.11 software with the appropriate coil and settings for the ground conditions and nugget sizes in the area. In addition, I have the option of using Park or Field M2 and two tone VCO Pitch tones as a secondary diagnostic mode. The 800 does not offer that option. The 700/900 does. Also, at least from my experience, the Legend falses on hot ground and iron rich ground noticeably less than the Equinox 800. Your second question: some people are just going to buy a Minelab and for good reason considering Minelab's habit of making excellent gold prospecting detectors. I trust my Equinox 800 partly because it is a Minelab and mostly because I know what it can do in the goldfields around here. Would I recommend one over the other just based on performance? At this point.....no. So name brand and price to me are the deciding factors.

I did a 2 hour hunt today at a Denver area park with moderately iron mineralized dirt that showed 4 of 10 bars filled on the Legend's ground mineralization meter. I was looking for deep silver coin signals and nickel signals using the Equinox 800 and the Legend version 1.11 software. Both detectors had their original stock 11" round DD coils. I had both detectors using very similar settings, all targets accepted, Park 1 and Park M1, recovery speed 4, F2/iron filter on 1, sensitivity 23 of 25 on the 800 and 25 of 30 on the Legend. Equinox ground balanced at 3 and the Legend ground balanced at 8. I was willing to dig any repeatable high conductor response. Most of the high conductor targets dug were in the 7 to 10" depth. Both detectors were fooled on what turned out to be a 13" deep square nail with its head parallel to the coils. I was also willing to dig any US nickel response. I had the Equinox 800 setup in 5 tones with a tiny 12-13 designated tone and tone break just for nickels. I had the same on the Legend using 6 tones with a tiny 25-26 designated tone and tone break. Any possible nickel target that gave a response that was outside that small nickel tone and target ID window on BOTH detectors was passed over. If either detector had a response that was within that nickel tone and target ID window I recovered it. The small gold ring was within the nickel window on both detectors. It is poor quality and only 1.25 grams but gold is gold. I flagged potential targets and did not recover them until both detectors had a chance to properly detect them. The group of aluminum targets and one steel target that is labeled "equinox 800 said nickel" was not detected within the nickel window by the Legend. The group of 3 aluminum targets that is labeled "Legend said nickel" were also detected as nickels by the Equinox 800. The three nickels that the Legend hit and the Equinox 800 missed was due to adjacent target masking. The Equinox hit those nickels but target IDs were not nickel IDs. There was one mini coin spill consisting of 5 zinc pennies (three were stuck together) and one clad dime. Details are written on the plate. One big observation was that the Equinox high toned falsed a lot more than the Legend. I am guessing by about a factor of 3 so that I heard a lot more iffy non ferrous target responses from the 800. Going over the same ground, most of those oneway high tone responses were iron grunts or just not there when using the Legend. The Legend was very quiet until its coil stopped moving and then the typical Nokta background "chatter" would start up. It doesn't bother me since I am used to it from the Nokta detectors, many FTP, Whites and XP detectors. Sometimes my Equinox will do that too. For me it is just a threshold type noise floor. No big deal.

The Legend was released in December of 2021 so it has been for sale for 1.5 years. This is the second summer for northern hemisphere users. Maybe you are in the southern hemisphere? The Legend I own did not perform very well on the saltwater beaches I sometimes hunt on until software version 1.09. I have not had any issues finding gold jewelry, small gold nuggets or any low conductors like small lead or small brass targets no matter what mode I’m using except for Park and Field M3 which I rarely use. In fact, the first target I found with the Legend was a 10k opened hoop earring that was surrounded by safety pins. Plenty of gold targets have followed.

Simon, I have owned and subsequently sold a lot of Nokta Makro detectors including the Racer, Racer 2, Gold Racer, Multi Kruzer, Gold Kruzer and the Simplex. Those detectors always came up just a bit short of their competition even though they had plenty of good qualities. Most of all for me anyway, I did not like their unstable target IDs in the soil I hunt in most and the really sparky audio tones of these detectors which during a long hunt would give me audio fatigue. However, that dislike for their audio is just me and should not be taken in anyway except purely subjective on my part. So, I have been totally surprised by the Legend. So far, nothing about it has come up short for me or is unpleasant aside from the jam packed user interface which I navigate very ungracefully. Instead I have had just the opposite experience compared to the other Nokta Makro detectors I have owned. The Legend has far exceeded my expectations. If it hadn't, I would not be wasting my time with it or wasting yours reading about it and I would have simply sold it long ago. On the contrary, I like the Legend so much that I recently bought a lightly used second one for use as a loaner at group hunts and for my family members. It really is so similar to the Equinox 800 in the way that it detects, that I took to it immediately and have learned to really trust it.

I have not noticed any anomalies after updating from 1.09 to 1.11.

Most of the time US modern nickels and V nickels have been 25/26. The only common aluminum target that I regularly find with those numbers are beaver tails broken off of ring pulls and the occasional bent/damaged square or oval pull tab.

The Equinox 700/900 have a 119 digit target ID scale. The Equinox 600/800 have a 50 digit target ID scale with US coins and most jewelry packed into the 10 to 40 range or 30 IDs. Nokta added 10 digits to that scale which for me made all the difference since the expanded part is mostly in the small gold jewelry to US zinc penny range and the entire small jewelry through US coin range is roughly 44 target IDs so about 14 more than the Nox 600/800. Even XP did something similar. Deus 2 has a -6.4 to 99 target ID scale BUT the target IDs from 50 to 99 (49 IDs) cover all of the US coins, most jewelry and relics. -6.4 to around 25 being iron numbers, 25 to 35 covering fertilizer, manure, coke, some spurious non iron ground noise and some very small mixed ferrous/non ferrous targets and 35 to 50 being bits of aluminum foil to bits of very small canslaw.

I agree with you glacialgold on the use comparison. I will pick the Legend over my CF shaft Equinox 800 if I am coin and jewelry hunting in modern trash just because of the slightly expanded target ID range, slightly quieter EMI handling and slightly better target separation and unmasking. I am using Deus 2 and the Legend for that kind of detecting about 90% of the time with the 800 getting the 10% of the time that I am going for absolute maximum depth. If I am water hunting or near a body of water that could have a detector land in it, I am using the Legend 100% of the time. It is just so hassle free to use in water and it has the handle vibration feature to use if I want along with the waterproof wired headphone option Anyone that has not used a Legend with updated 1.09 or 1.11 software and is only basing their experience on earlier versions or from reports by people using earlier software versions really doesn't have the full picture. Using the Legend over the Equinox 800 has not had a negative effect on my finds rate or quality either. It is great to have the inexpensive flexibility and detecting quality that the Legend offers. Having it as a Nox 800 backup or using a high mileage Nox 800 more sparingly and letting the Legend handle the load is a great situation to play around with.

From my experiences, the Legend is slightly better than the Equinox 800 in both aspects. I believe that Iffy Signals did some static separation/unmasking videos that showed the Legend and the Nox 900 being very close in performance. My former Nox 900 had better separation and unmasking than the 800.

If they work with the Equinox 600/800 they will also work with the Vanquish 540, GPX 6000, and Nokta Legend. I have been using the same type of Quest headphones that work with the Deus 1, ORX, Deus 2 audio pucks along with a standalone pair that have their own 2.4 gHz transmitter for years. Sound quality and durability have been excellent with no problems.

I, like many others have a huge amount of appreciation and trust in the detecting abilities of the Equinox 600/800. My only issues with the original Noxes are its shaft system, well documented water ingress and its too compressed target ID range especially around target IDs 10 to 20. Other than that, the Equinox 600/800 really revived my VLF detecting life. I personally know other detectorists that have had the same experience. I will own at least one of those detectors for as long as they last. Nokta released the Legend back in early 2022. Lots of opinions have been expressed by people that either haven't used one or have used one very sparingly. There have been opinions about the roll-out, marketing hype, Nox cloning, the number of software upgrades (why wasn't it a finished product at release???) and the well known speaker and software update issues many people had including me. The fact is from my dig hole and my soil conditions: The Nokta Legend has at least equaled and in some aspects excelled beyond the Equinox 600/800 from my experience. That is saying a lot if you have reaped the benefits of all that the Equinox 600/800 have to offer. I am not going to talk about the Equinox 700/900 since I don't own one anymore and have moved on. As a USA coin hunter, I can't tell you how many US nickels I have recovered (stopped counting at 100 several months ago) and six gold rings that had the same target IDs as US nickels, from parks that I had pounded with the Equinox 600 and 800. The Noxes didn't miss those targets. They just reported them as having target IDs and sounding too much like a modern oval pull tab which I was tired of digging. With the Legend's expanded mid range target IDs, US nickels (and any gold rings with the same IDs) do not share target ID space with nearly as much regularly occurring aluminum trash. The Legend also does just fine on deep clad, deep silver coins and jewelry, iron trashed sites, and in the same hot ground that I often hunt on that the Nox 600/800 handle well. It has also done very well at the fresh and saltwater beaches where I have used it. If you are in the market for a waterproof SMF detector that detects at least as well with very similar audio characteristics and target ID stabilty as the Equinox 800 but doesn't leak and has a slightly more expanded target ID system in all the right places, has a good shaft system, good coil selection, good wireless capabilities that are compatible with the Equinox 800 Bluetooth gear, and also does just fine in the gold fields, from my experience after almost 1000 hours of use, the Legend is a viable and very inexpensive alternative for an out of warranty Equinox 800 that you don't want to completely wear out or dunk anymore. Just my experiences.

At this point I would be happy with a Garrett version of the TDI/TDI SL with lithium ion/NiMH internal or removable batteries that don't need to be modded, an ergonomic, fully waterproof housing with collapsible shaft system, wireless audio options and Coiltek, Nuggetfinder, Minelab coil compatibility along with some well made stock coils from Garrett. It doesn't have to be super sensitive to small sub gram gold nuggets. It just needs to be a functioning coin/jewelry/relic detector with decent depth on mineralized ground and saltwater beaches and surf. If Nokta Detectors can build something like that or with even more sensitivity to nuggets while also being fully water proof that will work with mono and DD coils, at around $2000........fantastic.

The only advantage the 900 has over the 800 is the use of two tone VCO Depth Tone audio in Park or Field modes for an alternative to the one tone VCO Gold modes. However, depending on mineralization and if the nuggets are tiny, it may not matter if the small stuff only responds in the lowest iron target IDs. I would pick a Nox 800 or 900 over the GM 1000 100% of the time for all of the reasons mentioned along with better ergonomics and wireless audio options.

One more poll choice: is EMI handling about the same on the Equinox 700/900 and Equinox 600/800. I would vote yes.

I also did not eventually notice an improvement in EMI handling. With the 700/900, I did notice a small improvement in overall depth using DP tones and normal tones, faster recovery speed, better unmasking, slightly better sounding ML 85 wireless headphones along with the awesome physical and ergonomic upgrades. The extremely expanded target ID range was a wash for me. I am glad Minelab includes the ML85s stock with the 700. I prefer the 600/800 for less iron falsing, target ID stability/consistency and for its tighter target ID scale. I really prefer the Wi Stream Wi Fi WM08 module compatibility along with BT APTX LL headphone/earbud compatibility. My 800 with Detect Ed carbon fiber shaft and original 11' coil weighs 2.88 lbs My 900 with stock shaft and newer 11" coil weighed 2.82 lbs. Thanks for your reports adamBomb!!!

Consider the possibility that Recovery Speed default settings are no longer the same actual amount of recovery speed and that they may also have differing effects on depth between the two models. DP tones definitely can eek out a little more depth from my testing on edge of detection targets.

Thanks for the topic, posts and video Andy. Those medium depth US dime target IDs from the mid 60s to upper 90s you were showing on the 900 and Manticore were very similar to what I was seeing on my former 900 even in half to full bar Deus 2 mineralization dirt. Then you ran Deus 2 over the 5” and 6” dimes and it locked on with very stable IDs using a similar 106.4 target ID scale. Along with that Manticore/900 target ID instability the post update depth loss was disappointing. It sure seems like both the Manticore and 700/900 really need some tweaking by Minelab in order for them to detect well in more challenging soil conditions.

Like Erik suggested, I’m out hunting for coins and jewelry instead of theorizing, arguing and endlessly repeating the same things about it. Nice weather here in Denver finally. I hope I find both and get a bit of a sun (probably sunburn) too.

Andy and Strick already did. I gave you some correlating information from a different brand of detector that uses a similar target ID based 2D feature. I don't have anything else to add to the how to tell gold rings and gold jewelry from aluminum trash or any other type of non-ferrous targets with overlapping IDs in the low and mid conductor range. I dig as many US nickels, US zinc pennies and good sounding non-ferrous targets with similar solid IDs below and up to those coins, with smaller footprints and very distinctive 2D mapping indications as I physically am able along with making sure I hunt in likely gold ring/jewerly areas. If I don't find any gold jewelry using all of those tools, I do usually come home with plenty of nickels and zinc pennies! I wish finding gold rings and gold jewelry was as easy as finding silver rings/jewelry by digging all high conductive US coin target IDs. It just isn't. But it is super rewarding and satisfying no matter what techniques are employed.

Thanks Carl!!!! Whenever you post something on this forum I learn something or more often many things like your current post. I love it when you correct me especially when it concerns detectors and pinpointers that I really like.

Like I said earlier, I don't like butting heads or arguing with you or anyone. That does not make this hobby fun and enjoyable. Like others I prefer to hunt instead of taking shots at detectors, especially ones that I don't own. If this topic is helping you decide if a Manticore or some other detector with the current 2D visual target ID mapping features is in your future....great. Otherwise, I don't see where this is actually helping potential buyers or new users since actual owners of detectors that have similar 2D features have responded with their own experiences and the debate and arguing still wants to be continued. I happily take whatever information a detector can give me. I have my Deus 2 coin and jewelry custom program setup so that I have the normal horseshoe graph of that program and the exact same program using the XY graph right next to each other so I can toggle between them. I use that very often to help determine a dig/no dig decision on many types of targets if I need more information. I don't sweat it, I just use it.

At first, this topic was partially about how the Manticore's Target Trace does not show a visual depiction of the target's actual shape. I think that everyone that has responded would agree, Target Trace similar to Deus 1 and Deus 2's XY graph does not show the actual target's shape. Target Trace is not ground penetrating radar or some kind of magic. As some have said, it is a visual interpretation of target ID information. Another part of the OP's original argument is that Target Trace That is a very generalized statement and I can't enter into a debate about something that broad. I hunt for gold and silver rings most of the time. Sometimes I get other types of jewelry too. I have never used a Manticore and I won't presume or assume that I can make any kind of definitive statement about the effectiveness or not of the Manticore's Target Trace combined with its target ID accuracy and audio except to say what I have already said about it earlier in the topic. The vast majority of the gold rings I have found in the last three years using simultaneous multi frequency detectors have had one single target ID. There have been a couple of exceptions. I have very effectively used Deus 1 and Deus 2's XY graph to help support a dig decision on some of these gold rings because of the bold, dense lines exhibited on the XY graph similar to what I see with US nickels even when they were in the 4 to 6" depth range. That bold, dense visual quality of the line graph is also reflected in the audio of those targets and their single digit target ID. Sure, canslaw can sometimes have similar characteristics and so can some well oriented pull tabs. I am going to dig those targets if I notice them and if they appear to be coin sized for sure. I don't mind if that means I dig 25, 50 or 100 pieces of canslaw and pull tabs to every gold ring I find. For me it's worth it and I will take any information that the detector I am using can give me and be happy for it. Have I walked over some borderline responses in really trashy areas that may have been gold jewelry........no doubt.

The Clerke First Guns revolvers we’re definitely throw aways and aren’t made any more. The 25 acp FIE Titan E28 semi automatic is no longer being produced but a similar Saturday Night Special based on the Raven is currently being made by Phoenix Arms. The Titan has no mag but it is in cocked position. A round could still be in the chamber but I highly doubt that it would still be "live" or that the gun still even remotely functions. I agree with others, I would turn them into local law enforcement. They have zero historic or collector value. If the Titan was instead a Colt Pony or something similar I might have a different opinion depending on what condition it was in. I am not surprised that you found them in a river. Great hunt!!!